Lemon Ice Cream Sandwiches with Blueberry Swirl

Homemade ice cream sandwiches sounds so “Suzie Homemaker” that I hesitate to even admit that I tried these. When a recipe says 4 ½ hours from start to finish, I usually chuckle and wonder who on earth has that kind of time. But it was my mom’s birthday and I was home with the family. I had some time since my evenings weren’t booked up with Broadway plays, literary lectures and interpretative dance shows like they are when I’m in NYC. Right. Anyways…

This recipe is a little absurd but I think it’s a good base to play around with. I like the idea of making brownie type bars and then stuffing them with ice cream and other deliciousness. I don’t think there necessarily has to be this many steps but maybe Gourmet felt they needed to overcompensate since they were cooking such a childish dessert? Long story short, it’s very much worth the effort for a special occasion and seems like it’s one of those recipes that would be a lot easier the second time around. Although when I’ll have 5 hours to myself again is beyond me….

http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/2009/08/lemon-ice-cream-sandwiches-with-blueberry-swirl

Shaved Asparagus vs. Onion, Bacon and Cream Pizza

Even though I like to cook, I’m still a big fan of all-in-one meals like stews, pasta dishes full of vegetables and protein and big hearty salads. Last weekend I made pizza for the first time and it now falls solidly into my all-in-one meal category.

“Made” is an exaggeration since I really just decorated pizza. The dough at Whole Fields is delicious – both the whole wheat and white variety. I used a cookie sheet and it worked perfectly. The dough was crispy and chewy at the same time and there was not a soggy slice in sight.

Obviously the ‘decoration‘ possibilities are endless, especially in the summer. My two favorites were the shaved asparagus pizza and the onion, bacon and cream pizza from Smitten Kitchen. Try them both – ideally together – since it’s a great contrast of flavors.

Onion, Bacon and Onion:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/01/pizza-with-bacon-onions-and-cream/

Shaved Asparagus:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/05/shaved-asparagus-pizza/

Next week I want to try a roasted fig and goat cheese pizza. I predict a slight obsession coming on……

Use those Summer Tomatoes!

I’m infamous in my house for eating food that might be past its prime. Just this morning I heated up some shady looking milk for my coffee knowing that if it’s really bad, it will curdle when warm. It didn’t curdle and I enjoyed my somewhat sour cup of coffee with no obvious consequences.

I draw the line at bad tomatoes though. We have all had a mealy, nasty tomato on a deli sandwich before. Gross.

However, it’s summer so tomatoes are great even at your sketchiest deli. You don’t have to eat them raw to take advantage of their rich summer flavor. Last night I made roasted tomato soup based on a Sprouted Kitchen recipe. Soup, crusty bread and cold beer make a great summer meal.

1) Cut 2.5 lbs of tomatoes and one onion into wedges and put on rimmed baking sheet. Poke out some of the gooey seeds and stick 6-8 garlic gloves into the holes that are left in the tomatoes. Drizzle generously with olive oil, salt and pepper.
2) Roast at 350 degrees for close to an hour or until the tomatoes look like they have broken down enough to be easily pureed.
3) Add to 3 cups of broth and simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool a bit and then puree. Add a bit of cream at the end to cut the acidity of the tomatoes.
4) Serve with basil and Parmesan cheese.


http://sproutedkitchen.com/?p=3186

Whole Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scones

As I have firmly established in many previous posts, I’m addicted to breakfast. No matter where I wake up – a tent, a Central American hotel for work or my very own bed – I start to think about breakfast as soon as my belly recognizes that it’s morning. Lately I have fantasized about being the type who makes batches of wholesome breakfast treats early in the week and then heats them up every morning so the whole apartment smell like warm bread and melted butter. Unfortunately, I’m never that organized. And in reality, I wouldn’t really want to be.

For a few mornings last month however, I was able to pop a few homemade scones into the oven for 12 minutes and feel smugly proud of myself. I made eight Whole Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scones one evening to break in my new luxuriously spacious countertops. (Something about recklessly throwing around flour made me feel like I was finally in a real kitchen!) They are very simple to make with straightforward ingredients including flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, butter, raspberries, ricotta and heavy cream. The only catch is that you don’t really end up with a traditional scone. The ricotta keeps the dough so moist that it’s more like very lightly sweetened muffin shaped like a scone. You can serve them plain or with a scoop of leftover ricotta or butter.

Next week we’ll be back to store bought English muffins.

http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/07/whole-wheat-raspberry-ricotta-scones/