MacGourmet News

Since my last post on making ice cream at home, I've tried a couple more flavors and learned a couple things.

Mixed Berry frozen yogurt: Great taste, a little harder to make than the simple chocolate ice cream, and not as smooth and a little more icy than I would have liked. Still, as a frozen dessert made with low-fat frozen yogurt and lots of fruit, it's a nice, somewhat healthier option.

Simple Chocolate, made with Callebaut cocoa powder: Wow, this is what I was shooting for when I undertook this. This cocoa power is harder to get and more expensive than your typical supermarket brand, but the light chocolate taste is hard to beat. Getting the cocoa mail-order is easy, I ordered it from ChocolateSource.com though Amazon.com. You can't seem to get this particular product though Amazon.com right now though. You can still, however go directly to the source.

Another nugget of wisdom: I now use the 1 pint Ziploc Twist 'n Loc containers to store my ice cream. A quart is a lot of ice cream, unless you are sharing it with a group, and the smaller containers make it easier to share with 3 people instead of one or two, plus they are a lot easier to eat out of when you get near the bottom. I found that typically, one batch of ice cream perfectly fills 3 of the pint containers too, which is nice.

Coming soon: Reviews and recipes for cocoa nib and REAL vanilla ice creams.

The Boston Globe says:

"There's a new addition to the category of doorstop cookbooks -- which includes the venerable "Joy of Cooking" and the timeless "The Gourmet Cookbook." Bon Appetit bills itself as "America's favorite food and entertaining magazine " and is celebrating its 50th birthday with the 800-page "The Bon Appetit Cookbook" containing some 1,200 recipes. It tips the scales at 4 1/2 pounds. That's about the same weight as a roasting chicken (for which there are half a dozen recipes).

If I had to sum up the "Bon Appetit" approach, it's this: simplify, multiply, and serve. Most of the recipes feed a gluttonous family of four well; many will serve twice that number. For a week while testing this cookbook, our refrigerator brimmed with leftovers, only a fraction of which could be dispatched the next day at lunchtime."

Order now from Amazon.com and get a free 1 year subscription to Bon Appetit magazine with your purchase!

Read the whole Boston Globe review: Bon Appetit's classic recipes will feed a crowd.

Download sample recipes from the book: Grilled Asian-Style Scallop and Asparagus Salad; Pomegranate, Beet, and Blood Orange Salad; Herb- and Garlic-Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Red and Yellow Bell Pepper Relish; Cranberry-Orange Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust

Sample Recipes from the Book. To import, drag image to your MacGourmet recipe box.

Let me just get this out of the way up front: I love ice cream. I love things that are really fresh. These are a couple of the reasons I often roast my own coffee. And this is why, after an article on making ice cream at home in Gourmet magazine (Aug. 2006), I decided to try making fresh ice cream myself. I was also driven by a need for something I miss from living near Boston: fresh premium Callebaut and bittersweet chocolate ice creams from Rancatore's in Belmont. These two flavors of theirs transcend supermarket offerings, and they aren't something I could exactly buy anymore.

I decided to buy an ice cream maker, the Cuisinart Pure Indulgence 2 quart ice cream maker and give ice cream at home a go.

So, how did it go? Great. I started with something simple, the "Simple Chocolate" recipe that came with the maker. I used some Hershey's European Style Dutch Process Cocoa powder rather than going out and buying more "exotic" (read expensive) powders right away. The ice cream that resulted was delicious, smooth and creamy, and after hours in the freezer, firmed up nicely. (Ice cream makers will often produce a softer product right out of the mixer, which is fine, but if you want something more firm, you need to freeze it for a while.) One recommendation I'd make, if you want to share one of the two quarts that this maker produces, is: pick up some of the Ziploc Twist 'n Loc medium round containers. These 1 quart screw cap containers make great ice cream containers and they are cheap and reusable.

Making the ice cream takes about 25 - 35 minutes, depending on the desired thickness. You can figure out the exact time by watching the maker. When the ice cream starts to thicken up, it will start "climbing" up in the maker. The simple chocolate started to do this after about 29 minutes. Overall, though, it's really just putting the ingredients together in the frozen bowl, and starting the maker. Oh, there will be some flavors that will take more work or time, like a recipe for vanilla bean ice cream that I will be trying, but overall, things are usually pretty simple and quick.

I'm providing a bunch of the Cuisinart ice cream recipes in MacGourmet format, with a couple extra ones for blueberry frozen yogurt and ice cream (blueberry season is big in Maine after all), but I'll also be posting some more interesting ones later, like Cinnamon Toast, and Cocoa Nib, the latter which is from a cookbook I'll be reviewing here soon, entitled Chocolate Obsession. I'll be experimenting, so I also plan to post interesting combinations I come up with as well.

If you really get into making your own ice cream, you can get the "big dog", the Cuisinart Supreme Ice Cream Maker , which has a built-in commercial-style compressor freezer, so it doesn't require you to freeze a bowl, but you can get started with something much simpler, such as the Cuisinart ICE-20 1-1/2-Quart Automatic Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt, and Sorbet Maker too. I've been really happy with the Pure Indulgence 2 quart model though.

