Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream

        I’m pretty pleased with myself about this particular ice cream I made.  Granted, the recipe for the base belongs to David Lebovitz, but the final outcome is a big winner. I scaled back the amount of lemon zest he calls for and added another pinch of salt, and I used Neufchatel cream cheese instead of the big whammy full-fat variety.   I think the 1/3-less-fat option is still very rich in flavor and it doesn’t compromise the ice cream texture when frozen. 

    For add-ins, I cut my potted cherries (from previous post) in half and crumbled chocolate wafer cookies into small pieces. I wanted a portion of these bits to break apart, so I added them while the ice cream was still spinning.  I only let that go about 20 seconds. If you let the particles spin too long, they basically “dissolve” into the ice cream and become homogenous. I also drizzled in some of the juice from the cherries.  Once I removed the spinner, I mixed in the other half of cherries and chocolate wafers by hand.  

    This ice cream is dense and rich and the tangy cream cheese is perfectly balanced by the sweetness of the cherries and chocolate.  The flavor is absolutely improved by the depth of the potted cherries, thanks to the cherry balsamic vinegar and tarragon they’re steeped in.  The wafer cookies soften but still maintain a gentle bite I enjoy.  What I really love is the texture even once the ice cream has hardened in the freezer.  It remains incredibly creamy and soft straight out of the container.  

    It has not escaped my notice that July is National Ice Cream month.  In fact, today is National Ice Cream Day! I am an all too willing participant in the celebration. I’m beginning to think that I should be creating ice cream professionally.  At least then I would have an outlet for my ice cream fervor.  

With A Cherry On Top

      Northwest cherries are spilling over buckets and barrels these days. I have been eating them by giant bowlfuls and pulling out two, three, or seven every time I go by the fridge.  Considering there is some ungraceful sucking and spitting involved with eating them right off the stem, I’m not sure how they disappear so fast.  But maybe that’s part of the reason I like them so much…a little work for my food…a little accidental cherry stain here and there. 

Cherries make me think of my Papa and his cherry trees in the backyard.  I used to wait anxiously all year for the day the cherries were ready to be picked.  I’m across the country from those trees now, and I still get excited when I know it’s that time back home.  I loved finding all the best cherries, the pretty clusters buried further back in the branches, climbing a ladder to snatch the brightest, shiniest one.  Popping them in my mouth as we gathered our treasures on a sunny day. 

I loved heading inside where my Grammy covered me in aprons and old shirts against the threat of splattering juice stains.  We sat around the kitchen table pitting until we’d measured out enough cups for plenty of fresh cherry pies.  And then those pies…whether created by the expert hands of my mother or grandmother, other pies are never quite the same.  Watching them make the dough, waiting for it to rest, watching them roll the crust, fill the pie, and crimp the edges, waiting for the pie to bake and cool- well, many distractions are required for small children involved in pie-making.  But that moment when the pie is just cool enough to set up, yet still warm enough to melt homemade ice cream plopped on top into a pool of rich cream …is so completely worth the wait.  I crave the ping-pong bites of sweet and tart cherries, the bottom crust that softens as it soaks up the thickened filling, and the perfectly crunchy, buttery top crust to balance the soft fruit. 

This is not the project I took on this week; I fear not meeting my own expectations.  However, I did grab a half flat from the farmer’s market to make a spicy cherry pickle and I tried the Ad Hoc recipe for sweet potted cherries.  The pickle has a lot of fresh ginger and habanero pepper in the mix.  I can’t wait to try this one; I think they might be just right with a creamy baked cheese or mashed a bit in a grilled cheese sandwich.  The potted cherries require steeping the pits in balsamic vinegar, straining the liquid, and combining it with tarragon and black pepper.  I’d like to try these with a meat dish, but my first project will be to spin the sweet cherries into ice cream with a bit of very dark chocolate.  

My cherry adventures so far this year haven’t involved a perfect pie, but I did enjoy making the pickle with my boyfriend.  Plus, the half dozen jars of cherries I have will last much longer than any fresh cherry pie would in my kitchen. 

Lip Smackin' Good

    Thank you, thank you Slab Town.  I fulfilled my craving for some great ribs and BBQ yesterday.  This particular craving has been building up for awhile, and it only worsened when I had some not-so-great ribs a few weeks ago.  

    Fortunately, this joint shares a bar with a Mexican restaurant and we were able to have some blended margaritas with our meal.  With the spicy sauce, it was quite a nice pairing.  

