midsummer night's update

hello everybody (or nobody) !

here is a mid-summer update.

my time in paris ended on a sweet note at breizh cafe with the amazing crepe briochine (sautéed banana, vanilla ice cream, and breizh's famous housemade caramel sauce). if you are ever in paris, for the love of god, GO (but you'll have to make a reservation first). oh and for pre-dessert get the gallette maraîchère, full of fresh market vegetables.

new york summer started with some fried octopedes because, well, when associated supermarket is selling many pounds' worth of baby octopedes for only $8, why not buy them?

next came the momofuku bo ssäm. i think the topic has been exhausted on this blog but let me just reiterate one more time in case you didn't get it: FATTY PORKY HEAVEN.

there was some excellent banh mi from banh mi saigon, which gives you pretty good bang for your buck. i have since been to v-name cafe on 1st & 1st, and it was equally cheap & delicious. recommend both.

then came a few rounds of dim sum at our fave 88 palace, the first better than the second, further reinforcing the fact that sunday mornings are the only real time to get dim sum so as to get the best selection. pictured here are two of my absolute favorites, jia leung and ham siu gok.

okay now i'm getting confused about the order of things. somewhere in here was a visit to the big gay ice cream shop, at which max & i shared the monday sundae and holy hell let me just say: why doesn't anyone else put nutella in their ice cream sundaes???

we made a berry pie for july 4th because this pie dough from david leibowitz is pretty fun / easy to make and also because fresh homemade whipped cream is da best. we were a little too eager though and decorated the pie before it cooled, which resulted in a melted cream berry crumble creation. still delicious.

after a long, long, long and arduous process of stephen + his friends trying to find an apartment to move into, we finally found a great place in the east village that has been fun to move into. it has also been fun to break in the kitchen with healthy dinners like this veggie mung dal thing i made that actually looked like the picture in the recipe (!)

aaand less healthy creations like homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream (there it is!), a favorite from last summer's ice cream endeavor.

last but certainly not least, i got a $5 stick blender off craigslist for stephen me, thus forever smoothies on the fire escape!!!

here's to many more before the summer's end.

ice cream endeavor, part 9: vanilla

okay, back from ice cream hiatus. my family moved from the house we'd been living in for 15 years to an apartment half the size in the city. exciting, but stressful and tiring and time-consuming. hence, no time to make ice cream, nor blog about it.

i made this vanilla ice cream before the chaos, but didn't get the chance to write about it. simply put: the best vanilla ice cream, ever. EVER. seriously! it's not quite as creamy as french vanilla but is much creamier than your standard vanilla bean, and so much more flavorful than any store-bought variety, from french vanilla to vanilla bean and everything in between.

vanilla ice cream (from the perfect scoop)

(makes about 1 quart)

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups heavy cream

pinch of salt

1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise

6 large egg yolks

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of the cream, and salt in a medium saucepan. scape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warm milk and add the bean as well. [the tiny beans were stuck in clumps and i wasn't sure if they would de-clump while churning or not, so i did a few quick stick blender pulses and they separated immediately.] cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.

pour the remaining 1 cup into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. in a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as your stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. put the vanilla bean into the custard, add the vanilla extract, and stir until cool over an ice bath.

chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. when ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, rinsing and reserving it for another use, and then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

also delicious with any topping ever. pictured here with fruit, korova cookie crumbles (best cookie ever btw), and homemade magic shell topping.

ice cream endeavor, part 8: strawberry

strawberry is technically my ninth, but the peach i made before this turned out so strangely i want to wipe it from my memory. and so did the strawberry, to some extent. i think this is due to the fact that in fruit ice creams, one mixes in a significant amount of fruit purée, which in turn makes the whole thing icier and freeze a lot harder. not really sure. i've just been letting the ice cream sit out for a bit before scooping, and (as you can see) it scoops out in chunks, rather than real scoops. oh well, going to have to keep working on these.

the strawberry ice cream still tastes delicious and fresh despite the weird consistency, so i'll include it.

strawberry ice cream (from allrecipes)

(makes 4 1/2 cups)

1 quart fresh strawberries, hulled

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup white sugar

3 egg yolks

3 tbsp light corn syrup

place the berries into the container of a blender of food processor, and purée until smooth. pour into a large bowl, and set aside.

heat 1 1/4 cups of the cream in a saucepan over medium heat until it begins to bubble at the edge of the pan. in a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg yolks, remaining 1/4 cup cream, and corn syrup. gradually pour the hot cream into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. return the mixture to the saucepan, and heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, about 5 minutes. do not allow the mixture to boil. strain custard into the berry purée through a sieve, mix, and refrigerate until chilled.

