Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Peanut Butter Ice Cream
This recipe comes from Veil, one of my favorite restaurants in Seattle. Pair it with the Chocolate Crispy Crunchies for an irresistable dessert!
Ingredients:
1-1/2 c. sugar
1 c. nonfat milk powder
1/8 t. fleur de sel or fine sea salt
1/3 c. light corn syrup
4 c. whole milk
1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 c. creamy peanut butter
Step-by-step:
1. Whisk sugar, milk powder, and salt in heavy large saucepan to blend, then add corn syrup and whisk until mixture is evenly moistened. Gradually add milk. Place over medium-high heat; whisk until mixture boils.
2. Remove pan from heat; whisk in butter, then peanut butter until smooth. Transfer to medium bowl and chill until cold, at least 3 hours and up to 1 day. Note that peanut butter will separate out somewhat and float on top--this is OK.
3. Stir milk mixture to reincorporate peanut butter. Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to freezer-safe containers and freeze until firm.
Labels: desserts
Chocolate Crispy Crunchies
One of my favorite restaurants in Seattle, Veil, has an amazing dessert--peanut butter ice cream with peanut butter shortbread and chocolate-peanut crunch. It's both sweet and salty, and it always leaves you wanting more! Lucky for me, the dessert was featured in the September 2006 issue of Bon Appétit. The crunch recipe is quite simple, and is great with the Veil peanut ice cream, store-bought ice cream, pudding, and endless other things! Best just to have it on hand at all times... I've adapted the recipe slightly to make use of more commonly-found ingredients.
Ingredients:
1 c. creamy peanut butter
2-1/2 oz. high-quality milk chocolate, chopped
2 T. butter
Pinch fleur de sel or fine sea salt
2-1/2 c. finely crumbled Pirouette cookies (about 8-1/2 ounces whole cookies)
1/2 c. cocoa nibs or 1 chocolate bar with cocoa nibs, chopped fine (both optional)
Step-by-step:
1. Line a baking sheet with foil. Microwave peanut butter, chocolate, butter, and salt using medium power until almost melted, stirring periodically. When chocolate is almost all melted, stir mixture until remaining melts. Fold in crumbled cookies and cocoa nibs.
2. Transfer mixture to prepared baking sheet and press out to 1/2-inch thickness.
3. Refrigerate crunch until cold and firm, about 2 hours. Slice with a sharp knife into desired sizes and shapes, or use a cookie cutter. Refrigerate finished pieces until read to use.
4. Serve with ice cream or other desserts.
Note: Since you may not be able to find cocoa nibs conveniently, I substituted one 2-ounce chocolate bar with nibs in it. Many gourmet chocolate bar brands make these now, including Theo Chocolate, here in Seattle. If you can't find either the nibs or the bars with nibs, simply leave the ingredient out.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Mom's Pizza
When I was growing up, there was no dinner I looked forward to more than my mom's pizza. It was completely homemade--and better than fast food pizza. Plus, you got to put any toppings on it you wanted, and, like all pizza, it was great cold the next day! My favorite toppings are still mushrooms, olives, and corn, though I also recommend imaginitive combos like prosciutto, artichoke hearts, and pine nuts. Whatever you like, just have fun! Recipe makes two large pizzas.
Ingredients:
Crust
5 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 c. olive oil
1 package fast-acting yeast
1/4 t. sugar
1-1/4 c. warm water
Sauce
1 T. olive oil
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 or 2 anchovies, mashed, or a squirt of anchovy paste
16 oz. tomato sauce
1 t. dried sweet basil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Toppings
Grated mozzarella cheese
Meats and veggies, as desired
Italian Herb Seasoning
Grated Parmesan cheese
Step-by-step:
1. Make the crust. Put warm water in a large bowl and sprinkle yeast and sugar over the water. Mix well with a whisk. Let rest for one or two minutes, until you see bubbles forming. Add flour, salt, pepper, and oil. Mix with a wooden spoon. When liquids have been absorbed, knead dough for about 5 minutes (either by hand on a floured surface, or in a mixer with a dough hook), until smooth and elastic. Let rest while you make the sauce.