My friend and I each got the sampler platter. Yes, far more food than we needed, but since when do I care about that?  Two ribs, brisket, a pulled pork slider, a few pieces of sausage and two sides.  Between us we sampled the baked beans, collard greens, mac’n cheese and biscuits.  All the meat was tender and smoky, but the ribs were really all I wanted more of.  When I return, it will be those meltingly tender, fall right off the bone ribs that I order.  They have just the right amount of crispy char on the edges; I was full, but some magic rib power kept putting more in my mouth.  We tried the mix of their mild and hot sauces; it was thick and rich, with an addictive sweetness.  Tasted like the BBQ sauce back home.  I only needed a little pitcher of it to slather more on.  The sides didn’t blow me away, although I thoroughly enjoyed the fluffy buttermilk biscuits with the side of honey butter.  

     Before we waddled out of there, I ordered a half-rack of ribs and biscuits to bring home for my significant other.  He did a number licking those bones clean last night, but there are still a few left. I’m sure he assumes he’ll be eating them for lunch today.  However, he’s not here, and it looks like I’m getting to the fridge first.

Finally Summer

    The weather is finally beautiful and warm. The calendar said First Day of Summer, and it was like a switch was flipped.  Whatever the reason, I'm a happy camper now. I've been waiting anxiously to stretch out like a cat in the sun, to read, eat, nap and relax as a warm breeze envelops my body.  Does this sound a bit cheesy?  Maybe... but I know I suffer from some seasonal depression; warm and sunny weather does a lot for my mood.
    This time of year also means ice cream.  As in, it is now socially acceptable to devour large amounts of it everyday.  Plus, with the proliferation of beautiful berries at the farmer's market, it is only right that I put it to good use and make ice cream at home. However, in the spirit of being healthy, I made a strawberry frozen yogurt this week.
     Let me clarify... this is no frozen custard (aka my drug).  It's not thick, creamy or fatty enough, but for a frozen yogurt? Hot dog. How can you go wrong with several pounds of fresh, perfectly ripe strawberries in the mix?  I used a nonfat Greek yogurt with minimal extra sugar, a little salt, lemon juice, and strawberries.  It is excellent. I've read some concern about the texture that particular yogurt produces, but I have not had trouble.  Just allow the yogurt to soften a bit out of the freezer.  
     I also teamed up with my friend who just finished infusing a bottle of vodka with pineapple and habanero.  We threw the vodka in the blender with my yogurt and what a treat.  It was sweet and refreshing, way too easy to drink, and had nice lingering kick as we went back for more.
     Welcome sweet summer; I'm excited for all this weather has in store.

Homesick for Florida

     I just returned from my annual family vacation to St. George Island, Florida.  That's an 18 hour drive (one way) from Oklahoma to the panhandle of Florida, quite the trip over the years with my 3 younger brothers and myself in the backseat.  A lot of fighting, laughing, crying, farting and punching, but those 2 days of close quarters are worth every moment we spend sitting on that white sand.  Aside from my family's roots in the area, Apalachicola and St. George feel like home after years of each anxiously awaited beach pilgrimage.  We've watched the towns change and grow ever so slightly; for the most part, the communities have remained quaint and tied to the locals.  The quiet beaches are my family's escape and peace; our chance each year to just slow down and breathe.
     Now that I'm living in Portland, I have the privilege of flying across country to join the troops along the way.  I have to say- I really missed being there for all our little traditions and stops on our route.
But the special treat of this year was having my young niece and nephew in tow and seeing the beach through their eyes.  The dolphins were in fine form this year, more at once than we've ever seen before.  They played and jumped right next to us on our boat trip for shelling and dolphin-watching.  My niece was pointing and squealing with glee at every dolphin that surfaced.
     We did plenty of cooking, eating, and drinking with the Haney family at our house, but we also hit up all the local joints for our favorite meals.  Oysters, shrimp, crabcrakes, and corn fritters at Boss Oyster.  Nothing better than knowing that the boats tied up to the dock off the restaurant's patio just hauled in the fish we are eating.  More boiled shrimp and cocktail sauce from Dave's shrimp truck.  Then grilled shrimp, fried shrimp, soft shell crab, and more at Owl Cafe.   We had crabcake sandwiches, conch fritters, grouper, burgers, and lots more shrimp at Blue Parrot right on the beach.  Hard to keep the kids in their seats with the sand so close.  We had our favorite chicken and bacon pizza from B.J.'s after a rowdy good time playing bingo at the firehouse.  Dad was a big winner, and we won a giant watermelon in door prizes!  I think I was the most excited about the enormous watermelon.  And as the bright pink and orange sun slowly set on our boat trip, we ate oysters straight out of the water with a little tabasco and saltines.
"We"- well, at least the 3 of us willing to slurp down an oyster.
      It was a perfect, beautiful week relaxing on the beach, and quite a shock to return home to a 50 degree and rainy Portland.  I'm homesick already, but know I'll be back before long.  

