Happy Canada Day! Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians, where-ever you are.  Hope you'e doing something special today, whether it's watching fireworks, getting together with friends or simply raising a glass or lifting a fork.

A few weeks ago, Jen, my friend who's half the team behind The Smile Epidemic put together the #CanadaSmiles Twitter Campaign, to highlight what distinctly Canadian things make people smile.  I turned it into a 30-day mission, looking at innovation, music, people, writers, and of course, food, and posting my thoughts onto my @PckBlue account, and retweeting to @cardamomaddict.

All in all, it was a great little exercise.  Half the fun was winnowing down my list to 30 tweets--no small feat, I tell you.

One of the more interesting things I found out was the process to make modern peanut butter was patented by a Canadian, Marcellus Gilmore Edson.   He was a chemist (pharmacist) who developed this as a way to feed people who had problems eating solid or hard food.

Good gravy.  That's simply awesome.

Quite honestly, this put a little spring in my step.  I can't explain why.  I do like peanut butter, but I don't really eat a lot of it.  Regardless, this little find got my brain thinking about my Canada Day post (yes I've been remiss in keeping this space regularly updated).

One of my favourite ice creams is peanut butter ice cream but I never thought of making my own.  Until I learned the above tidbit.  After a little research, I found this Saveur recipe.  The only modification I made was to not do the swirl--I'm just not a swirly person.  Oh...and I didn't include chopped nuts in the final product--mostly because I find most of the nuts available are old and beginning to think of possibly turning.  Apparently I've got great set of tastebuds...

The recipe is custard-based and super easy to make.  The final product is good, but a little rich for me...not that it's a bad thing.  When I make this again I probably won't use heavy cream, but instead 18%.

My favourite way of having peanut butter ice cream is with fudge and salted caramels sauces...it kind of makes like a Wunderbar (Starbar, for those in the UK and in Scandinavia)...but without the crunchy bits.   Maybe that will be my next stage of peanut butter ice cream making...Wunderbar ice cream...hmmmm

Regardless...Happy Canada Day!

Recipe link: Saveur.com ~ Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream


cheers!
jasmine
  I'm a quill for hire!

Happy birthday to me: Nigella's margarita ice cream for five food bloggers

Being a food blogger means you are part of a large food-loving community, brought together by pixels, LANs and wireless connections. Over the past five years I've corresponded with hundreds of food bloggers. I've been lucky enough to meet a couple dozen of them, here at home or in transit. Some have become dear friends and we try and get together a few times each year, but there are others whom I feel just as close to, but have never met.

In as much as I'd love to have Chinese New Year dinner, wings and a pint, or spend an afternoon making strawberry jam with pretty much every food blogger, there are a few I'd simply, unabashedly squeal with joy if the stars aligned and we wound up at the same table, stove or check-out queue.

That got me thinking...

Many of us have played the dinner party game where we'd list people we'd most have to have dinner with--my own list includes Artemisia Gentileschi, Stephen Fry, Oscar Wilde, TE Lawrence, Jane Austen, Nigella Lawson (whom I've met), Thomas Jefferson and Abigail Adams--I wondered, since both my blog and I added a "one" to our ages, which five food bloggers I'd never met would I love to have at my birthday supper...

Why these five? There's a connection there that's sometimes hard to explain...but suffice it to say whenever they pop up, they always make me smile.

Why five? A perfectly practical reason: my dining table seats six...

Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar: I think Annemarie and I met through The Daring Bakers a couple of years ago. When my turn came up to host a challenge, I knew I wanted her as my co-hostess. Her sense of humour and clear thinking made her a fabulous colleague and dear, dear friend.

Jeff of A Dork and His Pork: Jeff popped up in my Twitter feed last year. When I visited his blog, I knew he was someone with whom I could relate: he drew an anaolgy to Thelonious Monk when writing about banana bread. 'Nuff said.

Mary of The Sour Dough: There are certain parallels our lives have and because of that, there's little explanation needed. We can email one another at any point and there will be assistance, encouragement and support. That, and she'll answer my inredibly silly questions about bread baking.

Paz of The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz: Oh goodness...Paz is simply one of the sweetest people I've met online. Visiting her site is like going to the home of a long, dear friend. I love the breadth of her recipes and, of course, her slice-of-life photos of New York City.

Shaun of Winter Skies, Kitchen Aglow: I can't remember when we found one another, but we recognise in one another a spark and a connection--we're kindred spirits in words, influences and outlook.

And since it's my birthday, what else would I serve alongside cake, but ice cream? I've spied Nigella Lawson's Margarita ice cream recipe in Forever Summer for ages, but have never made it until this summer. It's rich and creamy, with the lime-laced tell-tale tequila buzz of its eponymous cocktail--appropriated served in a sugar-salt rimmed glass. In La Lawson's own words: "This is surely what angels would eat at their hen night."

Margarita Ice Cream
adapted from Nigella Lawson's recipe in Forever Summer

375ml (1.5c) heavy cream
6 large egg yolks
1x300ml tin (1.25c) sweetened condensed milk
90ml (6Tbsp) tequila
30ml (2Tbsp) Triple Sec, Cointreau or Grand Marnier

Juice of 6 limes and the zest of 1

First, make a custard by scalding the cream, then dribble it into the egg yolks, and then pouring the mixture back into the pot. Cook it, stirring all the while, until it coats the back of a spoon. Take it off the heat and let cool for at least 20 minutes before stirring in the condensed milk, tequila and Triple Sec, lime juice and zest and then leave to cool completely before pouring into your ice cream maker. Churn according to manufacturer's instructions.

cheers!
jasmine

I'm a quill for hire!

