Basil Ice Cream with Strawberries in Lemon Syrup

Basil Ice Cream with Strawberries in Lemon Syrup

Foodwise, it's not often you get to try something you've never had before. I get super excited to try new things - good or bad, it's a step towards finding something you like. So we've all had basil and ice cream, but have you ever tried basil ice cream? I expected to hate it thinking it would be overly herbaceous, but I found the flavors to be subtle and pleasant. The lemon zest in the base is essential - it adds a key note in addition to being harmonious with the basil. I probably wouldn't choose basil over my favorite ice cream flavors, but I'm glad to have tried it.

The recipe is another from David Lebovitz's Perfect Scoop. I will eventually work my way through the entire book. He pairs the basil ice cream with strawberries in lemon syrup. Visually I thought the green against the red would look great. What I didn't expect was the flavor combination to be so sublime. If you decide to make this, do not leave out the strawberries with syrup. Some other non-conventional flavors from his book are Roquefort-Honey, Avocado, Goat cheese, Parsley, Green Pea and Pear-Pecorino. I am intrigued by the Candied Bacon ice cream recipe on his website. What ice cream flavors or combinations are you interested in sampling?

Basil Ice Cream

Hulled and Quartered Strawberries

Dig in!

Basil Ice Cream
From The Perfect Scoop
Makes about 1 quart

1 cup packed basil leaves
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
Pinch of salt
5 egg yolks
1 lemon

Use a blender or food processor to grind the basil leaves with the sugar and one cup of the heavy cream, until the leaves are ground as fine as possible. Pour half of the mixture into a large bowl and add the remaining 1 cup of cream. Set a mesh strainer on top.

Warm the other half of the basil mixture in a saucepan along with the whole milk and salt over medium heat. In another bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly. Return the mixture back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Pour the custard through the strainer into the bowl with the cream mixture. Zest the lemon directly into the custard, then cool over an ice bath while stirring.

Chill completely, then freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. Let harden in the freezer for a few hours before serving.

Perfect Pairing: Basil Ice Cream paired with Strawberries in Lemon Syrup.  For 4 servings combine 1 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar with the grated zest of one lemon in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil and cook, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.  Remove from pan and chill thoroughly.

Hull and quarter 1 pound of strawberries.  Add them to the lemon syrup and let macerate in the refrigerator for 1 to 4 hours.  Spoon the strawberries and some lemon syrup into shallow bowls and top with a scoop of Basil Ice Cream.

Pizza

Close up of unbaked pizza

Today the kids had pizza for lunch. My son Matthew likes basil because he still remembers we grew some in the garden 3 years ago. Maybe if I encourage him to grow some veggies he will start eating them? Ha, not likely, but I still have time to try to make him change his ways. He asked me to make homemade pizza with the basil we bought from Fairway. I cheated and didn't make the dough or sauce. I guess it would be called semi-homemade pizza - not a fan of Sandra Lee. Anyway, it's a good alternative to frozen pizza or take-out.

I have a lot of basil left over. I think I see basil ice cream in the near future. Will it be gross or surprisingly good? Tune in and see.

Basil

Add the sauce

Fresh Mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano

Pizza is ready!

Pizza

Store-bought pizza dough (I used Trader Joe's)
Rao's homemade Vodka Sauce (Regular Tomato Sauce is preferred)
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese cut into slices
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese
Fresh Basil, cut into a chiffonade
Olive oil
Flour to roll out dough

Oil a baking sheet with olive oil. Lightly dust a clean surface with flour. Roll out pizza dough into a round or oval until thin. Place the rolled out dough onto the baking sheet. Brush the the dough with more olive oil, then top with sauce. Add the sliced mozzarella, sprinkle on grated parmigiano-reggiano then season with a little salt and pepper. Basil can be added prior to baking or after or both (cooked basil will not be very attractive). Bake at 425 degrees until golden brown, about 15 minutes. During the last 5 minutes, slide the pizza off the baking sheet and cook the pizza straight on the oven rack to brown the bottom.