Also, for a limited time, Save $25.00 when you spend $125.00 or more on qualifying Items (like these ice cream makers) offered by Amazon.com. Enter code OCTSAVER at checkout. You can also get a free ice cream scoop using a mail in rebate if you purchase one of the Cuisinart makers before the end of December.

Ice Cream Recipes. To import, drag image to your MacGourmet recipe box.

Despite trying to move more to a digital lifestyle, I still love cookbooks. I should have figured that cookbooks had their own set of yearly awards, but I never thought to look. Well at least one set of awards is the International Association of Culinary Professional Cookbook Awards, and Amazon.com features the winners and nominees. I'll be reviewing a bunch of the winners, and posting sample recipes from them in the near future...

2006 Winners

Cookbook of the year:

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American:
The winner: The New American Cooking by Joan Nathan

Daisy Cooks! by Daisy Martinez
The Niman Ranch Cookbook by Bill Niman and Janet Fletcher

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Bread, Other Baking, and Sweets:
The winner: Chocolate Chocolate by Lisa Yockelson

Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook by Martha Stewart
The Weekend Baker by Abigail Johnson Dodge

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General:
The winner: Recipes: A Collection for the Modern Cook by Susan Spungen

Cook What You Love by Bob and Melinda Blanchard
Simple Soirees by Peggy Knickerbocker

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Compilations:
The winner: Cooking at De Gustibus by Arlene Feltman Sailhac

Get Grilling by Food Network Kitchens
Today's Kitchen Cookbook by the Meredith Corporation

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First Book (The Julia Child Award):
The winner: Dough: Simple Contemporary Breads by Richard Bertinet

Cooking School Secrets For Real-World Cooks by Linda Carucci
Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin with Teri Gelber

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Food Photography and Styling:
The winner: Chocolate Obsession by Michael Recchiuti

Boulevard: The Cookbook by Nancy Oakes and Pamela Mazzola with Lisa Weiss
Uncooked by Lyndsay and Patrick Mikanowski

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The full list of the 2006 winners and nominees and the 2005 winners, can be found here: International Association of Culinary Professional Cookbook Awards

It's now officially Fall here in New England, and that means Apples. I decided to try some new recipes using some of the locally grown fare, and share my results.

My favorite was the Roast Chicken Breasts with Apple-Onion Stuffing, courtesy of Hannaford, a local super market chain:

Roast Chicken Breasts with Apple-Onion Stuffing





Ingredients:Directions:
1. In a large skillet, heat the first amount of oil over low heat. Add the onion, salt, pepper, and half the rosemary, sage, and parsley. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes. Add the apples (Cortland or Macintosh) and butter. Cook another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

2. Stir in the bread crumbs, remaining herbs, and chicken broth until the stuffing is moist and holds together. Stuffing can be made several hours ahead of time; cover and refrigerate.

3. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

4. With a sharp knife, cut each chicken breast almost in half horizontally so that it opens like a book the meat should be held together on one long side. Season the inside of the breasts with salt and pepper. Divide the stuffing among the chicken breasts and cover with the top flap, pressing gently to adhere.

5. Place any remaining stuffing in a roaster or ovenproof skillet. Place the chicken on top or directly in the pan if there's no extra stuffing. Drizzle the top with the remaining olive oil and place the pan on the middle shelf to roast for 35 minutes. The chicken should be golden brown and cooked through to a temperature of 170°F. Serve immediately.
(Serves 4)

Roast Chicken Breasts with Apple Onion Stuffing. To import, drag image to your MacGourmet recipe box.


I also enjoyed their Roast Pork Chops with Apples and Sage too:

Roast Pork Chops with Apples and Sage





Ingredients:Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Place the oil in a large broiler pan, gratin dish, or shallow ovenproof skillet. Layer the apples (such as granny smith) on the bottom and season with half the sage, salt, and pepper. Place the pork chops on top and sprinkle with the remaining sage, salt, and pepper. Pour the cider over the pork chops.

3. Roast for 15 minutes. Gently turn the pork chops, basting them with the cider from the bottom of the pan. Stir the apples to allow them to cook evenly. Roast another 15 minutes.

4. Preheat the broiler. Broil the pork and apples for 4 to 6 minutes, or until just golden brown. Serve immediately.
(Serves 2)

Roast Pork Chops with Apples and Sage. To import, drag image to your MacGourmet recipe box.


Finally, for a quick and simple dessert, I recommend this Quick Apple Tart recipe:

Quick Apple Tart

This dessert is as impressive as it is simple. And any number of variations would be equally tempting. Try using a mixture of apples and pears, substituting ground ginger for the cinnamon, or sprinkling the warm tart with finely chopped pecans.

Ingredients:Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F.

Core and slice apples thinly, drizzling with lemon juice.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Unfold pastry on parchment paper. Using tines of fork, pierce 1/2-inch border around edge of pastry, then pierce center all over. Arrange apples atop pastry in 4 rows, overlapping apple slices and leaving border clear. Brush apples with melted butter; sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake 30 minutes.

Brush melted jam over apples. Bake tart until golden, about 8 minutes longer. Serve warm or at room temperature.
(Serves 6)

Quick Apple Tart. To import, drag image to your MacGourmet recipe box.