Bastani Jan
Da who? “Bastani” means ice cream in Farsi and “Jan” is used when referring to a friend or someone you care for, so if your friend’s name is Pickles and you adore her, then she would would be Pickles Jan. (If you have a friend named “Jan” then she is DOUBLE AWESOME.) How do I know all this? Did I live in Iran for a decade? Maybs. NOT! My dear friend at work is Persian and he taught me a thing or two and since this ice cream was for him, I figured I would name is something meaningful.
Afshin Jan brought in Persian ice cream to work once and then I had it at a restaurant and liked it very much. It’s extremely unique in flavor, much like Persian cuisine which I am a huge fan of. There are three major ingredients that make up Persian ice cream: saffron, rose water and pistachios. But before we get there we need to talk about texture because I don’t leave home without it. Bastani is MEGA creamy and smooth so don’t expect it to hang around for awhile in that cone or dish of yours. This sucker is on a mission to get to know your taste buds and is not playing hard to get. Let us begin with the essentials…
saffron mugshot
I never really had much saffron in my life, but me oh my am I excited about it. It’s a really rare spice that only yields a limited amount of “threads” which is the other form it takes, hence why it’s a hot commodity and so pricey. I opted for powder because in this form it’s simple to mix vs. the threads which need to be seeped in order to release their flavor. Just to confirm, you aren’t crazy…what you see above is a deep maroon color…in a couple of minutes you will see something completely different in color. My sous chef is a unicorn and is about to perform some magic…
rose water mugshot
The next ingredient is rose water which is a really strong flavor and usually what you taste the most in Persian ice cream. It’s extremely flavorful and you feel like you are sitting in a bed of roses when a large gust of wind comes in and delicately places a few petals on your tongue as you unassumingly yawn/stretch. Get the picture?
pistachio mouth
This guy is clearly singing:
Nothing really much more to say than that.
I did add egg yolks because I wanted the texture true to form…CREAMY MANIA. This is how we did…
Bastani-Jan
I actually don’t think this photo does it justice…this thing WAS YELLOW. (Like Coldplay “yellow”). As mentioned earlier, my unicorn sous chef wiggled its horn and cracked its knuckles and voila…maroon powder turns into bright yellow! I really enjoyed this one…though next time I might tone down the rose water and let the saffron play in the sun a bit more. Afshin Jan loved the surprise which made it even better!
G.C.L (Goat Cheese Lemon)
G.C.L sounds like some kind of Ford Taurus model. Regardless it is what I have named this flavor. Let’s start by saying that cheese is one of my all time favorite foods on the planet. I always have it in some form in my refrigerator and goat cheese is my #2 most favorite type. (Havarti takes #1 and I am guilty of liking really “bad cheese” like velveta and the square fluid-like cheese found in handi-snacks). Drum roll please for The Goat:
Goat Cheese Mugshot
Awhile back I tried goat cheese gelato from Holy Gelato and liked it but it was very rich and I got bored with it after a few bites. I remembered wishing I had mixed it with another flavor to break up the possessive relationship the goat cheese was having on my taste buds. I originally was going to mix it with fig but after I tasted a wee sample of the goat cheese base with mashed up figs I wasn’t convinced this is how I wanted to go. Enter the lemon. I squeezed a whole lemon into the goat cheese base and let the games begin. The base was thick and looked like Elmir’s glue so I imagined this appetizer flavor would come out creamy and soft. Not the case. It was very firm even though I added two tablespoons of corn starch which was a surprise, but after letting it sit out for a wee bit it was good to go.
G.C.L (Goat Cheese Lemon)
I really liked this one…can see it’s not for everyone but the lemon did wonderful things. It brightened up the tangy goat cheese taste and it was really light on the buds (taste). I’d make this again and serve it before a meal because it would be a cool (pun intended..not..well sorta) to start things off.
Goat Cheese Lemon Ice Cream
Twinkie Feast
Twinkies kind of look like some dog’s tails, short, stubby and cute.
Twinkie Mugshot
You can feel the slightly damp cake in this shot which is why I love Twinkies. They are greasy and oily but still light and you don’t feel ALL that bad after eating one or two. (kinda).
Twinkie X-Ray
I made this for a “guilty pleasure” themed gathering which was in very good company. Chicken nuggets, Popeye’s biscuits, donuts, fries, cheap wine and the list goes on. DROOL.
I chopped up some Twinkies and mixed it with a vanilla bean base. I did do some different stuff with the base this time around. I substituted heavy whipping cream with half and half and again used corn starch instead of eggs. I only used one Tbsp of corn starch and it was a great level of hardness..not too soft but not rock hard either. The vanilla bean really came out in this one verse others I’ve made with using all heavy whipping cream.
