I made lemon ice cream!

I have been itching to make ice cream, to use the beautiful Cuisinart ice cream maker I bought a couple of years ago with a birthday gift certificate to Williams-Sonoma. I decided to give it its first run of this summer with a recipe for lemon ice cream that I found on epicurious.com, and switched up just a little bit.  It made a beautiful, creamy, and very pucker-worthy lemon ice cream. It's absolutely delicious, and if you love anything or everything lemon like I do, it's a home run!

Here's what I did:

To make the custard, in a medium sauce pan, I whisked together:

1 cup heavy cream (original recipe called for half-and-half)
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest (I used a little more)
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

I then heated the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it came to a true simmer, with little bubbles forming and breaking on the outside edge of the pot. I took it off the heat and whisked in:

1 cup whole milk (original recipe called for half-and-half)

Then...

I poured the hot mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a pyrex bowl, pressing the lemon zest with a wooden spoon to get as much flavor into the liquid as possible, and covered the custard with a piece of plastic wrap. I put it in the fridge over night.

This morning, I poured the chilled custard into the ice cream maker's pre-frozen bowl, and turned it on. I set my kitchen timer for 18 minutes, and kept busy doing morning stuff while it churned, like unloading/loading the dishwasher, made my breakfast, decided what to wear to work -- the every day stuff.

When the timer sounded, I was amazed at just how beautiful this ice cream is. It's light in color, creamy, and has a perfect texture.  It is so so so so lemony! I loaded up my new ice cream canister I bought over the weekend at TJ Maxx (Maxx for the minimum!) and placed it in my freezer until I could get home from work for the true test - a bit of the lemon ice cream in a bowl with a spritz of whipped cream. Actually (sadly) this was in place of eating a wonderful, healthy, balanced dinner, but sometimes, it's not just eat dessert first, it's eat dessert as if it IS dinner! That's what happened in my kitchen tonight!

Now I'm thinking of how many variations of ice cream I can come up with. I think my next batch might be "Drumstick" like the ice cream cones you can find in the freezer section of the grocery store. I'd make a basic vanilla ice cream, add some chocolate Magic Shell pieces, broken up sugar cone pieces, and some chopped peanuts! Can't wait to experiment with more flavors!

Light, creamy, and refreshing
on a hot summer night!

Potatoes Romanoff from the Strip House

Recently I received the latest catalog from Williams-Sonoma.  I LOVE Williams-Sonoma for many reasons:  the store, the catalog, wonderful wares, great recipes, etc.  I appreciate the history and legacy of the company.  It's not unusual for me to drive forty-five minutes south just to buy a favorite vanilla bean paste there, even when I can order it on-line.  There's something about experiencing Williams-Sonoma that justifies the time and gas it takes for a road trip. 

Page 7 of the March 2011 W-S catalog (titled Steak House) features a recipe from Greenwich Village's Strip House.  It is for potatoes Romanoff, "...a delicious take on twice-baked potatoes that exectutive chef John Schenk learned from his mother.  The potatoes are baked a day ahead, chilled overnight and then grated and baked again with sour cream, shallots and cheddar for a rich, satisfying gratin." 

If you receive Williams-Sonoma catalogs in the mail, take the time to find the recipes, tucked subtly among beautiful photographs in the pages featuring avocado pitters and pepper mills.  The March 2011 catalog alone has eleven recipes from steak houses all over the country, for such things as Gruyere Popovers, Cavatappi Mac 'N Cheese, Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs, and Sesame Chicken Stir-Fry.

Enjoy!

Potatoes Romanoff
from the Strip House, Greenwich Village

3 large russet potatoes, about 2 lb. total, unpeeled and scrubbed
3/4 c. minced shallots
2 1/2 c. grated white cheddar cheese
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground white peper
1 1/2 cups sour cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Pierce each potato several times with a fork.  Place directly on onven rack; bake until tender, about 1 hour.  Remove; let potatoes cool.  Place on plate; wrap with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Using large holes of box grater or food processor fitted with large-hole grater, grate potatoes, including skins.  Transfer to bowl; sprinkle shallots, 1 3/4 cups cheese, salt and white pepper on top.  Using your hands, gently toss together to combine, then fold in sour cream in 2 additons.

Transfer potato mixture to 1 1/2 qt. gratin dish; do not compress.  Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup cheese on top.  Bake until potatoes are hot and cheese is gold brown, about 30 minutes.
Serves 6.

Photo credit:  http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/strip-house-potatoes-romanoff.html