A Life, Lived

Peach Gazpacho with Thai Basil and Lemon Ice

The other day we attended a cooking class offered by the LCBO. The instructor was Bruce Worden.

After the class I posted pics and blogged about it. Rob asked me to post the recipe for the Peach Gazpacho.

[gahz-PAH-choh] is a refreshingly cold, summertime soup hailing from the Andalusia region in southern Spain. This uncooked soup is usually made from a pureed mixture of fresh tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, onions, celery, cucumber, bread crumbs, garlic, olive oil, vinegar and sometimes lemon juice. Gazpacho can be a meal in itself, particularly when extra fresh vegetables such as sliced celery, green onion, cucumber and green pepper are added.

Lately though Gazpacho has almost become a slang term to mean any kind of chilled soup, hence this version.

There are three separate parts to this recipe:

Lemon Ice

Ingredients:

2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup slivered fresh lemon peel (1/2x1/8 inch)
1 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Measure water and sugar into 2-quart saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. simmer uncovered 5 minutes. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature.

2. Stir lemon peel and juice into cooled mixture; pour into 9 x 5 x 3-inch metal loaf pan. Freeze about 3 hours, stirring every 1/2 hour and scraping crystals from edges of pan.

Note: this will make far more than you need!

Gazpacho

Ingredients:

6 ripe peaches (roughly chopped WITH the skin)
1 English Cucumber, peeled and seeded (even thought these cucumbers are seedless remove the core where the seeds would be as this part contains a fair bit of bitter moisture - who knew?)
1 small sweet red pepper (seeded and roughly chopped)
1/4 sweet onion (peeled and roughly chopped)
1 small red chili (seeded and finely chopped)
1 Celery Stalk (chopped)

Directions:

1. Place all chopped vegetables and the peaches in a food processor. Puree. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and sugar. Chill thoroughly.

Thai Basil Oil

Ingredients:

2 sprigs of Thai basil
1/2 cup grapeseed oil

Directions:

1. Chop the basil leaves (chiffonade) and place in a small glass dish. Pour the oil over the basil. Let sit for about 30 minutes to allow the flavour to develop.

To serve: Pour a portion of the gazpacho into a glass dish (we used martini glasses). Place a spoon of the lemon ice in the centre of the soup. Drizzle with the Thai basil infused oil.

The soup is light and refreshing. The inclusion of the lemon ice and Thai basil infused oil is great - adding some wonderful subtlety of flavours.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

With the prevalence of full-flavoured, fresh strawberries at this time of the year this seemed to be the perfect ice cream to try. It was quite easy to make and the flavour was wonderful!

The recipe is from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. If you do not know David you should visit his blog - he is an American chef living in Paris. His specialty is chocolate and all things dessert. I have been following his blog ever since the amazing Judy AKA Diva told me about it while we were learning from her in our cooking class in Florence.

Previously I have made the Champagne and Cassis Granita (p. 148) which you can read about here, the White Chocolate Ice Cream (p. 33) which is written up here, Raspberry Rosé Sorbet (p. 130) which is written up here, Vanilla Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream (p. 92) which is written up here, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Rolo Ice Cream ( p. 30) which is written up here.

This is a new record for me: six recipes from one cook book and they have all worked perfectly and tasted wonderful.The Perfect Scoop  was a very good investment, especially given the heat we're currently experiencing!

1 lb (454 g) fresh strawberries, washed, and hulled
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon kirsch or vodka (I used vodka)
1 cup (240 g) sour cream
1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Slice the strawberries and toss them in a bowl with the sugar and vodka or kirsch. Stir until the sugar begins to dissolve. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour, stirring every so often.

Place the strawberries and their liquid in a blender or food processor. Add the sour cream, heavy cream, and lemon juice.

Pulse until almost smooth but still slightly chunky.

Refrigerate for 1 hour, then freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Lebovitz suggests eating it soon after it has been churned. rest assured that this will not be a problem. The resulting ice cream has such an incredible flavour that you'll have it cleaned up in no time!

Enjoy!

