Eat to the Beat: Nutella Ice Cream

Your love is better than ice cream
Better than anything else that I've tried
And your love is better than ice cream
Everyone here know how to fight
...
Your love is better than chocolate
Better than anything else that I've tried
Oh love is better than chocolate
Everyone here knows how to cry
This song from Sarah McLachlan was always one of my favorites... namely because I could live off of ice cream, it is my absolute favorite food! The song embodied what I was looking for in a relationship... a love that was better than ice cream. Naturally, I believe I found that in my husband, and this is a timely post as we are nearing our first anniversary!


Still, I wanted to create an ice cream that would be pretty hard to beat... so for this installment of Eat to the Beat, I give you Cinnamon Nutella Ice Cream!
Well, I've just taken it out of the ice cream maker. Oh my. Oh my! This is roll-your-eyes-back-into-your-head good. (gosh, now I feel like a yogurt commercial!) The cinnamon ice cream ALONE is fantastic, but add the nutella and toffee chips... wow. Just wow! Yeah, I could, um, spend more time making coherent sentences but the pull of another bite is too strong and I'm going to give in. Just trust me and make it!



Ice Cream by Sarah McLachlan

Cinnamon Nutella Ice Cream with Hazelnut Toffee Chips
Base ice cream recipe adapted from Doc Wilson, see my note on adjusting fat content here.
If you don't like cinnamon, feel free to omit it, it will still be fabulous!

~4 oz milk (skim, 1%, 2% or whole is fine)
~8 oz heavy cream
~16 oz fat free half and half
~1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
~1 cinnamon stick
~3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
~1/4 cup eggbeaters
~3 tbsp brown sugar
~3 tbsp sugar
~7 oz fat free sweetened condensed milk
~1 cup hazelnut toffee (recipe follows)
~1/2 cup Nutella

Directions:

In a saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk, half-and-half, cream, vanilla, cinnamon stick and ground cinnamon. Whisk occasionally. When the cream mixture reaches a fast simmer (do not boil), remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.

Whisk together the egg beaters, sugars, and sweetened condensed milk. Add the cream mixture by straining to catch cinnamon stick and vanilla bean. Chill a minimum of 4 hours, preferably overnight. Freeze according to ice cream maker directions. In the last 5 minutes of freezing, add hazelnut toffee chips. Place 1/2 of ice cream in container. Add 1/4 cup nutella and swirl gently with a spatula. Add remaining 1/2 of ice cream, and swirl in remaining 1/4 cup of nutella. Mine behaved almost like that magic shell ice cream topping, it started to freeze up and break into bits rather than make a proper swirl, but I am still happy with it! Place in the freezer to cure.

Hazelnut Toffee from About.com

~1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
~1/2 cup granulated sugar
~1 tbsp water
~1.5 tsp light corn syrup
~1/3 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
~3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray. Set it aside. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once it is melted, remove it from the heat and stir in the sugar. Once the sugar is mixed in, add the water and corn syrup and stir until well-incorporated.

Place the pan back on the heat and insert a candy thermometer. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the candy reaches 290 degrees. Watch it carefully near the end, as it can easily burn at high temperatures. Once the candy reaches 290 degrees, remove it from the heat. Stir in the cinnamon and the chopped nuts, and immediately pour the candy onto the prepared baking sheet. Tilt the sheet several times to spread the candy in a thin layer. Allow the toffee to sit at room temperature until it is completely cool.

Place the chocolate chips in a large microwave-safe bowl, and microwave until melted, stirring after every minute to avoid overheating. Spoon half of the melted chocolate on top of the toffee, and spread it in a thin, even layer over the top. Place the toffee in the refrigerator to set the chocolate for about 15 minutes. Remove the toffee from the refrigerator and lift it from the baking sheet. Flip the toffee over so that the chocolate side is now resting on the bottom of the baking sheet. Spoon the remaining melted chocolate over the top of the toffee and spread it evenly. (If necessary, re-warm the chocolate briefly so that it is spreadable).

Refrigerate the toffee again to set the chocolate. Once set, break the candy into small pieces with your hands. Store the toffee in an airtight container in the refrigerator or in a cool room.

White Chicken Chili

I love warm, delicious soups and chilis in the winter... it's so comforting! We have a favorite red chili recipe, but a coworker brought a white chicken chili to a recent potluck and I've been craving it ever since! This recipe was inspired by hers, and turned out so great!