Twinkie Feast
Soft, airy, cloud-like cake can sometimes take on a stale flavor when in ice cream because when you mix it in ice cream it’s wet at that point, and makes it a wee bit soggy. The cream really held up though which is more or less the best part of a Twinkie anyway. I went nuts with the photos…it just photographed so well!
Aerial View of Twinkie Feast
Twinkie Log
Salted Caramel Mirage
Mirage? Yep. Visually I can’t believe how good this flavor looked. The studies and big brain people say that food that looks appealing tastes better…ab.so.lu.tely. For this post, I’m going to be like Momento and work backwards:
Salted Caramel Nose
Looks like a clown nose minus the creepy intentions.
Caramel Top Hat
Follow the Salted Caramel Road
HOLD.ME. As a self proclaimed texture freak, this is like looking at the Mona Lisa..I just don’t know where to begin.
You can’t really speak of ice cream in SF without bringing up Bi-Rite and their dominance of salted caramel which is why I was intimidated. If you live in SF you get it. Bi-Rite OWNS Salted Caramel.
I made this for a special occasion. A friend at work requested it as she was moving a bookmark to a new chapter. I knew this was going to be different than any other ice cream I’ve made…caramel is tricky because you are turning this:
Sugar Mugshot
into this:
Caramel
Sorry Inspector Gadget, I won’t be needing your bungee arm for this one, all I need is heat to make caramel. I threw in one cup of white sugar in a sauce pan and let that sucker burn until it turned to an amber color. Then I threw in some cream which solidified the caramel into a semi-solid-not-really-blob-thing:
Caramel Hockey Puck
I let this caramel hockey puck fully dissolve in the cream which took some time. While those two got to know each other I warmed egg yolks, milk, more cream and a bit more sugar in a separate pan. [insert jazz hands]
After the hockey puck of caramel dissolved, I put in a bowl to cool down and added some sea salt and a hint of vanilla.
Salt Mugshot
Once it was cooled and ready to roll, I added the egg yolk/milk mixture and had a lovely base ready to freeze.
Not going to beat around the bush…IT.WAS. AMAZING. This dream flavor not only satisfies my taste buds but photography nerdness. I have a huge crush on this ice cream…I can’t stop looking at it and batting my eyelashes.
Philly’s Finest
My friend who got the mint cookie’s and cream in the previous post also got this surprise flavor which I’m going to call Philly’s Finest. How come she got two flavors?! She’s my cube mate at work who puts up with my voices, antics and me ignoring her questions because I have my headphones on. She is also a friend who helped me at the ice cream event so I wanted to show my appreciation.
If you don’t know Tastykakes, they are a Philadelphia treat made of a sponge cake and butterscotch frosting. My Philly friend visited a few months ago and brought a bunch back to work which I saved specifically to experiment with.
Tastykake
Tastykake X-Ray
I was thinking of a flavor that would play nice with the butterscotch frosting so I opted for a sweetening libation: Maker’s Mark. I used probably around 1 Tbsp of the warm and buttery liquor which happens to be my favorite spirit.
Maker's Bottle
I also threw vanilla bean guts in and got this very rich and creamy base that was flirting with the little Philly cake. Once again I used corn starch instead of eggs and it remained creamy and soft.
Philly's Finest
Mint Cookies n’ Cream
It was my “favorite girl from Philly’s” birthday and when I asked her what flavor she wanted she said “Well I like Mint Chocolate Chip and Cookies and Cream.” I have just the cure!
Mint & Oreo Mugshot
DOUBLE STUFF WHAAAAATTTT!! Just look at that extra millimeter of cream! I think I have made a mint base at least a half of dozen times by now and every time I learn something new. This time I learned that it totally depends on the freshness of the mint used. I made this flavor twice in one weekend and noticed the second batch came out better because the mint was in better shape. It was like the first batch was Arnold Swarchenegger in Kindergarten Cop and the second batch was Arnold in Total Recall..one was timid and gentle and the other was out of control good.
mint cookies and cream
I have been dabbling with a new method of using corn starch instead of egg yolks. Why? I adore the creaminess that egg yolks provide but I do notice that it affects the flavor and I have been reading others who have tried corn starch and swear by it. I have made three batches now with corn starch and have to say I really like it. This ice cream was very creamy and soft, almost sticky and in my opinion a little too soft. I’m going to continue to experiment with the corn starch method and see how different flavors freeze with it.
