Bourbon Milkshake

Brooklyn Farmhouse has had a sweet tooth lately, but I couldn’t resist sharing yet another dessert recipe with you – albeit a rather more grownup dessert. I totally stole this idea from a restaurant in Portland, Maine called Fore Street; after having my first bourbon milkshake there, I wondered why this idea had never crossed my mind before. It’s so deliciously simple and so deliciously boozy. I made my own vanilla ice cream using milk and cream from the fantastic Milk Thistle Farm in Columbia County, NY – seriously, seriously some of the best milk, cream, and yogurt I’ve ever tasted. Ice cream made from their products is undeniably a step above even super-premium commercial ice creams. (Another benefit to making your own ice cream at home: many commercial ice creams have air whipped into them to increase the volume of the product, so you’re sometimes paying as much for air as for ice cream. Very little air is incorporated into homemade ice cream.) If you can find local milk, cream, and eggs in your area, try to use in your ice cream – you’ll notice a big difference in richness, texture, and taste.

I know my dad is a big fan of good bourbon – dare I say that Bourbon Milkshakes would make a fun ending to a Father’s Day dinner? With possibly a bottle of bourbon as an accompanying present? If my dad didn’t live all the way in Washington State, I’d make these for him for Father’s Day.

If you don’t have time (or an ice cream maker) to make your own ice cream, get yourself some good vanilla ice cream and add a half-teaspoon of high-quality vanilla extract to it when you’re blending in the blender, just to kick the flavor up a notch.

Ingredients:

For the Vanilla Ice Cream:
(Makes 1 quart)

2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split
1 cup raw sugar or granulated sugar, divided
6 egg yolks
1 tablespoon liquor of choice (I used Liquor 43, a vanilla-flavored liquor; rum or bourbon would be nice) (optional)

For the Bourbon Milkshakes:
(Makes 4-5 small milkshakes)

3 ounces of bourbon (3 shots)
1 quart vanilla ice cream
1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract (if using store-bought vanilla ice cream)
Splash of milk (optional)

Special Equipment: ice cream maker, blender

Procedure:

For the Vanilla Ice Cream:

1. Combine the cream and milk in a medium heavy saucepot. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the pot and add the bean. Add half of the sugar (1/2 cup) to the pot and stir briefly to combine.
2. Turn the heat to medium and bring the milk-cream mixture to a boil. Remove from heat and let steep for 20 minutes.
3. Return the milk-cream mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat.
4. Ready an ice bath: add a generous amount of ice to a large bowl. Add cold water to the ice, and place another large bowl on top of the ice bath. Have a fine-mesh strainer ready to go.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks until the sugar starts to dissolve and the mixture lightens in color.
6. Temper the egg mixture by adding a small ladleful of the hot milk-cream mixture to the egg mixture, whisking quickly to combine. Add more of the hot milk-cream mixture to the egg mixture, a ladleful at a time, whisking constantly, until you’ve used about 1/3 of the milk-cream mixture.
7. Add the egg mixture to the remaining milk-cream mixture in your saucepot. Heat the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a wooden spoon. (Do not boil!)
8. Immediately pour the mixture through your waiting fine-mesh strainer into the bowl over the ice bath. Stir the mixture to cool it down. Cool the mixture completely. (Discard the vanilla bean, or rinse thoroughly and use for vanilla sugar.)
9. Stir in the optional tablespoon of liquor.
10. Freeze the mixture according to your ice cream-maker’s instructions, then freeze completely until very firm.

For the Bourbon Milkshakes:

1. Combine the bourbon and ice cream in a blender. Blend until smooth. If mixture is too thick, add a splash of milk.
2. Serve in small old-fashioned (lowball) glasses or wine glasses.