White Chicken Chili

~1 tablespoon olive oil
~2 medium onions, chopped
~4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
~4 jalapenos, seeded and diced
~6 cups chicken broth
~1 teaspoon ground coriander
~1.5 teaspoon mexican oregano
~1/4 teaspoon cayenne
~4 tomatillos, husks removed and diced
~3 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
~4 cups roasted chicken, chopped
~1 cup monterey jack cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add onions and garlic, saute until soft. Add jalapenos, broth, spices, beans, and tomatillos. Simmer for 90 minutes. Add chicken and cheese, simmer an additional 30 minutes. Serve over crushed tortilla chips with more cheese and sour cream.

BB: Banana Sour Cream Pancakes

Pancakes are always a hit in our house, so I was really excited to see them as this week's Barefoot Bloggers recipe! I made a few substitutions, that have recently become pretty standard for me. First, I used greek yogurt (2%) in place of sour cream. I also used whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose flour. I also had some frozen bananas I wanted to use up, so I chopped them and mixed them in with the wet ingredients instead of sprinkling them on the batter as it cooked. These pancakes are amazing!! I ate way too many, but we still had half the batch leftover to freeze for another day - yay!


Banana Sour Cream Pancakes
Barefoot Contessa Family Style, page 177
Chosen by Karen of Something Sweet by Karen

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• Unsalted butter
• 2 ripe bananas, diced, plus extra for serving
• Pure maple syrup

Directions

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat until it bubbles. Ladle the pancake batter into the pan to make 3 or 4 pancakes. Distribute a rounded tablespoon of bananas on each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbles appear on top and the underside is nicely browned. Flip the pancakes and then cook for another minute until browned. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, add more butter to the pan, and continue cooking pancakes until all the batter is used. Serve with sliced bananas, butter and maple syrup.

Butterscotch Ice Cream

I've been pretty devoted to Mint Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip ice cream lately. My husband exclusively eats the PB ice cream... faster than I can keep it in stock, it seems. I, of course, keep tabs on the mint. I decided it might be time to branch out again, and I came across a recipe for butterscotch ice cream.

This definitely sounded great, but the ingredients included 1.5 cups of heavy cream, and 6 eggs yolks - neither of which I want to use. I took the vanilla recipe I've been using and modified it to incorporate the butterscotch flavor so it would be 1) easier and 2) less damaging to my hips. I certainly think I achieved that and this ice cream has a fantastic taste to it!! I can't wait to make it again (especially since I think I may have burnt the sugar, oops)!

NOTE: I could live on ice cream alone, so I try to find a balance between not-loaded-with-fat and still-pretty-creamy-and-yummy. To that end, I play around with the amount of cream vs milk. The arrangement below is what I use most often. I assure you it won't turn into a rock hard block (the PB ice cream did once, and I realize it was because I had forgotten the sweetened condensed milk!). But, since it may feel icy to some, I want to mention that you are certainly free to go the full fat route, and do 16 oz of half and half with 12 oz of heavy cream. Feel free to play around in between that, too, as long as the total comes to 28 oz.
Butterscotch Ice Cream
Adapted from Sunset Magazine and Doc Wilson
(Normally I would link to the original vanilla recipe, but *tear* Doc Wilson's site appears to be down)

• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter (I use unsalted)
  
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 7 oz fat free sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup egg beaters
  
• dash of salt
  
• 4 oz heavy cream (See note above for alternate volumes)
  
• 20 oz fat free half-and-half
• 4 oz skim milk
  

Directions

In a 1- to 2-quart pan over medium heat, stir brown sugar, butter, and vanilla until butter is melted, sugar is dissolved, and mixture is bubbly, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in 4 oz of warmed heavy cream until smooth; remove butterscotch mixture from heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, egg beaters, and salt. Whisk in the half and half and milk. Finally, add the butterscotch mixture and stir with the whisk to combine. Chill until cold, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours; or cover and chill up to 1 day (recommended).

Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Serve softly frozen, or transfer ice cream to an airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 1 week.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir-Fry

Back in the day, I used more butter than any one person should. All that butter lead me to a boatload of UPCs which I could redeem for a free subscription to Everyday Food Magazine. Yay! Unfortunately, those poor magazines have been piling up with nary a glance... until this weekend. I finally sat down and completed my recipe organization (which I'll explain another day!) and went through the magazines to bookmark recipes I wanted to try. About the time my husband suggested having stir-fry for dinner, I came upon a sweet and sour pork stir-fry recipe. I decided to modify it to our tastes (namely changing out the pork for some chicken) and give it a shot.

