Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

So I have been tagged by three people now to do this. Eunice at Lemon Almond tagged me for and 8 things meme and Lis at La Mia Cucina and Elle at Feeding My Enthusiasms tagged me for 7 things about me meme. So I will do 7 ½ . I apologize ahead of time, I am horrible at doing these and I don’t tag people. So if you read this and want to do it, then tag, you are it.

1. I am a card carrying member of the Official Marshmallow Peeps Fan Club.
2. I desperately miss the Muppet Show and wish they would bring it back. My guilty pleasure show now is The Girls Next Door(hangs head in shame).
3. If someone were to look at my desk they would think belonged to a 6 years old…there is the entire Star Wars Mr. Potato Head Collection, The Cookie Monster dressed up as a chicken(and does the chicken dance when you press it’s hand), a stuffed Marshmallow Peep(see number 1), a M&M’s Boba Fett(more Star Wars) figurine, a plastic black rat, a plastic lizard that barks, a mole with a sombrero from a happy meal, a match box “Mathmoblie” and a Mr. Peabody cup.
4. Before having a blog I never knew all the different types of free porn that was available to the public on the Internet. But now thanks to spam, I have been shocked by just about every variety out there.
5. I am irrationally afraid of the dentist and have to be sedated and knocked out(via IV) to even get my teeth cleaned.
6. My favorite Holiday is Ground Hog Day. It is celebrated each year by getting up early to see the ground hog on the news while eating a chocolate sprinkle donut. Then followed up by Chinese food for either lunch or dinner. I also receive cards and gifts from family members.
7. I can make a pickle glow in the dark.
7 1/2. I gave up sugar(yes, me) for a year for a bet to see if I could do it. I did. However, everyone told me how I would lose my craving for sugar, I never did. I was the biggest bitch ever that whole year and actually gained 12 pounds because I was constantly eating to try and quell my sugar cravings.

My mother is one of those mind over matter people, I’m sure you know the type. Whenever we were sick(the knocked out ratty hair, snotty red nosed, swollen eyes sick) my mother would make me do my hair, put on make up and get dressed in one of my best outfits…”if you look good, you’ll feel good.” No, I just feel like crap and now I have make up on to run down my face when my eyes and nose run, fabulous. But genetically it must have rubbed off a little, for I am baking with hot chocolate in order to “will” Fall into showing up early. I am sooo not a Summer girl as many long time reader know. And this Summer is really making me hate it just a bit more. We are breaking heat records, my allergies are insane from always having to have the windows open, I’m injured and can’t even enjoy the outdoors, and I am allergic to half the stuff at the Farmers Market. Boo.
Bring to me my crisp mornings. Bring to me my cool, rainy afternoons that are perfect for a blanket, good book and some hot chocolate. Bring to me the need to bundle up when I go outside. Bring to me the Fall foliage and more importantly the food.
I have made this cake before, using egg nog at Christmas time. I enjoyed that so much that I thought I would use hot chocolate instead. It is after all, just a hot milk cake recipe that I messed with. Hot chocolate is pretty much hot milk(just with a kick). The cake turned out perfectly fine. I point this out because usually only when disaster strikes do I chop up a cake. But I wanted something a little different. I wanted to feel like I was curling up with a cup of comforting cocoa. So I dragged out my trusted pig mugs, chopped up some cake. Put in a layer of whipped cream(spiked with peppermint schnapps), then crushed candy canes(yes, I have them year round…love those after Christmas sales) and then hot fudge. Then more cake, candy canes, and so on…you get the picture(if you don’t just look at the picture ). I will say that I cheated and did not make my own hot fudge, it was a gift for my birthday(a box of chocolate, caramel and raspberry sauce) all from our local chocolate shop, Fran’s, and it is as good as anything I could make(I actually just eat the caramel sauce straight from the jar…just me and a spoon).
This cake truly did hit the spot, and more importantly, today it was 67F and rainy. I know it wont last(I watched the news) but it was nice to have a Fall preview.

Hot Chocolate Cake

3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup prepared hot chocolate(your favorite kind)
1 TBSP butter
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325F.

In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar until very thick; the batter should fall from the beaters in a thick ribbon. Beat in the vanilla.
While you’re beating the eggs and sugar, heat the hot chocolate and butter in a small saucepan to just simmering. Add the hot chocolate mixture to the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream as you continue beating.
In a seperate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring utnil they’re just combined.
Pour the batter into a lighty greased 9 inch cake round. Bake for 50 minutes, or until the cake is a deep golden brown and starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove the cake from the oven and cool it in the pan for 10-15 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of the pan.

Source: Inspired by Hot Milk Cake in the King Arthur’s Flour Baker’s Companion All Purpose Baking Cookibook

So after I made ice cream for Danny Briere(and the Flyers) I got a few comments and a few emails as to where was the love for MY hockey team, the Calgary Flames? Where was MY ice cream representing MY team?
This was actually harder than I thought it was going to be. I had quite the list going on of various flavor combinations and mix ins. But when it came down to it, I needed something simple. The Flames are a fairly simple team, rarely getting fancy, just the usual try and score and knock a few people down on the way to doing that.
If it had not been so muggy here, I would have made these cookies that are like thin brownies that I would have chopped up and thrown in there instead of the chopped semi-sweet, but the chocolate was just fine. If you make this ice cream, it will not be that neon yellow color you are seeing…that was achieved after many additions of yellow food coloring. I left that out, for as it pains me to think that people are not wanting to run out and make Flames Cup Winning Ice Cream, I am a realist and know that you will probably just be making white chocolate ice cream with dried cherries and chocolate. Sigh.
If you are a Flames fan, I am sure you are rejoicing at the fact that our Iggy has chosen to stay for another 5 years on the Red Mile. If you are not a Flames fan, I am talking about Jerome Iginla…the Flames captain and darn close to the world’s most perfect hockey player and all around nice guy(off the ice :P).
There you go. I know my updates have been few and far between(sorry), but I still can’t really stand on my ankle for long periods of time…so I am looking for things that I can make while sitting down. Hopefully, both the weather and my ankle will soon start to cooperate so that I can get on with my blogging.

