Mint Ice Cream

Ok, so I guess I have a thing for home made ice cream.  I just can't stop making it, thinking about different flavors, and of course, eating it!  If you don't have an ice cream maker I guess these posts are pretty boring.  But its sooooo good.  My mom actually got me the ice cream maker from a second hand store.  I had mentioned wanting one to her, and before for I knew it, she found me one! Its even called "The Mini Yum Yum Machine" which is my favorite part!  Now, have you ever had home made mint ice cream?  It's crazy.  It makes you realize just how fake store bought mint flavor is.  Its not super green because there isn't any dyes, just lightly green from the mint leaves.

What you'll need:

2 cups whole milk
2 cups whipping cream (oh yes!)
1 cup sugar (divided)
1 bunch mint (remove leaves from stems, about 2 cups)
5 egg yokes
1 cup chopped dark chocolate (I used the left over chocolate bark from the cake pops.)
pinch salt

Add milk, cream, half of sugar and salt into a pan and bring to a boil over medium heat until begins in boil.  Keep your eye on it, it boils over quick (which I learned the hard way.)  Remove from heat, add mint leaves and allow to steep for about an hour.

For a really minty ice cream, take the milk and leaves and pour into a blender or food processor and blend for about 5 minutes, or until you can no longer see bits of the leaves.  I think I might remove 1/4 of the leaves to lighten the mint just a bit.  But its definitely worth leaving them in there.  Return to pan, and bring to a simmer over medium low heat.

Now, beat half sugar and egg yokes with hand mixer in a heat proof bowl until turns a lighter color, about 45 seconds. Slowly pour half of milk into eggs and sugar and whisk until combined.  Now slowly pour the egg mixture into the sauce pan with remaining milk and stir with a wooden spoon.  Continue heating and stirring for about 4 minutes or until thickens slightly and coats the back of the wooden spoon.  Be careful not to over heat because the egg will begin to cook.  Pour into an air tight container, allow to cool to room temperature, then place in the fridge over night. 


I also made the chocolate swirl from the coffee ice cream and added that as well.  Here is the recipe again for that.  


Chocolate Swirl
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1 very heaped tablespoon cocoa powder, plus a little more
1/2 teaspoon vanilla


You will want to make the chocolate swirl the night before.  Add all ingredients into a small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil stirring constantly over medium heat.  Once boiling, whisk for one minute at a hard boil, then remove from heat and pour into an air tight container.  Cool to room temp, then put in fridge with ice cream mixture.


Before adding ice cream mixture to the maker, be sure and run it through a fine mesh strainer.  Now freeze it as you normally would.  About 5 minutes before its done, add the chopped chocolate.  Once frozen, layer ice cream and chocolate swirl in your favorite ice cream container starting and ending with ice cream.  You will have plenty of chocolate so really pour it on!  Freeze for as long as you possibly can stand it.  The longer the better to allow the chocolate swirl to set.  Be sure it sits level in your freezer so the chocolate doesn't all run to the bottom.

This is the eggs and sugar after whipped with the hand mixer.

Pure minty goodness.  You should make this just so you can understand what I mean between store bought and home made with real mint leaves.   You know what they say, home made is always better, and this is a prime example of that.  Enjoy!

This is how your dress gets dirty...

you come home from work to this.  A four legged mud pie.

And the funny part about it, this dog hates baths. 

Update April 1st

Mandee made the comment about how its funny that the dog that hates baths will sit in a cooler full of water.  I had sent her a picture a long time ago of Dex, and I just found it on my work computer.  This is Dex in all his prime...taken somewhere around August last summer.

Same look on his face. What a nut!

Coffee Ice Cream with Chocolate Swirl

Yes please!  I wish I had never ending supply of this stuff.  Mmmm...ran out last night, sad.  I made this to share with Lizzy and Timmy (Kam's sis and her husband) and they seemed to enjoy it.  AND Kam's mom and dad are coming to visit this weekend, so it gives me an excuse to make more.  I try and not make anything too often that requires 2 cups of heavy cream, but when you have company, all heathy waist size bets are off.

What you'll need:

Coffee Ice Cream
2 teaspoons instant coffee dissolved in 2/3 cup water ( I heaped my teaspoons a little)
3/4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 egg yokes
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate Swirl
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1 very heaped tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon instant coffee (not too heaped)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Place egg yokes and sugar into a heat proof bowl and whip with hand mixer until it turns a lighter color, it will look a little fluffier too.  About 2 minutes.  In a medium sauce pan, heat whole milk and dissolved coffee over medium low heat until it just starts to simmer and you can see a light steam.  Add half into the egg/sugar whip and stir until combined.  Now slowly pour the egg mixture into the sauce pan with remaining milk and stir with a wooden spoon.  Continue heating and stirring for about 4 minutes or until thickens slightly and coats the back of the wooden spoon.  Be careful not to over heat because the egg will begin to cook.  Pour into an air tight container, allow to cool to room temperature, then place in the fridge over night.

You will want to make the chocolate swirl the night before as well.  Add all ingredients into a small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil stirring constantly over medium heat.  Once boiling, whisk for one minute at a hard boil, then remove from heat and pour into an air tight container.  Cool to room temp, then put in fridge with ice cream mixture.

When you're ready to add to the ice cream maker, remove from fridge and pour through a mesh strainer to ensure you remove any egg that could have cooked.  Add heavy cream and vanilla.  Now freeze in your ice creamer maker.

Finally, once ice cream is finished in the mixer, layer your ice cream and chocolate syrup in your favorite airtight ice cream storage container.  Place in freezer for a minimum of 2 hours and freeze.  The longer your freeze the better, the chocolate swirl takes longer to freeze than the ice cream.  Also, be sure that your ice cream is level in the freezer, mine was at a bit of an angle and most of the chocolate swirl ran down the side and to the bottom of the bowl.  Which made really yummy ice cream when it was almost gone, and not too much chocolaty-ness for the first few scoops.

