Apple Pie Ice Cream – Seriously Good Eats

I created this dish for our #letslunch on twitter, a group of fun foodies that cook dishes and then post them to the searchable hashtag #letslunch on a predetermined day. We select a theme for our dishes and this one was Fall desserts. So for my dessert I decided on apple pie ice cream with gingersnaps. I made the gingersnaps last week and posted them already but now they get a chance to join their partner in flavor.

I swiped the basic ice cream recipe from Alton Brown and it is amazing on its own, even though it is probably the easiest ice cream I’ve ever made. Then I sautéed up some apples with cinnamon, butter and enough sugar to make a nice caramel in the pan. Probably the most work involved in this ice cream was coring and peeling two apples, so roll up your sleeves and give it a try. I promise you will not be disappointed.



Ice cream ingredients

2 cups half and half
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean

For Ice cream:
Combine creams and sugar in a medium sauce pan. Split vanilla lengthwise and with the back of a knife scrape out the vanilla seeds and add to the cream mixture. Add pods to mixture and heat over gentle heat until mixture reaches 170 degrees or just starts to bubble at the edges. Do not scald. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight to steep the vanilla. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions until the mixture is slightly firmer than soft-serve ice cream. The vanilla will taste very strong at this point but when it’s frozen the taste is mellowed by the temperature.



Apple Mixture
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I used Gala apples)
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp cinnamon
~ ½ cup granulated sugar

To prepare
Melt butter in medium sauté pan, add apples and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon atop. Stir well and sauté until apples have softened and sugar turns to caramel. Set aside and cool completely.



When Ice cream reaches the right consistency and apples are completely cool, remove ice cream from freezer (machine) and combine with apples in a heavy plastic freezer safe container. I use a Rubbermaid tub. Place into freezer for a minimum of 2 hours. I also like to stir the mixture a couple of times during freezing to prevent ice crystals from forming on top.



That’s it! Plate it with some of those gingersnaps and the taste of Autumn is right in your dish. The combination of the apple, cinnamon, streaks of caramel and vanilla is really amazing. I would make this dessert in a heartbeat and in fact plan on doing just that to serve to my thanksgiving guests atop, what else, but a big wedge of homemade apple pie!

Autumn cookies/Air freshener

I am amazed at the number of air freshener commercials on television. Fresheners that automatically squirt at innocent passersby on cue, beads in bowls, faux candles, electric fans to circulate smells. First of all, how are these people’s homes getting so stinky to begin with, that they require these constant air freshener vigils? Second in this age of being ‘green’ how do people reconcile the constant distribution of chemicals throughout their homes and using electrical power to do so? Clearly based on the sheer number of advertisements, someone is buying these products.

I have a better answer – get to the kitchen and bake some cookies! Another nice way to make the home smell festive is to save your apple cores and peels, orange peels and pop them into a saucepan with a stick of cinnamon and a few whole cloves. Simmer on the stove for a while and the fragrance is amazing. You can also fool people into thinking you’ve spent the weekend baking apple pies. But I digress, back to the cookies.

Autumn here in the south brings us mostly temperate days and cool nights but occasionally we get cold and rainy. On those days, rather than turn on the heat, I crank up the oven. If you think you don’t have time, these cookies will dispel that notion. They are quick to assemble, quick to bake and really taste and smell of autumn to me.




Gingersnaps!

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
Pinch ground nutmeg
1 ½ cups butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup molasses
1 large egg
Granulated white sugar for coating

Preparation

Cream butter and sugar in large mixing bowl. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Beat dry ingredients into butter mixture. Add molasses and egg and beat until dough is well combined and dough gets fluffier. Chill dough for 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 F.
Roll dough into balls about an inch in diameter. Roll balls into white sugar and place onto baking sheet lined with silpat or lightly greased (I prefer the silpat). Flatten cookies with the base of a glass dipped in sugar. Bake in center of preheated oven 10-12 minutes.