Scallion Pancakes

Scallion Pancake

I pride myself on my ability to cook different cuisines. I love to make Indian, Italian, French, Korean, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Japanese and American dishes. The one cuisine I'm really not good at making is Chinese food. You would think it's in my blood given that both my parents are from Taiwan and my ancestors fled from Mainland China to Taiwan. I love to eat Chinese food, but tend to shy away from making it. Today I opened up The Best of China: A Cookbook by Evie Righter, recipes by Grace Young. I took one look at the scallion pancake recipe and knew I had to make them. I am quite pleased with how they turned out. They were crispy, light and had a nice flavor. Serve with your favorite soy based dipping sauce. Ingredients for the dipping sauce pictured below: scallions, sesame seeds, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, Korean red chili pepper powder and a little water.

If I can procure the ingredients, my next to-do Chinese project will be turnip cakes (law bok gow). Soon we will be in dim sum heaven.

Mixing with chopsticks to form dough

Kneaded until smooth

Roll out into a 6- to 7-inch round

Brush with oil, sprinkle with salt and scallions

Roll into a cylinder

Coil to form a spiral

Roll out to 6- to 7-inch round

Scallion Pancakes
Adapted from The Best of China: A Cookbook by Grace Young

2 cups all-purpose flour plus about 1/4 cup for kneading
1 t sugar
2/3 cup boiling water
1/4 to 2/3 cup cold water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup minced scallions
vegetable oil or olive oil to brush onto pancakes and panfry

In a large bowl combine flour and sugar. Stir in the boiling water and mix with chopsticks until the water is absorbed. Add the cold water gradually (one tablespoon at a time) so that a dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is no longer sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 3-5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Cover loosely with a damp towel and let rest for one hour.

Divide dough into 4 equal pieces and cover with the damp towel.
Using a floured rolling pin, roll out one piece of dough into a 6- to 7-inch round. Lightly brush with vegetable or olive oil. Evenly scatter salt and scallions on the round then roll up into a tight cylinder. Coil the cylinder around itself into a spiral and pinch the end under the dough. Repeat with remaining dough pieces. Cover the coil with damp towel and let rest for 15-20 minutes.

Using a floured rolling pin, roll the coiled dough on a floured surface into 6- to 7- inch rounds.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan and carefully panfry the pancake 1 to 2 minutes per side until golden. Slice into 6 wedges and serve immediately.

Cut into 6 slices

Thin flaky layers

Enjoy with your favorite dipping sauce

Key Lime Pie

Limes, Key Lime Juice, Graham Crackers and Condensed Milk

Hurricane Irene cut my vacation short by one day. We came home early to beat the storm back and prepare for what would lie ahead. I am still hopeful she will die down before she reaches our area, but the thought of the worst case scenario lingers. While shopping at the local Stop and Shop you could feel the anxiety and panic in the air. My neighborhood has so many trees - I am fearful one will fall onto the house. I admit I worked myself up into a state of panic, but then I got angry. I wasn't going to let the Hurricane or the fear of its destruction hinder my life. I set out to bake. Years from now I will remember while waiting for Hurricane Irene, I baked a Key Lime Pie.

I made the Key Lime Pie recipe from Joe's Stone Crab. I didn't have any fresh key limes, so I used Nellie and Joe's Famous Key West Lime Juice. It had a nice texture, but the flavor was a little off. Maybe fresh lime juice would have been a better substitue for the fresh key lime juice.  I'm still feeling a little anxious, but I'm glad I didn't spend my entire day feeling crippled by the unknown. Stay safe during the storm!

Graham Crackers and Sugar

Pie Crust

Lime Zest

Pie Filling in Crust

Baked Pie

Topped off with Whipped Cream

Eating at Bethany Beach, Delaware

The Blue Crab

Cute crab painting

Fried Shrimp Platter

Crab Cakes Balls

I am on a much needed vacation. We arrived at Ocean View, Delaware to stay with family for a few days.  Normally I plan and research my vacations ad nauseum, but this getaway I had left quite unprepared.  It was apparent at the start that travelling without any basic planning was a BAD, BAD idea.  I had intended to print out itineraries of all our destinations, but it never happened.  We jumped in the car, plugged the Delaware address into our navigation and set off.  We were guided from Northern NJ all the way south to Cape May.  There is a Cape May - Lewes Delaware ferry, but we had originally decided against it since the departure times didn't fit our schedule.  Well, guess where our navigation directed us? Yep, straight to the ferry! Of course you need reservations which we didn't have - and the next available ferry was in 3 hours.  We had to drive 1.5 hours northwest to get to the Delaware Memorial Bridge.  It was just beyond stupidity that we didn't check the navigation route or realize sooner there are no bridges from southern NJ to Delaware.