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Rolo Ice Cream

After our success with the other recipes from Lebovitz's book we were convinced it was time to try one which was more complex. This recipe makes a wonderful chocolate peanut butter ice cream. It isn't as rich nor as time consuming as a custard based ice cream but is every bit as flavourful. We had a bag of miniature Rolo  candies so i dumped them in. WOW They were an amazing addition. This ice cream is great without the add ins but do give them a try if you can find them around.

The recipe is from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. If you do not know David you should visit his blog - he is an American chef living in Paris. His specialty is chocolate and all things dessert. I have been following his blog ever since the amazing Judy AKA Diva told me about it while we were learning from her in our cooking class in Florence.

I've had the book for a few months and this is the fifth recipe that I have tried. I will have to get busy! I am already anticipating another one shortly. Now that the weather has turned hot and humid I will need more . . .

Previously I made the Champagne and Cassis Granita (p. 148) which you can read about here, the White Chocolate Ice Cream (p. 33) which is written up here, Raspberry Rosé Sorbet (p. 130) which is written up here, and Vanilla Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream which is written up here.

2 cups (500 ml) half-and-half
1/4 cup (25 g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup (100 g) peanut butter

As thew add in we added a small package of miniature Rolo candies. This would also be good with chopped up Reese peanut butter cups.

Whisk together the half-and-half, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a large sauce pan.

Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it comes to a full, rolling boil (it will start to foam up). Remove it from the heat and whisk in the peanut butter, stirring until it is fully blended.

Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

The mix ins are added just prior to turning off the mixer. While the process will vary from machine to machine in our case the instructions said to just dump them in the chute prior to finishing. Allow them to mix in the ice cream.

Pour the finished ice cream into a freezer proof container and freeze until you are ready to enjoy.

After our success with the other recipes from Lebovitz's book we were convinced it was time to try one which was more complex. This recipe makes a wonderful chocolate peanut butter ice cream. It isn't as rich nor as time consuming as a custard based ice cream but is every bit as flavourful. We had a bag of miniature Rolo  candies so i dumped them in. WOW They were an amazing addition. This ice cream is great without the add ins but do give them a try if you can find them around.

The recipe is from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. If you do not know David you should visit his blog - he is an American chef living in Paris. His specialty is chocolate and all things dessert. I have been following his blog ever since the amazing Judy AKA Diva told me about it while we were learning from her in our cooking class in Florence.

I've had the book for a few months and this is the fifth recipe that I have tried. I will have to get busy! I am already anticipating another one shortly. Now that the weather has turned hot and humid I will need more . . .

Previously I made the Champagne and Cassis Granita (p. 148) which you can read about here, the White Chocolate Ice Cream (p. 33) which is written up here, Raspberry Rosé Sorbet (p. 130) which is written up here, and Vanilla Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream which is written up here.

2 cups (500 ml) half-and-half
1/4 cup (25 g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup (100 g) peanut butter

As thew add in we added a small package of miniature Rolo candies. This would also be good with chopped up Reese peanut butter cups.

Whisk together the half-and-half, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a large sauce pan.

Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it comes to a full, rolling boil (it will start to foam up). Remove it from the heat and whisk in the peanut butter, stirring until it is fully blended.

Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

The mix ins are added just prior to turning off the mixer. While the process will vary from machine to machine in our case the instructions said to just dump them in the chute prior to finishing. Allow them to mix in the ice cream.

Pour the finished ice cream into a freezer proof container and freeze until you are ready to enjoy.

Vanilla Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream

After our success with the other recipes from Lebovitz's book we were convinced it was time to try one which was more complex. This recipe makes a wonderfully rich custard based vanilla ice cream which is than infused with a tart, flavourful, vibrant swirl of crushed raspberries. After making it yesterday I realized it wasn't any more time consuming that the White Chocolate ice cream we made a few weeks back.

The recipe is from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. If you do not know David you should visit his blog - he is an American chef living in Paris. His specialty is chocolate and all things dessert. I have been following his blog ever since the amazing Judy AKA Diva told me about it while we were learning from her in our cooking class in Florence.