That’s it! How easy is that? I love the smell of the ginger, cinnamon and molasses. These cookies aren’t overly sweet so they are great with coffee or milk as an afternoon snack. Mine will find their way to my brother up in Philly who has been going through some changes in his life. What better way to add fragrance to your home, warmth to your house and your family?

Seafood Paella - Romance on a Plate

As most of you know, I love to watch Top Chef but for the last 2 weeks I was in Canada where they lag several weeks behind in airing new episodes so I only just watched the latest installment this morning, thanks to the miracle of DVR. Imagine my surprise to find that Ron had been sent home for his misinterpretation of a deconstructed paella when I had just made my first paella over the weekend. Not that I was surprised to see him go home, the poor guy didn’t have the chops for the show in cooking finesse or in TV personality. However, I think deconstructing paella should be a crime punishable by being banished from the fish market for at least 2 weeks…OK. One then. The whole point of a good paella is the building of flavors – oh and it’s about saffron too.

I was at the fish market (Pacific Fresh Fish in Regina) and spied some fresh PEI mussels, which my fiancé absolutely adores. I bought a lot and the first night made a spicy Thai green curry dish with the mussels but saved about a dozen for what was really kicking around in the back of my head – paella! This was my first attempt at making the dish though I have consumed countless versions – good and bad – at restaurants. I went on line and read tons of recipes, tossed them aside and dived in to make my own version.

My version includes:

1 boneless chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
1 link Spanish chorizo sliced
5 thin slices pancetta, chopped
3 clove garlic, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 tomatoes chopped
2 bell peppers roasted, peeled and chopped (I used red and orange peppers)
¼ cup chopped black calamata olives
1 dozen mussels, scrubbed & debearded
2 alaskan king crab claws
1 lobster tail, split down the middle (leave shell on)
8 raw shrimp, deveined
1 ½ cups shortgrain rice (I used Arborio)
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup dry white wine
2 TBS drained capers
½ tsp saffron threads
½ tsp dried oregano



Preparation:

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Saute pancetta, garlic and chicken pieces until chicken colors. Remove chicken and reserve. Add chorizo and onion and sauté until onion is translucent. Meanwhile, heat stock in a saucepan with saffron and oregano. Add rice to sauté pan and stir to coat with oil. Add the wine and reduce heat to low, stirring to allow rice to absorb liquid. Add the stock all at once, stirring while it I added. Mix in peppers, olives and tomatoes and cover. Let simmer over low heat for 20 minutes or until rice is nearly tender.



Place chicken, crab, shrimp, lobster and mussels atop rice and cover until mussels open and chicken and seafood are cooked through. Sprinkle capers over the top. Remove cover and increase heat to medium-high. Cook over medium-high heat until rice gets a crunchy crust on the bottom (about 1 minute). Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve directly from the hot pan.

This dish is very yummy, the crust (called socratto) is my favorite part. Don’t use long grain rice if at all possible but if you must, then substantially reduce the cooking time for the rice. The chorizo is also important in that it adds the spicy, smoky paprika taste. If you can’t find chorizo then use a pork sausage and add smoked paprika, being careful not to overpower the saffron.



Make this dish for a romantic meal for two, though there will be leftovers! It seems impossible to make a small amount of paella but that won’t be a problem, trust me. Serve it with a crisp white wine and enjoy!

Ethnic Heritages in Food - Cross Over to the Other Side!

Last week I attended a ceremony at the Regina, SK city hall on the last day of summer. It was the dedication of a new sculpture celebrating the founding of Regina by First Nations and immigrants that took place outside the city hall. The sculpture has two parts that flank the fountain on the front lawn; one called “lace” that is cast in bronze and has the written description of immigrants and their contributions and the opposite side is a series of bronze casts of living immigrants to Regina. The day was quite chilly and the ever present prairie winds reminded us of what it must have been like for those early settlers in this often austere climate.

me, Ursula, Mayor Fiacco, Stephanie

What might this have to do with food you might ask? I have found that the overseas immigrants here have largely maintained their respective cultures to include food, which always seems to be at the heart of any culture. You can see this at their annual festival of diversity called Mosaic in which Regina’s many cultural clubs each demonstrate their respective cultures through dance, song and primarily food. I found it amazing for a place with such a relatively small population to maintain such diversity. In fact the ‘lace’ part of the sculpture has an homage to pasta fagioli (Mayor Fiacco is undeniably Italian) as prepared by Gina of the Star Deli; an authentic Italian deli here in town that I found in my very first week of visiting. I think good pancetta has the lure of a siren’s song.

