Butterscotch Ice Cream

I've been pretty devoted to Mint Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip ice cream lately. My husband exclusively eats the PB ice cream... faster than I can keep it in stock, it seems. I, of course, keep tabs on the mint. I decided it might be time to branch out again, and I came across a recipe for butterscotch ice cream.

This definitely sounded great, but the ingredients included 1.5 cups of heavy cream, and 6 eggs yolks - neither of which I want to use. I took the vanilla recipe I've been using and modified it to incorporate the butterscotch flavor so it would be 1) easier and 2) less damaging to my hips. I certainly think I achieved that and this ice cream has a fantastic taste to it!! I can't wait to make it again (especially since I think I may have burnt the sugar, oops)!

NOTE: I could live on ice cream alone, so I try to find a balance between not-loaded-with-fat and still-pretty-creamy-and-yummy. To that end, I play around with the amount of cream vs milk. The arrangement below is what I use most often. I assure you it won't turn into a rock hard block (the PB ice cream did once, and I realize it was because I had forgotten the sweetened condensed milk!). But, since it may feel icy to some, I want to mention that you are certainly free to go the full fat route, and do 16 oz of half and half with 12 oz of heavy cream. Feel free to play around in between that, too, as long as the total comes to 28 oz.
Butterscotch Ice Cream
Adapted from Sunset Magazine and Doc Wilson
(Normally I would link to the original vanilla recipe, but *tear* Doc Wilson's site appears to be down)

• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter (I use unsalted)
  
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 7 oz fat free sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup egg beaters
  
• dash of salt
  
• 4 oz heavy cream (See note above for alternate volumes)
  
• 20 oz fat free half-and-half
• 4 oz skim milk
  

Directions

In a 1- to 2-quart pan over medium heat, stir brown sugar, butter, and vanilla until butter is melted, sugar is dissolved, and mixture is bubbly, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in 4 oz of warmed heavy cream until smooth; remove butterscotch mixture from heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, egg beaters, and salt. Whisk in the half and half and milk. Finally, add the butterscotch mixture and stir with the whisk to combine. Chill until cold, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours; or cover and chill up to 1 day (recommended).

Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Serve softly frozen, or transfer ice cream to an airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 1 week.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir-Fry

Back in the day, I used more butter than any one person should. All that butter lead me to a boatload of UPCs which I could redeem for a free subscription to Everyday Food Magazine. Yay! Unfortunately, those poor magazines have been piling up with nary a glance... until this weekend. I finally sat down and completed my recipe organization (which I'll explain another day!) and went through the magazines to bookmark recipes I wanted to try. About the time my husband suggested having stir-fry for dinner, I came upon a sweet and sour pork stir-fry recipe. I decided to modify it to our tastes (namely changing out the pork for some chicken) and give it a shot.

We really enjoyed this dinner. I was afraid of the pineapple, because while pineapple is my bff, I only like it in the raw fruit form, not cooked into a meal. But, I ended up really liking the addition of pineapple! As an added bonus, all the veggies made me think I was eating something healthy! I even got my husband to try (and like!) brown rice because I forgot to cook him white rice (oops). Score one for me! I just realized some sugar snap peas would be another great addition to this meal. Next time....

Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir-Fry
Adapted from Everyday Food
Martha says it serves four... but I think it's more like 3.

• 1 can (8 ounces) pineapple chunks in juice, drained (juice reserved)
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 pound b/s chicken breast, sliced into strips
  
• 6 scallions, white and green parts separated, cut into 1-inch lengths**
  
• 1.5 cups chopped broccoli
• 1 large carrot, julienne
  
• 1/4 of a large white onion, diced
• 1 large celery stalk, sliced thinly
  
• Cooked rice, for serving
  
  

In a small bowl, stir together 1/3 cup pineapple juice, vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch, and 1/4 cup water. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Cook chicken until opaque on both sides, about 2 minutes per side; transfer to a plate.

To skillet, add broccoli, carrot, onion, and celery; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are crisp-tender, 6 to 8 minutes. (Or, forget about them leave them alone like I did and they turn out just fine).

Add chicken (along with any juices) and pineapple chunks. Whisk sauce; add to skillet. Bring to a simmer; cook, stirring, until sauce thickens, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in scallions, and serve with rice.


**I buy a bunch of scallions, then chop and store them in ~1/3 cup portions wrapped in saran wrap and in a freezer bag. I grabbed two portions for this recipe.

Ginger-Apple Chicken

So, for my first post with the new equipment... we had ginger-apple chicken tonight for dinner. I had a jar of apple jelly in the pantry, from some recipe that I ended up not making, and was t.i.r.e.d of looking at it. I went straight to google and ended up on a Better Homes and Gardens recipe that sounded... pretty good! I jazzed it up a little by adding some crushed red pepper. I reserved about half the mixture to glaze chicken as it grilled on my grillpan, and half for tossing the zucchini once they were sauteed. It was a nice twist... a little something different to do with chicken (which we eat all the time)!

Ginger-Apple Glaze
Source: Better Homes and Gardens

In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup apple jelly; 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon snipped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed; 1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel; and 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger. Heat and stir just until jelly is melted. Makes 2/3 cup.

Say hello to my little friend(s)...

I shoot most of my blog photos with my little Canon Powershot SD700 because, well, our Canon Rebel (now discontinued but you can find it's next of kin by the addition of all sorts of fancy letters) is like a black box to me. I shoot on automatic because that's all I can figure out, and I don't like the the way those shots turn out. The Powershot is just... easy. But, the Powershot doesn't handle low light situations that well. Being that the sun goes down at... what... 4pm these days? This doesn't make for good pictures. So I built a pretty shabby light box, which sorta helped me make somewhat not-completely-horrible pictures. Still, I wanted more. I wanted pictures I could be proud of!