Mini Cup
Loved this flavor. Natural mint is so wonderful and dapper. You know when it enters a room because it’s so sharp and gracious with it’s offering. This flavor is like the Don Draper of flavors, slick, cool and guilty with pleasure.
Baby Peaches
Baby Peach reminds me of Mario Kart. (It’s a character you can select and always beats me so I have ill feelings towards it…kinda). Well the news broke that we have another baby-to-be in the office! The presentation was classic…it was about 10 a.m. and the news was revealed via a tank top that read “baby” and an arrow pointed to the “baby region”. Classic. Like a good insurance company I was there to congratulate and offer the comfort of an ice cream flavor of choice. This particular friend from work is a HUGE supporter and was sweet enough to say “I have been thinking about my flavor…”. Sweet. She and baby-to-be opted for peach.
Peach Mug Shot
I admit it has been years since I’ve had a peach. I don’t particular seek out the fuzzy fall looking fruit. As a texture freak, I don’t really like its book cover of fuzz. Yes I suppose that is superficial, but so be it. Peaches do remind me of summer and how my Dad would constantly stock the fridge with them. Yes all fruit I consumed was chilled which is why to date I can’t stand room temperature fruit, just doesn’t taste refreshing to me.
De-robbed of Fuzz
Since I haven’t consumed a peach in some time I cut some up and tried to figure it out like a game of Sudoku. Trying to figure out what to do with it I turned to the 112 song “Peaches and Cream”. They clearly are aware of the nature and science behind the peach so full fleet ahead. NOT. Peaches are tricky. The consistency, flavor, texture, everything.
I ended up pureeing 2 cups of peach gizzards and then chilled it with cream, sugar and milk. No eggs because baby-mamas-to-be aren’t supposed to consume them per se, so hands off. I did babysit the peach puree with a hint of lemon juice, honey and vanilla bean paste. [arm pump].
I wasn’t satisfied. It needed more peach flavor so I bought 4 more smaller peaches that I hoped packed more juice. Done deal. I chopped up the new peach friends and dropped them off in the original peach base. I was extremely pleased and surprised with the flavor. It had many layers, at first I thought it was too sugary but then the peach and cream swirled and formed a DNA strand that made it seem like they were a natural fit.
Baby Peaches
The consistency was not at all to my liking. It was icy and scrape-like because there were no eggs and I don’t think I left it in the machine long enough which made it freeze harder. The photo is deceiving because I let it melt some and then whipped it up to make it creamier looking. WHAT A FRAUD! Whatever I wanted to mess with cones OK! Next time eggs for sure! Congratulations to another baby-to-be!
Peach pop from leftover base
Strawberry Short Olive
I tried an Olive Oil flavored ice cream months ago at Humphry Slocombe and fell in love with its delicate, subtle and interesting flavor. They mixed it with what tasted as a plain base but it’s been awhile so the cobwebs in my brain could be fooling me. I was reading one recipe for olive oil ice cream and a commentary said to use fruity olive oil if available. I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t own fancy olive oil at all. I feel like its a nice thing to have around especially with the amount of garlic I love to sautee but alas I have a less than impressive bottle roaming the streets in my kitchen. I took this as a sign to take a plunge and make a full on fruity base and add my cheap-o extra virgin olive oil. Enter the original red riding hood: The Strawberry.
Strawberry Mug Shot (literally behind bars)
Strawberries are swell. Swelling with an interior bark of tasty rings, fireworks and a hippie tie-dye shirt.
Strawberry X-Ray
Instead of taking the little red riding hoods (strawberries) to the blender, I wanted to try melting them down to a syrup-like mixture which I could add the olive oil to. I did a coarse chop of the berries and then threw them in with some sugar to let them melt down to red lava.
Strawberry Lava
(This bubbling lava reminded me of a scene from Carrie when the bullies dump fake blood on her and the creepy mom’s voice echoes in the background “they’re all going to laugh at you!”).
Anyway the freckled fruit melted down nicely and I ended up getting a syrup and added some olive oil. I let them get acquainted and then tasted the newly created ensemble. It was different and a little dry so I added some sea salt. mmmm salt. I liked where this was going so added a bit more salt and then added this trio of red lava to the cream, sugar and salt crew.
Strawberry Short Olive
A couple of notes.
- It wasn’t as creamy as I thought, granted I did reduce the cream and milk so the strawberry could attend as the A-List actress, I was a little surprised by the texture and consistency.
- I added sea salt to the top of the serving because I felt it still needed more salt.
