If you asked me what my favorite ice cream of all time was, my answer might surprise you.  Sure, I’m a fan of chocolate and vanilla.  I love pralines and creme, chocolate chip cookie dough and moose tracks but my one go-to frozen dessert has always been fruit sherbets and lime is at the top of my favorite list for a long time.

So for the second use of the fabulous ice cream maker attachment my wife bought me for my birthday this year I decided to whip up a batch of Lime Sherbet.  The search for a recipe led me to Elle’s new England Kitchen and her recipe for Lemon Lime Crush Sherbet.  Just a few modifications to the base sherbet recipe and we were off!

I chose Elle’s recipe because it didn’t sound too sweet and could be adapted to work with what i already had on hand.  It was the perfect choice.  This sherbet is tart, tangy and wonderfully refreshing. It is now my official go-to recipe for all things sherbet and since it uses equal amounts of milk and cream, can easily be made with half-and-half, which tends to be less expensive.

This recipe was an insane hit with the kids.  It makes about 1 quart of sherbet, which is the perfect amount for Dad and three kids at two scoops each.  The kids loved it and have already requested more.

They can have it when They can squeeze ten limes, which can be a bit of a tedious process, even with a juicer.  I think I burned all of the calories needed to work off the sherbet while I was making it…  But it was worth it!

If you’ve been looking for the perfect fruit sherbet base, this is it.  My thanks to Elle and her delicious recipe.  I’ll be making more sherbets with this base soon.

Very, very soon.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

It’s summer and it’s hot.  In my part of the country this means weeks of 100-plus degree weather.  It’s the perfect time for ice cream… And to play with the brand-spanking-new ice cream maker attachment that my wife bought me for my birthday.  The timing couldn’t be better.

I searched the bloggosphere for a few days trying to decide what I wanted to make first.  I really couldn’t decide if I wanted to make ice cream, sorbet or sherbet and it wasn’t easy narrowing down the choices.  There are a ton of great ice cream recipes out there.

Did I want to make this coffee ice cream from Elise at Simply Recipes or should I make David Lebovitz’s Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream?  Was I more in the mood for something lighter like the Very Berry Sherbet from comfy belly or this amazing sounding lime sorbet from Eating Cleveland?  This was going to be no easy decision, but a decision had to be made.

One thing that has kept me from diving headlong into making even basic vanilla ice cream is the custard base.  It’s time consuming and can be difficult. Custard bases also require a lot of attention, which can be difficult in a house full of rowdy kids and a dog who is usually underfoot.

This fear has been lessened by the discovery of a no cook custard base from Kitchen Mage, but I still wanted to start off with something a little less involved and that’s when I came across the recipe for peanut butter ice cream you see here.  Cream, yes! Custard, No.  Perfection.

The recipe was a breeze to make, works well and ends up tasting somewhat like peanut butter sugar cookie dough.  The peanut flavor is pretty intense, even using bargain brand peanut butter.  If you are making ice cream for the first time, this recipe might just be what you’re looking for.

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Popularity: 4% [?]

The weather here in far Northern California is finally edging to warm and sunny, soon to be followed by blazing hot.  Along with the rise in temperature comes a steady decrease in the desire for long cooked, slow braised or even warm foods.

To put it simply, we’re entering the salad, ice cream and smoothie months of the year around here.  Milkshakes have replaced cakes, cookies and brownies as the dessert of choice and the kids clamber after the ice cream truck in the afternoons.  Summer is coming to the North State and there is just no better afternoon pick-me-up than a frosty glass of silken fruity goodness.

Smoothies are a good way to get more fruit into my kids’ diets as well, since only my youngest will readily choose a banana, apple or any other fruit in favor of something else they probably shouldn’t have been going after. (Dad needs to stop buying that stuff…  I need to talk to him about that.)

Most smoothie recipes call for banana, but  my kids despise them in their smoothies.  This recipe is all about the berries, but without the sweetness of the banana a little sugar may be needed to get the smoothy sweet enough to be drinkable.  Fortunately that usually translates to less than they would get in a soda, though this particular batch of berries was pretty tart and required more than usual.