Happy Canada Day! Chocolate Mint Ice Cream

I dithered over what today's post should be--last year Jennifer of The Domestic Goddess and I co-hosted Mmm...Canada: she took care of the sweet and I, the savoury. I truly wanted to host it again this year, but I realised that hosting the June Daring Bakers' challenge would be pretty much all the online eventing I could handle right now. I'll do my best to bring it back next year.

I wanted celebrate our nations 142nd birthday with something fun and touched upon a national favourite. Last week's warm spell pretty much sealed the deal on it: ice cream.

There's something about this luscious, creamy and slightly drippy treat that coaxes smiles out of the most sour of faces. Limitless flavours single notes, others mix a couple of different ice creams, fruit-embued, candy-studded, ripples and ribbons and of course some are rather nutty...quite the analogy to Canadian society, n'est-ce pas?

So, to celebrate our national day, I offer you a seat in the back yard, a long cool drink and of course some home made chocolate mint ice cream. Happy Canada Day!

For a list of Canadian food and drink bloggers please visit my Canadiana page at SensualGourmet.ca.



Chocolate Mint Ice cream
Roughly 1.5 litres
625ml milk
250ml heavy cream
40g mint leaves
250g sugar
5 egg yolks
pinch of salt
100g milk chocolate, chopped
100g semisweet chocolate, chopped

Scald the milk with the mint leaves. Remove from heat and let stand, off the hob for about 20 minutes.

Combine the sugar, yolks and salt until ribbonny.

Carefully temper the egg mixture with the hot milk by slowly adding a ladelful of milk to the sweetened eggs, beating constantly, to avoid scrambling. Repeat a few more times, eventually just pouring in the remaining milk and mint. Beat well.

Pour the custard mixture back into the pot and cook until it has thickened and passes the back of the spoon test by running your impeccably clean finger down the back of the spoon's bowl while it has been covered with a layer of custard. If you draw a clear track that does not fill back in, then you're fine.

Pour the hot custard brine over the chocolate bits, letting them melt and mix well.

Cool the brine, overnight in the fridge.

The next morning seive out the mint leaves and whatever scrambled eggs have formed.

Whip the heavy cream until medium-stiff. Fold, one third at a time, into the cool chocolate mint custard. Keep it as light as possible, but try and ensure there aren't any white streaks.

Decant into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions.


cheers!
jasmine

What I'm reading: The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad

I'm a quill for hire!

Daring Bakers: For the love of chocoalte

• Recipe's origins: Flourless Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Valentino, From "Sweet Treats"
• Recipe's orginator: Chef Wan
• Our hostess: Wendy of WMPE
• Our co-host: Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

Firstly, thank you all for your get well wishes. I'm still feeling as if someone is tightening a vice grip around my temples, squeezing my left eyeball out of its socket while at the same time attempting to use my throat as a nutmeg rasp. Oh yes...I no longer sound like Demi Moore (thank goodness)...I now sound more like Bonnie Tyler à la Total Eclipse of the Heart...but without the '80s makeup and hair...or smokey hallways (bad for the cough)... or ninjas who think they're whirling dirvishes...yeah, I don't have the non-synced boyband-esque choreography over here...and (unfortunately) I'm sadly lacking in young men emerging from swimming pools...but thankfully no one with glowing eyes (unless you count the reflective properties of Hagia's and Zeus' eyes) are freaking me out (or illuminating my darkened hallways.


Anyway...I've always known I shouldn't be cooking when I'm in a bad mood. I should add to that "never bake when I'm sick."

The cake is incredibly easy--I've done similar in the past and produced beautiful and tasty cakes. Not this time. I scaled the recipe to 2/3 (hey, it's just me, I still haven't reliably reclaimed my chocolate tooth and right now Buckley's makes everything taste like pine resin soaked dance belts...worn pine resin soaked dance belts (look it up if you don't know what a dance belt is).

Since it's February (aka the soppiest month of the year), I thought I'd cast aside my usual aspersions surrounding the 14th (aka one of three days of the year some people have to mark on their calendars to tell their "certain someone" they...umm...notice them (personally, I think if you are in a relationship, you should let your certain someone know they're special everyday ...but that's just me)) and bake little heart-shaped cakelettes. Unfortunately the blessed things fell apart while unmolding...which makes them perfect fodder for a chocolate trifle...perhaps...under different circumstances. Meh.

The second part of the challenge was to pair the cake with ice cream. Good gravy. I wish I'd read the challenge before I finished making seven quarts of ice cream for Baby 'bella's birthday party. I'd have snapped a piccie for the this month's DB challenge.

Meh.

I thought back to the flavours my little ice cream maker made, and apart from the ginger-lime, I think any of the flavours I made would have gone really well with the cake. But if I were to choose one, I'd nominate my coconut custard...I'm such a fan of Bounty bars...

Yes...it is pictured...barely. See the row closest to the windo? See the yoghurt container at the far end? Yup. That's it.

Coconut Custard Ice Cream
250ml milk
2 generous handfulls of sweetened desiccated coconut
2 egg yolks
100g sugar
200ml tinned coconut milk, well stirred
125ml heavy cream

Add desiccated coconut to milk and scald. Take the mixture off the hob and let stand for 30 minutes.

Whisk together the yolks and sugar, then add the coconut milk and heavy cream and mix well. Dribble in the warm coconutty milk while stirring constantly.

Pour back into the saucepan and cook over mediumish heat while stirring rapidly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and let come to room temperature before cooling in the fridge overnight.

If you want, you can strain out the coconut shreds, but it's really unnecessary...mind you, if you're worried about scrambled eggs in your ice cream, then go ahead and strain before pouring the brine into your ice cream maker. Follow whatever manufacturer's instructive recommendations exist...

To see what the other Daring Bakers did, please visit our blogroll.

Meanwhile, I'm going back to bed...or seeing if I can get a recording contract...

cheers!
jasmine