Pistachio Ice cream

Hi there! It’s been a while since my last post. I’ve been occupied with getting the house ready to sell, starting a new job and spending time with my friends and family. I’m still trying to figure out my schedule because I want to start posting regularly!

This weekend will be the hottest days of the summer so it’s only appropriate to cool down with some ice cream!

Out of the dozens of ice cream flavors, pistachio is my favorite. Its nutty flavor and bits of crunchy pistachio contrast with the creamy and smooth ice cream.

I used salted and roasted pistachios from Wonderful and my ice cream turned out sweet and salty- MmMmMm. Feel free to use unsalted pistachios for full sweetness.

Stay cool!

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Ingredients:

1 cup shelled pistachios
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Directions:

1. Finely grind 1 cup pistachios in a food processor.
2. Whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow. Stir in milk and transfer to a saucepan. Heat the mixture on low heat until thickened, stirring constantly, about 6 minutes. Once thickened, strain mixture into a bowl.
3. Mix in ground pistachios and heavy cream. Then chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
4. Stir the mixture then pour in ice cream maker to freeze. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze to harden.

Optional: pinch of salt

Yields about 1 quarts of ice cream.

Apple Pie

I finally made an apple pie! It’s hard to believe that after  9 years of baking, I had never made this American classic. My favorite part of an apple pie is the flaky buttery crust. It’s crunchy yet melts in your mouth and with a little bit of gooey apple pie filling…. uhh can you say HEAVEN?!

I was nervous to make this because although it looks simple, pies can be quite intimidating for a first timer. Especially since I was making the crust from scratch. The key to a flaky pie crust is to keep the butter super cold and not overwork the dough. I didn’t have a pastry cutter so I used a fork and it worked just as well.

Look at that GOOEYNESS.

The perfectionist in me was a little disappointed when my dough slightly cracked while rolling but it was no biggie. Once baked no one will notice and it tastes just the same!

To save time, you can buy premade pie crusts at the grocery store.

I think my lattice crust came out pretty well. What do you think?

I ended up using Empire apples because they are the perfect hybrid of sweet and tart. I also reduced the white sugar to 1/3 cup because I don’t like my pastries too sweet.

As summer rolls around, I can’t wait to practice my pie making and experiment with more intricate crust designs with fresh strawberries, peaches and blueberries!

Definitely serve this warm with vanilla ice cream!

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Pie Crust

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, chilled and diced
1/4 cup water

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until coarse crumbs form and stir in water a tablespoon at a time until mixture forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
2. Flour your surface and roll dough out 9 inches in diameter.

Apple Pie

Ingredients
2 9 inch unbaked pie crusts
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tb all purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
7 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored and sliced)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions

1. Make two separate batches of pie crust.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Melt butter in a saucepan and whisk in flour. Add water, white and brown sugar. Continue mixing and bring to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, toss apples with sugar mixture, cinnamon and nutmeg.
3. Place and press the pie dough into the bottom and sides of a pie plate. Fill with apples and cover with a lattice style crust. Sprinkle brown sugar on top and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 350 degrees F and bake for 40 minutes until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Serve warm.

Dulce de Leche Macarons

Ingredients
30 grams egg whites (about 1 egg)
27 grams sugar
39 grams almond meal
48 grams powdered sugar
Optional: Yellow/Brown gel food coloring
1 can dulce de leche

Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
2. Combine egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and whip on high until soft peaks. Add food coloring and beat until stiff peaks.
3. Sift almond meal and powdered sugar in a separate bowl then add to egg white mixture. Fold until batter is smooth and flows off the spatula in a ribbon. Transfer batter to a pastry bag and cut an inch off the bag. Hold the bag vertically and pipe one inch circles, leaving space between each macaron. Tap the sheet onto the counter five times to release air bubbles and smooth shells.
4. Let cookies sit at room temperature until a thin skin forms and the tops are dry to the touch, about 20-60 minutes depending on humidity.
5. Bake at 310 degrees F for 15 minutes. Let cookies cool completely and remove from baking sheet. Fill a pastry bag with dulce de leche and pipe filling onto cookies. Yields 15 macarons.

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

It seems like fro-yo shops have popped up at every street corner these days. My favorite shop is Truly Yogurt in downtown New Brunswick. They serve a taro ice cream that is perfectly sweet and loaded with taro flavor.

Frozen yogurt has been touted as a healthier alternative to ice cream due to its lower fat and probiotic content. However, it can have as much sugar and calories as ice cream.

The self-serve nature of the stores and large serving cups can lead customers to over indulge. After topping it with gummy bears, m&m’s, chocolate covered pretzels and caramel drizzle – you are looking at a not so healthy treat. But with everything in life, moderation is key.

I bought a huge tub of Greek yogurt the other day planning to eat it for breakfast with fruit. I force myself to eat Greek yogurt because of its many health benefits.

I wish I could eat Greek yogurt by itself, but no matter how hard I try I always end up putting it in a smoothie. With so much yogurt left, I decided to make frozen yogurt.

The great thing about making your own fro-yo is that you can control the sugar content. I wrote 1/2 cup of sugar in the recipe, but only used 1/4 cup. 1/2 cup is ideal for the perfect sweetness, but if you want tangier yogurt 1/4 cup is sufficient. Enjoy!

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Ingredients:

4 cups Greek yogurt
2 cups strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tb lemon juice

Directions:

Place ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour mixture into ice-cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. Yields 1.5 quarts

Blueberry Ice Cream

Happy National Ice Cream Day!

I went to the 12th Annual NJ State Ice Cream Festival over the weekend to celebrate! My friend convinced me to tag along. I mean who can say no to ice cream right?

I envisioned the festival packed with several gourmet ice cream vendors serving unique flavors. However, there were only six vendors who each served only one flavor. Two of which were Shop Rite and Stop and Shop. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.

Admission is free but tasting tickets costed $7. The ticket entitled festival goers to a “tasting kit” which included a napkin and plastic spoon in a sandwich bag.

The first vendor I stopped by offered an orange creamsicle like ice cream that was unappetizing-ly and strikingly orange. It wasn’t the best, but I had high hopes for what the other vendors had to offer.

Next, I stopped by Stop and Shop who offered classic Neapolitan ice cream. It was good but nothing to brag about – tasted like your average ice cream from a carton.

My favorite flavor was a coffee cookies n’ cream ice cream. The coffee flavor was not overpowering and the chunks of cookies added texture to the overall smooth treat.

I also tried a “black and tan” ice cream. The “black and tan” ice cream from Yuengling’s was a combination of Belgian chocolate and salty caramel. The flavor was rich, but the ice cream was partially melted by the time I tasted it so I wasn’t able to experience the true texture of the ice cream.

I didn’t even bother stopping by Shop Rite because the long line for generic vanilla ice cream wasn’t worth it.

Considering this was a state ice cream festival, I expected more vendors, better quality ice cream and unique flavor combinations. The samples were served in plastic sauce containers and some of the samples were melted. I didn’t even vote for my favorite flavor because I wanted to escape the crowded street.

Aside from tasting ice cream, there was a live band, ice cream eating contest and vendors serving boardwalk food. I’m happy that I was able to experience an ice cream festival, but I don’t think I’ll be coming back next year.

Ingredients:
2 cups blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
dash of salt
1 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a saucepan bring blueberries, sugar, and salt to a boil over moderate heat. Simmer mixture and stir frequently for 5 minutes. Cool slightly then purée mixture with milk and heavy cream. Add vanilla.
2. Chill mixture, covered, overnight or in the freezer for 1.5 hours.
3. Pour the mixture into an ice-cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden. Yields about 1 quart of ice cream.