Olive OIl Ice Cream

Our assignment last week in French French Friday's With Dorie was "Olive Oil Ice Cream. I am a little late with this post  but I needed to let you know how delicious this ice cream is. My family got a bit concerned when I said I was making Olive Oil Ice Cream.  However, when they tasted the ice cream they all loved it.

You make a nice custard-based vanilla ice cream with a fruity olive oil whisked into the cooked custard.   As stated in the recipe, "You want an oil with flavor, but not one with a peppery finish."

Cool the custard, freeze and serve.  The flavor is more vanilla with just the subtle flavor of the olive oil.  Like I stated earlier, the family loved this ice cream.  This recipe is a keeper:)

The recipe for "Olive Oil Ice Cream" can be found on page 479 in "Around My French Table."

Eggs Yolk and Sugar Whisked

Egg Yolks

Milk, Cream, Yolks, and Sugar  

Custard Cooling in Ice Bath

Ice Cream Freezing

Olive Oil Ice Cream

Texas Sheet Cake

Texas Sheet Cake has been referred to as the "Little Black Dress" of Chocolate cakes.  It is so yummy! Last night, I made  this wonderful cake for dessert.  This is one of my favorites cakes to make.  It is easy,  delicious, hard to mess up, and a favorite of almost everyone.  If you are a chocolate lover, and even if you aren't you will love this cake.  The cake is moist with a rich chocolate flavor.  As if that wasn't enough,  it is topped with a fantastic fudge frosting with pecans.  MMM fantastic!

To make this delicious cake you need basic ingredients -most of which you'll already have in your kitchen.  Flour, cocoa powder, sugar, butter, baking soda, vanilla extract, buttermilk, pecans.  No mixer is required.  You mix everything by hand in a mixing bowl.  What could be easier.  While the cake is baking, you start preparing the frosting, which has butter, milk, pecans and cocoa powder.  Remove the cake from the oven and frost.  Your dessert is done. This cake is so good it disappears before your eyes.





My favorite recipe for this cake is from "The Homesick Texan".  Click on the link for the recipe.

Dry Ingredients

Cocoa Mixture Poured Over Dry Ingredients

Adding Eggs, Buttermilk, Vanilla, Cinnamon, Soda, and Chile to Cocoa Mixture

Batter Ready to Pour in Pan

Ready For Oven

Out of Oven

Ready to Enjoy:)

Rigatoni in Tomato Sauce

Pasta is a favorite of mine to cook and eat.  I love a big plate of pasta coated with a red sauce.  When I saw this recipe for "Rigatoni in Tomato Sauce" in  "Saveur" magazine, I knew I had to try it.  The pasta is tossed in a simple tomato-herb sauce.

You get whole, peeled tomatoes in juice, crushed by hand and simmered with carrots, onions, garlic, fresh rosemary and sage.   As it was simmering, the sauce had an enticing aroma.   Once the sauce was done, I let it cool and then pureed it in a blender.

 I tossed the pasta in a large bowl with the sauce, sprinkled it with cheese and fresh parsley.  The result was one big bowl of delicious and satisfying pasta.  

The family really enjoyed this dish.  The carrots, onion, garlic, and herbs added a wonderful flavor to the sauce.   The sauce also coated the pasta nicely so you got a delicious bite every time.   This is one dish I will make many times in the future.  


Rigatoni in Tomato Sauce
From Saveur Magazine

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium carrots, minced
1 large yellow onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs rosemary
2 sprigs sage
1/2 cup red wine
1 (28-oz) can whole, peeled tomatoes in juice, crushed by hand
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 pound dried rigatoni
1/4 cup thinly sliced parsley leaves
1/3 cup coarsely grated pecorino romano or mozzarella

Directions:

1.  Heat oil in a 4- quart saucepan over medium heat.  Add carrots and onion, and cook stirring, until soft, about 9 minutes.  Add garlic, rosemary, and sage, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add wine, and cook, stirring, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes, and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring, until reduced, about 1 hour.  Discard herbs and puree sauce in a blender.  Season sauce with salt and pepper; keep warm.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat, and add rigationi; cook, stirring, until al dente, about 9 minutes.  Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup pasta water.  Toss pasta and sauce in a bowl, adding tablespoons of pasta water to create a smooth sauce.  Divide pasta and sauce among bowls, and garnish with parsley and cheese.

Makes 6-8 servings

Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins

Today, I am sharing a recipe I found on the website Simply Recipes  "Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins." What intrigued me about this recipe was macerating the fresh strawberries in balsamic vinegar and the use of black pepper.  In doing some web investigation, I found that balsamic vinegar and black pepper intensifies the flavor of the strawberries and brings out their sweetness.

The use of oatmeal and yogurt in the batter was another plus for this recipe.  Oats add fiber and a nice chewy texture to baked goods.  Yogurt is a great fat replacement in baking.  It is packed with protein and calcium.

Now for the taste. The Strawberry Oatmeal muffins were moist and chewy with just a hint of spiciness.  In a word, delicious:)  This is a recipe I am going to be making over and over.