We really enjoyed this dinner. I was afraid of the pineapple, because while pineapple is my bff, I only like it in the raw fruit form, not cooked into a meal. But, I ended up really liking the addition of pineapple! As an added bonus, all the veggies made me think I was eating something healthy! I even got my husband to try (and like!) brown rice because I forgot to cook him white rice (oops). Score one for me! I just realized some sugar snap peas would be another great addition to this meal. Next time....

Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir-Fry
Adapted from Everyday Food
Martha says it serves four... but I think it's more like 3.

• 1 can (8 ounces) pineapple chunks in juice, drained (juice reserved)
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 pound b/s chicken breast, sliced into strips
  
• 6 scallions, white and green parts separated, cut into 1-inch lengths**
  
• 1.5 cups chopped broccoli
• 1 large carrot, julienne
  
• 1/4 of a large white onion, diced
• 1 large celery stalk, sliced thinly
  
• Cooked rice, for serving
  
  

In a small bowl, stir together 1/3 cup pineapple juice, vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch, and 1/4 cup water. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Cook chicken until opaque on both sides, about 2 minutes per side; transfer to a plate.

To skillet, add broccoli, carrot, onion, and celery; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are crisp-tender, 6 to 8 minutes. (Or, forget about them leave them alone like I did and they turn out just fine).

Add chicken (along with any juices) and pineapple chunks. Whisk sauce; add to skillet. Bring to a simmer; cook, stirring, until sauce thickens, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in scallions, and serve with rice.


**I buy a bunch of scallions, then chop and store them in ~1/3 cup portions wrapped in saran wrap and in a freezer bag. I grabbed two portions for this recipe.

Ginger-Apple Chicken

So, for my first post with the new equipment... we had ginger-apple chicken tonight for dinner. I had a jar of apple jelly in the pantry, from some recipe that I ended up not making, and was t.i.r.e.d of looking at it. I went straight to google and ended up on a Better Homes and Gardens recipe that sounded... pretty good! I jazzed it up a little by adding some crushed red pepper. I reserved about half the mixture to glaze chicken as it grilled on my grillpan, and half for tossing the zucchini once they were sauteed. It was a nice twist... a little something different to do with chicken (which we eat all the time)!

Ginger-Apple Glaze
Source: Better Homes and Gardens

In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup apple jelly; 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon snipped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed; 1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel; and 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger. Heat and stir just until jelly is melted. Makes 2/3 cup.

Say hello to my little friend(s)...

I shoot most of my blog photos with my little Canon Powershot SD700 because, well, our Canon Rebel (now discontinued but you can find it's next of kin by the addition of all sorts of fancy letters) is like a black box to me. I shoot on automatic because that's all I can figure out, and I don't like the the way those shots turn out. The Powershot is just... easy. But, the Powershot doesn't handle low light situations that well. Being that the sun goes down at... what... 4pm these days? This doesn't make for good pictures. So I built a pretty shabby light box, which sorta helped me make somewhat not-completely-horrible pictures. Still, I wanted more. I wanted pictures I could be proud of!

Then I read this. And realized... I have a husband who has no idea what to buy me for my birthday OR Christmas. SCORE! I told him *exactly* what I wanted, and he came through for me. Two new pieces of camera equipment sat patiently while we went to California for Christmas. And then sat patiently a few days more until I had time to sit down and figure them out. If I had known they'd be this magnificent, I'd have opened them as soon as possible!! I present... my Rebel, now adorned with a Speedlite 430EX external flash (now discontinued) and a Canon 50mm 1/8 II lens.

I have a long way to go in learning how to take really great photos, but these little lovelies just gave me a HUGE boost!

BB: Pappa Al Pomidoro

Oops! I'm a day late with this recipe (though I made it 3 weeks ago!). The end of 2008 was a little busy with a trip to California. Last week's recipe for Barefoot Bloggers was pappa al pomidoro. This is one of my favorite things we've made... easy and SO delicious, perfect for the winter months! My husband doesn't eat pancetta, so I ended up skipping the topping altogether. It was still fabulous! Definitely make this if you get the chance!