I've had the book for a few months and sadly this is only the fourth recipe that I have tried. I will have to get busy! I am already anticipating another one shortly. Now that the weather has turned hot and humid I will need more . . .

Previously I made the Champagne and Cassis Granita (p. 148) which you can read about here, the White Chocolate Ice Cream (p. 33) which is written up here, and a Raspberry Rosé Sorbet (p. 130) which is written up here.

Ice Cream:

1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
2/3 cup (130 g) sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup (375 ml) heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean paste because I like the flavour and the bits of vanilla beans embedded in the ice cream)

Raspberry Swirl:

1 1/2 cups (160 g) raspberries (frozen or fresh)
3 tablespoons (45 g) sugar
1 tablespoon vodka

To make the ice cream, warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan.

Pour the cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly poured the warmed milk into the egg yolks (if your milk is too hot you will cook the yolks and have scrambled eggs), whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks and milk mixture back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as your stir, until the mixture thicken and coats the spatula.

Pour the custard through the strainer (thus removing any bits of cooked egg) and stir it into the cream. Add the vanilla and stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the custard thoroughly in the refrigerator. I cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap against the surface of the custard, to avoid a 'skin' forming.

About an hour before you plan on churning the ice cream, make the raspberry swirl by mashing the raspberries together with the sugar and vodka. Note: if using frozen raspberries be sure to thaw them a bit first. The mixture should be juicy but still have chunks of raspberries in it. Chill until ready to use.

Freeze the ice cream custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

 

 

As you remove the finished ice cream from the ice cream maker, layer it int eh container with spoonfuls of the chilled raspberry swirl mixture.

Freeze until ready to enjoy (and enjoy you will because this is amazing!)

Raspberry Rosé Sorbet

I had originally planned on making this sorbet a few weeks back but for one reason or another I never got around to it. Yesterday I took a vacation day so it was a a prefect time to give this a go. It isn't that the recipe is complicated or time consuming, rather it needs a brief bit of attention over the day so a day off was perfect as I did chores around the house.

The recipe is from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. If you do not know David you should visit his blog - he is an American chef living in Paris. His specialty is chocolate and all things dessert. I have been following his blog ever since the amazing Judy AKA Diva told me about it while we were learning from her in our cooking class in Florence.

I've had the book for a few months and sadly this is only the third recipe that I have tried. I will have to get busy! I am already anticipating another one tomorrow.

Previously I made the Champagne and Cassis Granita which you can read about here and white chocolate ice cream which is written up here.

The recipe for the sorbet is simplicity itself:

2 cups Rosé wine
2/3 cup sugar
3 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)

I used a Rosé wine that we got a few summers ago in Prince Edward County (a new wine region in Ontario). You wouldn't want to use a wine that was too sweet as it would seem cloying with the raspberries.

In a medium, nonreactive saucepan, bring the Rosé wine and sugar to a boil.

Remove from heat and pour over the raspberries. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Puree the mixture in a blender or food processor.

Press the puree through a strainer to remove the seeds.

Chill the mixture thoroughly.

Freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

David warns in the book that because of the amount of alcohol in the mixture it will not freeze very firmly in the ice cream maker. It was quite soft when I put it into the container to go into the freezer.

I put my faith in David and stuck it in the freezer and promptly forgot about it while we painted the porch and garage.

After supper this evening we needed something refreshing and I pulled this out to have a taste. WOW. It was an amazing combination of flavours and incredibly refreshing.

White Chocolate Ice Cream

Yes, I know that white chocolate isn't chocolate. But it is rich and creamy and makes a fine ice cream.

Last night we were having a blueberry cobbler and I thought that this would make a more sophisticated accompaniment then the usual scoop of vanilla ice cream. It sure did!

The recipe is from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. If you do not know David you should visit his blog - he is an American chef living in Paris. His specialty is chocolate and all thing dessert. I have been following his blog ever since the amazing Judy AKA Diva told me about it.

I've had the book for a few months and sadly this is only the second recipe that I have tried. I will have to get busy!

Previously I made the Champagne and Cassis Granita which you can read about here.

