Peach Basil Balsamic Sorbet

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup filtered water
• 10 basil leaves
• 4 whole ripe peaches, peeled and pitted
• juice from 1 lemon
• 1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. Bring water, sugar, 8 basil leaves, and lemon juice to a boil in a medium-sized non-reactive pot. Reduce heat and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
2. Meanwhile, puree peaches. Peaches tend to have stringy flesh, so I like to do this by hand to get rid of the stringiness. Use a fork or your hands to smash peaches in a bowl. Press peaches through a fine mesh strainer into a second bowl. You can use your hands or the back of a large serving spoon. Continue to smash and press until the only thing left in the strainer is stringy pulp (There shouldn't be too much of this!).
3. Remove basil leaves from sugar syrup and pour sugar into peach puree.
4. Add balsamic to peach/sugar mixture and combine.
5. Mince remaining two basil leaves and add them to the peach mixture.
6. Freeze sorbet in your ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions.**
7. Cover and freeze until firm.

** If you don't have an ice cream maker, no problem! You can freeze it in the freezer, whisking it every thirty minutes until it has become soft-serve consistency.

Rich Chocolate Ice Cream

Ingredients:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 ounce baking chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• a pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Bring heavy cream and milk to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Turn heat to low.
2. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks, sugar, brown sugar, and salt in a medium bowl until yolks have lightened in color.
3. When cream and milk are simmering, whisk in chocolate and cocoa powder until well combined and chocolate has melted. (There may be some flecks of chocolate still, but that's okay!)
4. Pour about 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the egg/milk mixture back into the pot of milk and continue to whisk. (This is called 'tempering'! It allows the eggs to emulsify with the cream without cooking into chunks of egg!)
5. Whisk the mixture constantly over medium/low heat until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. This will take about five minutes or so. Do not allow the mixture to boil.
6. Put base into a bowl and allow to cool for 15-20 minutes. Refrigerate overnight, or until the mixture has reached 41 degrees F.
7. Freeze base in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
8. Cover and freeze until hardened.

Lemon Lavender Ice Cream

Two summers ago, I spent some time in San Francisco for a non-profit organization workshop. We got to live in this huge old house that was walking distance from pretty much everything. There was this really cool coffee shop/bar right around the corner that I used to walk to every morning. They had these vegan lemon lavender cookies that I haven't been able to get my mind off of.

I bought some lavender a few months ago at a specialty store and kept forgetting to use it until now. Instead of trying to recreate those amazing cookies, I decided to use my new Kitchenaid ice cream maker attachment to make lemon lavender ice cream.

It was a success.


Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup dried lavender
• zest of two lemons
• 5 large egg yolks

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup heavy cream, salt, lavender, and lemon zest.

2. Once the mixture is hot and steaming, remove from heat, cover, and let stand for an hour to infuse the lemon/lavender flavor. 

3. Remove the lemon and lavender with a strainer, then press down with a spatula firmly to extract as much flavor as you can. Discard lemon and lavender.

4. Pour the remaining heavy cream into a large bowl and set the strainer over the top.

5. Rewarm the infused milk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, then slowly pour some of the warm mint mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.

6. Cook the custard, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. If using an instant read thermometer, it should read around 170ºF (77ºC).

7. Immediately strain the mixture into the cream, then stir the mixture over an ice bath until cool.

8. Refrigerate the mixture thoroughly, preferably overnight, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

9. When finished, cover and freeze until firm.

Fresh Mint Chip Ice Cream

I just got a Kitchenaind Ice Cream Maker attachment and it seems that I've caught a touch of ice cream fever!

I can't help myself! Ice cream is as versatile as it is delicious and I've been having a blast creating and trying different flavors. 

I think I'm addicted to making ice cream. Our freezer is full and it's been less than a week since I got my attachment! Unfortunately, ice cream is not the healthiest treat, though. I promise I'll start experimenting with lower calorie ice cream bases as soon as we run out of heavy cream!

(Adapted from David Lebovitz)


Ingredients:

For the mint ice cream:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups packed fresh mint leaves
• 5 large egg yolks
• optional: 1 teaspoon mint extract (This ice cream has really more of an earthy sweet mint flavor. If you want more of a punch, add mint extract)

For the chocolate chips:

• 5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

1. In a medium saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup heavy cream, salt, and mint. 

2. Once the mixture is hot and steaming, remove from heat, cover, and let stand for an hour to infuse the mint flavor.

3. Remove the mint with a strainer, then press down with a spatula firmly to extract as much mint flavor and color as possible. (You can also use well-washed hands to do it as well, making sure the mixture isn’t too hot to safely handle.) Once the flavor is squeezed out, discard the mint.

4. Pour the remaining heavy cream into a large bowl and set the strainer over the top.

5. Rewarm the infused milk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, then slowly pour some of the warm mint mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.

6. Cook the custard, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. If using an instant read thermometer, it should read around 170ºF (77ºC).

7. Immediately strain the mixture into the cream, then stir the mixture over an ice bath until cool. Add mint extract, if desired. 

8. Refrigerate the mixture thoroughly, preferably overnight, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

While the mixture is freezing, melt the chocolate in a small ziplock bag, squeezing until smooth. Place a small storage container in the freezer.

9. When the ice cream in the machine is ready, cut a small corner off of the ziplock bag of chocolate and scribble some of the it into the container. Then add a layer of the just-churned ice cream to the container. Scribble melted chocolate over the top of the ice cream, then quickly stir it in, breaking up the chocolate into irregular pieces. Continue layering the ice cream, scribbling more chocolate and stirring as you go.

When finished, cover and freeze until firm.