New Year's Role Call

This is what Nicole and I were up to on New Year's Eve. 

Devin visits for graduation

It's been awhile. Some things have changed; others have not. Terren, Nicole, Livy, and I moved into our new apartment, and Yooni is subletting Livy's room for the summer. Devin came to visit for graduation. I had missed all of us being together. I wish she could've stayed longer amidst the chaos of moving out, moving in, family visits, etc. I love all of you very much. Sappiness aside, here are some pictures from that time:

Beet time

Dinner tonight:

Tried a new way of making beets: bake them in tin foil with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (for ~45 mins).  Then I made Israeli couscous with oregano, garlic, and agave toasted almonds.  Saute some kale for a minute and add it all together with goat cheese. 

Terr's Room

Some photos of Terren's very lovely room. 

We also just bought some goods for the storm. 

Egg in a hole

instagramcracker

Left: lovely red velvet cake Nicole baked. Right: my view of the homecoming game (crowd) from the front row. 

Left and right: our lovely CSAs. 

happy birthday, CPK!

CPK's birthday was last weekend! terren found a few recipes for cake, but this tin roof ice cream cake looked best. we made it together at my place after work ("work"—our internships) one day. i made the peanut butter ice cream from the perfect scoop's recipe, and we made a few alterations to the original recipe to get our own version, a very delicious and successful attempt at our first ice cream cake.

tin roof ice cream cake

(adapted from aida mollenkamp)

ingredients

for the crust:

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

parchment or waxed paper

1 package oreos

for the ganache:

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

for the assembly:

2 quarts (double recipe below) of peanut butter ice cream, softened

1 cup chilled heavy cream, for garnish

a few handfuls of roasted almonds, roughly chopped, for garnish

a few handfuls bittersweet chocolate, chopped, for garnish

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

instructions

for the crust:

coat the inside of two 9-inch pans with ½ tablespoon of the melted butter each. cut parchment or waxed paper into two circles the same size as the base of the pan and place them in the bases.

place oreos in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until ground; add remaining 6 tablespoons melted butter and pulse until mixture is moistened. (or, we just placed oreos in a ziploc bag and pulverized them, then mixed in the melted butter with them in the pan.) divide and press mixture evenly and firmly into the bottom of the two pans and freeze until they’re set, about 30 minutes. meanwhile, take the ice cream out of the freezer to soften and make the ganache.

for the ganache:

place chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl; set aside. place cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. pour cream over chocolate and let stand until chocolate has melted, about 5 minutes.

stir gently until smooth, then stir in butter until completely incorporated; let cool slightly before using. meanwhile, let the ice cream soften, for another about 15 minutes, or until soft enough to spread like room temperature butter but not melted.

for the assembly:

when ice cream is softened, transfer to a mixing bowl. using a rubber spatula mix until spreadable. divide and spread the ice cream over each of the cookie crusts and smooth the top. in one pan (this will be the top layer), pour half of the ganache over the top and smooth, saving the rest of the ganache for later. place pans back in the freezer until firm, at least 30 minutes. place the remaining ice cream back in the freezer as well.

remove pans from the freezer, then remove the cakes from the pans (i ran hot water around the outer rim of each, and they popped out pretty easily when overturned). spread the rest of the ganache over the bottom layer, then add the top layer and put the whole cake back in the freezer to let it set, at least 3 hours and up to one day.

to serve:

roughly chop and roast almonds in the oven, and sprinkle with some cinnamon and sugar if desired. place whipped cream and powdered sugar in a clean, large bowl and whip with a whisk until soft peaks form. meanwhile, remove cake from the freezer and let sit at a few minutes at room temperature before cutting. top cake with whipped cream, almonds, and chocolate. to cut the cake, it’s easiest to have a cup of hot water nearby to dip a knife into, wipe off, and cut each slice.

peanut butter ice cream (adapted from the perfect scoop)

(makes about 1 quart)

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1/4 cup sugar (original recipe calls for 3/4 cup but peanut butter is already very sweet. sweeten to your taste)

2 2/3 cups half-and-half

pinch of salt

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

purée all ingredients in a blender or food processor (or bowl with a stick blender!) until smooth. chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. (wasn't that easy??)