Regina has, in a very small geographic area, many small grocers that specialize in their own ethnic ingredients. In the space of only a few miles there is Oskar’s; a German butcher that stocks my favorite licorice, house made bratwurst, heavy rustic breads and packets of premade potato dumplings. We have the aforementioned Star Deli with its gourmet dried pastas, array of olive oils and balsamic vinegars, the torrone nougat candy I recall fondly from childhood and of course, pancetta, prosciutto, salamis and cheeses and always a friendly banter with Carlo, the owner’s son. The Asian market is like most, with cramped aisles and shelves packed to the rafters carrying all kinds of rice, dried mushrooms, fish sauces, ingredients unidentifiable to westerners, teas, dried cuttlefish, fresh lime leaves and even green tea ice cream. The East Indian spice and grocery store is a symphony of aromas and colors; bags of coriander and fennel large enough to last me years, cans of coconut milk, secret curry mixes, garam masala, big bags of corn nuts (a personal favorite) and a backroom full of exotic produce. The Korean grocer stocks, spicy chili pastes, hand labeled jars of kimchee, dried tofu, fresh bean curds, noodles, spices and an wide array of pickled treats. I’ve not been into the Ukranian market/bakery yet and I am sure I will find more ethnic delights the longer I stay here. How cool is that?

However, I think that there is very little crossover between cultures except for the annual Mosaic festival. In my last post I poked fun at my fiancé who’d never tried eggplant parmesan, which to me is a dish more American than authentic Italian. However, at a family birthday party this weekend, a show of hands proved that none of his family had ever tried it. Now my fiancé is first generation; both his parents German immigrants, but even the second generation had never tried it. I was stunned. They had also very little exposure to sushi or other Asian food, with only one having tried it (except for my fiancé who I stuff with sushi whenever I get the chance). No Pho, summer rolls, lumpia, vindaloo, basteeya, nicoise, etc, had ever passed their lips. I can’t say for sure but I’ll also bet that our friend Mai from Tay Do restaurant (our special Pho place) has never had rouladen, bratwurst, spaetzle or any of the other well known German staples.

I can see where these silos of culture have value in that they keep their own traditional foods alive and vibrant but I also find it quite sad that these people of different heritages have so many amazing authentic cuisines in their midst that they have never dared to try. I try to bridge the gaps, if only in this one family. I remember the looks of doubt, skepticism and reluctance when I offered some of my home made mozzarella last spring, but slowly everyone tried after seeing that the first taster had not been stricken down. While they might never come to love diverse ethnic cuisines as I do, I will continue to ply them with ‘foreign’ (to them anyway) foods while comforting with the familiar at the same time. I commend their willingness to let me introduce them to the flavors of my world while teaching me about theirs.

Tell me about your favorite 'exotic flavors' and how you came to sample dishes that differed from those upon which you were raised. I'd really love to hear about them and perhaps along the way you can open me up to a new cuisine!

Eggplant Parmesan, Italian Comfort Food

Last night I was in a quandary over what to prepare for our evening meal. I’m here in the great white north visiting my fiancé. He had meetings all day so was off with the car while I was at home scratching my head over dinner. Usually I get some bright idea (or not so bright in some cases) about what I’d like to cook and then head off in search of the proper ingredients. Where I live the grocery store is less than a mile away so it’s walking distance should I be so inclined (though I rarely am since that sounds too much like exercise to me). Here, however I would have to make do with what was in the house.

