FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Mango Basil Ice Cream

by

Mango Basil Ice Cream

Ever since the Chobani dinner during SXSW, I’ve had mango basil ice cream on my mind.  Like so on my mind that I looked forward to any conversation turning to ice cream/summer/food so I could casually mention my desire to experiment.  And even though this is one of the quickest, most simple desserts ever – it took a holiday weekend to getter done.

mango basil

FoodFash Mango Basil Ice Cream (adapted from this recipe)

1 cup half and half

1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1-1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar (I used beet sugar)

16 ounces frozen mangos

5 to 7 basil leaves, chopped

Add all of the ingredients to a Blendtec blender in the order listed above, press the ice cream button, and serve!

Blendtec Ice Cream

I packed the ice cream into a jar and headed down the street for a final Memorial Day weekend meal.  I stashed the jar in the freezer, unsure of how I felt about the mango (does mango ever make your mouth feel funny?).  After dinner, I walked to the kitchen for a final test bite to make sure it was serve-able and, before I knew what was what, I heard the Dickster say “I already snuck a few bites and it was reaaaallllll good, KV!”.

The Cookie Party

by

IMG_3479

Can you believe for a moment that I’m 29 years old and tonight was the first non-family cookie baking party I’ve ever hosted or attended??  It seems a little ridiculous, I know.  What’s even more crazy is that I wouldn’t have even thought to have people over if Shelby hadn’t made the suggestion a couple weekends ago at the Urban Farm Bike Tour.

IMG_3439

I asked the girls bring already-made dough so we could spend more time cookin’ and less time mixin’.  And I prepped for their arrival by making this sugar cookie recipe (rated 4.5 stars with over 5,000 reviews!).  My thought was that we could chit-chat and decorate while all the other cookies were in the oven.  What I failed to read is that this particular cookie recipe yielded 5 dozen cookies.  Heads up, 5 dozen cookies is a heck of a lot of cookies to frost.  Like…  a seemingly impossible, slightly frustrating amount of cookies to frost.

IMG_3444

What I did do right was use Madagascar double strength vanilla in lieu of regular vanilla.  Even though this vanilla was much stronger than what was called for, I used the same amount because I wanted these cookies to be something more than just plain old sugar cookies.

IMG_3472

Two more super right things that made these cookies out of the ordinary good?  First, using the smoked chili sugar I bought at a farmer’s market in San Fran.  I have struggled to find  a good use for this sugar and I really liked how it transformed a sugar cookie.  And second, making a completely homemade spiced icing.  And I became especially thankful for these right things after tasting the oh so beautiful and easy to apply store-bought (red) icing that tasted like poison.  Homemade is for sure the way to go.

The spiced icing recipe will but up tomorrow, but in the meantime, take a listen to this gem of a Christmas song!

Farewell Muffins

by

Once upon a time, I let a Tampa friend borrow my muffin tray.  A few months and a few ugly muffin recipes later, I decided it was time to bite the bullet and buy a new tray.  I also decided it was time to bake a Joy the Baker recipe and use Matt’s temporary move as an excuse.

I was excited to try Joy’s lemon poppy seed muffin recipe partly because I love a good lemon poppy seed combo, but mostly because I had never baked anything using browned butter.

The browning butter how-to seemed like common sense.  But after a while of butter that wasn’t browning, I started googling on my phone.  I came across this instructional and was glad I did.  The time it takes to go from unbrowned to almost burned butter is… not that long.  I tasted my browned butter to make sure it didn’t taste torched before pouring it into the batter.

After mixing in the poppy seeds, I scooped a big ol’ spoonful of batter into my mouth.  I blame a lifetime of impatience for my love of dough and lack of fear for raw eggs.  I poured the rest of the dough into muffin cups, knowing a dough this good would yield a delish muffin.

I couldn’t decide whether or not I wanted to ice these muffins until taking a bite (sorry Matt, you only get 11 muffins).  I came to the conclusion that if you wanted these to be a breakfast muffin you should skip the icing and, in turn, skip the associated AM sugar coma that would follow.  However, if you want to deliver dessert muffins to friends, then icing these muffins is the way to go.

I’m off to deliver these sweet treats!  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Meringue Madness

by

Ever since licking the bowl and beaters when I baked that lemon meringue pie, I’ve had meringue on the brain.  And since I was not going to tempt myself with another whole pie just to get a meringue fix, I figured meringue cookies would do.

FoodFash Mocha Meringue Cookies

3 egg whites, room temperature

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon coffee extract

6 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.  Beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and extracts at medium speed until eggs are frothy and forming soft peaks.  Gradually add sugar and then beat for 4-5 minutes at high speed, until meringue is stiff and looks like the picture above.  Scoop all of the meringue into a large ziploc bag (or pastry bag) and cut off the corner of the bag.  Squeeze meringue onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet into whatever shape your heart desires.  Bake for one hour, turn off the oven, and allow the cookies to stay in the oven for a few hours.  Store in an air-tight container, separated by parchment paper, at room temperature to prevent cookies from getting sticky.

I left the cookies in the oven overnight and when I popped a few in my mouth as I rushed out the door this morning, they were perfect!  Light and airy with a hint of coffee flavor, I was down with it.  But when I arrived at home after working all day (sooo excited for a cookie), it was a totally different story.  You see, in my 7:30 AM frenzy, I figured the cookies would be just fine stored in the oven all day.  I figured wrong.  Meringues and the slightest bit of humidity equal marshmallow taffy-like things.  No bueno.

As I hesitantly tossed them into the trash can, I was already thinking of new meringue flavor combinations.  New flavor combinations, how I need to buy a pastry bag, how similar baking meringues are to baking macarons.  Lots and lots of thoughts going on as each fluffy fail found its way to the bottom of the bag.