Panettone Ice Cream

Panettone is a yeasted sweet bread that is usually made for Christmas and New Year’s in Italy. The bread is originally Milanese in origin, but it has spread to the far corners of the world – it’s just that delicious. I try to make at least one every Christmas season, but this year I failed big time: not a single panettone was made casa Brooklyn Farmhouse.  I did, however, purchase all of the candied citrus peels (orange and citron) necessary for a good panettone, not to mention beautiful panettone wrappers.  The containers of candied citron and orange have been eyeballing me ever since, crying out (in a little, tiny voice) to be used. Because I couldn’t bring myself to make panettone now, with the temperature going up to almost 65 today – it would be a little like baking Christmas cookies in the middle of summer – I hit upon a solution. Panettone Ice Cream! Tastes like panettone, but it’s ice cream!  This is not an April Fool’s joke.

When I bake panettone, I use an extract called Fiori di Sicilia, which is citrus-y and vanilla-y all at once, without tasting creamsicle-y. It’s really worth seeking out (you can order it online at King Arthur Flour).  As a substitution, you can combine vanilla extract and orange peel. As usual, using the best quality (i.e., not factory farmed) eggs, cream, and milk is really important when you make ice cream at home.  It’s a little more expensive, but then again, you won’t have to pay $3.00 – $4.00 a pint for premium ice cream!

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons sweet marsala wine or rum
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 cups whole milk
3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon fiori di sicilia extract or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract plus 1 teaspoon finely grated orange peel
One three-inch length (one inch wide) piece of lemon peel, cut with a swiveling vegetable peeler
3 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup candied (glazed) citron peel
1/4 cup candied orange peel

Special Equipment: Ice cream maker

Procedure:

1. In a small saucepan, combine the marsala (or rum) and the raisins. Simmer over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
2. In a medium, heavy saucepan, combine the milk, 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, the fiore di sicilia extract (or vanilla extract and orange peel), and the lemon peel. Heat over medium heat until barely simmering. Turn off the heat and let steep for 20 minutes.
3. Bring the milk mixture back to a simmer over medium heat.
4. Have ready a large bowl of ice water with another large bowl set atop the ice bath. Also have ready a fine-mesh strainer.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Temper the egg-sugar mixture by adding a small ladleful of the hot milk mixture, whisking to combine. Add about 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture to the egg mixture, one ladleful at a time.
6. Combine the milk-egg mixture with the remaining simmering milk. Heat over medium, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture coats the back of the spoon.
7. Immediately pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer over the bowl set over the ice bath. Discard the lemon peel. Stir to cool the mixture, then cool completely.
8. Stir in the heavy cream.
9. Process the mixture according to the ice cream maker manufacturer’s directions. In the last 5 minutes of churning, add the raisins and any marsala (or rum) and the candied citron and orange peel.
10. Freeze completely.

Makes slightly less than 1 quart.

Ginger, Lemongrass, and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

It’s getting to the point in the winter where I’m longing – longing – for summer. Cabbage and kale, although I dearly love you, I would gladly give you up right now for a juicy peach, a purple plum, a red, ripe tomato straight from the fields…or a fresh, sweet ear of corn.

How does all of this relate to ginger, lemongrass, and vanilla bean ice cream, you ask? Well, I felt the need to drown my winter blues in something fresh and bright tasting. Something sweet and rich and comforting. Something like this ice cream. And I had big plans this past week to make Thai food (didn’t happen), which is why I had lemongrass sitting around in the fridge.

For the love of….please try to use high quality eggs, cream, and milk. And by high quality I mean not from a factory farm. Try to search out free range eggs and local milk and cream (grass-fed is really nice). They really do taste better and they are better for you, too.  This recipe is adapted from one that was made many times at the French Culinary Institute’s restaurant, L’Ecole, while I was in school there.