Do you have a favorite smoothie recipe?  A favorite flavor combination?  Is there something that you add that you don’t let your kids know about?  We’d love to know, so drop a comment and let us in on your little tips for healthier snacks.

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Popularity: 6% [?]

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Strawberries, sliced
• 1 tbsp Strawberry liqueur
• 1/2 cup Part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1-1/2 tsp Each granulated sugar and whipping cream
• 1/2 ounce Semisweet chocolate chips

Method:

In small mixing bowl combine strawberries and liqueur; set aside. Using a fork, in separate small mixing bowl combine cheese, sugar, and cream; fold in chips. Into each of 2 long-stemmed glasses or individual dessert dishes spoon half of the cheese mixture, then top each with half of the strawberry mixture. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until chilled.

Popularity: 1% [?]

By Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali, Author of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipes>

I would like to extend my thanks to Caitlin Price of FSB Associates for making this piece available to the readers of CBSOP.  It’s a valuable article and one that I hope you enjoy!

There is no more appropriate time than now to think about how and why we cook. Food is a way of connecting with the people who surround us. Through it, we communicate emotions like love, compassion and understanding, and there is no better opportunity to communicate with our children than at the table. It’s where we can discuss our values of life that are important to us as individuals, as a family and as a part of the world we live in.

As overconsumption and greed have come to haunt us, now is a time for reflection. We should be looking back at the generations before us to understand their approach to the table. Growing food, shepherding animals, foraging for the gifts of nature is all part of respecting food. Nothing needs to be wasted. Bread can be recycled and used in soups, casseroles, lasagnas and desserts. Water is carefully conserved as in the pasta recipe I share below where the same water in which vegetables are cooked is used to cook the pasta that follows, and then that is saved for soups or for making risotto.

When one respects the food we prepare, it also leads to a more sensible and balanced intake of proteins, legumes and vegetables.

So “waste not, want not” and make it delicious!

Excerpt from Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy (Alfred A. Knopf, 2009)

FRESH CAVATELLI WITH CAULIFLOWER
Maccarun ch’I Hiucc

Serves 6

Cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables, and I regret that many people don’t sufficiently appreciate its unique flavor and nutritional value. This is not the case in Molise, where it is cooked often and creatively, as exemplified by the following two simple vegetarian pasta dishes. The first recipe, maccarun ch’i hiucc, is zesty with garlic and peperoncino.

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for the pasta pot

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

7 plump garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

1/2 teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 large head cauliflower, cut in small florets

1 batch (11/2 pounds) Fresh Cavatelli (preceding recipe), or 1 pound dried pasta

1 cup freshly grated pecorino (or half pecorino and half Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano, for a milder flavor)

Recommended equipment: A large pasta pot; a heavy-bottomed skillet or sauté pan, 12 inch diameter or larger

Fill the large pot with salted water (at least 6 quarts water with 1 tablespoon salt), and heat to a boil.

Pour the olive oil into the skillet, set over medium-high heat, and scatter in the sliced garlic. Let the garlic start to sizzle, then toss in the peperoncino and parsley; stir and cook for a minute. Ladle in a cup of the pasta cooking water, stir well, and adjust the heat to keep the liquid in the skillet simmering and reducing gradually while you cook the cauliflower and pasta.

With the pasta water at a rolling boil, drop in the cauliflower florets, and cook them for about 3 minutes, until barely tender. Drop in the cavatelli, stir, and return the water quickly to a boil. Cook another 4 to 5 minutes, until the cauliflower is fully tender and the pasta is al dente (if you are using dried pasta, it will, of course, take longer).

Lift out the florets and cavatelli with a spider or strainer, drain briefly, and spill them into the skillet. Toss well, to coat all the pasta and vegetable pieces with the garlicky dressing, then turn off the heat,

sprinkle over the skillet the grated cheese, and toss again. Heap the cauliflower and cavatelli in warm bowls, and serve immediately.

CHOCOLATE BREAD PARFAIT
Pane di Cioccolato al Cucchiaio

Serves 6

This recalls for me the chocolate-and-bread sandwiches that sometimes were my lunch, and always a special treat. And it is another inventive way surplus is used in Umbrian cuisine, with leftover country bread serving as the foundation of an elegant layered dessert. Though it is soaked with chocolate and espresso sauce and buried in whipped cream, the bread doesn’t disintegrate, and provides a pleasing textural contrast in every heavenly spoonful.

