ice cream!

i know, it's cold out. maybe you don't want to think about eating ice cream till it's nice and hot, but i want you to start thinking about getting an ice cream machine now. it was easy for me to justify the purchase price of my ice cream machine, which was the equivalent in cost to 7 pints of my favorite gelato in philly. considering the best ice cream i can find here is Breyer's , it was a no-brainer.

when you make your own ice cream, you can obviously make any flavor you like, but you also get to control how rich it is (extremely), how sweet it is (i use half the sugar the recipes call for) , and you get to eat it when it's at the perfect temperature and texture. my main reference for ice creamy endeavors is The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein. this book contains over 500 recipes, from your basic vanilla to one called Summer Savory with corn and thyme. most of the recipes are for the custard style (aka gelato) with a cooked egg and milk base that turns out an incredible rich and creamy creation.

every recipe i've tried has come out spectacularly - our favorites out of the book so far are apricot (extra rich because it calls for cream and half and half but no milk) and green tea (tea-ier and creamier than any i've had before - pictured above!). i've made up my own variations that also top our favorites list: raspberry pomegranate lime sorbet and cardamom rose.

the following recipe calls for dried apricots, which give you a much more intense flavor than fresh. we used the middle eastern apricot paste because it's what we had on hand - delicious. it also calls for corn syrup which i didn't use - i either substituted sorghum or made a simple syrup, can't remember. if you've got a machine, try this recipe and let me know what you think. if you don't, go get one and i'll be waiting to hear from you.

Apricot Ice Cream
makes about 1 quart

6 oz. dried apricots halves (about 1 cup, loosely packed)
3 T light corn syrup
1/2 t. salt
3/4 c sugar (you could use under 1/2 c and be happy)
4 large egg yolks
1 cup half and half
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 t. vanilla

cover the apricot halves with boiling water and let sit for an hour or until soft. drain and combine with the corn syrup and salt in a food processor. blend until very smooth.

in a medium bowl, beat the sugar into the egg yolks until they are thickened and pale yellow.

bring the half and half to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan. slowly beat the hot half and half into the eggs and sugar. pour the entire mixture back into the pan and place over low heat. stir constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon until the custard thickens slightly. be careful not to let the mixture boil or the eggs will scramble. remove from the heat and whisk in the apricot puree. pour the custard through a strainer into a large bowl. allow to cool slightly, then stir in the cream and vanilla. cover and refrigerate until cold.

freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. share with people you love. they will love you back.

happy year of the tiger!

last week, i headed to kansas city for three days of cooking in preparation for a Chinese New Year feast. it was the most chinesey thing i'd done in a long time. at the home of Heinrich and Cheryl Toh, we tested recipes, minced, filled, rolled, baked, fried, steamed, and concocted into the wee hours of the night. there were an additional 3-8 people who came to help each day, mostly friends from the local thriving arts community. we were cooking for over 50 people in their little kitchen, but somehow everything flowed smoothly thanks to their well stocked kitchen, Cheryl's excellent ability to plan and delegate, and all the eager helpers.

the menu consisted of at least 20 dishes and three desserts. things had more of a malaysian and singaporean slant than chinese, since Heinrich is from Singapore. they included: corn and spinach dumplings, ginger-chicken bundles, shrimp stuffed peppers, chee cheong fun, carrot cake (which is a savory dish of fried rice cake), char sui, curry puffs (yum), beef rendang, fried tofu, ngoh hiang (turkey wrapped in bean curd paper and deep fried), and rice noodles. for dessert, there was red bean soup and two kinds of cookies: pineapple tart and quay bangkit. the quay bangkit is a subtle, melt in your mouth cookie made with tapioca flour and flavored with coconut milk and pandan leaf. it's flavor enchanted everyone who tasted it. you can find the recipe here.

in addition, heinrich made lunch and dinner, and i whipped up ice cream (red bean and green tea) for everyone who came to help each day! unfortunately, my camera battery died after one picture on the night of the festivities, so the pictures here are from a morning-after brunch.

after all that cooking, everything reminded me of food. i drove home sunday night in a snowy bowl of tapioca flour. i thought of us as dumpling filling as we wrapped our blanket around ourselves in bed. i got so used to their kitchen, i forgot which drawer held the utensils when i got home! i came back inspired and ready to get back into the asian-flavored cooking groove that i had left out of my repertoire for the past several years.

every dish served that night came from traditional recipes. however, the corn dumpling recipe was created by Cheryl, after being inspired by a restaurant corn dumpling experience. she has been kind enough to share it with us:

Corn Dumplings

Mince in processor:

1 med shallot

1 clove. garlic

1/2 celery stalk

chop fine:

1 celery stalk

Saute above ingredients 8 - 10 min in peanut oil.

chop or process on pulse:

1 small can water chestnuts

Defrost and drain:

2 c frozen corn

seasoning:

1 tsp. soy sauce or tamari

2 tsp rice wine

1/2 tsp peanut oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp white pepper

3 tsp corn starch

In bowl combine all ingredients and stir well.