Pappa Al Pomidoro
Back to Basics on page 68
Chosen by Natalie of Burned Bits

• 1/2 cup good olive oil
• 2 cups chopped yellow onion (2 onions)
• 1 cup medium-diced carrots, unpeeled (3 carrots)
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored, and medium-diced (1 1/2 cups) (I omitted)
  
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
• 3 cups (1-inch) diced ciabatta cubes, crusts removed
• 2 (28-ounce) cans good Italian plum tomatoes
  
• 4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

For the topping:

• 3 cups (1-inch) diced ciabatta cubes
• 2 ounces thickly sliced pancetta, chopped
• 24 to 30 whole fresh basil leaves
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil, plus more for serving
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, fennel, and garlic and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until tender. Add the ciabatta cubes and cook for 5 more minutes. Place the tomatoes in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process just until coarsely chopped. Add the tomatoes to the pot along with the chicken stock, red wine, basil, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and allow to simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

For the topping, place the ciabatta cubes, pancetta, and basil on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss well. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes, until all the ingredients are crisp. The basil leaves will turn dark and crisp, which is perfectly fine. Reheat the soup, if necessary, beat with a wire whisk until the bread is broken up. Stir in the Parmesan and taste for seasoning. Serve hot sprinkled with the topping and drizzled with additional olive oil.

Chocolate Meringues

I was looking for a treat to bring to lunch with friends, and came across this recipe for chocolate meringues in my Dorie Greenspan baking book. This worked out perfectly, as I had just amassed 4 or 5 egg whites from making pastry cream over the weekend. The meringues came out GREAT. They were chocolately but so light. A wonderful treat!

Chocolate Meringues

1 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup ground almonds (I omitted)
1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used 1/2 cup to make up for loss of almonds)
4 large eggs whites, at room temperature (I may have used 5, I forgot how many I had!)
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter (I added this to help stabilize the egg whites)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup finely chopped bittersweet chocolate or finely chopped store-bought chocolate chips

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Sift the powdered sugar, ground almonds and cocoa.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large dry bowl (make sure the bowl is impeccably clean and dry), whip the egg whites and salt on medium speed until the egg whites are opaque (if using, add cream of tarter when egg whites are just getting frothy with large bubbles, like sea foam). Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to whip as you add the sugar about 1 tablespoon at a time. Then whip until the whites are firm and hold stiff peaks - they should still be very shiny. Beat in the vanilla, and remove the bowl from the mixer. With a larger rubber spatula, quickly but gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the chopped chocolate. The whites will inevitably deflate as you fold in the dry ingredients, just try to work rapidly and use a light touch, so you deflate them as little as possible.

Drop the meringue by tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between mounds. Dust the tops of the meringues very lightly with powdered sugar.

Bake for 10 minutes, then, without opening the oven door, reduce the oven temperature to 200°F and bake for 1 hour more. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and allow the meringues to stand in a cool, dry place (not the refrigerator) until they reach room temperature. Carefully peel the meringues off the parchment or silicone lining. Store in an airtight tin or uncovered in a basket at room temperature.

BB: Coq au vin

This week's recipe for Barefoot Bloggers is coq au vin. I have been dying to make this, so I was excited for it. But then the holidays got the best of me and I got lazy and just threw it in the crockpot instead of making it the real way. This is my least favorite so far, I really couldn't get behind it. I'm hoping it's just because of the crockpot thing, so I'll see how everyone else faired and maybe try again when I have more time/patience.

Coq Au Vin
Back to Basics on page 116
Chosen by Bethany of this little piggy went to market

• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 4 ounces good bacon or pancetta, diced
• 1 (3 to 4-pound) chicken, cut in 8ths
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound carrots, cut diagonally in 1-inch pieces
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1/4 cup Cognac or good brandy
• 1/2 bottle (375 ml) good dry red wine such as Burgundy
• 1 cup good chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 10 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 pound frozen small whole onions
• 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thickly sliced

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon.

Meanwhile, lay the chicken out on paper towels and pat dry. Liberally sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. When the bacon is removed, brown the chicken pieces in batches in a single layer for about 5 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Remove the chicken to the plate with the bacon and continue to brown until all the chicken is done. Set aside.

Add the carrots, onions, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to the pan and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac and put the bacon, chicken, and any juices that collected on the plate into the pot. Add the wine, chicken stock, and thyme and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just not pink. Remove from the oven and place on top of the stove.

Mash 1 tablespoon of butter and the flour together and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. In a medium saute pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and cook the mushrooms over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until browned. Add to the stew. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot.