My Signature Ice Cream, and some other musings...

Sundae for a sunny day.

Only connect! That was the whole of her sermon.
Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted,
And human love will be seen at its height.
Live in fragments no longer.
Only connect...

from Howard's End by E.M. Forster

I read Howard's End a few years ago, and this was my favorite quote that has stuck with me ever since. I believe that connection is the essence of what we are searching for in this crazy thing called human life. When we interact with people, animals, objects, and technology, we can either choose to connect or not. In order to connect, your mind must be fully present. Distraction is one of the many things causing fragmentation in our lives. When you are talking to a person, perhaps someone you really care about, but you are also checking your iPhone, you are not truly connecting to either thing, for your concentration is fragmented. Only connect!

What does this have to do with food? Well, for starters, I am blogging about my food, which is a means of connecting with people who are not physically present to experience the food. By putting my words and my food (and, thereby, some might say my love) into cyberspace, I create an opportunity for others to share and connect. Ideally, however, food is a way for me to connect with people in the "real" world. Nothing is more satisfying to me than sharing something that I have made with my own two hands (and possibly my blood, sweat and tears) with people I care about. When someone takes a bite of one of my chocolate chip cookies and tells me how amazing it is, I'm on cloud 9. I'm happy because something that I made has brought happiness to someone else, even if momentarily. To me, this is true connection.

Churning the goodness.

And thus, I will share with you one of my favorite creations so far. Vanilla ice cream with a peanut butter-honey swirl. I hatched the idea earlier this week when I was munching on my snack of peanut butter and local raw wildflower honey on saltines. It may sound like a boring snack, but I was seriously loving it (it was all about the honey, which might be the best ever). After making ice cream last week, I felt inspired to make more, and so I thought about an ice cream with a peanut butter-honey swirl. I went to my The Perfect Scoop book for the vanilla ice cream recipe, and looked online for a peanut butter swirl recipe, but what I did not find anything. I found a recipe for a peanut butter maple almond swirl, so I used the basic measurements from that to do it my way.

The end result is fantastic. I knew the ice cream would be creamy because the custard base was nice and thick. When I was in college, I developed a terrible habit of eating vanilla ice cream with a spoonful of peanut butter that I would stir in by hand. Thanks to my handy-dandy ice cream maker, that will no longer be necessary, for I have created an ice cream based on that old, cherished ritual. The smooth vanilla ice cream and the creamy peanut butter swirl taste absolutely wonderful together. This, my friends, is going down as my signature ice cream.

So yummy.

Vanilla Ice Cream
minorly adapted from The Perfect Scoop

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
6 lrg egg yolks

Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of the cream, and salt in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warm milk and add the bean as well. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Put the vanilla bean into the custard, and let cool.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, rinsing and reserving it for another use, and then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Note: I omitted the originally called-for 3/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract, because I did not want an overpowering vanilla flavor that would compete with the peanut butter swirl.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter-Honey Swirl

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 tbsp good quality honey
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Stir together the ingredients until smooth and of uniform consistency. Drizzle into the ice cream just before the end of the churning process. Churn until just swirly, not overly mixed.

Kickass Marinara Sauce

Saucy!

I am sorry if my title offends you. I do not mean to offend; rather, I intend to get the point across that this marinara sauce is really awesome. It gets the Ray-Ray seal of approval with two thumbs up (wow, I haven't said that in ages!). How can you go wrong with a marinara sauce made from scratch? Really?!

Just add fire

Okay, you will have to forgive me if this post goes astray- I have had a glass of wine. But this wine is so good I just have to say something about it. It's called Brimstone and I picked it up at the Phelps Creek Vineyards tasting room in Hood River, Oregon. I've been there several times before and I love it. The Brimstone is frikkin awesome. It's a red wine. I highly recommend it.

Now, let me give you a little background on why I decided to make this marinara sauce. Ever since the second week of living alone in this apartment, I have not had much of a taste for dinner on my own. I've had lots of eggs on toast, some salad, some crappy soup, and God knows what else. It's been really pathetic. I just don't know how to feed myself a good home-cooked meal. Which is silly, because I know how to cook for a group of people.