- I got mixed reactions on this..I got some “This is….inte-r-e-t-ing”, which to me equals “I don’t like it.” However I did get some positive reactions too, specifically from a girl who was a fan of the Humphry Slocombe version so I think it’s an acquired taste.
- Next time I make strawberry ice cream I will do the lava method again, it makes for an intense flavor vs the blender method.
Blue Sugar
It’s Memorial Day and I wanted to make something “American”. Vanilla? No. Gasoline? No. Jello? No. I wanted to use fruit since summer is around the corner and also wanted to tie in nostalgia, so cookies seemed appropriate. I opted for making a brown sugar cookie with blueberries mixed with vanilla bean ice cream. Hence the name Blue Sugar..a play on Blue Angels. (Is this thing on?)
Blueberry Angels
I did some snooping because I want to make a really soft cookie that doesn’t require a lot of biting in the ice cream. I discovered that upping the brown sugar levels and using shortening opposed to butter will do just the trick. I threw in some blueberries to the mix for some color and fruity punch.
Brown Sugar with Blueberries X-Ray
The cookie came out soft like a balled up comforter on a bed. You wanted to jump in it and burrow your face in its soft decor. Brown sugar has such a wonderful and warm taste that needs no introduction. The blueberries melted as you can see in the photo but still maintained their shape. This was a nice result because when I added the cookies to the vanilla ice cream the blueberries sneaked out and speckled the ice cream with their blue reputation.
Blue Sugar
The cookies ended up with the same texture of cookie dough…soft and easy on the teeth. You basically have to produce a few noms and they slither down the hatch. I really enjoy the consistency and texture as seen in the photo. I want to live in one of these crevices and every so often come out and stretch and then retreat back in.
Blue Sugar Sammie
I did a little switch-a-roo and wanted to test out the cookies as support beams for an ice cream sammie. They were very competent and remained soft during the freezing process. I’m most concerned about how a bite will affect the ice cream in a sandwich. I hate when you bite into a sammie and all of the goods in the middle get dislodged and squirt out. Hense my need for a really soft cookie that will hold it together. I want something strong and soft…like Tina Turner. It ended up working and the ice cream stayed put in between the cookies which allowed me to gaze at it for a second so I could pledge allegiance to its deliciousness. Happy Memorial Day!
5 O’clock Mint Chocolate Shadow
This one has been in the works since around last fall. It was my co-worker/friend’s request for her birthday and as she stated in Nov. ’09 “I want white mint chocolate chip but with shaved chocolate bits.” Hence the name…shavings…5 0′clock shadow. I’ll keep my day job. This is actually the third time I have made a mint base ice cream and normally I don’t like to repeat unless it involves pancakes, but mint is like the Fonzie of ice creams so I couldn’t resist hanging out with it again.
Mint Mugshot
Have to say I’m a big fan of chocolate shavings over chocolate chips. I feel that chocolate chips can sometimes take away from the flavor of the ice cream. You chew and chomp on it for a few moments and you let the ice cream slither down forgetting it like Pauly Shore’s comedic past. I think teeth should be left for cones and not for ice cream. I like how the shavings just melt in your mouth and blend with the base of the ice cream, complimenting it like it was on a first date.
Chocolate Stubble
This does not taste anything like what you buy in isle 20. Besides homemade vanilla bean, this has the most distinct difference in flavor from store bought mint ice cream. It tastes like earth and freshness, whereas store bought typically uses peppermint oil which I’m not opposed to if it’s just an additive flavor but if it’s the headliner of the show, I want it to perform 100%.
5 O'clock Mint Chocolate Shadow
I let it steep for about 15 minutes which colored the base to a very light green that reminded me of green tea, so it wasn’t really white at all but wasn’t neon green either. (I do love food coloring though).
The Fonzie of Ice Cream: Mr. Cool himself Mint Chocolate Chip.
Mexican Chocolate
Hola! Happy Cinco de Mayo! I was torn on this one…was either going to do a pinata sandwich like I tried before or make a pinata flavored ice cream with a bunch of sprinkles inside. Wanted to try something new so I asked around and got the suggestion of Mexican chocolate. I have never had Mexican chocolate because I don’t like chocolate ice cream. Not a terribly big chocolate fan in general, I can count on one hand how many times I have purchased chocolate. Halloween x 5.
I did a little snooping and found out what makes Mexican chocolate “Mexican” is that it’s spicy. No kidding. It consists of basically just cinnamon and some recipes call for cayenne pepper. I didn’t find any Mexican chocolate bars at two different stores so I just made it myself.