I hadn’t been up here since last May so the ingredients on hand are bachelor ingredients – no offense to you cooking bachelors out there – it’s what my fiancé calls it, I am simply repeating his lame excuse. We had gone to the local famer’s market on Saturday so I knew that everything in the fridge, I had chosen, since it was empty when I arrived. In the fridge was lots of fresh salad fixings, some fresh beets (yuck – he loves them, I do not), leeks, a big fat purple eggplant and 5 kinds of cheese. Ok so I like cheese. The pantry is stocked with dried spaghetti, chicken stock, canned corn and 50 cans of tomatoes. I also located some onions and some herbs. I am saving the leeks for a corn and leek soup I intend to make after we hit the farmer’s market again this weekend so I opted to make the eggplant.

I am not a huge fan of eggplant parmesan mostly because I love eggplant and I find the flavor to get lost in all that cheese and sauce. However, my fiancé had never had eggplant parm before – really??? Do you live under a rock?? OK, he’s German so that could explain it. So I steeled myself and decided to make an eggplant parmesan that I thought I could live with. A dish I have honestly never made before but one which I had seen my Nana make on occasion.

(disclaimer – you have to forgive the quality of the photographs as my camera is in Atlanta and the one on hand is circa 1988 or so)

I started by making a tomato sauce and decided to make a big potful since leftovers will freeze well and then poor, poor fiancé will not have to use condensed tomato soup as a pasta sauce when I’m gone. You can dramatically reduce the amounts accordingly.

3 16 oz cans diced tomatoes (you can use whole or whatever you have on hand)
1 onion chopped
5 slices pancetta, chopped (do not use bacon as it flavors the sauce too much, if you don’t have pancetta, use a little bit of sausage or skip entirely to make a vegetarian sauce)
1/3 bottle red wine
½ tsp crushed hot red pepper
1 TB, dried oregano (for all the herbs, you can use fresh if you have them but triple the amount and add them near the end of cooking so their volatile oils are not lost)
1TB dried basil
1 ½ tsp dried thyme
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Splash worchestershire sauce
Plenty of salt and pepper



For the Sauce

Heat a couple Tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add onions and pancetta and sauté until onions are translucent, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the tomatoes and the dried herbs and reduce heat to medium low. When the tomatoes start to bubble, stir in the wine and bring back to a simmer. Taste and add salt and pepper according to the sweetness or tartness of your particular tomatoes. Reduce heat to simmer, add worchestershire (yes, I mean it) and simmer partially covered for about 3 hours or until reduced to the correct thickness. You can also shorten the cooking time by adding a small can of tomato paste, but I prefer to slow cook the sauce to remove some of the natural tartness without adding sugar – perish the thought! This may seem like a long process but really all you have to do is give the pot a stir now and then and as you are using canned ingredients the prep time is minimal.

Eggplant:

I large ripe eggplant (look for smooth shiny skin that is deep purple and feels firm)
1 ½ c panko
¼ c grated parmesan or romano cheese
1 egg beaten with 1 tsp milk
Flour for dredging
Canola oil for frying

For the Eggplant

Slice the eggplant into rounds about 1/3 inches thick. Lightly salt the rounds and place them into a colander in the sink for about 30 minutes. This will draw out any bitterness. Pat the eggplant dry. Mix panko crumbs with grated cheese in a small high sided dish. Heat oil in a large high-sided fry/sauté pan until very hot but not smoking. Dredge eggplant slices one at a time in flour, shaking off excess and then dip into egg wash and then panko crumbs to form an even coating. Crumbs will not stick to eggplant skin so no worried there. Place on a sheet of wax paper and repeat with each slice. (reserve extra panko crumbs for topping) Fry each slice in the hot oil until more brown than golden and panko is crispy. Do NOT over crown the pan as it will reduce the temperature of the oil and the eggplant will absorb to much. Eggplant seems to love nothing more than a big drink of cool oil but you won’t like it. Drain eggplant on paper towels, turning to drain each side. Eggplant will not be cooked through at this point so no snacking.