So I got to thinking about what freezes well, and I remembered that I made this sauce for my family in the past and it made so much that we froze half of it. When reheated, it tastes pretty darn good. I've had it atop penne and farfalle. What I really want to try it with is gnocchi, my soul mate. Gah,  I love gnocchi. I feel an ode coming on...

Veggies in the pot

Ode to Gnocchi
Oh, dearest gnocchi
thy soft pillows
of potatoey fluffiness
which turn to mush on my tongue
when mixed with marinara
and fresh mozzarella
I feel I can speak italiano
senza problema
con passione
and I am transportato a Roma
il y a plusiers ans
quand j'etais un peu plus jeune
et naive
e la vita etais bella
and I was con amice
oh gnocchi
I will eat you encore une fois
et je sourirai

I know that that poem was in English, French and Italian. That's what happens when you speak 2 1/4 languages. When passion overtakes you, language does not matter. The words must break to the surface.

Chopped onions

Anyway, when I have marinara, I think of gnocchi, and gnocchi makes me think of Rome. And then I am reminded of that time when my friend Danielle and I ate at the only restaurant in Rome that did not include the gratuity in the bill. We had had a lovely dinner, and I of course had gnocchi. I tried to get tiramisu for dessert, but they had no more (?!). The restaurant also could not break a 20 Euro bill. Our waiter thought that we were trying to stiff him , but we explained that we had good service, but needed change. Some other tourists were able to give us two tens, but we needed to break one of the tens. Danielle convinced me to try to get the ten broken inside (we dined outside, al fresco), so first I feigned using the restroom to scope out the scene. I approached the desk tentatively and asked if the girl could break my ten. She explained that it would be very difficult and she went through her desk, then asked every other person working there if they had any change, she made me hold out one hand with the ten, and the other for some change and a five. The big scary Italian guy came and made a big deal about giving some change, and I was afraid the mafia was going to come after me. It's a little scary to be surrounded by a bunch of Italians yelling about money and only understanding the basics. Needless to say, once I got my change, I darted out of the restaurant, threw the tip on the table and told Danielle that we had to get out of there pronto. And then we ran to the metro, which was closed. Luckily, I knew from my previous trip to Rome where a taxi station was, so we booked it and hired a taxi. And then when we were dropped off at the train station, we saw two young boys rifling through a wallet they had just stolen. And yet I love Rome. Con passione.

Okay, without further ado, here is the marinara recipe.

Marinara Sauce
from Everyday Italian by Giada de Laurentis

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 sm onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
64 oz canned crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper to taste. You can transfer the cooled sauce to freezer bags and freeze until you want to use it.

Beware!

Note: I do not recommend drinking wine before or during the chopping of vegetables. While I did not lose any appendages, I did manage to peel my finger instead of a carrot. There may or may not be blood in the sauce. Good thing this stuff is just for me. I did, however, have a creepy coworker tell me that maybe my blood is what makes my stuff taste so good. He does not work with me any more.

Super Duper Chocolate Cookies

These cookies come with a disclaimer: I am not to be held liable for any action, reaction, or lack of action that is the result of eating this cookie. Another disclaimer: these cookies will not always be perfect. This weekend, however, these cookies were perfect. Divine, actually. Every bite I took of every cookie from this batch was a spiritual experience. Every cell in my body warmed and tingled at the taste of these cookies. Oh yes, they there that good.

My super-duper chocolate cookies are developing a reputation among the people who have had the privilege of eating my baked goods over the past couple of years. I cannot honestly remember the first time I made these, nor how long ago it really was. The recipe is out of my favorite cookbook, The New Best Recipe, but with my own minor twist which makes it a quadruple chocolate cookie. The recipe calls for cocoa powder, semisweet chocolate, and my addition of bittersweet chocolate chips and white chocolate chips. The better your chocolate, the better the cookie (I always use Ghirardelli).