Use dried rice wrappers to wrap filling. (use square rice sheets when available)

To use, brush both sides of dried rice sheet with water and allow to soften. When sheet is soft, cut sheet in half and place 1tbsp of filling on the sheet. Fold over the edges and roll to form a neatly shaped pillow. Dust with rice flour to prevent sticking.

Pan fry in a small amount of oil until lightly browned. Do not over crowd the pan or they will stick together.

Serve with chili in oil or sweet chili.

i am obsessed with these cookies

cookies aren't usually my favorite form of baked goodness, but these Thick and Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies have become one of my two most oft-repeated delivery mechanisms of chocolate. (the other is Molten Chocolate cake - you'll see that post before too long, i'm sure)

these cookies are so rich, chewy, and densely chocolatey that they stop people mid-sentence upon taking their first bite. i was a bit embarrassed when i was approached by several complete strangers just to compliment me on the cookies - at a wake.

this recipe comes out of Baking Illustrated, by the editors of Cook's Illustrated. those brilliant food nerds tested dozens of recipes and variations on ingredients and ratios to get these just right. they were in search of a "confection that creates intense focus while it is consumed, sight and sound subordinate to taste, overshadowing the other senses to the point of dysfunction." at one point in their experimentation, they had a recipe that was "very good but still not the sort of thing that would reduce the average adult to tears of joy." they kept working, and we are the lucky benefactors of their passion and labor.

Thick and Chewy Double-Chocolate Cookies
makes about 42

2 cups (10 oz) unbleached all -purpose flour
1/2 cup (1.5 oz) dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
16 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder
10 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 1/2 cups (10.5 oz) packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (3.5 oz) granulated sugar

1. sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. set aside.
2. melt the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of almost simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth; remover from the heat.
3. in a small bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla lightly with a fork, sprinkle the coffee powder over to dissolve and set aside.
4. by hand or with an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy. beat in the sugars until combined, about 45 seconds; the mixture will look granular. reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in the egg mixture until incorporated, about 45 seconds. add the chocolate in a steady stream and beat until combined, about 40 seconds. scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. with the mixer at low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. don't overbeat! cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the consistency is scoopable and fudge-like, about 30 minutes.
5. meanwhile, adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350˚. line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. scoop the dough onto prepared baking sheets with a 1.75" ice cream scoop, spacing the mounds of dough about 1.5" apart.
6. bake until the edges of the cookies have just begun to set but the centers are still very soft, about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. cool the cookies on the sheets about 10 minutes, slide the parchment with cookies onto wire racks, and cool to room temperature. repeat with remaining dough. remove cooled cookies from the parchment with a wide metal spatula.

herbs: grow them.

part of what is getting me through this winter is looking at lots of vegetable porn. the seed catalogs started showing up in early january, and i ogled and read and cross-referenced and studied and compared and finally came up with this year's list of veggies and flowers that i wanted to start from seed. a few of my favorite sources:

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds - right here in missouri! started by the owner twelve years ago, when he was 17 years old, and selling seeds out of his bedroom. they have an enormous selection of rare, heirloom seeds from all over the world. this is your source for spiny african wild melons and squash of every color, shape, and lumpiness level you can imagine. the naughtiest and glossiest of the catalogs i received...

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange - also specializing in heirloom varieties with lots of organic seeds. of all the catalogs and websites i have perused, they have the most complete information on the growing and seed-saving on each of the varieties they sell. plus, a very thoughtful selection of varieties that will grow well and taste good.

Seed Savers Exchange - based in Decorah, Iowa, this is a non-profit organization with the country's largest non-governmental seed bank! a great selection of heirloom seeds and seed saving supplies.

even if you don't have room for a veggie patch, you have no excuse not to grow herbs. fresh herbs make such a huge difference in your cooking, and you can fit several varieties into one container on your back porch or sunny window. i buy plants from the farmers market when i only need one plant of that type (sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano). i start basil and parsley from seed so i can plant several and give some away. last year, i planted 30 basil plants which all grew into small trees. we froze lots of basil pureed with olive oil, and gave away what seemed like bushels.

if you plant parsley in the ground, it will overwinter and go to seed the second year. you can dig up your parsley and bring it in for the winter for fresh parsley year round. i was amazed when the snow melted after a couple weeks of temperatures in the teens and single digits - i went outside and found my thyme and oregano nice and green! (and i got them to pose for the photo) i forgot to mulch my rosemary so it probably won't make it, but some varieties of sage are nice and hardy and will continue to grow year after year.

don't cheat yourself with store bought dried herbs. life is too short.