Spices n' Flavors Mugshot
The main ingredient is cocoa powder (left), a lot of cinnamon (center) and a few pinches of cayenne pepper (right). I also saw a lot of recipes include a vanilla bean which I was excited about so I threw some vanilla bean guts in the mix as well. I didn’t use eggs because we have a baby mama-to-be at work and she educated me that baby mamas-to-be shouldn’t consume raw eggs and while they aren’t technically raw in ice cream, they are just more “warm” than fully cooked so we avoided the situation.
Desert Base
This photo is of all the spices brewing together in a cauldron of desert. There’s a quicksand layer of milk and cream underneath.
Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream
I tried it after it came out of the machine and since I’m not the biggest chocolate fan I was eh about it. I brought it for work festivities and everyone seemed to enjoy it and I got some feedback that they could taste the kick of the cinnamon.
Mexican Chocolate Crow's Feet
This was the first experiment where I could definitely taste and see the difference of not using eggs. This was a very stiff ice cream and was harder than any other ice cream I have made. I also noticed that the less eggs there are the more crevices the ice cream will have. The creamier ice creams have less crow’s feet (lines/crevices). Just an observation amigos. Buenas noches!
Oh My Darling Clementine Sorbet
If I did a genealogy trace I would find myself related to the citrus family. I devour anything that claims to be “orange flavored”. With that said, I’m extremely particular about oranges…if it’s not juicy, please move along. For this very reason I adore clementines. They are consistently juicy which I attribute to their bite size stature, all the juices are concentrated in a small studio apartment.
Clementine Mugshot
De-robed Clementines
I have a handful of vanilla beans left which I wanted to blend with the clementine crew to make into an Orange Julius doppelganger. I used one vanilla bean and was much better at scraping the sides this go around.
E.T. Phone Vanilla Bean Home
I wish I had a Popsicle mold because this would be great in bar form. The consistency is very creamy which I’m ecstatic about, it’s not icy or “scrap like” at all. It is a wee bit sticky and clung to my ice cream scoop for dear life. My gumshoe skills tell me it has to do with the vanilla beans. I’m beginning to think they have something to do with making things creamy and sticky.
Clementine Vanilla Bean Sorbet
This ranks up there in the top three as personal favorites. The flavor is exactly what I wanted to achieve but the consistency surpasses my expectations to the max. The flavor is like vanilla bean is on one end of the see saw and a bunch of clementines are on the other, and they go back and forth with flavor. NOM up…NOM down. repeat.
Oh My Darling...Oh My Darling..
Riddled with Jealousy
Fine. I did it. I made Maple with Bacon Bits. What’s with the ‘tude you ask? I can’t stand maple syrup. It’s the bully in the breakfast club: it overwhelms, it’s sticky, it reeks, and it makes everything it touches soggier than a poodle in Seattle. Mainly my detest for the sugary spit comes from the fact that it ruins pancakes (in my opinion).
Syrup: Satan's Spit
I’ve had a request for this combination from quite a few people but it was my friend’s birthday request so I finally complied. In an effort to make peace with the Devil’s Tears (syrup), my friend was kind enough to bring me a maple/bacon donut from Dynamo Donuts.
Maple Bacon Donut from Dynamo Donuts
I barely tasted the maple, and mainly focused on the bacon bits and fluffy interior decor of the fried hole. It was pleasant and pumped me up to give Tree Trunk Guts (syrup) a second chance. I started off by frying bacon because “Bacon is good for me”.
Bacon Mugshot
Pile o' Bacon
While the strips of salty bark cooled, I started the base which is where I came face-to-face with my menace, my kryptonite, my edible stubbed toe of pain…syrup. I started off slow and added only a small amount, mixed quickly and then went on my way. I had my friend taste it as clearly I was going to be biased. She said it sufficed. I didn’t use eggs on this go-round because I thought the bacon/saltiness would get lost if it was too creamy. In the last 5 minutes or so I threw in the bacon bits and noticed how shockingly white in color the ice cream had become. I can’t really figure out why or how as the zombie milk (syrup) used was clearly caramel in color.
Bacon Maple Ice Cream
Next time I might try doing maple swirls and make a sandwich out of it between two pancakes. We’ll see. Overall I actually liked this, the consistency was still creamy and smooth and the bacon was salty and played nice with the sugary cream base.
p.s. I’m bummed because I really didn’t get a good shot of the ice cream…clearly I blame the syrup for this.