Back to these cookies. I feel like I should start naming my batches of cookies, because really, every batch is not the same. I don't know what it is that made these turn out so perfectly, but the result was amazing. The baking gods were surely smiling down upon me as I was baking them. Maybe it was Barbara Streisand- I was watching Funny Girl as I baked. Maybe it was the pajamas- I don't usually bake in pajamas. Or maybe the temperature of the kitchen, combined with the temperature and freshness of the ingredients, led to the perfect conditions for the perfect cookie. No matter. Without further ado, here is the recipe:

Super-Duper Chocolate Cookies
adapted from The New Best Recipe

Makes roughly 2 1/2 dozen

2 cups (10 oz) all-purpose flour
½ cup (1 ½ oz) Dutch-processed cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
16 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder
10 tbsp (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 ½ cups packed (10 ½ oz) light brown sugar
½ cup (3 ½ oz) granulated sugar
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

1. Sift together first four ingredients in medium bowl; set aside.

2. Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler (in a heat-proof bowl over simmering water); remove from heat. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla lightly with a fork, sprinkle the coffee powder over to dissolve, and set aside.

3. Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy, 5 seconds. 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. Do not over beat. Add the chocolate chips and incorporate using a rubber spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the consistency is scoopable and fudge-like, about 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets using a size 20 ice cream scoop (about 2-in).

5. Bake until the edges of the cookies have just begun to set but the centers are still very soft, about 8-10 minutes (depending on your oven), rotating the baking sheets from 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 the cookies onto wire racks, and cool to room temperature.

Enjoy!

Ray-Ray's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

What can I say about my chocolate chip cookies? For the longest time I never wanted to share this recipe because I wanted to be the girl who made the best chocolate chip cookies. But then I started to fear that that was all that I was known for, heck all that I was liked for, and realized that I was being silly hording the recipe. Besides, half the magic of baking is in the baker him/herself.

Many people claim to have the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I find that hard to believe. Part of the problem is that there seem to be three camps of chocolate chip cookie lovers (kind of like different camps of brownie lovers, which I'll have to cover later): crunchy/crispy, cakey, and chewy. I'm very much a chewy girl. I've never been into much of anything crunchy, and if I want cakey I''l have cake. Chewy, however, can only be found in the perfect cookie. It is the perfect combination of salty, buttery smoothness and sweet chocolate.

I have made this recipe for at least 7 years now (wow, I've known these cookies for 7 years?!), and have shared them with friends and family. Everyone who has tasted one of these cookies has raved about how awesome they are. I've even made them for friends' birthdays, because what better gift than a home-baked batch of goodness?

I must say that this recipe requires a keen attention to detail. The slightest change to the recipe will make an entirely different cookie. Even the temperature in the kitchen has an effect on the outcome. If you want to make the cookies just as I make them, you will have to follow this recipe to a T. Trust me, it's worth it.

The Chewy
from Alton Brown

Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp whole milk (must be whole- the fat is needed)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Hardware:
Ice cream scooper (#20 disher- mine is an Oxo)
Parchment paper
Baking sheets
Stand Mixer with paddle attachment

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom saucepan over low heat. On a piece of parchment paper, sift together flour, slat, and baking soda and set aside (the piece of parchment can be used for one of the baking pans and will save you from having to clean another bowl).

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tbsp milk, and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes (at least- maybe longer if your kitchen is warm).

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Using the medium (size 20) ice cream scoop, scoop the dough onto the parchment lined baking pan (I recommend baking one sheet at the time and putting the dough back in the fridge while one batch is baking), 6 cookies per sheet. The cookies will be big, so give them room to spread. Bake until golden brown along the edges, but still a little raw in the center (my oven takes 7 or 8 minutes, depending on the humidity in the kitchen). The key is to not overcook them. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

Special note: There is one ingredient, a special ingredient, that is not listed but should always be included when baking: love. That's what my friends tell me makes these cookies so good.