My Birthday Dinner

  Well, I lied.  About eating salad that is.
   I came home Sunday night to a wonderful surprise.  My boyfriend spent the day preparing a special birthday dinner for me.  On Saturday he went to the farmer's market and bought lamb, beautiful snap peas, and rhubarb.  Have I said how much I love lamb? I do.  I generally can't resist it on menus.  It could go without saying that his lamb was delicious, but I will.  It was meltingly tender, and stewed with beans in white wine.  A dish he picked up during his stage in Paris.  That made me smile too; I've been waiting to taste his new tricks in the kitchen.
   And then there were the peas.  Stunning, giant, thick, and crunchy, so full of flavor I would have thought he just picked them off the vine outside our door.  Then, he sauteed them in butter...quite a bit of butter.  I was sold.  We had a great asparagus salad on the side with mushrooms, onion, and feta.
   For dessert, my sweet man made a rosemary rhubarb crumble.  He is a very talented chef, but would be the first to say that dessert is not his specialty.  Hasn't made any in years, yet he was giddy about this dish.  His excitement was justified.  First, he made a rosemary rhubarb syrup with the ends and trimmings of the rhubarb.  With part of that syrup he cooked thinly sliced ribbons of rhubarb to tender with some of the flaked mace he brought back from France.  In this shape you can truly taste the rhubarb, get to know its tart flavor, and maintain a consistent texture.  I often find that rhubarb in tarts or pies is too mushy, too crunchy, or masked by the flavors of other fruit.  It was baked with his oatmeal brown sugar streusel on top and served with a yogurt whipped cream made with more of the rosemary rhubarb syrup.
   Dinner was such a treat, and even more special knowing that the menu was designed with me in mind.  A birthday present I won't forget.

Sunny Santa Fe

   My birthday was Wednesday, and it was a perfect excuse for my mom and I to meet in Santa Fe for a two-night stay.  No surprise, it was a (too) fast, fun weekend full of food and drink.
   After flying into Albuquerque, we drove to Santa Fe, stopping at the original Range Cafe in Bernalillo along the way.  Carne adovada tacos and tamales with red and green chile.  Every bite was awesome.  I love the two chiles together, also known as "Christmas" when ordering in New Mexico.  Both can be very spicy depending on the chiles and the season, but the red had more heat at the restaurants I went to on this trip.  I like the balance of the sweet, roasted green chiles and the smoky red chiles.  We were off with a bang.
   That night we had dinner at a Spanish tapas restaurant, El Farol.  Lovely food and a jumpin' little joint with the locals once the band started playing. We had the grilled romaine stuffed with Spanish goat cheese and roasted tomato vinaigrette. Grilled shrimp with chipotle mango cream. Grilled rib-eye skewer with chimmichurri and crispy, spiced patatas bravas.  Chorizo with fig aioli (the most intriguing for me- I want to make it).  Penne in poblano, manchego, and pinon cream.  Sauteed spinach with raisins, garlic, and pinon.  Baked Spanish goat cheese with pinon flatbread, roasted garlic and asparagus.  Reggiano crusted artichokes in lemon-caper butter.  We were too full to even finish all the tapas, but that didn't stop us from ordering dessert!  A luscious tres leches, different from many I've had.  It had a lot of cinnamon and the cake was swimming in plenty of sweet milk.
   The next day we made a trip to the Santa Fe Farmer's Market. What a treat; it was fun to see their community thriving and loving their local farmers and producers.  We grabbed a couple pastries from local bakeries for breakfast- a huge chocolate croissant and a stuffed green chile and cheese flatbread.  Mom also picked up a wonderful loaf of purple walnut bread (excellent with the local raspberry jam) to take home.
   We had lunch at the The Shed with margaritas, tacos and enchiladas in Christmas chile, posole, and green chile potato stew.  All great, but we liked the Range better.
   For dinner on Saturday we went to Aqua Santa; a small restaurant off the beaten path and a new favorite for locals.  A short, well-composed menu.  The warm escarole and calamari salad was bright and rich.  Halibut with lentils, tapenade and greens were cooked perfectly, but they needed a bit of fat and salt.  The chicken was incredibly moist and tender with a caramelized skin and velvety sauce over greens and polenta.  I loved this dish.  And the flirtatious chef in the open kitchen was kind enough to send us extra wine and dessert!  A strawberry rhubarb crisp and a flourless chocolate cake.  A fun dinner, and fortunately we had a long walk home before falling asleep with full bellies.
   On the morning of our departure we had breakfast at Tecolote Cafe.  Eight choices of bread for the French toast- have to appreciate that!  The blue cornmeal pinon pancakes were worthy of breaking into song and dance.  Nutty, fluffy, the subtle crunch of cornmeal... I'm looking forward to creating my own version.
   I had a great weekend with my mom and look forward to a second visit to Santa Fe.  For now, I need to eat some salad.