I Scream for Ice Cream!

Odd as it may seem, I don't like chocolate ice cream. But I do love my husband, so I decided to indulge his craving last night. While I was in Santa Barbara last weekend, Bill went on a Tour d'Chocolate Custard. I'm not sure what inspired it, but I believe he settled on Gille's as his favorite. So obviously, I had to show him that I could do it just as well.

For those of you who aren't familiar with frozen custard, you should be ashamed. No, seriously, I understand. It's got to be a Midwest thing, as I had never heard of it before moving to Milwaukee. True story: When Nicole and I first moved here and saw signs for frozen custard everywhere, she actually called Kopp's and asked what it was. And they hung up on her. Needless to say, I've forgiven them their rudeness!

The difference between frozen custard and ice cream deserves a whole post, so I'll save that for later. But for now, suffice to say that last night I made a chocolate ice cream every bit as good as Kopp's custard (if not as good as Gille's).

I'm not sure how useful this recipe will be, since it requires the Cuisinart Pure Indulgence Ice Cream Maker, but I'll post it anyway, along with the craving-inducing step-by-step photos.

Chocolate Toffee Ice Cream
Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate-covered Heath Bar pieces

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine cocoa and sugars. Stir to combine.

Add milk and beat with a hand mixer until combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in heavy cream and vanilla.

Turn on the machine and pour mixture into freezer bowl.

Let mix until thickened, about 30 minutes. Five minutes before ice cream is done mixing, add Heath Bar pieces through the top. Allow to finish mixing.

Ice cream will be soft and creamy (just the way I like it!). For a firmer consistency, place in freezer for at least 2 hours (though I'm not sure why you would want to do that because when I pull it out of the freezer I let my ice cream sit on the counter for at least 15 minutes before I dig in, just to soften it up!).

Remember how I said I don't like chocolate ice cream? This may have changed my mind. It was deliciously rich and decadent, almost like a spoonful of truffle. I should have gone a bit heavier with the Heath Bar because they weren't laced evenly throughout. But other than that, I can find absolutely nothing wrong with this ice cream. I even found myself thinking about this ice cream all day long ... which makes it a good thing that we had a nice amount of leftovers!

I'm so pumped to try other flavors .. I'm thinking either strawberry or peaches and cream this weekend! And then .. onto frozen custard!

Gone Won Ton!

After flipping through one of my Food Network cookbooks yesterday, I got the bright idea to try two things I've never done before: work with crab meat and make won tons. It was aiming a bit high, but not too high. After all, Starkist makes a pretty handy crab-in-a-cup product that would save me the trouble of finding fresh crab in a state that doesn't touch the ocean, and won ton wrappers are widely available in the produce department of just about every grocery store (yes, even Pick 'n Save). So while I'm not typically a fan of shortcuts, I was willing to take them just to dip my toe in the water of Chinese cooking (assuming you don't count my awesome Pork Fried Rice as Chinese cooking, which I guess you could).

Anyway, the recipe below is an adaptation of one by Tyler Florence. While a teensy bit time consuming, it was so worth the trouble. (But can you imagine if I had used fresh crab and had to pick through for shells?? Or made my won tons from scratch??) Plus, I have about a million won ton wrappers left over (because they're apparently only sold in packages of about 500) so I'll be making more tonight. And possibly tomorrow. And maybe the next night.

Fried Crab Won Tons
Ingredients:

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 shallot, chopped
1 green onion, green and white parts, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Juice from 1/2 lime
4 oz. crab meat, flaked
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
12 won ton wrappers
1 egg white, lightly beaten
Cornstarch
Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions:
In a food processor, combine ginger, shallot, green onion, carrot, oil, and lime juice. Pulse until finely ground. In a small bowl, combine vegetable mixture, crab meat, mayo, salt and pepper. Stir until just combined.

Lay won ton wrappers on a clean, flat surface. Lightly brush one wrapper with egg white, then place a teaspoonful of filling in the center. Fold over to create a triangle, pressing the edges together to seal. Bring the two horizontal corners together to form a bishop's hat. Set aside and repeat with remaining wrappers. Sprinkle won tons with cornstarch to keep them from sticking together.

Heat about 2 inches of vegetable oil in a large saucepan. Oil should be about 370 degrees for frying. (But rather than checking the temperature, I just stick the handle of a wooden spoon in the oil and call it ready when small bubbles rise around it.) Using a slotted spoon, drop 2 or 3 wontons in the oil. Fry 2 to 3 minutes, turning frequently for even browning. Remove to paper towel-lined plate and repeat with remaining won tons.

Serve with soy sauce. (Careful, the filling will be VERY hot, even when the outside is cool enough to touch!)


These were awesome deep fried. The crab mixture had just the right amount of crunch and creaminess, and the outside was just a little bit tender and a little bit crisp. But this morning I remembered that I have potstickers on my recipe wishlist. And if I boil (or even pan fry) the won tons instead of deep frying them, I can definitely cross that recipe off the list! So guess what we're having with dinner tonight?!

Say Cheesecake!

It's awfully depressing to think that it's been nearly two weeks since I've been in the kitchen. A long weekend trip to Santa Barbara over the Fourth of July and another hectic work week have kept me from cooking. But I've been dying to make dozens of things on my list, and thank goodness I finally got the opportunity to cross a few off today!

I spent a good portion of the evening in the kitchen and will post all of the recipes soon, but I thought I'd start with my Mini Cheesecakes with Strawberry Sauce. I stumbled across the recipe this afternoon and remembered that I had mini cheesecakes on my recipe wishlist. That, combined with the fact that I'm allowing myself to eat dessert again now that my vacation is over, made these a must for today.

Mini Cheesecakes with Strawberry Sauce
Ingredients:
5 chocolate graham crackers, broken
1/8 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter, melted
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
1/2 cup frozen strawberries, thawed
1 tablespoon sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place graham crackers and chocolate chips in food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add melted butter and pulse until mixture resembles wet sand. Divide mixture evenly among 6 cups in a cupcake tin. Press into bottom and two-thirds of the way up the side of each cup. Bake until set, about 8 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla and lime zest. Beat until smooth. Divide batter evenly among crusts. Bake until slightly brown around the edges and just set in the middle, about 30 minutes.

Cool on wire rack, then in refrigerator (for about 2 hours). When ready to serve, make strawberry sauce by pureeing strawberries and sugar in food processor or blender. Remove each cheesecake from cupcake tin by running a butter knife around the edges and lifting the cake out. Drizzle sauce over cakes and serve.


I have good news and I have bad news. So here's the bad news first ... I experienced two minor problems with these cheesecakes: 1) the crust was a little toasty, so I probably should have taken them out of the oven a minute or two sooner and 2) the centers of my cheesecakes caved in. I haven't figured out yet what caused the sinking, but I'm going to do a little research to see if I can figure it out and then try again.

The good news is that they tasted awesome, despite the issues noted above. They were smooth and creamy, and the lime zest really gave them a tangy kick. Plus, the starwberry sauce took them up a notch. (And paired really well with the lime! Almost like a daiquiri!) I think I need a bit more practice to perfect these, but when I do I see endless possibilities ahead of me ... Next time I might try a more adventurous cheesecake, like Oreo or toffee or something equally candy-licious (sans sauce, though).