Click on the link above for the recipe.

Strawberries With Sugar and Balsamic Vinegar

Oatmeal Yogurt Mixture

Dry Ingredients

Eggs, Melted Butter, Brown Sugar, Vanilla, Oatmeal Mixture

Flour Added to Oatmeal Mixture

Strawberries Folded in Batter

Ready for Oven

Out of Oven

Preserved Lemons

Today, I was suppose to be posting about the recipe "Lentil, Lemon and Tuna Salad" for French Fridays With Dorie.  What stopped me was I did not  have and could not find a jar of  Preserved Lemons.  Let me tell you, I got some strange expressions when I was asking for Preserved Lemons at various food stores.  I finally decided I would make my own.

Preserved Lemons are lemons pickled in salt and their own juice.  They are not hard to make.  All you need is lemons, salt,  and a quart canning jar with a top. You can add various spices to your lemons if you wish, but I decided to make the basic ones.   What takes awhile is  letting the lemons "ripen."  It takes  30 days for the lemons to be ready.  You need to be sure to shake the jar everyday to distribute the salt and juice.   They last up to 6 months in the refrigerator.










Preserved Lemons

Special Equipment:  1 quart jar sterilized  with top

Ingredients:

5 lemons
1/4 cup Kosher salt, more if desired

Directions:

1. Quarter the lemons from the top to within  1/2 inch of the bottom.  Sprinkle salt on the exposed flesh, then reshape the fruit.

2. Place 1 tablespoon salt on the bottom of the quart jar.  Pack in the lemons and push them down adding more salt between the layers.  Press the lemons down to release their juices and to make room for the remaining lemons.  If the juice released from the squashed fruit does not cover them add freshly squeezed lemon juice.  It is important that lemon juice covers the fruit.

4. Seal the jar.   Let the lemons ripen in a warm place, shaking the jar each day to distribute the salt and juice.  Let ripen for 30 days.

5. To use, rinse the lemons, as needed, under running water, removing and discarding the pulp, if desired.  Store in the refrigerator up to 6 months.

Chilled Raspberry-Chile Soup

Chilled soups are tasty and refreshing on hot summer days.  I saw this recipe for Chilled Raspberry-Chile soup in the June issue of  "Better Homes and Gardens" magazine.  The use of Jalapeno peppers is what caught my eye in reading over this recipe.  This is a very easy recipe to make.  You put the raspberries, bananas, orange juice, yogurt and agave syrup in a blender until smooth.   My blender was not large enough to handle all the ingredients, so I processed the fruit in batches with some of the orange juice, then  stirred the remaining ingredients together.  Chill the soup and it is ready to serve.   The taste: A delicious rich velvety texture from the bananas, a hint of tartness,  and a little heat with a crunch.  Not only does this soup taste good, it is a lovely soup to serve.   This soup is perfect for luncheons, or as a starter.

As a whole, the family enjoyed the soup.  The youngest wasn't too sure about the jalapenos.  The family did suggest the next time I made the soup mixture was to make popsicles with it.   Tim (the youngest) stated without the jalapenos.  Jalapenos are not meant to be in popsicles.


Chilled Raspberry-Chile Soup
From Better Homes and Gardens - June 2012


Ingredients:

4 cups fresh raspberries
4 ripe bananas, peeled and cut up
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 (6 -oz) carton plain low-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons agave syrup or corn syrup
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, minced
Whole or sliced fresh raspberries (optional)
Sliced fresh jalapeno or serrano peppers (optional)


Directions:
1. In a blender combine the  4 cups raspberries, bananas, orange juice, yogurt, and syrup.  Cover and blend until smooth.
2. Stir in minced jalapeno peppers, then refrigerate at least 1 hour.
3. Serve the soup in small bowls.  Garnish with raspberries and sliced chiles, if desired.

Makes 6 servings

Lentil and Couscous Salad with Mint

Every summer, I try new ideas for salads.  I truly enjoy a salad during the hot days of summer.  They are light and refreshing.  I found this salad recipe in Country Living using lentils and couscous.  Pearl couscous  (aka Israeli couscous) is used instead of the traditional couscous.  This type of couscous is much larger than the traditional couscous but it is similar in flavor.   It adds a nice chewy texture to the salad. Add tomatoes, mint, scallions,  toss in a tangy mustard vinaigrette and you have a delicious salad.

Lentil and Couscous Salad with Mint
From Country Living

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons cider vinegar
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon coarse black pepper
Salt to taste
1 1/3 cups French lentils (cooked, drained, and cooled)
1 cup pearl couscous (cooked, drained, and cooled)
3/4 cup chopped mint
4 scallions (white part only, sliced)
3 plum tomatoes (seeded and chopped)

Directions:

1. Whisk the vinegar, mustard, olive oil, and black pepper together in a small bowl. Add salt to taste and set aside.
2. Place the lentils, couscous, mint, scallions, and tomatoes in a large bowl.
3. Add the dressing to the lentil mixture and toss.
4.  Serve at room temperature.

Pearl Couscous