Plain Jane Vanilla Bean
Vanilla: The O.G. of ice cream. (original gangsta). It’s continuously voted most popular flavor so it was time I paid my dues to the O.G. and did it right. I did a little research about places in the city that sell vanilla beans and stumbled upon Vanilla Saffron Imports in the Mission. In reading about this family owned operation I discovered they were the same people behind Xanath Ice Cream Shop, which I heard about for having tasty ice cream. I ventured out and was delighted to find exactly what I wanted to do on a Saturday afternoon, buy vanilla and eat ice cream. I opted for their 1/4 .lb bag and started to feel a Mad Hatter grin begin to form across my face.
Beans in a Bag
These beans have been cured in the sun so at first whiff you will get a warm vanilla scent, then at the end you’ll get the cured aroma which I can’t say I really enjoy.
Shiny Coat Bean Mugshot
Vanilla Bean X-Ray
(love the natural bokeh effect going on here)
Vanilla Bean Guts
There are more recipes on vanilla ice cream than there are Tiger Woods’ mistresses. Most are the same with slight variations on half n’ half to cream, milk, etc. I found a simple one that I liked and did my thing. I used 2 beans and will admit I need some practice scrapping the sides of the bean. The seed bits got all over the place like glitter at a 7 year-old’s party. I used egg yolks because I wanted this sucker creamy and was a little disappointed that it affected the color of the base. It was a wee bit too yellowy for my ambitions but I lived. Upon exiting the ice cream machine the sprinkled spread of vanilla wealth looked inviting…
Vanilla Blanket
So the taste…it’s like when you come home from being outside in the pouring cold rain, pants are soaked, socks drenched, and all you want is to feel warm and comfortable. That’s what this tastes like. It’s comforting, familiar and rich with flavor. The taste lingers to remind you that it’s there for you, it’s got your back. This is also the softest ice cream I have ever made. I did nothing different in terms of eggs used, cream or milk ratio so I’m curious as to why this became so pillow-like. The consistency is semi-hard/borderline soft serve. I’m going to take a nap on this chilly pillow now…don’t wake me.
Plain Jane Vanilla Bean
Blueberry Ice Cream Pancake Smammies (kinda)
Yes I meant to type Smammies. When dealing or talking about pancakes I become a different person. The name alone brings a smile to my face. Besides the word “beak”, I think pancakes have THE perfect name. If I were given the task of naming pancakes back in the day I would either gone with “pancake” or “edible squishy lily pad.”
Pancake Pals
The very first ice cream experiment I had was with pancakes so clearly I have a weak spot for these pan cooked palms of cake. If I were to have a “signature” ice cream I want it to involve pancakes. There I said it. So this time I opted to use the p-cakes as the “cookie” to an ice cream sandwich. [insert a beam of light sent from above] .
Personally I like my pancakes plain Jane…meaning no syrup, fruit, chocolate, glitter, etc. A simple pat of butter will suffice. However I wanted to play around with fruit and pancakes so I opted for blueberry because it’s my second favorite fruit after oranges.
Blueberry Mugshot
Blueberry X-Ray
Most recipes call for melting down the blueberries with sugar. I complied and got a fantastic glassy magenta ooze:
Blueberry Ice Rink
While the magenta ooze erupted, I got the rest of the ingredients acquainted: milk, cream, eggs, and sugar. After they exchanged business cards, I make the intro to the blueberry magenta ooze. After chilling in the fridge for a few hours, I noticed blueberry ooze was shy and wasn’t really coming out in the flavor. I turned to the other package of blueberries and just chopped them up in the liquid butcher (the blender). I added them to the mix and let chill overnight. This is exactly what the magenta ooze needed, a little confidence.
Lady in Red Blueberry Ice Cream
(is this background too red? Wasn’t sure.)
Classic Blueberry Ice Cream
Sooooo back to the “smammies” part. Not so much. I tested two ice cream sammies with the pancakes because I wasn’t sure how hard the pancakes would get and didn’t want to waste the ice cream. Good call. The pancakes became rock hard and didn’t work so well so I will have to go back to the drawing board and try making more of a pancake-esk cookie.
Blueberry Pancake Smammies
Green Tea Mochi
CANNONBALL!!! I aggressively jumped at this experiment for a number of reasons:
- I’m going to Japan in about a week and a half. (!!!!!!!!!!!!)
- My friend who was was hosting a gathering mentioned she loves green tea ice cream.
- I love mochi.
I remember the exact moment I first tried ice cream mochi. It was strawberry (the Trader Joe’s kind) and I instantly went berserk. I never heard of mochi prior to moving to San Francisco and instantly fell in love with its unique texture and inner cold pocket of ice cream.