fill and ice cream maker with with the mixture, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

ice cream endeavor, parts 6 & 7: ricanelas & mint chip with homemade magic shell

oops—it's been awhile. but just because i haven't been documenting it doesn't mean i haven't been making ice cream. here's my catch-up post. i've made three ice creams (well, technically four but the peach was so weird i'm not counting it) since the honey lavender. here are the first two:

stole this flavor from bi-rite—it's cinnamon ice cream with snickerdoodle pieces.

ricanelas ice cream (adapted from the perfect scoop)

(makes about 1 quart)

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

ten 3-inch cinnamon sticks, broken up

2 cups heavy cream

5 large egg yolks

one batch of snickerdoodles (but you'll only use a few cookies for the ice cream, so eat the rest)

warm the milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon sticks and 1 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan. once warm, cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for one hour.

meanwhile, make the snickerdoodles, and the ice cream will be better if the cookies are on the softer side. chop or crumble a reasonable amount of the cookies (about 5—you don't want the ice cream to be too full of stuff) into chunks.

rewarm the cinnamon-infused milk mixture. remove the cinnamon sticks with a slotted spoon and discard them. pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.

in a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as your stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. pour the custard through the strainer and into the cream. stir until cool over an ice bath.

chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. add cookie chunks right before churning is done or mix into the churned ice cream.

for mint chip ice cream and homemade magic shell topping...

the last supper / ice cream endeavor, part 5: honey lavender / the lightest cheesecake you'll ever eat!

my family is moving out of the 'burbs and into the city this summer. that, in addition to the fact that many of my friends were all leaving at once for their various summer engagements led to to having a last hurrah at my house last weekend.

dinner was very green (homemade pasta with pesto & pinenuts, salad, asparagus, and green beans with ginger & lemon zest)

and i made honey lavender ice cream for dessert, accompanied by my mom's cheesecake. my two favorite ice cream shops (bi-rite creamery and fairfax scoop) both have the most delicious honey lavender ice cream. though after making this, i don't need to go to them anymore for it. it was really really good! though i do still need to go to them for all the other flavors.

note: this ice cream is more time consuming than others; prepare the night before. i didn't chill the custard overnight as suggested, and it came out a bit soft.

lavender-honey ice cream from the perfect scoop

(makes about 1 quart)

1/2 cup good-flavored honey

1/4 cup dried or fresh lavender flowers

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

5 large egg yolks

heat the honey and 2 tablespoons of the lavender in a small saucepan. once warm, remove from the heat and set aside to steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. pour the cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. pour the lavender-infused honey into the cream through the strainer, pressing on the lavender flowers to extract as much flavor as possible, then discard the lavender and set the strainer back over the cream.

in a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as your stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. add the remaining 2 tablespoons lavender flowers and stir until cool over an ice bath.

chill the mixture overnight in the refrigerator. the next day, before churning, strain the mixture, again pressing on the lavender flowers to extract their flavor. discard the flowers, sprinkle some back in! then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

for cheesecake:

ice cream endeavor, part 4: grapefruit champagne sorbet

we had a bout of record-breaking rain last weekend, but luckily it has warmed up and actually feels like summer now. i went to the beach yesterday and got a sunburn in the shape of my swimsuit bow on my back, but that's okay because it's summer. in celebration of this lovely season, i made my first sorbet.

pink grapefruit–champagne sorbet from the perfect scoop

(makes about 1 quart)

1 1/3 cups champagne or sparkling wine

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice (from about 3 grapefruits)

in a medium, nonreactive saucepan, heat about half of the champagne with the sugar, stirring frequently, until the sugar is completely dissolved. remove from heat and stir in the remaining champagne and the grapefruit juice.

chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

ice cream endeavor, part 3: butter pecan

my ice cream recipe book does not include a recipe for butter pecan ice cream, though it does include a recipe for buttered pecans to mix in. but i wasn't sure if butter pecan ice cream was really just vanilla with pecans in it, or something else. i thought of all the times i've had it and tried to remember just the ice cream's flavor... i couldn't. i asked my dad, butter pecan ice cream aficionado, for his take. "no there's something weird going on," he said, "it's not vanilla. it's BETTER than vanilla."

right he was. the recipe i used makes a very strongly flavored ice cream, more so than any butter pecan ice cream i've had. that being said, it's creamy and buttery and delicious. it's a great combination of salty and sweet. lastly, bourbon goes wonderfully with the flavor and it gives a perfect hint so i would recommend adding a bit to the ice cream, but that's optional.

butter pecan ice cream

recipe adapted from simply recipes (which has great pictures of the process) and the perfect scoop.

