Cantaloupe Ice Cream with Agave

I've never been much of a melon fan. Oh, I enjoy watermelon during a hot day at the beach (or a watermelon-flavored Jolly Rancher any time!), but that's about it. If you think about it, melon is really the second class citizen of the fruit world --be it the honeydew filler in a fruit salad, or the straggly slices of cantaloupe that pass for a fruit plate at some restaurants. Granted, some people enjoy melon wrapped in prosciutto, but when it comes to sweet vs. savory, there is one way to make melon shine: in ice cream. Growing up, there was a local ice cream shop that made all sorts of flavors, including seasonal favorites like pumpkin (fall) and cantaloupe (summer). Despite being a melon-hating kid, I really dug the cantaloupe flavor. Sadly, the shop kind of went down hill, and the flavor is really hard to find elsewhere. And it's even more of a challenge to find cantaloupe ice cream recipes online. In fact, the one I came across time and time again was credited to Ben & Jerry's! The basic recipe calls for making a standard French-style custard base and combining with a bit of cantaloupe juice then freezing almost completely before mixing in well-drained cantaloupe puree at the very end. I followed the basic premise, but tweaked the base, going Philadelphia-style (e.g., no eggs, no cooking) by combining cream, a dash of vanilla and agave syrup since I was out of white sugar. I've been reading a lot about agave, and while it has about the same calorie count as sugar, is supposed to have a lower glycemic index. I've used in in place of simple syrup in drink recipes, but this was my first attempt "cooking" with it. And it worked fine. I have to admit I tasted the ice cream both before and after adding the puree and think I liked it better before adding. Although the melon taste was less prominent (since I only used a half cup of juice), the texture was a lot silkier. Next time, I may experiment with reducing and concentrating the cantaloupe juice rather than adding both juice and puree. Because even with a chunkier texture, the taste (and memories it brought back) made the ice cream good enough to make again!

Cantaloupe Ice Cream

Although I made this batch with agave syrup, you could also substitute white sugar.

Ingredients

1 Cantaloupe, peeled and cubed

1 Lemon, juiced

2 c. Heavy cream

6 T. Agave syrup

Dash of vanilla

Method

Puree cantaloupe cubes and lemon juice in blender or food processor; place puree in a sieve over a large bowl.

Combine .5 cup of the juice from the puree with the cream, agave syrup and vanilla, blend well and chill completely.

Add cream mixture to your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.

Approximately five minutes before the ice cream is totally frozen, add the well-drained puree to the machine, discarding the extra juice.

Once the puree is well-incorporated, your ice cream is ready!

Wednesday: Black Raspberry Ice Cream

I had a long day at work yesterday and by the time I got home, was in no mood to prepare anything. Luckily, I had planned ahead and there was a vanilla custard ice cream base in the fridge. My one indulgence buy at the greenmarket on Saturday (ok, other than the chocolate chip coconut scone I snagged at Our Daily Bread) was a $6 pint of organic black raspberries from Norwich Meadows. Placed strategically by the "check out," they were gorgeous (and apparently, a super fruit too), so of course I succumbed to the impulse buy. David Lebovitz has a recipe for Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream in The Perfect Scoop, where macerated berries are mixed with a vanilla ice cream (versus a puree of berries incorporated into the base directly). Since a pint is not a lot of berries, I thought this method would be the best way to stretch what I had. In fact, I attempted to stretch the fruit further by adding a few blueberries and strawberries I had lingering in the fridge. The end result was creamy and icy, a sorbet meets ice cream, and black raspberry flavor really shined through. If I had to do it again, I would strain the fruit mixture to get rid of the seeds. But yesterday, seeds were the last thing on my mind, and a bowl of ice cream for dinner was just the comfort food I needed.

Triple Berry Ice Cream

Inspired by the The Perfect Scoop

Ingredients 1/2 C. Milk (I used 1%)

12 C. White sugar

Pinch of salt

5 Egg yolks 2 C. Heavy cream ½ t. Vanilla extract

1 Pint berries

1 T. Vodka

1 T. White sugar (optional)

Method

Whisk together milk, salt, sugar in a small pot and warm through.

