Pear-Caramel Ice Cream

I got David Lebovitz's book The Perfect Scoop a couple weeks ago and had to try one of ice cream recipes. The book is divided into sections by ice creams, sorbets and sherberts, granitas, and sauces and toppings, etc. The recipes are laid out concisely and there are beautiful photos throughout the book which beckons the reader to make another recipe. I have been getting a ton of Bosc pears from my CSA so I decided to make the Pear-Caramel ice cream. To be honest, Bosc pears are not my favorite, I prefer Barlett or d'Anjous pears for eating. Bosc pears have a firmer flesh than other pears, making them perfect for baking or poaching. For more information on Bosc pears, click here. So my main goal was to get rid of these pears, but still make something I would enjoy. Overall, I enjoyed the ice cream, but next time I would go with David's suggestion to use Comice or Bartlett pears. I think the Bosc pears' flavor couldn't hold up to the caramel, so if you make this yourself use the pears suggested for a stronger pear flavor.

Ingredients for David Lebovitz's Pear-Caramel Ice Cream taken from The Perfect Scoop:
-3 medium sized pears, peeled and cored (Bartlett or Comice pears recommended)
-3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
-2 cups heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
-A few drops freshly squeezed lemon juice (didn't have lemon on hand, so I didn't worry about it)

To begin, dice the pears into 1/4 inch pieces.
Spread the sugar in a large, nonreactive, heavy-bottom saucepan (mine was stainless steel). Cook sugar over medium heat and be sure to watch it carefully. When it begins to liquefy and darken at the edges, use a heat proof spatula to very gently stir the sugar, encouraging the other sugar to liquefy in the center.
Have your pear pieces ready, and once the sugar becomes a deep amber, stir the pear pieces in. Don't be afraid if some of the sugar hardens over the pears, they will eventually melt. Continue to cook the pears for about 10 minutes or until the pieces are cooked through.
Remove pear mixture from heat and add 1/2 cup cream, then mix in the remaining cream along with the salt and a few drops of lemon juice.
Let cool to room temperature and then puree in a blender or food processor until smooth. Note: I actually chilled mine completely before pureeing the mixture. Then press the mixture through a mesh strainer with a rubber spatula to move any tough pear fibers.
Then chill the mixture thoroughly and then pour into the ice cream maker, following the manufacturer's instructions. For a firmer ice cream, place in the freezer for at least two hours.
This ice cream is good on its own, but is also nice paired with some caramelized pears on the side. Enjoy!

Starbucks VIA Ready Brew Coffee

For me, Starbucks is more of a public bathroom hot spot than a place to get coffee. On Sunday though, while out with friends I found myself forced to get a cup of coffee. Along with the coffee came Starbucks' latest gimmick-the Starbucks VIA Ready Brew. According to their website it is "pretty revolutionary" and "a life-altering concept." I had to laugh a little and then wonder who came up with this nonsense. Starbucks prides themselves on their flavorful instant coffee and the convenience of just adding water. Ummm...has anyone heard of a drip c one ? I know that you have to have coffee grounds, cone, filter, and hot water, instead of just the instant coffee package and hot water, but I have never found that to be difficult. In fact, I think the most challenging thing would be to find hot water. I think the only person who would find this useful would be someone who only has a microwave, otherwise making real coffee seems just as easy.

So after I turned my nose up at even the idea of drinking instant coffee, I decided to give it a try and see if the Starbucks VIA lived up to its high reputation.
The package is small, so it would be convenient to carry with you in your purse or attache case. Basically you heat up water, rip open the package to dump in the minuscule grounds (which reminds me of the iron powder in the Wooly Willy Magnetic Drawing Face), and then stir. It instantly dissolves.
Overall, the taste was alright - maybe it's great compared to other instant coffees, but I have never tried them. It was definitely not any better than a cup of coffee from a pot at work, and it especially didn't compare to my one cup drip cone. The most confusing and unsatisfying part about my cup of Starbucks VIA is that it didn't have any aroma, which is an important quality to a great cup of coffee.

Starbucks VIA cost $9.95 for a 12 pack (that is 83 cents a cup) or $34.95 for a 48 pack (which is 73 cents a cup). You could pay a little more for a real cup of coffee, or better yet - buy your own beans and make some yourself.

Chocolate Meringues

Last weekend I wanted to make something special but simple. I can't really think of a more sophisticated-looking treat with such a small amount of ingredients as a meringue cookie. So I opened Martha Stewart's Cookie Book and decided to make these chocolate meringue cookies. They are quite easy - just a little bit of arm work, and if you don't have a piping bag or tips, then I think you could spoon little dollops out and have a more rustic meringue cookie with the same results.