Ingredients:

2 stalks lemongrass, very tough outer leaves removed, and sliced thinly
One 3-4 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced into rounds
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
1 liter whole milk
6 egg yolks
1 tablespoon rum
2 cups heavy cream
Ice

Special Equipment: An ice cream maker, a fine-mesh strainer

Procedure:

1. In a medium pot, add the lemongrass slices, the ginger, and the vanilla bean and all of its lovely vanilla-bean contents. Pour in 3/4 cups of the sugar and the milk. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat.
2. Turn off the heat and let the mixture steep for 30 minutes.
3. Return the milk to a simmer over low heat.
4. In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks and the remaining 1 cup sugar. Temper the eggs by adding a small ladle-full of the hot milk mixture and stirring vigorously. Add 2-3 more ladles of the milk mixture and stir.
5. Have ready a bowl of ice water and another large bowl to pour the ice cream mixture into. Set your fine-mesh strainer next to your bowls.
6. Pour the milk-egg mixture back into the pot with the remainder of the milk-lemongrass-ginger mixture. Turn the heat up to medium-low, and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture coats the back of the spoon.
7. Immediately pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer, pushing to get all of the liquid out through the bits of lemongrass and ginger, into your waiting bowl over your other bowl of ice water.
8. Stir in the rum. Let the mixture cool completely.
9. Stir in the heavy cream.
10. Process in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions, then freeze.

You can simplify this a bit by omitting the candied fennel and kumquats, but I think that the sugar syrup that results from the candying makes the sorbet so much more deliciously complex. I usually add just a bit of liquor to sorbets because it helps keep ice crystals from forming, resulting in a super-smooth texture. Plus liquor tastes good. For this sorbet, any number of liquors would be delicious – you could use anisette (or even ouzo) if you wanted to kick up the anise flavor a bit, or dark rum to give it a tiniest hint of caramel, or grand mariner or triple sec to play up the orange flavor. I used the latter. When you make sorbet, you must taste before you freeze – some fruit has more sugar than others, so taste the mixture before you freeze it, correcting with more sugar syrup as necessary. Keep in mind that cold food tends to taste less intense than hot food, so err on the side of more sugar if you are in doubt.

This recipe only makes about a half a pint – enough for 3-4 scoops for two. You will have leftover syrup and candied kumquats and fennel – also delicious on vanilla ice cream!

Blood Orange Sorbet with Candied Fennel and Kumquats

Jewel-like candied kumquats and fennel make a beautiful garnish

Ingredients:

1/2 cup kumquats, seeds removed and sliced very thinly
1/2 cup fennel, quartered and sliced very thinly on a Japanese mandoline or by hand
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup fresh squeezed blood orange juice
1 teaspoon grand marnier, triple sec, anisette, ouzo, or dark rum

Special Equipment: Ice cream maker

Procedure:

1. Combine the kumquat slices, fennel slices, sugar, and water in a medium heavy saucepan. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, swirling the pan occasionally to help distribute and dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat and simmer the mixture for 30 minutes, or until both the kumquats and fennel are tender and translucent.
2. Using a slotted spoon, remove the kumquats and fennel and place in a bowl. Set aside. Cool the syrup to room temperature.
3. Measure out 1/2 cup of the resulting syrup (or alternately, use 1/2 cup plain simple syrup, cooled to room temperature). Combine the blood orange juice, syrup, and liquor of your choice. Taste the mixture and add more syrup, if necessary.
4. Refrigerate the mixture until cold. Taste the mixture again while cold, adding more syrup, if necessary. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.
5. Serve with the candied kumquats and fennel on top of the sorbet.

Serves: 1-4 (depending on your level of self control)

Special equipment: a food mill, an ice cream maker

Ingredients
1 pound Concord grapes
2/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup heavy cream

Procedure
1. Wash the grapes and remove them from their stems.

2. Make simple syrup by combining the sugar and the water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Swirl the pan occasionally until all the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.

3. Fit your food mill with the fine disk and place over a large bowl. Mill the grapes into the bowl until most of the juice and pulp has been extracted, leaving the seeds and skins behind.
4. Combine the cooled simple syrup and the grape purée. Refrigerate the mixture for at least a half hour, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
5. In a clean stainless steel bowl, whip the cream until barely thickened. Gently fold the cream into the grape mixture.

6. Process the mixture according to your ice cream maker’s directions. Eat immediately (it’s good nice and soft) or freeze.