Green Tea Powder Mugshot
First I made the green tea ice cream by mixing 1/4 cup of green tea powder with the normal gang of ingredients: eggs, sugar, milk and cream. I did add a whisper of vanilla because I wasn’t sure how strong the green tea was going to be and vanilla is like the UN of ice cream…it gets along with everyone.
If growing old means getting wrinkles like this, sign me up.
Next came making the mochi. I made it by combining sweet rice flour, water, sugar and vanilla. Here are the steps on how to make mochi:
Step 1: Mix Ingredients to make a biscuit-y mochi texture
Step 2: Microwave for 2 minutes until liquidy
Step 3: Zap an additional :30 seconds to form taffy-like sticky mochi dough
This guy is stickier than a movie theater floor after a Hannah Montana movie. This fly trap of sugar could rip a fire hydrant right out of the ground and make Chuck Norris weep of jealousy. I let the dough cool and then “generously dusted” a cutting board with flour. I flattened pieces of the mochi dough so all I had to do was dollup the ice cream and then wrap. Well I learned that mochi didn’t really want to play nice with the ice cream and the instant they met, mr. mochi began to melt the ice cream. Working swiftly was the key and although I didn’t quite get the hang of it, they did turn out well for a first time effort. I am a mega fan of this green tea ice cream and it ranks up there with one of my favorite flavors I’ve made.
Green Tea Mochi
Green Tea Mochi Chillin in the Freezer
Jotella
Yay…a visitor in the kitchen! My dear friend Jo paid a visit this weekend and selected her flavor of choice, Nutella with peanut butter. Sure, I’ll take it. My experience with Nutella leading up to this experiment has been limited. I had it in a savory crepe once, and friends tend to proclaim their affection for it, so I was curious about its mysterious street cred.
Nutella Mugshot
We found a recipe for Nutella ice cream, but Jo had the determination of a boomerang and wanted to add peanut butter to the mix. I had Skippy creamy peanut butter lying around (because I’m not a “choosey mom”), and we added that to medley of delight as well as a drizzle of vanilla extract. I also vamped up the cream because I wanted EXTREME “S’NOM S’NOM”, (the equivalent to the NOM in ice cream lingo).
Avatar Jotella mixin' the goods
After a field trip to the freezer this dandy came out with the same boomerang determinaton of tasting wonderful. As Jo stated with delight, “IT TASTES LIKE A PEANUT BUTTER CUP!” [Insert: S'NOM S'NOM S'NOM]. I agree in Jo’s assesement of flavor and thouroughly enjoyed it. Since this flavor consists of slapping spreads together I think the next time I might add some crunchie bits of something. Perhaps Heath Bar bits or frozen bananas bits. Thanks for the idea Jo and you have exellent clean up skills 
Jotella
Strawberry Sorbet
Does anyone know the name of those pellets of yellow-ish bits that drape themselves on strawberry shortcake bars? I worked at a beach concession stand in high school, and strawberry shortcake bars were by far my most favorite frozen novelty. In a close second comes the Tweety ice cream bar with the creepy bubble gum eyes.
So I wanted to start off 2010 with a healthier approach. This does not mean I won’t be making full on creamy ice cream any longer, just wanted the first one to be a bit nicer on the stomach line. Strawberries are not in season at all, so I was hesitant to use “fresh strawberries” but I felt obliged to give it a whirl.
Strawberry Gang
Strawberry Mugshot
Sorbets are so healthy compared to ice cream because they have no dairy in it. zilch. Sorbets are just a menage of sugar, water and fruit. Some recipes call for using corn syrup but I just made my own simple syrup, next time I will though to see if there is a taste/consistency difference. I ended up sneaking in my own ingredients to the menage with a teaspoon of peppermint schnapps and cool whip!
Cool Whip Mugshot
Note how the fluffy cloud hangs like an icicle begging to be NOM’ed. I thought the cool whip would add a subtle taste of vanilla which it did and have to say I really enjoyed this one. It will be much more refreshing when strawberries are actually in season and it’s a bit warmer out, but high five strawberry gang, you kids played nice.
Strawberry Sorbet
Cookie Brains n’ Cream
Cookie brains! For the last 2009 ice cream batch, I turn to the classic and zombie-esk cookies n’ cream. Zombies? Yes. When you brutally smash cookies like I did to make this, they come back with tasty revenge. This also marks the final birthday request at work for 2009 and I’m not buying into the “half-birthday” requests.
Cookie Mugshot
For this recipe I ditched the eggs and strictly focused on its surname: Cream. Let’s just say you might want to wear your belt buckle on the first hole. It’s a very easy recipe that has a touch of vanilla, and lots and lots of cookie brains!