The recipe for the while chocolate ice cream is simple:

8 oz (230 g) white chocolate, finely chopped
1 c (250 ml) whole milk
2/3 c (130 g) sugar
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream

The first step is to put the chocolate pieces in a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top.

Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.

Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the pan. Warning - If your milk mixture is too hot you will cook the egg yolks! I've not had this experience myself but I am always careful.

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. Note - I learned somewhere that if you can run your finger through the custard on the spatula and it leaves a defined 'finger trail' it is ready.

Pour the custard through the strainer over the white chocolate. Note - This strains out any bits of cooked egg. No matter how hard you try, there are always some!

 

Stir until the white chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.

Stir until cool over an ice water bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. Note - I learned somewhere to cover the surface of the mixture with plastic wrap, this prevents a 'skin' from forming on the custard based ice cream mixture.

Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

After 10 minutes:

After 20 minutes:

All churned and ready to go back into the freezer to wait for dessert time.

I don't have a photo of the finished ice cream on the dessert because it was so darn good we just inhaled it. (As well, we had also had drinks and a great dinner too and my mind had wandered to other things) It was an amazing treat - rich, creamy, and delicious.

Adult Snow Cones

Note to self - when completing a blog posting be sure to save it! Grrrr Oh well, everything is better the second time through right?

Last week the cookbook I had ordered from amazon.ca arrived - the perfect scoop by David Lebovitz. If you do not know David you should visit his blog - he is an American chef living in Paris. His specialty is chocolate and all thing dessert. I have been following his blog every since the amazing Judy AKA Diva told me about it. I've tried a number of his recipes and they have all been amazing. When I heard about this book containing 246 pages of ice cream, sorbet, granita, and all of the necessary accompaniment recipes I ordered it immediately!

Tearing the box open, I knew right away that this cookbook would not disappoint. The ice cream recipes run the gamut from vanilla to pear and pecorino. The sorbet recipes have interesting flavour combinations such as strawberry rhubarb (one of my all-time favourite taste combinations) and the granita recipes cover everything from espresso to Mojito. The sauces and topping recipes are equally as decadent and if that wasn't enough he has chapters devoted to tasty treats to mix into the ice cream you make (i.e. marshmallows) and edible vessels in which to serve your home-made treats (i.e. ice cream cones). David - with this book you have shot my diet all to hell!!

Yesterday I decided to try one of the granita recipes. If you're not familiar with granita this is what Wikipedia says about it. We were sad to realize we had been in Italy for three weeks last fall without having tried it once. We shall do better next time!

The choice for yesterday's dinner: Champagne-Cassis Granita

The recipe was simple:

1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups champagne
1/3 cup creme de cassis

The technique was equally simple.

In a medium, non-reactive saucepan, heat the sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the Champagne. Stir in the creme de cassis.

Pour it into a freezable container that is 8 x 12 inches and has sides at least 2 inches high. I used a glass Pyrex dish and it worked fine.

I did learn that it is easier to pour the mixture into the dish CLOSE to the freezer as there was some sloppage while I was carrying the liquid container downstairs to the freezer.

Put the dish in the freezer (ensure it is flat!) and freeze until it is beginning to freeze around the edges. Generally this takes about an hour but this granita is lower to freeze because of the high alcohol content. It took about an hour and a half before it was freezing around the edges.

Using a fork stir the mixture breaking up the frozen parts near the edge and 'raking' them into the centre.

This is our granita at the 1 1/2 hour mark:

Every 30 minutes you need to stir it up with a fork, each time breaking any large crystals into smaller crystals.

This is the granita after 2 hours:

2 1/2 hours:

3 hours:

3 1/2 hours:

4 hours:

Finally it was ready. Lebovitz suggests freezing your serving dishes so that this particular granita doesn't melt too quickly. I scooped it into the frozen dishes and drizzled some additional cassis over top. The finished product was amazing - just like a Kir Royale. Now I wouldn't serve this dish to children (unless you wish to be arrested) but as a icy treat for adults - it can not be beat. Someone last night loved it so much that they even licked the dish (and then contemplated a second helping but I promised not to tell who - MOM!) Nonetheless, it was a HUGE success.