Please check out my review for David Leite’s book The New Portuguese Table on the Book End Babes site. The book is a really great introduction to Portuguese cuisine and just filled with wonderful recipes. It includes a delicious recipe for Chilled Fava Bean Soup with Apples that I am sure you will enjoy.
I absolutely love fresh peaches, and they are at the height of their season here. Last week I found some wonderful peaches from a farm in Stratford, Oklahoma at a local produce market. My first thought was to make preserves, but these were leaning a little too much to the ripe side for that. They were juicy, delicious, and came off the stone pretty easily.
We have been enjoying homemade ice cream this summer and I thought that the peaches would make a wonderful ice cream. And I was right, the ice cream turned out great! I haven’t always been a fan of homemade ice cream. Growing up my family didn’t make homemade ice cream, and those that I experienced were a bit on the rough side, with chunks of ice mixed throughout. Not exactly appealing am I right?
As it turns out, there is a bit of science to turning out a great ice cream at home. Nothing too complicated, just a little balancing of sugar, milk, cream, and sometimes a little alcohol to regulate and flavor those ingredients. This is really important, too much sugar and your ice cream will not freeze. Too much of the liquids and you may end up with a rock solid brick of ice cream. David Lebovitz addresses this in his book The Perfect Scoop which is my go-to reference for all things ice cream.
The recipe is fairly simple. I decided to use Kirsch or Kirschwasser (German for Cherry Water) which is a cherry brandy, because I already had some on hand from a previous recipe. Kirsch unlike other liqueurs, is not sweet and I thought the cherry flavor would marry well with the peach. Kirsch can be expensive so if you don’t have any on hand and are not crazy about the thought of running out to buy some please feel free to substitute another fruit flavored liqueur.
The resulting ice cream is very creamy and mildly fruity. Don’t be surprised by how vanilla it’s appearance is, remember that commercial ice creams add food coloring to their products and I was aiming to keep this as natural as possible. I do hope you take the time to make and enjoy this treat.
Creamy Peach Ice Cream with Kirsch
Ingredients:
3 medium sized peaches
1 1/2 cups half and half
5 egg yolks
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 Tablespoons kirsch
Directions:
Fill a 5 quart pot with water and bring it to a rolling boil. Gently drop in the peaches and blanch for 3 minutes, or until the skin pulls away when you tug at it. Remove the peaches from the boiling water, and shock them in a bowl of ice water. Remove the skins, slice in half, discard the stones and chop into 1/2 inch cubes.
In a 2 quart saucepan over medium heat, bring the half and half and chopped peaches to a simmer. Remove from heat cover and let it steep for 10 minutes. Pour the warm mixture into a blender and puree’ until smooth. Set aside.
Prepare a double boiler. Fill a pot with one inch of water and select a large metal bowl that will fit on top without touching the water. Bring the water to a simmer over medium heat.
While waiting for the water to heat, prepare your custard in the metal bowl (off the heat). Combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk until smooth. Add the prepared peach and half and half mixture. Carefully place the bowl over the simmering water and whisk frequently, scraping the sides of the bowl regularly with a spatula. The custard will start to thicken in approximately five minutes, and is ready when it reaches a temp of 180 degrees. You may also test for doneness by dipping a wooden spoon into the custard and drawing a line through it with your fingertip. If the line holds your custard is ready.
Prepare a bowl large enough to hold the bowl of custard with ice. Place the bowl of custard on the ice and whisk the custard until cooled. I prefer to refrigerate the custard for a couple of hours until it is completely chilled, but it may be finished at this point.
To finish the ice cream base stir in the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and the kirsch. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions, scrape into a container and freeze until firm.
Serve in your favorite fashion, on a cone, in a bowl or covered in sauce, this is delicious!
Dark Chocolate – Chile Ice Cream. I made this really great ice cream last week from Rick Bayless’ new book Fiesta at Rick’s
You can find this recipe and review on Book End Babes Please check it out. It is one of the creamiest ice creams I have ever made and the chile’s add such a surprising fruitiness to this recipe. I will definitely be cooking a lot out of this wonderful book.
There is nothing more enjoyable than a really great steak. I haven’t always felt that way about steaks, as a matter of fact I used to avoid them as much as possible. Where I come from steaks were only cooked one way, well done. It was the only acceptable way to cook a steak on Guam.
After moving to the mainland with my husband, my opinion of steaks changed drastically. I have met many wonderful people who have helped educate my palate along the way, and to them I say thank you, I now love steak more than ever.
A little over a week ago my husband and I celebrated our 17th anniversary, and we were able to celebrate it at a wonderful steakhouse in Oklahoma City called Red Prime Steak, one of MSN’s top 10 steakhouses in the country. Red Prime Steak resides in Oklahoma City’s Central Business District, in the Historic Buick Building. Our anniversary coincided with a promotion they were doing for their Wagyu steaks called Wagyu Wednesday.
For those of you who do not know what wagyu is, it is the breed that Kobe beef stems from. In order for wagyu to be called Kobe it must be from the region called the Hyōgo Prefecture (Kobe is the capitol) and raised to the specifications of the Kobe beef distribution promotion conference. Rarely do you find 100% Wagyu outside of Japan. Blackmore Farms in Australia is one the few granted the privilege of raising 100% Wagyu. The Wagyu raised in the U.S. is a crossbreed of Wagyu and Angus. Mishima Ranch in California raises the breed currently at a percentage of 80% Wagyu & 20 % Angus. Both farms raise their beef in the strictest of standards, free of hormones and antibiotics.
We chose to dine off the both the chef’s Wagyu Wednesday menu and the regular dinner menu so we could truly experience what the restaurant had to offer. We started with The Mishima Ranch Strip Loin which was seared and served with pickled mushrooms and a spicy soy reduction
Then came some lovely appetizers, RP’s Tomatoes (Fried Green and Hot House Tomatoes with Fresh Mozzarella and a Balsamic Redux) and Beef Tenderloin Tamales.
All of the appetizers we had were delicious but the Mishima Ranch Strip Loin practically melted in our mouths.
For our Entree we had the Blackmore Farms Herb Marinated Hanger Steak with a Red Wine Shallot Compote served with Shoe String fries. This steak was so flavorful and tender that I had a hard time believing this was a hanger steak.
For Dessert we chose something close to what we traditionally have for our anniversary, the Red Velvet Cupcakes (our weddding cake was Red Velvet) which was Perfect with a light creamy frosting.
and to go along with it a huge Pecan Ice Cream Ball. This literally tipped us over the edge and sent us into a food lover’s coma. One giant ball of vanilla ice cream, layered with both white and dark chocolate and covered in pecans.
I want to thank the staff of Red Prime Steak & Chef Black for making our anniversary truly a special evening. This is now our favorite steakhouse and every other steakhouse will be weighed against this (they will have to work hard to convince me they are better).
If you haven’t tried Wagyu or Kobe Beef, I encourage you to do so when you can. If you happen to live in Oklahoma please give Red Prime Steak a try, it is a wonderful restaurant experience whether you go for Wagyu Wednesday or any other day.
Please check out my review of Grace Young’s new book Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge and her recipe for Stir-Fried Chicken with Carrots & Mushrooms here on Book End Babes.
Comment for your chance to win a copy of the cookbook, and give this great recipe a try. Comments will remain open on the site until Friday July 30th.
A little over a year ago, I discovered this great little Mexican restaurant in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City in an area known as Automobile Alley, called the Iguana Mexican Grill. The restaurant owned by Steve Mason, Ryan Parrot and Robert Painter, quickly became a popular spot with it’s fresh take on Tex-Mex and focus on locally grown food.
At the time of the restaurant’s 1st Anniversary, chef/owner Ryan Parrot decided to do a special promotion for the restaurant’s customers, as a thank you for a successful first year. The promotion is one that most people are somewhat familiar with called Taco Tuesday. It is a tag that has been used by restaurants all over the country to promote taco sales. When they started this promo, the intent was to only run it for one month with $1 Mini Tacos and $1.50 Tecates.
A year later they are still doing Taco Tuesdays, or as it is more popularly known #tacotuesday. Thanks to Chef Parrot’s use of social media, and the local twitter community, the #tacotuesday promotion at Iguana is astoundingly successful. Tuesday has become the restaurant’s busiest night of the week, with patrons sometimes waiting hours for a table.
Customers patiently waiting outside
The #tacotuesday specials change weekly with offerings such as Barbacoa, Lengua, Al Pastor, and for those whose palates don’t reach quite that far there are the more traditional Chicken, Beef and Fish Tacos. All are delicious.
Barbacoa, Shiitake Mushroom & Chicken Tacos
On my most recent visit to Iguana for #tacotuesday I found myself mingling in a rather large crowd in the bar. I started asking people what kept them coming back to #tacotuesday. The responses varied. Some came for the inexpensive meal, some came because it’s a great place to socialize and meet people, and others came for the transportation that Iguana provides to it’s customers for various events downtown. By far however I found most people came back because of @chefrp (Chef Parrot’s twitter handle) who has made them feel at home and welcome in his house.
@chefrp mingling with customers
Do you remember when we used to sing, sha la la la la la la la la la la la te da.
I absolutely love the theme for this round of the MACTWEETS CHALLENGE 
For this round we were instructed to choose a favorite tune and turn it into a macaron. I chose to do one based on Van Morrison’s Brown Eyed Girl. The song has been long time favorite of mine, and I often find myself humming it while I am baking.
I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical about how these would turn out. It was a little too humid and on the verge of raining when I made these (a big no-no for any sort of meringue). I normally wouldn’t do a macaron unless the weather was perfect, but we have been plagued with constant bad weather for the last couple of months. I also merged Hisako Ogita’s Technique with Helen Dujardin’s recipe and wasn’t sure if they would mesh well. They worked fine together, and by some miracle my macs turned out just beautifully.
To the dry ingredients in Helen’s recipe I added 3 Tablespoons of All-Natural Cocoa Powder & 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, and followed her instructions for the meringue. For blending the meringue with the dry ingredients, I used Hisako Ogita’s technique for macaronnage because I like the gloss that usually results with her method. Once I had the macarons piped out I sprinkled each with a few cocoa nibs. I love the crunch and strong cocoa flavor they provide.
I filled the macarons with some of my favorite Argentinian Dulce de Leche & a very simple ganache made with 4 oz of heavy cream and 4 oz of dark chocolate I have to admit using both made this just slightly over the top decadent. I do however love the resulting macarons and hope you enjoy them too.
That is a slice of Pecan-Peach Upside-Down Cake. The recipe is a variation of one found in Warren Brown’s United Cakes of America, which I recently reviewed on Book End Babes.
Please feel free to check out the review and recipe here.
This should be a sin. It’s rich, creamy and decadent. I am a chocoholic, but I have a secret to share. Flan is by far my favorite dessert.
I grew up with a traditional Filipino style Leche Flan (which I still love). I remember watching my cousins prepare flans and steam them in large stackable aluminum stove top steamers. I used to love watching them unmold perfectly caramelized flans knowing that soon I would be tasting one.
Not long after I got married I thought I should start looking for my own steamer, but those large ones aren’t practical for a small kitchen so I taught myself to steam them in a water bath in my oven. Around the same time I found a recipe for a Cream Cheese Flan in a magazine. This flan is my favorite one to make and I hope you will enjoy it too.
A few weeks ago, I purchased a jar of Argentinian Dulce de Leche. It was the first time I had tried it, and I normally make my own caramel, but this far exceeds any caramel that I have ever made. When I decided to make a flan for us to take to a friends home, I thought that the Dulce de Leche would be perfect with it.
Dulce de Leche Cream Cheese Flan
This recipe is a variation from one I found in Holiday Cooking Magazine
Ingredients:
*1/3 cup Dulce de Leche
1 14 ounce can condensed milk
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese (softened)
6 eggs (slightly beaten)
1 3/4 cups water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*If you can’t find Argentinian Dulce de Leche, feel free to substitute Mexican or Brazilian, or Caramelize 1/3 cup of sugar in a heavy sauce pan and carefully prepare your pan with the still hot caramel.
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Coat the bottom and sides of a 6 1/2 cup ring mold or fluted pan (I used a brioche pan) with 1/4 cup of the Dulce de Leche and set aside.
Beat the condensed milk and cream cheese together in an electric mixer on low until combined and then on medium high speed for an additional 3 to 5 minutes until smooth, scraping the bottom and sides periodically. Stir in eggs, water and vanilla extract.
Place mold in a 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 2 inch baking pan and place on a centered oven rack. Pour the custard mixture carefully into the mold. Pour boiling or hottest tap water to a depth of 1 inch around the mold. Bake at 325 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes or until the flan tests done. Remove from water bath and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours.
**To Serve unmold flan on to a serving dish and spoon any excess Dulce de Leche over the top.
**If you have trouble unmolding the flan, Fill your sink with 1 inch of hot tap water and set your flan in the water for about 5 minutes. This should loosen any caramel on the bottom of the pan and help you to release it nicely.
Please check out my 4th of July guest post on The Leather District Gourmet. A review of Rick Tramonto’s book STEAK with FRIENDS: AT HOME, WITH RICK TRAMONTO and his recipe for Grilled Sirloin Steaks with Balsamic Marinade.