8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

8 ounces country-style white bread, crusts removed

1/2 cup freshly brewed espresso

2 tablespoons dark rum

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Recommended equipment: A large rimmed tray or baking sheet, such as a half-sheet pan (12 by 18 inches); a spouted measuring cup, 1 pint or larger; 6 parfait glasses or wineglasses, preferably balloon-shaped

Put the chopped chocolate in a bowl set in a pan of hot (not boiling) water. When the chocolate begins to melt, stir until completely smooth. Keep it warm, over the water, off the heat.

Slice the bread into 1/2-inch-thick slices, and lay them flat in one layer, close together, on the tray or baking sheet.

Pour the warm espresso into a spouted measuring cup, stir in the rum and sugar until sugar dissolves, then stir in half the melted chocolate. Pour the sauce all over the bread slices, then flip them over and turn them on the tray, to make sure all the surfaces are coated. Let the bread absorb the sauce for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, whip the cream until soft peaks form, by hand or with an electric mixer.

To assemble the parfaits: Break the bread into 1-inch pieces. Use half the pieces to make the bottom parfait layer in the six serving glasses, dropping an equal amount of chocolatey bread into each. Scrape up some of the unabsorbed chocolate sauce that remains on the baking sheet, and drizzle a bit over the bread layers. Next, drop a layer of whipped cream in the glasses, using up half the cream. Top the cream layer with toasted almonds, using half the nuts.

Repeat the layering sequence: drop more soaked bread into each glass, drizzle over it the chocolate sauce from the tray and the remaining melted chocolate. Dollop another layer of whipped cream in the glasses, using it all up, and sprinkle the remaining almonds on top of each parfait. This dessert is best when served immediately while the melted chocolate is still warm and runny.

©2010 Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali, authors of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipes

Author Bio
Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, coauthor of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipe, is the author of five previous books, four of them accompanied by nationally syndicated public television series. She is the owner of the New York City restaurant Felidia (among others), and she lectures on and demonstrates Italian cooking throughout the country. She lives on Long Island, and can be reached at her Web site, www.LidiasItaly.com <http://www.lidiasitaly.com/>

Tanya Bastianich Manuali, Lidia’s daughter and coauthor of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipe, received her Ph.D. in Italian Renaissance art history from Oxford University. Since 1996 she has led food/wine/art tours of Italy. She lives with her husband and children on Long Island.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 tsp Baking powder
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1/2 cup Brown sugar; packed
• 1/4 cup Margarine or butter; softened
• 3 Eggs
• 1 cup White vanilla chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray 1 large or 2 small cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In med bowl, combine flour, cocoa and baking powder; mix well. In a seperate large bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar and margarine; beat well. Add flour mixture; mix well. Stir in white vanilla chips.

With spray coated hands, firmly shape dough into 3 rolls, about 7 inches long. Place rolls at least 3 inches apart on sprayed cookie sheet; flatten each to form 3/4 inch thick rectangle, about 3 inches wide and 7 inches long. Bake at 350 degrees F for 22-28 min or until rectangles are light golden brown and centers are firm to the touch. Place rectangles on wire racks; cool 5 min.

Wipe cookie sheet clean. With serrated knife, cut each rectangle into 1/2 inch slices; place, cut side up, on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 6-8 min or until top surface is slightly dry. Turn cookies over; bake an additional 6-8 min or until top surface is slightly dry. Remove cookies from cookie sheets; cool completely on wire racks. Store tightly covered.

Popularity: 1% [?]

If there is one Christmas dinner that springs to mind before any other in the collective consciousness of the people of several continents, it has to be the dinner shared on Christmas Day by the Cratchit Family in the classic novel “A Christmas Carol” by none other than the great Charles Dickens. This meal embodies the spirit of Christmas more than any other in literary history, as does the tale itself.  This year thanks to the kind folks at foodbuzz, I had the honor and privilege of recreating this meal and sharing it with all of you.