Assemble the dish:

Oblong, round or oval oven proof baking dish
2 c shredded mozzarella
6 thin slices of provolone
1 cup grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spoon a thin layer of sauce into the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange eggplant rounds in the pan, slightly overlapping rounds. I used one eggplant so I had a single layer, which I prefer, but you can use multiple layers if you like. Place provolone cheese in a single layer atop eggplant. Sprinkle with the parm, reserving about ¼ cup for the top. Spread shredded, mozzarella atop and then spoon sauce over all in a thin layer. Top with remaining parmesan cheese and sprinkle with any remaining panko crumbs that you have atop and drizzle with a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil. Bake in the center of the oven for about 30 minutes or until eggplant is cooked through and sauce and cheese are bubbling. Remove from oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

You can use more cheese or sauce if you like, but I really prefer not to have a big goopy pile of sauce and cheese since I actually like the taste of eggplant. I also do not completely cover the eggplant with sauce so that I still have some crispy panko coated areas of the eggplant. This was my first time making this dish and I will definitely make it again. Separately frying the eggplant takes a little bit of effort but it is well worth it. I understand that you can opt to oven bake the eggplant first as a way to reduce fat and calories but cannot attest to that method.

Fiancé seemed to like his first taste of eggplant parmesan and maybe it’s good for me that he had never before had it. My version will now be his baseline!

Mac & Cheese, Grown-Up Style

It almost feels like fall here, with the nighttime temps plummeting into the 60s. To some that may not feel cool but this is Atlanta and that is very cool for the first day of September. I have been meaning to make my version of mac and cheese ever since I won an apron from Cabot Lodge Cheese on twitter - @cabotcoop. The apron is great but the cheese is better. Not only has it been too hot here to heat up the kitchen but it’s been to hot for such a heavy meal.

Speaking of Mac & cheese, it seems like everyone has some version of their favorite and it is universally considered comfort food. It was brought to the states by the British but throughout Europe; different cultures have been preparing their own versions since the 15th century. I’ve even heard that Thomas Jefferson had it served in the White House, though it was a bit before my time despite the opinion of my nieces. During hard economic times, it can be cheap to prepare for a large family and Kraft introduced the Kraft Dinner (macaroni and cheese in a box) in 1937, popularizing it even further.

Personally, I’ve always thought of it as a southern dish though my Canadian fiancé makes it for his daughter when she visits, his version topped with sliced tomatoes. A twitter pal @Candacekaru from Maine, told me that she had been experimenting with different versions when her 6 year old son told her that he liked the truffle version the best! Another friend of mine @studley from Louisiana (Loooosiana – you have to say it that way) told me that it wasn’t a family celebration without his Mom’s famous Mac & cheese. Heck, even Bobby Flay did a throw-down cook-off of Mac & Cheese with a woman in Reading Terminal in Philadelphia. Here in the south, I challenge you to find any BBQ joint that doesn’t proudly serve their version of Mac & Cheese as a side dish.

So I had to throw my hat into the ring with my grown-up version of Mac & Cheese. It’s a 3 cheese Mac & Cheese with bacon and jalapeno – oh and I also throw some madiera into the cheese sauce for added measure!

I start with 8 ounces of dried cavatappi, which I like better than elbow macaroni since it is thicker, and doesn’t get mushy after baking in the sauce. Cook it more al dente than you normally would since it will absorb some of that luscious cream as it bakes in the oven.

For veggies I use:
½ red onion, chopped
½ red bell pepper, chopped,
½ yellow bell pepper chopped
2 jalapenos, one chopped and one sliced and reserved for the top
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 slices bacon

Cook the bacon until very crispy and set aside. Pour off all but a Tbsp of bacon fat and then add the onions and garlic to the pan and sauté until onions soften. Add the chopped peppers and continue to sauté until onions are cooked through and pepper have softened. Mix the vegetables with the cooked cavatappi and set aside while you make the cheese sauce.

