Absinthe Ice Cream

There is a bar in Houston called Absinthe. It has no sign, and you really have to know where it is. Even if you know where it is, you will drive past it several times. As one might expect, they specialize in absinthe cocktails, my favorite being Hemingway's Revenge, a combination of creme de cassis, champagne, and absinthe. So when our favorite wine store had a special on absinthe, Joe insisted on getting a bottle. And then David Lebovitz, ice cream deity, made absinthe ice cream. It was like the stars had aligned.

Most people describe absinthe has having a black licorice flavor. That's not false, but this ice cream brings out all of the herb flavors and even a hint of "vegetal bitterness" (I stole that phrase from a mixologist at Patterson House). The chocolate tempers it a bit. If you don't have absinthe, any absinthe-flavored liqueur would be a fine substitute. All you're missing is the wormwood oil. And note that the alcohol doesn't cook off, so be mindful of who you serve this too.

Absinthe Ice Cream
source: David Lebovitz

Ingredients
1 cup (250ml) whole milk

A pinch of salt

2/3 cup (130g) sugar

2 cups (500ml) heavy cream or half-and-half

5 large egg yolks

3-4 tablespoons absinthe

about 1 1/2 cups chopped chocolate truffles, or chocolate chips

Preparation

1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan.

2. Set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2l) bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream or half-and-half into the bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

4. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.

5. Strain the custard into the cream or half-and-half. Stir over the ice until cool, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight.

6. Stir in 3 tablespoons of absinthe. Taste, and add another one if desired. 7. Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Once churned, stir in the chopped chocolate bits.

Asparagus and Smoked Trout Frittata

For some reason, the May issues of Cooking Light always knock my socks off. I don't know what it is about them, but they practically hit me over the head with delicious spring food. Radishes! Asparagus! Watercress! Strawberries! Light dinners that you eat on the patio while drinking a glass of white wine and feeling quite French! So that's where this dinner came from. I found the smoked trout near the smoked salmon, and Cooking Light suggests substituting mushrooms if you're the vegetarian type, or if you're just not in the mood for smoked trout.

Asparagus and Smoked Trout Frittata

source: Cooking Light May 2010

Ingredients

• 8 ounces thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon 2% reduced-fat milk
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 4 large egg whites (I used the yolks for ice cream.)
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
• 4 ounces smoked trout, skinned and flaked into large pieces
• Cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1/2 cup minced green onions

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Cook asparagus in a large saucepan of boiling water 2 minutes. Drain and plunge asparagus into ice water; drain and pat dry.

3. Combine milk and next 4 ingredients (through egg whites) in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in asparagus, 2 tablespoons cheese, dill, and trout.

4. Heat a 10-inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add oil and onions to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Pour egg mixture into pan; stir once. Cook without stirring for 2 minutes or until edges begin to set. Place pan in oven. Bake at 450° for 8 minutes or until eggs are just set. Remove from oven; sprinkle evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons cheese.

5. Preheat broiler.

6. Broil frittata 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 wedges.

Nutritional Information

Yields 4 servings, Calories: 186, Fat: 10.2 g, Protein: 19.9 g, Carbohydrate: 4.3 g

Wheat Berry Salad with Raisins and Pistachios

Occasionally, I have these revelations where I am amazed that I can put things together and make tasty, fresh, healthy meals that nourish my body and mind and soul. That might sound cheesy, but you have to understand that I did not grow up in a family that cooked from scratch regularly. And when you think about our gatherer and hunter ancestors, it's pretty incredible that I can combine goat cheese and cilantro and wheat berries in a dish and eat it for lunch.

Last summer, when I was working as a hospice chaplain, I didn't often have access to a refrigerator to store lunches so I made variations on a pasta salad. This would have been perfect for those days or for a picnic, hike, or canoe trip. The variations of texture and flavor, sweet raisins and honey mixed with bright cilantro and lemon, make this extremely satisfying. The fiber helps keep you full too.

Wheat Berry Salad with Raisins and Pistachios
source: Cooking Light April 2010
Yields 6 servings

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked wheat berries (hard red winter wheat)
3/4 tsp salt, divided
3 tbsp shelled pistachios
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp fresh grated peeled ginger
1/2 cup golden raisins (I just used regular raisins)
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup (2 oz) crumbled goat cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
2. Put wheat berries and 1/2 tsp of salt in a medium saucepan. Cover with water to two inches above berries. Bring to a boil, cover, and then reduce heat to low and simmer for one hour or until berries are tender. Drain.
   