In the meantime, beat egg yolks in a small bowl; add a small amount of the warmed dairy mixture, whisking gently.

Add the egg mixture to the pot and heat until custard thickens.

Strain mixture into medium size bowl (strainer will catch any scrambled egg bits) and add cream and vanilla; chill completely.

About 30 minutes before you're ready to turn on your ice cream maker, combine berries, vodka and sugar (if using) in a small bowl.

Toss with fork or bliz with an immersion blender until combined; strain seeds if desired.

Add vanilla custard to your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacture’s directions.

Swirl finished ice cream with berry mixture.

The 12 Days of Macarons

“On the first day of macaron making, the baking gods gave to me a tray of burnt meringues and two trays of super sweet cookies…” I wanted to try my hand at French Macarons (the sandwich cookies made with almond flour, not to be confused with their coconut cousins, the macaroons), over Thanksgiving vacation. I had even purchased sliced almonds and a set of pastry tips. But for some reason, it never happened. So on December 14th, a Sunday, my last Sunday in New York City before the holidays, I dragged everything out and made the first attempt. I knew the cards were stacked against me. I am hardly what you would call a baker, and everyone and their brother says macarons are all about technique. Plus, my equipment sucked. Lacking a large food processor (to both pulverize the almonds and then combine with the powered sugar), I had to use my one cup Black & Decker mini chopper -- which, wonder of wonders, did not really turn the almonds into almond flour after all. Despite sifting out the larger chunks, I basically resorted to using ground almonds in the batter. Undaunted, I combined the dry ingredients with my whipped egg whites (with no counter space for a KitchenAid stand mixer, I used a KitchenAid hand mixer to make the meringue). And not owning any Silpat mats, piped the batter onto parchment. I put the first batch in my gas oven at 375 degrees. Despite the troubles I had with the batter, the cookies looked damn good. They even developed a small foot, a mark all macaron makers strive for. But about halfway in, I smelled burning. So while the view from the top was perfect, the bottoms were black, the cookies were totally dried out and tasted more like meringues than macarons. Pulling from one of the tips I had read, I put the next batch on top of two stacked cookie sheets. Again, a small foot developed. The tops looked a little worse given I had tried to smooth them over after piping the batter (note to self: do not pipe in a spiral). The third batch was virtually the same as the second, although I baked them on top of a silicone liner instead of parchment. While these two trays did not look great, they were a bit softer, but with one cup of powdered sugar and 5 tablespoons of granulated sugar, were so sweet, I had to toss them out. “On the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth days of macaron making, the baking gods gave to me too many blogs with tips and tricks to read…” I take comfort in the fact that many are infected with the desire to make macarons and that we’re all an obsessed bunch. After the first failed attempt, I read, a lot, about how to improve my technique. From Syrup & Tang to David Lebovitz (whose chocolate macaron recipe I tried the first time), about aging egg whites and what the consistency of the egg whites should look like when whipped (although I am still not sure what exactly egg white “magma” looks like). I bought almond meal, a coffee bean grinder and more parchment. And was ready for the second attempt. On December 20, I tried again, using the same recipe with three [disastrous] modifications: 1. I cut the granulated sugar to 2 T. in hopes of cutting some of the sweetness 2. I upped the amount of unsweetened cocoa powder by 1 T. in hopes of the same 3. I used my parents’ crappy electric stove, which has minimal ventilation to let steam escape Despite using the coffee bean grinder, and a large food processor, and sifting the dry ingredients twice, the end result were dense, fudgy cookies, much like those used in moon pies. Tasty, but with no feet, or lightness. “On the eighth day of macaron making, the baking gods gave to me three egg whites which I left out on the counter and aged 48 hours…” I was a woman obsessed. It was baking season but I did not attempt any other kind of cookie that week. I was focused on making a perfect (or at least passable) macaron. I studied the merits of the Italian meringue technique and even ran out to buy a candy thermometer. I compared the number of people who age egg whites in the fridge vs. the counter top. And then I tried again. “On the 11th day of macaron making, the baking gods gave to me two trays of flimsy white cookies…” For the third attempt, I consulted a recipe from Tartelette, converted grams to ounces and used my aged-on-the-counter-for-48-hours egg whites. Things were looking good, until I slipped the pans into the oven. The batter spread into thin disks and did not pouf at all. While the cookies from the second attempt had at least been eatable, the third time was definitely not a charm. I had lost the battle, but not the war. “On the 12th day of macaron making, the baking gods gave to me a chance to redeem myself and use up seven egg yolks...” I’ve temporarily admitted defeat and have retired from macaron making, but not cooking or baking in general. In fact, I used up my leftover egg yolks in two dishes: Ina Garten’s jam thumb prints (turned out divine!) and a creamy batch of cinnamon ice cream. Make your New Year be filled with better dishes!