For the sauce:
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp butter
1,½ cups whole milk
½ cup half and half
1/3 cup sweet Madeira
1 cup shredded Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar
1 cup shredded Cabot Habanera cheddar or jalapeno cheddar
5 or 6 sprigs of fresh thyme

Combine milk and half & half and thyme in a small sauce pan and bring to a scald over low heat.

In a heavy sauce pan, over medium low heat, melt butter. Add flour to form a roux and cook stirring constantly until roux has colored slightly to a very light caramel color. Discard thyme from milk and add it in a steady stream to the roux, whisking constantly. Continue whisking until the sauce thickens and then whisk in the madiera. You must do this over a low heat to prevent curdling. Stir in shredded cheeses, whisking just until cheese is melted and incorporated. Adjust seasonings with salt and white pepper.

To Bake:
A deep ovenproof 2qt casserole
¼ cup cornmeal
Reserved sliced jalapeno
2 scallions, chopped (white and green parts)

Reserved bacon, chopped
½ cup shredded Cabot Private reserve cheddar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Mix bacon and scallions into pasta and place mixture into casserole. Pour cheese sauce over the mixture – sauce should nearly cover the pasta mixture. Place covered casserole into the oven for 35 minutes. After 35 minutes, remove the cover, sprinkle the cornmeal, then cheese, then jalapenos over the top and return to the oven under the broiler (leave the rack in the center of the oven) for 10-15 minutes or until the top browns. Remove from the oven and cool for 10-15 minutes before serving so that the cheese sauce mixture can set up a bit.

I use cornmeal at the end because it adds a subtle crunch that you can’t quite get from breadcrumbs. The cornmeal has just enough time to both absorb some cream and get some crunch from broiling.

This recipe is not quick to fix and uses its fair chair of pots and pans. That’s why I splurge and use really good cheese – it makes all the difference in the world. I like the Private Reserve for the topping since it melts so smoothly and tastes so good on its own. So put away the Velveeta or processed cheese food and pony up for the good stuff. You won’t be disappointed and maybe your Mac & Cheese will get famous enough to merit a visit from Bobby Flay!

Filling Phyllo - Spinach tartlets

What do you do when unexpected visitors announce that they’ll be by in half an hour? My guests always expect food. And they always expect GOOD food. Isn’t that why they invite themselves over, after all? It is for this reason that I always have Athens Mini Fillo (phyllo) shells in the freezer. The great thing about them is that you needn’t spend time thawing them before filling and popping into the oven so they allow you to make great treats – and fast! Unlike plain phyllo sheets that need a day to thaw in the fridge and then need to be buttered and baked, the minis are already baked and formed. But you still get to take credit for them!

So I rummaged through the fridge and found a bag of fresh spinach, some lemons, garlic, shallots, yellow and red bell peppers and some Cabot Private Stock cheddar cheese. I also keep pine nuts in the freezer so I had some of those on hand as well – score! Looks like the flavors of Greece win the day. I love Greek flavors because they always feel so sunny and bright to me.

All I do is toast the pine nuts in a sauté pan, remove and then sauté the garlic, shallots and peppers in olive oil until the vegetables are soft, add the spinach and sauté until wilted. Then hit it with some fresh squeezed lemon juice, salt and pepper. If you happen to have a little fresh mint on hand it really spikes up the flavor profile to add it at this point.

I then drain the spinach and cool it a bit so the Phyllo doesn’t get soggy. Mix in the pine nuts, spoon into the shells and top with a slice of the cheddar cheese.

Then when the guests call from the front gate, I pop the filled shells into a preheated 425 degree oven just until the cheese gets all melty and wonderfully gooey.

Serve these treats right away or reheat to melt the cheese if you’ve refrigerated them. They are almost like bite-sized spanikopita but they are so fast and easy that you can make them on a moment’s notice when your inconsiderate friends decide to drop by to raid your liquor cabinet and pantry. Serve these with Ouzo it’s a perfect fit, though you maybe making breakfast for your friends as well, if you do.