Here are the ingredients for Chocolate Meringues from Martha Stewart's Cookie Book (makes about 4 1/2 dozen):
-4 large egg whites at room temperature (preferably)
-1 cup granulated sugar
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
-pinch of cream of tartar
-1/4 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)

To begin, preheat oven to 175 degrees and cover baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a large heatproof bowl. Place over a medium saucepan filled with about 2 inches of water. Make sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl, because it may overheat the eggs and compromise their protein structure, creating a less than optimal meringue. Set the saucepan over medium heat, and bring water to a simmer to create a double boiler.
Whisk constantly until sugar dissolves and the mixture is warm to the touch, about 3 minutes or more. Rub mixture between fingers to test that the sugar is completely dissolved.
Remove from heat and use an electric mixer to beat the egg white mixture into stiff, glossy peaks, starting on the lowest speed and gradually bringing it up to the highest speed. It will take about 10 minutes for stiff peaks to form.
Gently fold in the vanilla extract to the meringue.
Sift the cocoa powder over the meringue and fold in so that streaks remain.
You are now ready to place the meringue in a piping bag, using a 1/2 inch star tip.
Pipe 1 1/2 inch size cookies about 1 inch apart across your baking sheets. At first I was terrible at getting the hang of how to pipe the meringue out into the correct shape. I was swirling the meringue around, but then I realized the tip should be doing most of the work. It just takes a steady hand and even pressure to create the correct shape.
Then place in the oven for about 2 hours or until the cookies come off the parchment clean and easy. Below is an example of when your cookies are not yet done.
Depending on how large your cookies end up being it might take a longer or shorter amount of time. Mine took about 1 hour and 45 minutes, and I started checking them at an hour and half.
The cookies cool almost immediately so you can put them in an air tight container in a single layer and they should last for a few days. Be sure to try them straight out of the oven though, they are crunchy on the outside and have a warm chewy center - delicious!
For more on meringue basics, click here to read Martha Stewart's tips.

BluePrint Cleanse

So for over a year I have been dreaming of doing a juice cleanse through NYC's BluePrint Cleanse, created by raw food enthusiast Zoe Sakoutis and foodie Erica Huss. Unfortunately, the cleanse is definitely not in my budget. For a NYC delivery it is $75 for a one-day cleanse or $65 a day for a 3-5 day cleanse. Fortunately, I convinced my boss to be my guinea pig and she tried a three day cleanse and ended up really enjoying. And then as luck would have it, BluePrint Cleanse accidentally delivered her another batch for a three day cleanse a few months later. After much confusion with the company, my boss ended up giving me a day's worth. I was pumped. I had spent the last week stuffing my face with mediocre cookies and sandwiches from work, a cleanse was much needed - even if it was only going to be a one-day cleanse.

BluePrint Cleanse has a very helpful website which explains which cleanse level you should do (whether you are a rookie or a master). I would elaborate more, but you should just check out their website to get the best explanation. I will tell you that the cleanses are delivered to your door the day before you want to start your cleanse in a cooler tote bag. There are 6 juices per day labeled simply by numbers as well as ingredients within each bottle.
On a side note, I do not fair well with not eating. I love to munch like a squirrel throughout the day, and the last time I tried a cleanse (the Master Cleanse to be exact) I failed within 5 hours. I was caught red-handed by my bff (who was also doing the Master Cleanse) eating a bowl of rice.

Here are my thoughts on the One-Day BluePrint Cleanse:

*A side note: You should drink a 12 ounce glass of water in between juices and you are welcome to drink as much herbal tea as you like. Also, you should keep at least an hour in between juices and have your last juice at least 2 hours before you plan on going to sleep.

7:30 am - Started off with a warm glass of filtered water to get my stomach in motion. Okay, I used tap water - whatevs. You can also add lemon to the water if you fancy it.

9:00 am - Bottle 1-Green Juice. Juice of romaine, celery, green apple, spinach, kale, parsley, and lemon. First off you are suppose to "chew" the juice to activate enzymes that aid in digestive, so it is a bit weird. The first sip I took wasn't very pleasant. I have never been a fan of kale, I prefer to hide it in a quesadilla than eat it on its own. I thought I could get use to the flavors, but the best option was just to swallow my sips as quickly as possible. So I stopped fake chewing on this bottle. I don't want to scare people off, my boss loved this juice, it just wasn't for me.

11:00 am - Bottle 2. Juice of pineapple, apple, and mint. Okay, this was so delicious I had to control myself from drinking it all within 10 minutes. In fact, I could barely stop drinking it to take a picture. The juice combo was light, sweet and refreshing with the hint of mint at the end. My office mate made the good point of what a great cocktail the flavors would make if you just added vodka. Oh wait this is a cleanse!