Ocean View is not far from Bethany Beach. Here are some places we went tonight.  Without a reservation our wait for a table at The Blue Crab was 25 minutes.  The service is friendly and attentive.  I was hoping the line out the door was indicative of the quality of food, but that was not the case.  To be fair we didn't have the all you can eat blue crabs, so I cannot comment on them.  The shrimp platter and crab cakes were mediocre at best.  It is definitely kid-friendly with the paper on the tables and crayons.

We stopped into Fisher's Popcorn to grab a tub to bring back to the house. Their caramel popcorn is everything you expect - fresh, crisp, and sweet. It was even warm and still slightly sticky.

Fisher's Popcorn

Stirring the kettle

Freshly made caramel popcorn

We topped the night off with frozen custard from Kohr Bros.. The custard is silky and creamy. The waffle cone was not so fresh, but it was passable.

Kohr Bros.

Flavors and Sizes

Chocolate & Vanilla Twist in a Waffle Cone

Vanilla in a Wafer Cone

Pignoli Cookies

Pignoli Cookies

When I was growing up I loved my Italian babysitter who lived downstairs from us. We called her Auntie Pecunia but in reality she was old enough to be my grandmother. She treated us as her own family and I believe loved us in kind. I remember sitting at the dining table and grating Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese with a wooden box grater - it looked similar to this. She was a great cook and the aromas from her kitchen were wonderful. Oh how I wish she were still around so I could cook with her. I am sure she would have passed down some awesome Old World Italian recipes.

I made Pignoli cookies today, but they were missing something. They were good, but I kept thinking not authentic. I love pignoli and Italian butter cookies, but still have yet to recreate versions that satisfy me. If only I could find someone to share their family heirloom recipes. Auntie Pecunia went back to Italy when I was in second or third grade and I remember crying when I found out she was leaving. It's amazing to me that over 30 years later these memories are still vivid. I suppose you never forget the people you love and carry them with you forever.

Honey, Almond Paste, Confectioners Sugar and Egg Whites

Pignoli Cookie Batter

Backside of the cookie

Pignoli Cookie Recipe from Epicurious.com

Pan-seared Garlic Shrimp with Coconut Rice

Garlic Shrimp with Coconut Rice and Corn

Jasmine Rice

Welcome to the first post of my newly named blog, CuisineNV. I'm sure someone will ask, "NV? Does that stand for Nevada?" The answer is No. Say the letters out loud - NV = Envy. I would have liked to take the Bake Me Famous name along, but it was unavailable. Imagine every good name under the sun and it's already taken. I am happy to have moved the blog over to Blogger.com. I am hopeful that it will be more reliable than our previous host. I hope you like the more colorful design and if you don't it's ok to tell a white lie.

I wish I could bake sweet and sinful treats everyday, but let's face it, that's not very healthy. I'm loving the idea behind Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. It's so important to teach our children to eat healthier foods. Every so often I need to remind myself to eat more veggies. After baking 2 cakes last week, I promised myself I would blog about more savory foods. Here is a simple dinner that is quick to prepare. The coconut rice recipe is from Allrecipes. I added some organic dried coconut to kick up the flavor. The shrimp is marinated in olive oil, salt, pepper, and minced garlic. Get the pan hot and cook in a little more olive oil.

Garlic Shrimp

Cooked Shrimp

Tiramisu

Tiramisu

I had the pleasure of spending the weekend in Cornwall, CT with the best of friends. My friends Clara and Jip rented a home and invited several families to come stay for a night.  After having thoroughly enjoyed the food, wine and company, I am feeling energized.  Technology enables people to stay connected or linked via Facebook and various other social networking sites, but none can provide the satisfaction of getting actual face time with real friends.  To celebrate Clara's birthday, I made tiramisu. It was slightly too sweet, so I would cut back on the sugar next time.  I printed out her name in a large font and used an xacto knife to cut out her name to make a stencil.

If you are in the need of a pick me up, gather up some friends and share something sweet!

Assembling the Tiramisu

Assembled Tiramisu

Clara Stencil

Happy Birthday, Clara!

Doubled the marscapone filling recipe from  Baker's Royale.
Double batch of Ladyfingers from "Great Cookies: Secrets to Sensational Sweets" by Carole Walter. I piped out ladyfingers and two eight inch rounds with the batter.