2. Make the sauce. Heat 1 T. olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and anchovies, and sauté until garlic is golden. Add tomato sauce, basil, salt, and pepper. Turn down heat to low while you prepare the toppings.
3. Put together the pizzas. Divide dough into two parts and stretch each part with your fingers onto well-oiled pizza pans or cookie sheets. Spoon a little sauce over each crust, then spread liberally with grated mozzarella. Sprinkle desired toppings over cheese, then spoon more sauce over the toppings. Finish the pizza with additional mozzarella and a sprinkling of Italian Herb Seasoning and some grated Parmesan.
4. Bake the pizzas. Bake pizzas in a preheated 400 degree F oven until done, about 30 minutes. Time will vary according to size of pizza and toppings. Pizzas are done when cheese is melted and golden, and crust sounds hollow when tapped.
Notes on toppings: If you choose any vegetables that contain a lot of water, such as mushrooms or zucchini, it is recommended that you sauté them quickly before adding them to pizza. This will keep your pizza from being soupy as the veggies release their water. Similarly, if you use any raw meats, such as ground beef or sausage, they should be cooked first.
Variation on baking: If you have a pizza stone, feel free to bake your pizzas directly on the stone, instead of on pizza pans. Because this pizza turns out a bit on the heavy side, you may want to split the dough into four parts (or more) and make smaller pizzas when baking on a pizza stone. This will make it easier to move them in and out of the oven.
Labels: main courses
Monday, March 12, 2007
Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies
This recipe comes from the November 2006 issue of Bon Appétit and is Dorie Greenspan's "best" chocolate chip cookie. What I like about it is that, for me, it has the perfect texture. Crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Not too sweet--in fact it's got a little bit of the salty-sweet combo going for it, which is pretty nice as far as I'm concerned. It also has a nice balance of chocolate to cookie, and it holds up great overnight.
Ingredients:
2 c. all-purpose flour
1-1/4 t. salt
3/4 t. baking soda
2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c. sugar
2/3 c. (packed) light brown sugar
2 t. pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 c. chocolate chips
1 c. finely chopped walnuts or pecans
Step-by-step:
1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a few baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
2. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda.
3. In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat butter on medium speed for about 1 minute, until smooth. Add the sugars and continue to beat for another 2 minutes, until well blended; beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat for 1 minute after each egg goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in 3 portions, mixing only until each addition is incorporated. On low speed, mix in the chocolate and nuts. (At this point, the dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen, if you wish.)
4. Spoon the dough by slightly rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between spoonfuls.
5. Bake the cookies--one sheet at a time and rotating the sheet at the midway point--for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are brown at the edges and golden in the center; they may still be a little soft in the middle. Pull the sheet from the oven, allow the cookies to rest for 1 minute, then carefully, using a wide spatula, transfer them to racks to cool to room temperature.
6. Repeat with the remainder of the dough, cooling the baking sheets between the batches. Baked cookies can be kept in a sealed container for about 4 days, or wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months. You can also freeze rounded tablespoonfuls of dough on a lined sheet, then bag them when they're solid. Then just pull them out of the freezer when you like and add another minute or two to the baking time--no need to defrost before baking.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Coconut-Lime Sorbet
This recipe comes from Gourmet's Casual Entertaining, and I knew the minute I read the recipe that I had to make it immediately! I served it with ice-cold sliced mango, which was a perfect pairing. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm betting it would also make a pretty fabulous margarita base. Serves 8.
Ingredients:
1-1/4 c. water
1 c. sugar
1-1/2 c. canned unsweetened coconut milk
1 c. fresh lime juice
1 c. sweetened, flaked coconut, toasted
Step-by-step:
1. Boil water and sugar in a saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and stir in the coconut milk, then cool.
2. Stir together coconut milk mixture and lime juice and freeze in an ice-cream maker. Transfer sorbet to a bowl and stir in half the coconut. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm.
3. Serve topped with remaining toasted coconut.
Labels: desserts