Cinnamon Ice Cream Based on a recipe from David Lebovitz (thanks to Cynthia and Matt for getting me my own copy of The Perfect Scoop for Christmas) Ingredients 1 cup skim milk Pinch of salt 1/2 cup sugar 5 egg yolks 2 cups whipping cream, divided 2-3 T. of Penzey’s Vietnamese Cinnamon, depending on taste Method Wisk together milk, salt, sugar, cinnamon and half of the cream in a small pot and warm through. In the meantime, beat egg yolks in a small bowl; add a small amount of the warmed dairy mixture, whisking gently. Add the egg mixture to the pot and heat until custard thickens. Strain mixture into covered container and chill completely. Add custard to your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacture’s directions. Enjoy as is, over some

Panettone bread pudding or drizzled with chocolate sauce.

Guilty Pleasures

Green market items don't necessarily equal healthy items. Oh sure, you can get your salad greens and bean sprouts and wheat grass juice, but you can also get ice cream and cookies and scones -- lovely, sugar encrusted scones -- at my local farmer's market.My guilty pleasure at Union Square are scones from Our Daily Bread (their chocolate chip cookies, Sunflower Millet Bread and Whole Wheat Sourdough Baguettes are pretty darn good too). And on Saturday's ODB sometimes sells bags of day-old scones for 3 for $2.50. Magically, the presence of flaked coconut and chocolate chunks really make a day-old scone taste, well, maybe half a day old. And a short spin in the microwave takes even more age off. Alas, not every Saturday is a scone Saturday, so recently I tried to recreate the flavors in an untraditional way – using my ice cream maker.I was late to the ice cream maker craze. Really late. In fact, I only bought one on September 6 of this year (yes, after summer). I actually inherited an ice cream maker and it sat on top of my cabinet for two years until a steamy July day when I pulled it down, inspired to make frozen yogurt based on David Lebovitz recipe. Unfortunately, it wasn't until I had the yogurt mixture in the freezer canister that I realized the top would not go on. Yep, the canister was warped (it was my first foray as an ice cream chef. How was I supposed to know the bottom of the canister should be flat?). Williams-Sonoma to the rescue. Within days I had churned out a blackberry frozen yogurt, a mango strawberry frozen yogurt and honey ice cream. But I soon realized that it’s pretty much impossible to make low cal ice cream at home that tastes as good as Edy’s Slow Churned. Eggs, cream, fruit: all expensive for the wallet, and waistline. But then I saw a recipe calling for coconut milk and evaporated skim milk on Chocolate & Zucchini. By subbing light coconut milk, and adding some chopped bittersweet chocolate chunks at the end, I had a creamy, low fat scone in ice cream form.

Calorie and Cost Conscious Coconut Chocolate Ice Cream (adapted from Chocolate & Zucchini’s Glace Coco du Placard) Ingredients 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted 14.5 oz. can of light coconut milk 14.5 oz. can of evaporated skim milk 1 T. rum 2 t. of almond extract (you could also use vanilla) 1/2 cup sugar 6 oz. of bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped Method Toast the coconut by placing in dry pan over medium heat until fragrant and light brown, cool completely. Wisk together remaining ingredients and chill well. Add liquid mixture to your ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. Add cooled toasted coconut flakes approximately 10 minutes before freezing cycle is complete. Add chocolate pieces approximately 5 minutes before cycle is complete. Note: The end product will be very soft and will require “ripening” in the freezer.