(makes 1 1/2 quarts)

for the ice cream:

6 large egg yolks

6 tbsp butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups whole milk

1 tsp vanilla

2–3 tbsp bourbon (optional)

for the pecans:

1 1/2 tbsp butter

1 1/2 cups pecan halves

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1. in a medium sized heat-safe bowl, whisk together the egg yolks until well blended. set aside.

2. pour the cream into a metal bowl set in a larger bowl of ice and set a medium-mesh sieve on top. set aside.

3. in a medium thick-bottomed saucepan on medium heat, melt the butter. cook it, stirring constantly, until it just begins to brown. add the brown sugar and salt. stir until the sugar completely melts.

4. slowly add the milk, stirring to incorporate. it will foam up initially, so make sure you are suing a pan with high enough sides. heat until all of the sugar is completely dissolved. do not let boil or the mixture may curdle.

5. whisk in hand, slowly pour half of the milk and sugar mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly to incorporate. then add the warmed egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk/sugar mixture.

6. stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a wooden or heatproof rubber spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula, about 5–7 minutes. a line drawn across the back of the spoon should not flow back together, comme ça:

7. pour the custard through the sieve and stir it into the cream. add vanilla and stir until cool over the ice bath. chill mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.

8. meanwhile, make the buttered pecans. preheat the oven to 350. melt the butter in a skillet. remove from heat and toss the pecans with the melted butter until well coated, then sprinkle with the salt. spread evenly on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10–12 minutes, stirring once during baking. remove from the oven and let cool completely. chop coarsely.

9. once the ice cream mixture is thoroughly chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

10. once the ice cream has been formed in the ice cream maker, it will be fairly soft. pour in bourbon, if using, at the last minute of churning. fold in the chopped pecans. put in an airtight container and place in the freezer for at least an hour, preferably several. if it has been frozen for more than a day, you may need to let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften it before serving.

lunchtime.

ice cream endeavor, part 2: pistachio

disclaimer: my ego is very high right now.

we just finished having a party, at which i served this pistachio ice cream with a chocolate tart. the ice cream got such responses as "amazing" and "intense" (from people who don't even like ice cream) but also "i don't remember having a better ice cream... in my life." how do you respond when someone tells you that you just made the best ice cream that they have ever tasted in their entire 50+ year life?? apparently, it was that good. i feel a little like harper lee—if i've made something this good already, maybe i should just stop now. if i were to continue, will it only go downhill from here? except unlike harper lee, i will make more, since this is my summer endeavor.

i made pistachio because it's the favorite flavor of the guest of honor at out going away party. the perfect scoop didn't have a recipe for it (what?) so i used epicurious.

pistachio ice cream via epicurious with my notes embedded

(makes 3 1/2 cups)

1 cup unsalted shelled pistachios

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups milk (do not use low-fat or nonfat)

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

4 large egg yolks

1 cup whipping cream

3/4 cup unsalted shelled pistachios, toasted, coarsely chopped. didn't use these

finely grind 1 cup pistachios and 1/4 cup sugar in a processor. make sure not to turn into butter. bring milk and ground pistachio mixture to boil in a heavy saucepan. remove from heat. mix in almond extract.

whisk egg yolks and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in medium bowl. gradually whisk in hot mixture. return custard to saucepan. cook over low heat until custard thickens and leaves path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across, stirring constantly, about 10 minutes (do not boil). strain into large bowl. chill cold, about 2 hours.

stir 1 cup whipping cream and chopped pistachios into custard. instead, i used the pistachio pieces leftover from the strained mixture and toasted those. also only added half the cream. turned out fine. process mixture in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. transfer to container and freeze.

had to serve it with something, so i made a chocolate tart, consisting of: chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. oh, and also some chocolate. it was really rich.

ice cream endeavor, part 1: vietnamese coffee ice cream

my food endeavor this summer is to make ice cream (at least) once a week. while at barnes & noble, i took 20+ pictures of ice cream recipes to tackle, and there are more than 20 weeks in the summer. then i realized i should just buy the book that all the recipes came from.

i landed last night at 8, got home at 9:30, and got to work on my first batch by 10. i don't waste time.

this ice cream is unbelievably simple. it's even easier than normal coffee ice cream (which involves infusing milk with coffee beans, or something more complicated like that). it uses espresso and sweetened condensed milk, just like real vietnamese coffee.

vietnamese coffee ice cream from the perfect scoop by david lebovitz (of course)

(makes about 1 quart / 1 liter)

1 1/2 cups (600g) sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cups (375 ml) brewed espresso (or very strongly brewed coffee)

1/2 cup (125 ml) half-and-half

big pinch of finely ground dark roast coffee

whisk together the condensed milk, espresso, half-and-half, and ground coffee. chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.