Paul’s Special Occasion Ice Cream and Cookies

Today is a special day. Not only is it the 29th of February, a day only occurring once every 4 years. It’s 2/29/2012, a day that will occur only once; a day filled with peace,  love and happiness. To that end, I present Paul’s Special Occasion Ice Cream. What’s the special occasion? Eating this ice cream, of course.

Paul loves white chocolate. I often find him in the pantry eating my white chocolate chips. True story! I know white chocolate brings out strong emotion in people and divides people into different camps. You love it, you hate it, or you like it okay. I’m in the third group but I find myself baking with it more and more. You’re welcome, Paul. 😉

I churned up a batch of David Lebovitz’s White Chocolate Ice Cream from his book The Perfect Scoop. Since white chocolate is the main attraction, I used my block of Callebaut. No chips here. This is a repeat recipe. I’ve made it once before. Again, you’re welcome Paul. My repeat list is very short.   This time I swirled in some biscoff spread because it’s oh so good and since we discovered it we’ve been using it in everything.

White Chocolate Ice Cream

From The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

• 8 ounces white chocolate
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2/3 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 5 large egg yolks
• 2 cups heavy cream

Place the white chocolate  in a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top.

Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan.  In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.  Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.  Pour the custard through the strainer over the white chocolate.  Stir until the white chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth, then stir in the cream.  Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

I baked up a batch of Alice Medrich’s Macadamia and White Chocolate Chunk  Cookies from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy to go with the ice cream. These are  a little different than other versions because you grind up rolled oats and add them to the batter. It makes them taste a bit nuttier and heartier than the traditional version. Very tasty. You can find the recipe HERE.

Photos by Paulrus

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Avocado Ice Cream

You all know that ice cream is my thing and I enjoy trying new flavors and so far I have liked every flavor I’ve made {some more than others}, that is, until now: Avocado Ice Cream from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop–>it tastes like frozen sweetened guacamole {with sour cream, which to me is a guacamole no-no} and I was so disappointed because I really really wanted to love avocado ice cream {and I love love love avocados; I buy 7 for $5 every week at the farmers’ market} but maybe I would like it more paired  with coconut ice cream, Vietnamese-style, as explained recently by Dorie Greenspan {nice, quick post today because of THIS}.

Recipe from The Perfect Scoop

Makes: About 1 quart

3 medium ripe Hass avocados (about 1 1/2 pounds)
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Big pinch salt

Slice the avocados in half and remove the pits. Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh, then cut it into chunks.

In a food processor or blender, combine the avocados, sugar, sour cream, heavy cream, lime juice and salt. Puree until smooth and the sugar is dissolved.

Freeze immediately in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Rice Salad Primavera & Banana-Blueberry Sorbet

Last summer I ate a lot of different variations of rice salad. I was cooking a lot from Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything Vegetarian. In the salad section he has a table full of different twists you can take with rice salads. I think I made almost everyone listed.

I made a big pot of brown basmati rice one weekend and every night as I packed my lunch for the next day I would dish out my rice and make a single portion rice salad.

Rice Salad Primavera comes from the July/August 2009 issue of Vegetarian Times. The addition of tofu to the salad makes it a complete meal. I love the colors: red tomatoes, orange bell pepper, yellow squash, and green onions.

The salad is dressed in a simple vinaigrette made of hearty spicy brown mustard, red wine vinegar, and olive oil. It’s light, refreshing and perfect for a summer lunch or picnic or for Vegan Tuesday.

Rice Salad Primavera

Adapted from July/August 2009 Vegetarian Times

• 1 cup brown basmati rice
• 1 8 0unce package of Italian garlic baked tofu, cubed
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 4 green onions, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 orange bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 1 small cucumber, peeled, quartered, and sliced (1/2 cup)
• 1 small yellow squash, diced (1/2 cup)
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons hearty spicy brown mustard
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and fresh ground pepper

1. Bring rice and 2 cups water to boil in covered saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool.
2. Stir tofu, tomatoes, green onions, bell pepper, cucumber, and squash into rice.
3. Whisk together vinegar and mustard in small bowl. Whisk in oil until mixture forms smooth sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Stir vinaigrette into rice. Chill well before serving.

Serves 8.

We’ve had a bounty of locally-grown blueberries, so for something sweet I made the Banana-Blueberry Sorbet from The Perfect Scoop. Even though there is no dairy, it’s creamy from the bananas. It’s light and refreshing without the heaviness of ice cream. Perfect on a summer night. I also think it would be great frozen into popsicles. You can find the recipe HERE.

(Of course, when I mentioned to the co-workers the great tasting blueberries they wondered when something baked  would show up. Can’t take this to work. 😛 )

{sms} Double Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies

This week, the pick for Sweet Melissa Sundays was cookies. More specifically, Double Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies and because the chocolate is doubled the taste is quadrupled. That’s how food math works, right? And then when you add in the dried sour cherries the flavor inches closer to bliss like a mathematical curve heading towards infinity.

I served the cookies with David Lebovitz’s Milk Chocolate Ice Cream from The Perfect Scoop. David suggests adding cacao nibs or chocolate chips to the ice cream. I took it one-step further and added Scharffen Berger Chocolate-Covered Cacao Nibs.

The food math is now beyond what my brain and tastebuds can handle. By itself, the ice cream is wonderfully creamy. The cacao nibs add a crunchy texture and a bittersweet counterpoint to the sweetness of the milk chocolate. Perfect.

Thank you to Megan of My Baking Adventures, who is probably roasting in Las Vegas today. Hopefully she served the cookies with ice cream too. If you would like the recipe, please visit Megan’s blog or buy the book: The Sweet Melissa Baking Book.

{sms} Guinness Gingerbread and Ice Cream

This week’s Sweet Melissa Sundays selection is Guinness Gingerbread. I made a half recipe and baked it in an 8×8-inch pan. The recipe also said to simmer the Guiness in a saucepan. I didn’t do it because I didn’t want to dirty another pan. I don’t know if it affected the outcome.The gingerbread tasted great. Not as good as the Fresh Ginger & Chocolate Gingerbread I made in January, but it was good.

I decided to make Guinness-Milk Chocolate Ice Cream from The Perfect Scoop this week. In high school, I had to read John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row. One thing I always remember from the book is beer milkshakes. We giggled over that in class. Anyway, this ice cream makes me think of beer milkshakes and Cannery Row.You can find the recipe for the ice cream HERE.

Thank you to Katie of Katiecakes for selecting this delicious recipe as we bake our way through The Sweet Melissa Baking Book. Please visit her blog for the recipe.