This post really should be entitled “The Cratchits’ Christmas Dinner”, as it is as faithful a reproduction of the meal shared by the Cratchit family as is possible given my local resources and interpretation of the original manuscript.  Unfortunately, Mr. Dickens himself used that title when portions of “A Christmas Carol” was republished as short stories and so I chose not to steal his words for my own use. It could also have been titled “A comedy of errors and disappointments that really didn’t turn out disappointingly at all”, but that would have been rather long and drawn out, don’t you think?

Having said all that and given proper thanks to the folks that gifted me with the opportunity to try my hand at the single most iconic meal in the annals of Christmas itself, I’ll get into the meat of the thing, so to speak.  Please follow along with me as I follow in the tradition of Mr. Dickens and the Cratchits themselves. The story is full of twists and turns, a bit of drama and sorrow, but in the end, It turns out that I really do find the Christmas spirit in my heart (and a bottle or two), so the story does in fact have a happy ending.

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Popularity: 4% [?]

‘Tis the season once again.  with that comes the call for cookies, candies and other sweets to thrill and delight both young and old. (And not-so-old, as well.)  This year I’m trying to focus on the flavors of the season with a highlight on seasonal fruits, berries nuts and whatever else I can find that fits well with winter fare.  These cookies fit the bill for all of these things.

Cranberries are everywhere at this time of year, both in their plump and tart ripe state and in their dried form.  It was the latter that inspired me to make this recipe, which is adapted from one I found at Baking Bites and yet another I found somewhere else, but can’t remember at the moment.

These may not be traditional Christmas cookies for most people, but I think for my family they have just found a permanent place on my “must bake for the Holidays” list, along with my Aunt Thelma’s Tea cookies and my mothers peanut butter cookies.  they are crisp, light, pack a ton of flavor into every bite and were adored by my kids (and the neighbor’s kids).  Anything that gets the whole family rummaging at the cookie jar is a surefire winner for me, especially when the batch makes 48, so there is no need to double the recipe.

C’mon, put a little seasonal love in your holiday baking.  make these cookies.  Do it now!  I’ll continue when you get back…

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Popularity: 4% [?]

The holidays always bring about the need for great main courses, lavish tables and … Snacks.  Lots of snacks.  While there are hundreds that can be made to please the kiddies and the less adventurous in the house, there will always be a few people hoping to find something just a bit different to nosh on while the family meal is being prepared, or afterward while friends and family reminisce about the year past and tales of childhood.

This year I also had to consider snacks that would ship well so that I could send them off to my lovely wife in Turkey.  One obvious option was Tea Cookies, and we did make a batch or two of those to send her way, but one of my fondest food memories with her was her reaction to the Spicy Salt-Roasted Peanuts we made around Valentine’s day last year.  she could not stop eating these delectable little morsels, though she complained mightily about it.  They were the perfect choice.

The thing is, I hate predictability.  I wanted to add a twist to the nuts she already knew and loved to go along with the ones she remembered.  Since Curry is a very large part of the rub I use on our Thanksgiving and Christmas birds, I thought that it would be an appropriate choice…  I was right.  These are amazing.

Thanks again to David Lebovitz, from which the inspiration for this recipe belongs.

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Popularity: 3% [?]

Recipe ideas can come from anywhere.  This post is proof of that.  The idea for baked apples was driven into both my head and that of my oldest son one afternoon during an episode of “Little Bear” that the youngest was watching on NickJr.  It only took one mention of honey baked apples to have us both drooling over the concept.

Luckily for us, Fall is upon us and with it are apples.  The stores are overflowing with fresh, delicious apples of every variety, shape and color, all perfectly ripe and in-season, so getting the right ingredients was no chore at all.  The only difficulty was in coring the apples… Or it would have been, if I hadn’t had two very eager kids helping me with it.

So here I present to you the new favorite dessert in the Russell household.  A dish that has been given nods of approval from all but my youngest, the nuggetarian. (I couldn’t get him to try it.  Had he done so, I’m sure he would like it as well.)  It’s cold outside folks.  Isn’t this the perfect way to end a long day?  Just this and a Muscatto and all is well.

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Popularity: 12% [?]