Cookie Brains!
I wanted to make it a mint cookie brains recipe but the birthday girl pouted so I left it as is..but next time… it’s mint in your face! Then it will really look zombie esk cause you know this child is gonna use food coloring…[snap snap snap].
Cookie Brains n' Cream
Mint Panda Chip
Chocolate chip ice cream reminds me of pandas, hence the Mint Panda Chip title. Busy birthday week at work. For another co-worker’s birthday, she requested this classic flavor to which I kindly obliged. I would like to dedicate this song to Mint to show my true affection for the great leaf. I love mint in water, tea, mojitos, sauces, mojitos, toothpaste, envelopes, mojitos. I plan on pairing mint with various different fruits in the summer for sorbets.
There are more recipes for Mint Panda Chip than there are articles about the Gosselins so I had my choices. I ended up going with Isaac Mizrahi’s recipe. Not lying. The reviews said it had a strong natural mint taste which I wanted so I gave it a shot. Plus the other 90 recipes I looked threw had horrible pop-up ads for Netflix which annoyed me.
Mint Potion: Fresh Mint Leaves, Cream & Milk
Like his Target fashion line I would do this recipe again. Next time I might purree the mint and then throw in the potion and let it steep longer. Also toying with using Peppermint Schnapps next time to give it a nice texture and added mint taste. I liked the taste overall but next time I will barter and use less eggs to trade creaminess for flavor. Of course I added green food coloring to fool your face into thinking it’s even more minty than it is. (I would really like to meet the person who thought of food coloring…especially the marketing genius who thought of “Blue Raspberry.”)
Mint Panda Chip
Would You like S’more?
mmmm edible campfire. Made this triple trouble of goodness for a co-worker’s birthday per her request. I was delighted as I am a huge fan of s’mores mainly for the marshmallows. I am addicted to the smell, outer texture, taste, everything. It’s like a little sugary ravioli filled with sticky smiles.
Marshmallow Mugshot
I was originally going to do chocolate and marshmallow swirls but that didn’t end up happening. When I melted both down, they each posed their own adolescent issues so I moved on. I just tore up the sugary raviolis into pieces and did something random with the chocolate. After melting it, I let it cool completely and the result was a fun texture of really soft brownie bits so I threw them in as is. I didn’t want to use chocolate chips because they would compete with the crunch of the graham crackers, and was weary of having the ice cream be too crunchy. I was very pleased with how the graham crackers pulled through…soft and comforting.
It's like camping minus the bug spray and damp sleeping bags.
Bailey’s Chocolate with Tim Tam’s
Up until this experiment, I had not made ice cream with egg yolks. Most recipes call for eggs which is more custard based and gives it a creamy, smooth texture that feels like a newly paved road. I found my previous attempts were creamy but can see a difference. Also learned that sans-egg recipes are more likely to get a mean rash a.k.a freezer burn. So I eased into the eggs by using one. I quickly learned the delicate usage of using eggs, and saw little chunks were actually cooked. GASP! I channeled my inner Baywatch lifeguard and rescued them from the mixture. Phew life can go on.
Tim Tam’s are an Australian cookie that is equivalent to our Oreo in the sense of its user’s behavior. There is a special way you are supposed to eat it called a “Tim Tam Slam” . Watch Video It’s a light chocolate cookie/biscuit that is very enjoyable and since it is paired with coffee I thought Bailey’s would be a nice BFF for the concoction. I slapped myself high-five as I was a huge fan of this recipe. The consistency was a nice and smooth because the Bailey’s prevented it from getting super hard. G’Day Mate, my mouth thanks your for your down under treats!
No Kangaroos were harmed during the process of making this ice cream.
Spiced Brown Sugar Cookie Bear
Why Bear? Because I couldn’t say “Blast”…it’s too Dairy Queen. Though I adore a medium vanilla with cherry dip in a cone any day. This to date has been my favorite. I made spiced brown sugar cookies for the pumpkin sammies and had a bunch of leftover cookies. Insert this dreamboat. The cookies were cooked so it wasn’t raw like cookie dough but gee whiz it tasted like it. I blended the cookies with a simple vanilla and once again I added some cinnamon. Two bear paws up! Oh and I actually didn’t bring this to work for my co-workers to try because I wanted it all to myself. Sorry suckahs!
I have a wonderful apartment for you...in my mouth.
Heaven
Just sayin’. This is what plain vanilla looks like straight out of my ice cream machine. Oh and it’s also what dreams are are made of.
Pre-Freezer