2:00 pm - Bottle 3-Green Juice. Juice of romaine, celery, green apple, spinach, kale, parsley, and lemon (same as Bottle 1). So I pump myself up to drink this one again. Still, no luck. In fact, it became harder and the slower I drank the juice, the warmer and more disgusting it got to me. But I finished it!

*Coworkers decided to open champagne to celebrate a successful market. I got to sit and stare and drink my juice :( Okay, okay I had one sip - but that was it!

5:30 pm - Bottle 4-Spicy Lemonade. Juice of lemon, agave nectar, and cayenne pepper. Ummm...so good. If this was what my Master Cleanse concoction tasted like then I probably would have lasted longer. I gulped this down because I felt behind schedule.

7:00 pm - Bottle 5-Green Juice. Juice of romaine, celery, green apple, spinach, kale, parsley, and lemon. Okay, I thought I was on the Renovation Cleanse, so I was expecting carrot, apple, lemon, beet, ginger juice. My dreams were crushed when I realized I was actually on the Foundation Cleanse and had to drink the green juice yet AGAIN. I took a few more swigs and then was tempted by the smell of hash browns sizzling in my friend's apartment. Breakfast for dinner - my biggest weakness - ok Mexican actually is. I took one bite of the hash - just to try and then I quit my cleanse. I couldn't take the green stuff - I was doomed from the beginning.

8:00 pm - Bottle 6-Cashew Nut Milk. Cashew nut milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. So I opened this one just to try, my boss said it was a delicious dessert. I think people who go on cleanses can sometimes become delusional. This tasted like sweet chalky milk with cinnamon. I am not a fan with white foods or liquids in general, so I was against it from the start.

9:00 pm - Can 1-Lays Stacks. Original Flavor - stacks of thin potato, salt, and other stuff. Absolutely delicious. I didn't eat all of them - so don't judge. The perfect way to end a cleanse.

Overall, I truly was not hungry one bit and I didn't feel weak at all like the Master Cleanse. Yes, there were things tempting me, and if I hadn't hated the taste of the green juice so much then I probably could have made it through to the end.

Go to BluePrint Cleanse to check it out for yourself, they deliver across the country.

Click here to read about my 3-Day Cleanse.

Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream

Sorry for the lull in posts for the last couple months, but this summer slowly heated up, making it difficult to want to cook or bake with no air conditioning. On the bright side I did buy an ice cream maker to make the summer seem a little more bearable. I figured that I spend a considerable amount of money on ice cream, and I might as well buy the best quality ingredients and make my own. So I bought a Cuisinart Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker.

For my first try I made the ice cream with just milk and sugar, but next time I will probably try adding eggs for a custard base. I am waiting for the book called Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments by Davd Lebovitz to be delivered from Amazon so I can become a serious ice cream creator.

I went to the Green Market and bought milk from Milk Thistle Farm. The woman who sold me my whole milk and heavy cream was very nice and wished me luck on my first batch of ice cream. Twenty-one dollars later (so expensive, but so worth it) I hopped on the subway uptown.

A is For Amazing

This Italian flourless chocolate cake is called a Torta Barozzi. It comes from The Splendid Table: Recipes from Emilia-Romagna, the Heartland of Northern Italian Food by Lynne Rossetto Kasper. I made this cake several months ago, and sadly have not posted it until now because it is a rather lengthy recipe, but so worth it. It is the best chocolate cake I have had in my life. There is no need to goop the cake with frosting, the chocolate is so rich and decadent that only a small piece suffices. If you have a weekend afternoon I definitely recommend you make it for yourself or for someone special. It supposedly tastes best the first 24 hours, but I truly enjoy it the next day straight of the fridge. It keeps for up to three days in the fridge wrapped in plastic wrap, and in the freezer up to 2 months.

David Fishman

Photo taken by Adam Nadal.

I am so glad I finally watched the recorded episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay's Sloppy Joe competition. I wasn't really into the episode (because I am straight up disgusted by sloppy joes) until the judges were announced. Since sloppy joes is a classic kids' favorite, the show decided to get 12 year old food critic David Fishman. As I heard David talk about the sloppy joes my mouth was hanging open the entire time. Click here to read The New York Times article about David or just google him and you can watch clips of him on the Today Show or Rachel Ray (if you can stand to watch any of those hosts).

Better yet, tune in on September 5th at 10:30 pm (Eastern) and September 6th at 1:30 am (Eastern) to watch the original sloppy joe episode.