Then I read this. And realized... I have a husband who has no idea what to buy me for my birthday OR Christmas. SCORE! I told him *exactly* what I wanted, and he came through for me. Two new pieces of camera equipment sat patiently while we went to California for Christmas. And then sat patiently a few days more until I had time to sit down and figure them out. If I had known they'd be this magnificent, I'd have opened them as soon as possible!! I present... my Rebel, now adorned with a Speedlite 430EX external flash (now discontinued) and a Canon 50mm 1/8 II lens.

I have a long way to go in learning how to take really great photos, but these little lovelies just gave me a HUGE boost!

BB: Pappa Al Pomidoro

Oops! I'm a day late with this recipe (though I made it 3 weeks ago!). The end of 2008 was a little busy with a trip to California. Last week's recipe for Barefoot Bloggers was pappa al pomidoro. This is one of my favorite things we've made... easy and SO delicious, perfect for the winter months! My husband doesn't eat pancetta, so I ended up skipping the topping altogether. It was still fabulous! Definitely make this if you get the chance!

Pappa Al Pomidoro
Back to Basics on page 68
Chosen by Natalie of Burned Bits

• 1/2 cup good olive oil
• 2 cups chopped yellow onion (2 onions)
• 1 cup medium-diced carrots, unpeeled (3 carrots)
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored, and medium-diced (1 1/2 cups) (I omitted)
  
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
• 3 cups (1-inch) diced ciabatta cubes, crusts removed
• 2 (28-ounce) cans good Italian plum tomatoes
  
• 4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

For the topping:

• 3 cups (1-inch) diced ciabatta cubes
• 2 ounces thickly sliced pancetta, chopped
• 24 to 30 whole fresh basil leaves
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil, plus more for serving
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, fennel, and garlic and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until tender. Add the ciabatta cubes and cook for 5 more minutes. Place the tomatoes in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process just until coarsely chopped. Add the tomatoes to the pot along with the chicken stock, red wine, basil, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and allow to simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

For the topping, place the ciabatta cubes, pancetta, and basil on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss well. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes, until all the ingredients are crisp. The basil leaves will turn dark and crisp, which is perfectly fine. Reheat the soup, if necessary, beat with a wire whisk until the bread is broken up. Stir in the Parmesan and taste for seasoning. Serve hot sprinkled with the topping and drizzled with additional olive oil.

Chocolate Meringues

I was looking for a treat to bring to lunch with friends, and came across this recipe for chocolate meringues in my Dorie Greenspan baking book. This worked out perfectly, as I had just amassed 4 or 5 egg whites from making pastry cream over the weekend. The meringues came out GREAT. They were chocolately but so light. A wonderful treat!

Chocolate Meringues

1 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup ground almonds (I omitted)
1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used 1/2 cup to make up for loss of almonds)
4 large eggs whites, at room temperature (I may have used 5, I forgot how many I had!)
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter (I added this to help stabilize the egg whites)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup finely chopped bittersweet chocolate or finely chopped store-bought chocolate chips

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Sift the powdered sugar, ground almonds and cocoa.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large dry bowl (make sure the bowl is impeccably clean and dry), whip the egg whites and salt on medium speed until the egg whites are opaque (if using, add cream of tarter when egg whites are just getting frothy with large bubbles, like sea foam). Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to whip as you add the sugar about 1 tablespoon at a time. Then whip until the whites are firm and hold stiff peaks - they should still be very shiny. Beat in the vanilla, and remove the bowl from the mixer. With a larger rubber spatula, quickly but gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the chopped chocolate. The whites will inevitably deflate as you fold in the dry ingredients, just try to work rapidly and use a light touch, so you deflate them as little as possible.

Drop the meringue by tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between mounds. Dust the tops of the meringues very lightly with powdered sugar.

Bake for 10 minutes, then, without opening the oven door, reduce the oven temperature to 200°F and bake for 1 hour more. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and allow the meringues to stand in a cool, dry place (not the refrigerator) until they reach room temperature. Carefully peel the meringues off the parchment or silicone lining. Store in an airtight tin or uncovered in a basket at room temperature.

BB: Coq au vin

This week's recipe for Barefoot Bloggers is coq au vin. I have been dying to make this, so I was excited for it. But then the holidays got the best of me and I got lazy and just threw it in the crockpot instead of making it the real way. This is my least favorite so far, I really couldn't get behind it. I'm hoping it's just because of the crockpot thing, so I'll see how everyone else faired and maybe try again when I have more time/patience.

Coq Au Vin
Back to Basics on page 116
Chosen by Bethany of this little piggy went to market

• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 4 ounces good bacon or pancetta, diced
• 1 (3 to 4-pound) chicken, cut in 8ths
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound carrots, cut diagonally in 1-inch pieces
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1/4 cup Cognac or good brandy
• 1/2 bottle (375 ml) good dry red wine such as Burgundy
• 1 cup good chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 10 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 pound frozen small whole onions
• 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thickly sliced

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon.

Meanwhile, lay the chicken out on paper towels and pat dry. Liberally sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. When the bacon is removed, brown the chicken pieces in batches in a single layer for about 5 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Remove the chicken to the plate with the bacon and continue to brown until all the chicken is done. Set aside.

Add the carrots, onions, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to the pan and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac and put the bacon, chicken, and any juices that collected on the plate into the pot. Add the wine, chicken stock, and thyme and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just not pink. Remove from the oven and place on top of the stove.

Mash 1 tablespoon of butter and the flour together and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. In a medium saute pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and cook the mushrooms over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until browned. Add to the stew. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot.