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Haagen-Dazs "Reserve"

Ha.  They are making ice cream like a snooty cabernet now.  Reserve ice cream - only for the most sophisticated palate. A cult ice cream - only for the very few who are discerning enough to pick it from the grocery shelves.

*****

Knowing that post-wisdom tooth extraction, my daughter was going to be unable to eat solid food, and knowing that cold things would be indicated to help decrease swelling, I went out yesterday to buy her some ice cream.  As I was leaving for the store, she directed me not to get low fat ice cream - she was going to be "suffering" and felt she deserved the "real thing."

Ok.  I could understand that. Normally, I would not have the "real thing" in the house because none of us (ok, me) could resist it and we are all trying to watch our weight (ok, me), but when you have teeth pulled - maybe something a little more indulgent than usual is called for.

Daughter has been an ice cream fan from way back when.

I realized that I was going to have to keep it relatively simple; she wasn't going to be able to chew chocolate chips or butter brickle or cookie dough.  But I wanted it to be something yummy and out of the ordinary - plain old vanilla or chocolate  - - yuck. 

At last, I spotted something intriguing made by Haagen-Dazs.  A general description of the Haagen Dazs product, from Wikipedia (yes, I know it's been around for years - I just liked the description):

"The ice cream comes in many different flavors and is a so-called "super-premium" brand, meaning it is quite dense (very little air is mixed in during manufacture and no emulsifiers such as guar gum are used), and has a high butterfat content. Häagen-Dazs is also meant to be kept at a temperature that is substantially lower than most ice creams in order to keep its intended firmness." 

The flavor I found was called, "Hawaiian Lehua Honey and Cream Reserve." On the package, it described the honey as coming from the Big Island and having "floral notes."  I was immediately intrigued.  Would it have a velvet texture, rich tannins, and be cured in finely aged oak barrels?

Le description on their website:

Flavor notes

Rich, sumptuous waves of cream mingle with evocative glimpses of tropical honey. The rare and delicate texture of the Lehua honey is entirely different from any honey you've ever tasted.

Inspiration

Lehua honey comes from the remote volcanic slopes of Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii. There, honeybees gather nectar from the Ohia tree's fragrant Lehua blossoms. These beautiful red flowers are the unique flavor source for this rare, amber honey.

Food Pairings

Serve on a freshly baked Belgian waffle, then try to resist the aroma of warm waffle mingling with the cool ice cream and tropical honey.

Wine Pairings

A rich and balanced Sauternes from France.

Le picture:

Daughter insisted that I try some.

All kidding aside - I am a chocolate lover.  Always have been.  But this vanilla honey flavered ambrosia might have been the best ice cream I have ever tasted.

Or else maybe I've been eating Weight Watchers low fat ice cream for too long.

We both thought it was fabulous.  Daughter, who ate nothing else today, finished the entire container.

I am thinking that I might have to get some more. Just so husband can try it too.  It would be selfish to keep such a wonderful thing to ourselves.

The Toasted Coconut Sesame Brittle sounds pretty good too... 

The Serious Art and Science of Pizza

Got a few months? Years, maybe? Learn how to make a perfect pizza. You have to be pretty obsessive-compulsive to be willing to do this.

It serves 125, takes eight hours to cook and is stuffed with 12 different birds

I've heard of turducken - the dish where a turkey is stuffed with a duck which has been stuffed with a chicken, but never anything as elaborate as what follows.  More than a bit over-the-top for my taste, but interesting to read about.  From Great Britain, inspired by an old Tudor tradition:

...TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall [created] a ten-bird roast on his show two years ago.

He stuffed an 18lb turkey with a goose, duck, mallard, guinea fowl, chicken, pheasant, partridge, pigeon and woodcock - producing a remarkable Russian doll-like dish.

But now his effort, inspired by recipes dating from Tudor times, has been dwarfed by a behemoth containing no fewer than 48 birds of 12 different species.

This massive roast, the proud creation of Devon farmer Anne Petch, weighs almost four stone (more than most airlines' baggage allowance), costs £665, and has enough meat to serve 125 people.

It contains about 50,000 calories and takes more than eight hours to cook in an industrialducksized oven.

Anne, who runs the Heal Farm shop near Kings Nympton, said: "The True Love Roast has a bird for each of the 12 days of Christmas.

"It uses skinless breast meat from several birds of each species with flavours that work well together."

The roast contains turkey, goose, chicken, pheasant, partridge, pigeon squab, Aylesbury duck, Barbary duck, poussin, guinea fowl, mallard-and quail with herb and fruit stuffings.

Anne added: "It takes about 45 minutes to build the roast. However, it takes at least three hours before that to bone the birds and another couple of days to make all the stuffings.

"We've been making smaller multibird roasts for a while, but I wanted something with a real wow factor.

"It was only when I was halfway through the first prototype that I realised what a crazy idea it was. But I still think that next year we'll have something even more spectacular, perhaps a 21-bird roast.

Link

 

 

What's Cooking

Busy weekend.  My brother, his wife and daughter were in town visiting.  I made dinner for 10 on Saturday evening. Menu: Rack of lamb, butternut squash risotto, green beans, salad with homemade honey mustard dressing, mini key lime tarts, mocha cake (my mother bought this from the store) and assorted chocolates.

Recipes:

Rack of lamb is very easy to prepare and people always think God knows what you've done.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Then rub this all over the rack. I used to use a more expensive frou-frou seasoning until I realized the ingredients in the one I linked to were very similar, tasted virtually the same, and didn't have to be special ordered but was available at the grocery store. 

Next, mix about 1/2 cup dijon mustard, 1/3 cup soy sauce, and a load of minced garlic (use your judgment - I like a lot of garlic).  I use the kind that comes pre-minced in a jar at the store.  And I will use 4-5 tablespoons or so.  These measurements are all approximations.  I made the recipe up myself and do it by eye (in other words, it's different every time). 

Put the sauce aside until you have arranged the racks on pans as follows: Place the racks of lamb on a broiling pan with drainage - so that the fat drips off below and the lamb doesn't sit in it while it cooks.  The point is, you want the lamb to be roasted and not stewed in its own juice.

Interlace the racks like so:

 

Then, take the dijon/soy sauce/ garlic mixture and liberally brush it on the lamb.  Don't worry about getting the bottom or inner surface - just brush it on the exposed meat where ever you can reach, as it sits interlaced as in the picture. Then, take some bread crumbs (I use Progresso Italian-style crumbs) and sprinkle them all over where you have brushed on the sauce.  The sauce will help the crumbs to stick and will form a crust. Bake at 400 degrees for about 1/2 hour.  I stick a meat thermometer in it and cook it until it registers rare.  It continues to cook when you take it out of the oven, and will reach a nice medium on its own. Slice and serve. 

The risotto recipe comes from Epicurious.com  I made it for the first time a few weeks ago and I think it's phenomenal:

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 tablespoons olive oil

6 cups (about) chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth

3 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
2 cups arborio rice or medium-grain rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place squash on large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Roast until tender and beginning to brown, stirring occasionally, about 40 minutes.

Bring stock to simmer in heavy large saucepan. Reduce heat to very low; cover and keep stock warm.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in another heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add leeks and sauté until soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Add rice; stir 1 minute. Add wine and simmer until absorbed, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup hot stock; simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently. Add remaining stock 1/2 cup at a time, allowing stock to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently, until rice is tender and mixture is creamy, about 25 minutes longer. Add roasted squash, cream, Parmesan cheese and sage; stir until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

The only change I made to this recipe the second time I made it was that I halved the amount of leeks and instead added chopped onions. It's a bit of a PIA to make, but very delicious and well worth the effort.

Honey-Mustard Salad Dressing

Amongst family and friends, I am known for this dressing.  Everyone loves it. I can't take credit - I found the recipe in a book and made it, simple as that:

1/3  cup of vegetable oil

4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

4 tablespoons honey*

4 tablespoons dijon mustard (I use Grey Poupon)

Lots of minced garlic - 2-3 cloves - more - to taste

1 tbsp or so toasted sesame seeds

1 tsp ground pepper

Mix together and refrigerate. For salad: Combine butter or romaine lettuce, chopped purple onion, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, chopped dates or dried cranberries, honey toated walnuts and crumbled bleu or goat cheese.

*As a result of serving apples and honey for Rosh Hashanah each year, I've had the opportunity to sample many different types of honey and have a couple of definitive favorites. Far and away my absolute number one favorite, truly the best honey in the world, is Langnese Acacia honey.  It is different than any other honey - a bit thinner in consistency, and it has a very mild and delicate flavor.  I was never really a huge honey fan until I tasted this stuff.  Now I never use anything else. Number two, if you can't get the acacia honey, in my humble opinion, would be tupelo honey.

Mini Key Lime Tarts

These are just too easy - but very good.  Use Clearbrook Farms pre-baked short bread tart shells. Put a tablespoon of Clearbrook Farms Key Lime ready-to-use fruit tart filling in each one. Squirt some whipped cream on each.  Top with a raspberry and some shaved chocolate.

Bon Appetit!

What I am Making For Dinner Tonight

Reportedly from Mick Jagger's favorite restaurant in San Francisco; this dish looks yummy and easy to prepare.  I have all the ingredients together except for the boneless chicken thighs, which I will get from Wegmans this afternoon.  They don't carry boneless thighs at Giant or Safeway unfortunately, and I am not fond of boning them myself.

Click here for video.

Foodies' Delight

It goes on and on and on and on.  Close up photos.  Diverse, different, cutting edge. A collection of recipes from around the internet - but not just any recipes.  Tastespotting.

Sechuan Buttons

I read about these curious things in today's Washington Post food section.  Never heard of them before, so I looked them up to find out more.  A description:

The Sechuan Buttons is the flower of a plant originating from Africa and South America when the two continents where still connected. Now it is only found in specific areas of Africa. The name ‘Sechuan Button’ is chosen as the flower is also found in Sechuan, China.

For some people tasting the button gives the sensation of an ‘electric’ shock. It starts with a champagne-like tinkling on the top of the tongue. Then it starts to move with a kind of anaesthetic feeling in the cheeks, a numb feeling followed by a saliva flush.

One will never forget it without the perception of negative. However, within one minute the negative feeling will disappear and make place for curiosity and a desire to analyze the different sensations. Obviously, one should be very careful in the choice and combination of wines.

You simply have to watch the following video of people's reactions upon tasting it:

Click the links above to learn more.

I Have No Clue

How does one decide?

Ah, Chopped Liver

I am making it right now in preparation for Rosh Hashanah dinner, and grossing my son (age 23 and  working on a paper for school sitting at the kitchen table) out in the process.  "Feathers?" he says?  "Are you going to put any feathers in it this year?  Because if you put feathers in it, I will eat it."

His way of saying that you might as well cook and serve up chicken feathers, they are just as appetizing as chicken liver.

Yes. Well, I remember feeling exactly the same way he does, until

{{{{Yikes!!}}}} 

Oh well, the onions I will be using to make the liver will have a charcoal taste to them this year. Hard to blog and cook at the same time.

At any rate, I remember my mother and father sticking forkfuls of chopped liver in my face saying, "Try it, you don't know what you're missing," and me running screaming from the room.

But now: Chopped liver on fresh pumpernickel with a slice of raw purple onion...just wonderful.  When I eat it, I taste the lower east side of NY and my history, which makes it that much better somehow.

The illustration below shows rye bread, which is ok too but not as good as pumpernickel with C.L., in my humble opinion.

Either you are totally nauseated, or the thought has you, like me, singing along with Fred Astaire.

Fred Astaire – Cheek to Cheek

Recipe

1 lb chicken livers

4 hard boiled eggs

2 cups chopped onion

Broil livers until brown.  Fry onions in schmaltz or oil.  Toss the livers in with the onions for a few minutes at the end.  Then chop and mix everything together - can do it by hand or with a food processor.  Chill for a few hours.

Addendum: I forgot - add a liberal sprinking of pepper and kosher salt for flavor at various points of your choosing along the way - on the liver before broiling, on the onions as they fry, and more to taste after mixing if needed.

The 50 Best Cookie Recipes on the Internet

Rare that a claim like this actually proves to be as advertised, but this one manages it.  These recipes are marvelous and out of the ordinary.

What We Are Eating For Dinner Tonight

FYI:  The following is not a kosher recipe. 

Saute a diced up onion, add canned diced tomatoes with their juice (about 1.5 lbs) and 2 containers of Maya Kaimal's Vindaloo sauce (I bought mine from the refrigerated section of Fresh Fields/Whole Foods), and about 3 lbs of cut up fish - some suggestions are  a combination of salmon, swordfish, shelled and cleaned shrimp, scallops, steamers, or king crab legs.  Simmer it all together in a big soup pot until everything is cooked through and serve with some crusty sour dough bread and a nice salad.

Fantastic. It makes a huge pot and lasts for days.

Innovative Food

My oh my.  (Molecular gastronomy for serious foodies only.)

Because You Need a Good Laugh

Click here, read the description, then scroll down and click to start the tour.

Via Neatorama

Bubbe's Mandle Bread. Yum.

Via Chalutz Productions (where other Bubbe recipes can be found) and Yideoz videos.

This dish is rated Parve and can be eaten with meat and milk meals.

Supplies:

Large Baking Pan
Loaf Pan

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
Pinch of salt
3 tbsp. baking powder
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp. wine or 1 tbsp of vanilla
1 tbsp. cocoa
1 tbsp. cinnamon

Procedure:

1. Sift dry ingredients - flour, salt, baking powder
2. Beat the eggs until thick, gradually add the sugar.
3. Continue beating until lemon colored.
4. Stir in oil and wine.
5. Gradually add the flour mixture.
6. Take 1/3 of the mixture and place in another bowl and mix with cocoa.
7. Grease baking pans.
8. Shape the white batter into a small loaf and roll one strip of the dark batter.
9. Place dark in the center on top of the white loaf.
10. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixture.
11. Bake 350 deg for 25 - 30 min.

Makes 2 loaves and slice when cool

Chicken Part B

I made the chicken recipe I blogged about yesterday. The results were mixed.  We all liked it, but in the words of eldest son, "Not enough to make it worth the fuss."

I think it has potential, though.  Smoked paprika is a very interesting seasoning, and I liked the combination with the honey and lemon juice.  I am going to try it again but will make a few changes next time.  First, I will use chicken parts instead of making a whole roasted chicken.  I think each piece cooks more evenly that way plus a greater surface area would be covered in the sauce.  Second, I would add a bit more salt to the sauce for flavor.  I used less than the recipe called for, since I figured you could always add more, but you can't subtract it once it's been added.  Third, I would place the sauce both on top of and beneath the skin.  We take the skin off the chicken prior to eating it, so we missed some of the flavor as a result. 

Kosher Coke

If by some chance you are an American who is craving the real version of the "real thing," the only way you can have it is by purchasing Coca Cola that has been prepared in a way that complies with the laws of Passover.  No grains = no corn syrup.  Only Coke that been prepared for Passover consumption is made the old-fashioned way in this country, using sugar:

American Coca-Cola connoisseurs are celebrating the start of the most important season in their calendar. They say the perfect can of Coke is only available for a few weeks a year - and if you want the authentic taste of the Real Thing, you need to buy the Jewish Thing. Passover begins on April 2. For eight days, observant Jews keep kosher for Passover by not consuming any product containing grains, apart from matzo, the cracker eaten in place of bread. This poses a problem in the US, where cheap high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has been used instead of sugar to sweeten American Coke since the drink's relaunch in 1985. Corn is a grain, so Coke isn't kosher.

The company responded by manufacturing a limited quantity of Kosher Coke, sweetened with sugar, in cans and bottles with "OU-P" or "Kosher L'Pesach" printed in Hebrew on a yellow cap. Kosher Coke is only available during March and April in areas with high Jewish populations, such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Boston.

Kosher Coke has been hard to find in recent years because non-Jewish aficionados are bulk-buying the product while stocks last. They say sugared Coke doesn't have the cloying aftertaste associated with HFCS, and could be less harmful to your health, as recent research has shown a link between increased HFCS consumption and the growing incidence of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

In Britain, the article reports, sugar is still being used. Read more.

I wouldn't drink either real sugar Coke or corn syrup coke myself.  As I've mentioned, I am a diehard Diet Coke fan. I did like to drink regular Coke way back in my youth, before the dinosaurs roamed the earth.  I remember drinking it out of the small glass bottles that required a bottle opener.  It always seemed to taste better in glass bottles than it did in a can.

Speaking of Baby Boomer memories, I recently received this in email.  It's a terrific site to stimulate remembrances of things past - - when airports had no security, Life magazine, Joe Namath wearing panty hose, red plaque disclosing tablets...

Chicken

No, I am not referring to Europe, but to a chicken recipe that sounds fabulous.  I printed out the recipe and am going to make it tonight, if time and circumstances permit.  Will report back on the results.

Smoked Paprika Roasted Chicken

Feh

Diet Pepsi Jazz Caramel Cream.  Saw it at the store today and bought it on a whim.  I should have known better than to try it - I am a confirmed, unmoveable Diet Coke person, number one.  And number two, I don't like anything flavoring my Diet Coke other than lime - and fresh lime, at that - none of the prepackaged stuff. 

Yes, I am very definitely a Diet Coke snob. 

The Pepsi Caramel Cream was truly hideous, in any event.  Like someone had taken cotton candy and the essence of Kraft caramels and swirled it around in the Diet Pepsi, which tastes wretched to begin with.

I really bought it for the two young men who reside in my house.  They sometimes like to experiment and have been known to drink bright red flavored Sprite and other gawdawful potions.

But even they loathed the Pepsi. 

What do I do with the rest of it?  Wonder if it would kill the plants?

Winter Survival Equipment

Willow Stream Monsoon Tea 

Bodum tea pot

Honey pearls

mug

The Kosher Cooking Carnival

The most recent edition is up at Me-Ander.  You will find delicious recipes for Chanukah, Shabbat and anytime, and a link to a video demonstration of how to make sufganiyot.

Very Fluffy

A recipe for Squash Souffle that I found on the internet is spreading like a virus in my family.  Everyone loves it and it's easy to make.  My 13-year old niece, who has not eaten a vegetable since sometime in the year 2000, scarfed it down over Thanksgiving to everyone's amazement. My oldest son noted that she'd doubled what she'd eaten the previous Thanksgiving.  Last year she had only turkey on her plate.  This year, she had turkey and a nice serving of the squash.  I said to her that now we know she likes it, we could try doing all kinds of veggie souffles - broccoli, asparagus, brussel sprouts, tomato, cucumber,etc.  She laughed at her crazy aunt and said no. I have such a way with the teenage girl crowd. (Frankly, I am horrified that I once WAS a teenage girl.  My word, but they are the most difficult people on earth to please.)

The recipe belongs to a former Governor of Connecticut, John G. Rowland, who despite being an excellent administator of the state, is best know for being thrown out of office and sent to prison.  I guess it needs no further introduction:

1 package frozen squash

2 cups milk or cream

3 eggs

1/4 pound melted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

Dash of salt & cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients together. Mix defrosted squash with melted butter. Beat cream with eggs. Mix all ingredients together in blender or food processor. Pour into greased 2-quart casserole dish, sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1-1/4 hours, then serve.

I always double the recipe.  My SIL made it with fresh squash - we figured 10 oz of fresh squash roughly equals a box of frozen.  She cut it up into chunks, boiled the hell out of it and then mashed it, and then proceeded with the rest of the recipe.  I've been lazy and skipped using a blender/mixer/food processor in the past, and it came out fine. Oh - this is very important and I almost forgot to mention it - you must also mix in 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg, and sprinkle an additional bit over the top after you've poured the batter into the baking dish.    

Here's the link.  More about the former governor and his escapades can be found here.

Jew From New York?

I just got a Zabar's catalog in the mail, and nu, they have a web site.

Man oh man, I miss real live NY Jew food.  Interested in trying the real thing?  Order up something from Zabar's.

I now know exactly what to get my parents (zol zein gezunt biz hudert un tzvantzig*)for Chanukah - a basketful of bagels, lox, scallion cream cheese, whitefish, smoked sable, kippered salmon, chocolate babka, black and whites, rugelach, Fox's U-Bet syrup, salami, pastrami, and a bissel Zabar's cawfee. 

M&D, who moved down to Virginia 12 years ago to be closer to the grandkids and who miss NY Jew food too, are going to love it.  Not much I can get them these days.  Not much that they need.  This will make them happy.

Zabar's online

*They should live and be well to 120.