Flames Cup Winning Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups  milk 
1-1/2 cups  whipping cream 
4 egg yolks 
1/3 cup granulated sugar 
 Pinch salt 
4 bars (100 g each) good-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt), chopped
1/4 tsp  vanilla 

mix ins:
chopped dried cherries, about ½ cup
½ cup chopped semi-sweet chocolate

In saucepan, heat together milk and cream over medium heat until tiny bubbles form around edge. Remove from heat.

In large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar and salt; slowly whisk in cream mixture. Return to pan; cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat back of spoon, about 8 minutes.

Add white chocolate and vanilla; whisk until smooth. Strain into bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on surface; refrigerate until cold, about 1-1/2 hours. Freeze in ice-cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Remove from freezer bowl into a mixing bowl and fold in cherries and semi-sweet chocolate. Place into a freezer friendly container and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

Adapted from: Canadian Living Magazine: August 2006

“Warm? No. This is a setting for London broil.” - Adrian Cronauer(Robin Williams) from Good Morning Vietnam.

That about sums up our weather here right now in the beautiful, yet craptastically hot Pacific Northwest. It was so hot that even the dog had to sit with me in our “pool,” otherwise known as the bathtub. I didn’t plan on her coming in, she just jumped right on in there. There is nothing better than being miserably hot while having the lovely aroma of wet dog. Since I am obviously not turning on the oven this week, I did what almost everyone in the blogging community seems to be doing, I went frozen.

Change for some is impossible, for others they just take it as it comes. I like to think that I am the later of the statement. I am doing my best to to embrace the Philadelphia Flyers(I have memorized the current roster and went back through archives to read up on the teams history). Though they are not my “team”, that would be the Calgary Flames(GO Flames)…they are the team, as most of you know, of my beloved Danny Briere. So to honour my hockey player I made ice cream representing his new team….Briere’s Flyers Frozen Custard. An orange base custard that is mixed with chocolate chips, caramel swirl and chocolate fudge swirl. I must say, Danny would be proud. I only made a small batch and boy am I sad about that. I think I ate half of the orange base just as it was churning in the ice cream maker. Definitely a keeper! I think next time I am going to make the orange base and throw in some smoked salt caramels from our local chocolatier, Fran of Fran’s Chocolates. Just 2 ½ more months till hockey starts up again…GO Flyers.

Briere’s Flyers Frozen Custard

Orange custard base

1 ½ cups orange juice
zest of one orange
¾  cups superfine sugar
1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
3 large egg yolks

Heat the orange juice, ½ cup sugar and orange zest in a saucepan over medium high heat. When hot, stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 15 minutes to form a slightly thickened syrup.
Cool the syrup in an ice-water bath to 45F, about 15 minutes. Place in a container and store in refrigerator until needed.
Heat heavy cream in a saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil.
While the cream is heating, place the egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment. Beat the eggs on high for 2 to 2 ½ minutes. Scrape down  the sides of the bowl, then beat on high until slightly thickened and lemon-colored, 2  ½ -3 minutes.
Pour boiling cream SLOWLY into the beaten egg while the whisk is on low. Once all cream is in whisk on medium for 30 seconds. Return mixture to saucepan and heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly. Turn down heat if it starts to boil. Bring temperature to 185F, about 1 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a stainless steel bowl. Cool in an ice-water bath to a temperature of 45F, about 15 minutes. Store in air tight container and let sit in refrigerator for an hour.
When mixture is cold, combine with the orange syrup mixture and then freeze in an ice cream freezer, following the manufacturers instructions.
While orange custard ice cream is freezing, prepare the sauces.

Caramel Sauce(from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan)

2 cups sugar
½ cup water
1 ½ TBSP light corn syrup
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temperature

Put the sugar, water and corn syrup in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan, stir just to combine the ingredients and then put the pan over medium-high heat. Heat, without stirring , until the caramel turns deep amber., 5-10 minutes. Lower the heat a bit and, standing back from the saucepan add the cream and butter. When the spatters are less vehement, stir to calm down the caramel and dissolve any lumps. Set aside till needed.

Chocolate Sauce

2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, broken into ½ inch pieces
¼ cup heavy cream

Place chocolate in a bowl. Heat cream in a saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth. Set aside till needed.

Finish making the ice cream:

Transfer the semi frozen orange custard ice cream to a plastic container. Immediately fold in ½ cup chocolate chips. Add the caramel sauce, using a large rubber spatula to give the mixture two folds. Add the chocolate sauce, once again using a large rubber spatula, and give the mixture 5 to 6 folds. Securely cove the container and place in the freezer for several hours before serving. Serve within 3 days.

Adapted from: Desserts To Die For by Marcel Desaulniers