3. Place pistachios on a baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes, stirring once. Let cool and then chop.
4. Combine oil, juice, honey, coriander, ginger, and remaining 1/4 tsp salt in a large bowl and stir with a whisk. Add hot wheat berries and raisins, stirring to combine. Let stand until cooled to room temperature.
5. Add nuts, green onions, and cilantro to wheat berry mixture. Transfer to serving bowl and sprinkle with goat cheese.
   

Cavatappi with Sundried Tomatoes and Cannellini Beans

One of the great things about being married is that I learn something new about Joe every so often. Like when I was making this dish, and he came into the kitchen and remarked, "I LOVE sundried tomatoes!" Really? Why did I not know this? I had never seen him order anything with sundried tomatoes or particularly seek them out. There was a jar of sundried tomatoes languishing in the pantry, and I didn't know my husband loved them. So, needless to say, this dish went over well.

Sundried tomatoes + fun-shaped pasta + meaty beans = great weeknight dinner. How's that for some math? Also, this has quite a bit of oil in it, so I'm not doing the nutritional calculations. It's most likely a little on the heavy side if you're watching your caloric intake.

Cavatappi with Sundried Tomatoes and Cannellini Beans

source: Elly Says Opa

Ingredients

8 oz. whole wheat cavatappi pasta, with 1.25 cups of the pasta cooking water reserved
1 Tbsp. oil from oil-packed sundried tomatoes
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 fat cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
heaping 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (I doubled this.)
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, drained and sliced into strips
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup pecorino romano or parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
Good extra virgin olive oil for drizzling, if desired

Preparation

Cook the pasta until al dente in salted water. Set aside 1.25 cups of the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, heat the oil from the sundried tomatoes and the olive oil together in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and fry it for about a minute before adding the red pepper flakes, and toast those for another 30 seconds or so. Spread the sundried tomatoes out in the skillet and allow them to sizzle for a minute. Add 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Keep it simmering until it reduces down by half.

Add the beans, the remaining 3/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid and some salt to taste. Bring to a boil and then cook at an active simmer for four minutes. Stir in the pasta. Add the parsley and then, off the heat, add the romano/parmesan. Season with freshly ground black pepper and, if you want, drizzle the plated pasta with some good extra virgin olive oil.

Mile-High Lemon Meringue Pie

You know that rule about how you're supposed to make things that you've made before when planning a dinner for guests? Yeah, I routinely break it. Last year for Easter, this meant a trifle that tasted way too much like chemicals. This year, I left it up to Cook's Country. Joe had suggested a lemon meringue pie, gesturing with his hands just how tall he wanted the meringue to be. I had never made meringue. Or lemon curd. But that didn't stop me.

Like everything in the America's Test Kitchen vein, this lemon meringue pie tastes like a lemon meringue pie should. Lots of lemon juice gives it a great, puckery lemon flavor, and the meringue is silky and light. I don't have a stand mixer, so I just used a hand-held, which took slightly longer than the times indicated in the recipe.

Mile-High Lemon Meringue Pie
source: Cook's Country

Ingredients

1 (9-inch) pie shell. fully baked and cooled
FOR THE LEMON FILLING:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup of lemon juice (from 6 lemons)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
8 large egg yolks (reserve 4 whites for meringue later)
2 tbsp. grated lemon zest
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces

FOR THE MERINGUE:
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
4 egg whites
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preparation

TO MAKE THE FILLING:
Whisk sugar, lemon juice, water, cornstarch and salt together in a large non-reactive saucepan until cornstarch is dissolved. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally until mixture is translucent and begins to thicken, about 5 minutes.

Whisk in yolks until combined. Stir in zest and butter. Bring to a simmer and stir constantly until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes.

Strain through fine mesh strainer into the baked and cooled pie shell and scrape off filling from the bottom of strainer. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the filling and refrigerate until set and well chilled, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

WHEN READY TO MAKE THE MERINGUE:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine water and sugar in saucepan. Bring to a vigorous boil over medium high heat. Once syrup comes to a rolling boil, cook for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside while beating egg whites.

With electric mixer beat whites in large bowl at medium low speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Add salt and cream of tartar and beat gradually increasing speed to medium high, until whites hold soft peaks, about 2 minutes. With mixer running, slowly pour hot syrup into the whites. Add vanilla and beat until meringue has cooled and becomes shiny and thick, 5-9 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, mound meringue over filling making sure meringue touches the edges of the crust. Use spatula to create peaks all over the pie.

Bake until peaks turn golden brown about 6 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature and serve.