What more can I say.  This stuff is good.  Enjoy!

Cake Pops without the Sticks!

So I guess that doesn't make them cake pops!  Cake Balls! I really just didn't want to call another post balls! I decided to make these a little last minute for my boss.  Its her 40th birthday today, and she keeps buying the cake pops from Starbucks, so I thought it would make a nice gift!  And they turned out really cute and yummy.  But, I have to admit, they weren't as pretty as the normal cake pops you see around because of the flat bottom. But, its the thought that counts!

What you'll need:

1 box cake and all fix'ns for that (I used double chocolate or something like that)
1 container frosting (I used cream cheese)
Milk Chocolate and White chocolate bark (I found milk chocolate bark and melty white chocolate disks at Winco in bulk)
Toppings (I had mini chocolate chips, crushed oreos, shredded coconut, freeze dried coffee and rainbow sprinkles)

Bake your cake according to the box instructions. Remove from oven, let cool.  Take a fork and crumble the cake.  Place the crumbles in a bowl and put into the freezer for about 15 minutes to make sure its very cool.  Add half of your frosting into cake crumbles and mix until well combined.  The cake will get really sticky and dense.  Now you can roll into balls.  I made mine about the size of a golf ball.  I think I ended up with about 36. Place onto wax paper.

Put one type of chocolate into a microwave safe bowl, and heat from 1:30-2:00 minutes. Start with about 2 cups, you can always heat up more if you need to.  Drop one cake ball into melted chocolate and use a spoon to roll around.  The spoon also helps to remove the cake from the chocolate.  Place back onto wax paper.  Do half in the first type of chocolate.  Before you heat the other type of chocolate, sprinkle your toppings onto the first half.  Repeat with the second chocolate.

If you do want to use the sticks.  I would dip one end of the stick in the melted chocolate, and then force it about half way into the cake.  When it hardens it will help the cake stay on the stick.  Let the cake sit for a few minutes to allow the chocolate inside to firm up, then you can dip the cake into the chocolate and roll it around with the stick.  It will turn out much prettier this way, no flat bottom.  But, don't ask me how you are going to keep them standing up.  I was thinking that an egg carton flipped over would work.  You could cup small holes into the egg cups to slip the end of the stick into.  But that was my only idea.

Everyone at worked LOVED them, and Kam loved them too!  They are so moist and fun to eat!  Enjoy!

Update October 25th, 2011: I revisited the cake pop, check it out here.

Oh, and just because it was St. Pat's Day...

This is why....

I'm not having attendants at our wedding.  Ok, this really isn't why, but its a good reason.  Look at the faces on these 3 groomsmen.  Bored.  At least the groom looks happy!

It really is a beautiful wedding.  I found the photo here http://ruffledblog.com/technicolor-mexican-wedding/ if you want to check out the rest of the photos! and...

IT'S FRIDAY!!!!! Whoop!

A Mexican Inspired Meal

Marinated Carne Asada, a mexican inspired stir fry, and cilantro jalapeno corn cakes.  It was fun, delicious, and then gone in a flash.  And the best part, we got to bust out the barbeque for the first time this year.  Bring on summer...we are so ready!

What you'll need:

Carne Asada
1 lb carne asada (or thin cut filets)
1 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup abodo sauce (I found this great chipotle hot sauce that tastes just like the liquid from the chilies in abodo.  Its heaven in a bottle)
1 garlic clove minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
Juice from 1 lime

Make at least 24 hours ahead to give plenty of time to marinate.  Throw all ingredients in a gallon ziplock back and put into fridge.  Mix around once or twice.

Corn Cakes
1 1/2 cups masa flour
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1/2 jalapeno diced
1/2 bunch cilantro chopped
1/3 wheel cotija cheese crumbles
2 cups corn (if using frozen, make sure to defrost)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
2 cups water

Add first 7 ingredients to a large bowl and combine.  Next add wet ingredients and mix.  I wanted my pancakes to be fairly thin, almost between a tortilla and a thin pancake.  That way they could be used  like a tortilla if you wanted.  So you may need more water, after 2 cups slowly add more until you have a fairly think batter.  Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add a little oil to your pan. Use your 3/4 measuring cup and scoop batter into pan and cook like you would pancakes.

Set your oven on the lowest setting and place a cookie sheet inside, then put cakes when done inside keep warm.  These can be cooked while your making your stir fry too, they don't take too much attention.


Stir Fry
2 large carrots sliced at an angle for large peices
1/2 onion sliced
3 stocks celery sliced like carrots
1 bell pepper sliced
5 large mushrooms quartered
2 heads broccoli cut into bite sized florets
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup abodo or chipotle sauce
1/2 lime juiced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon oil
dash cayenne if you want more spice

Heat oil in large pan over medium high heat.  Add carrots and onion and saute for about 5 minutes or until carrots are starting to get slightly soft.  Next, add celery and bell pepper, abodo sauce, lime, garlic, sugar, spices and water and mix until well combined.  You may want to turn heat down to medium if things are cooking to fast.  Add broccoli and mushrooms.  Once veggies are the the desired doneness, about 15 minutes, turn down heat to low.

Just before you start stir fry, fire up your bbq and get nice and hot.  When your carrots and onions are sauteing, put your meat on the grill.  Return to your veggies, add the remaining of the ingredients until they are all combined.  4-5 minutes about, then go flip your meat.  Return to stir fry and and mix again.  About the time your veggies are done, your meat will be too.

here you can see what I mean when cutting carrots

I bet your excited to eat this beauty of a meal.  I took a corn cake, a few slices of meat and some veggies and made sort of a mexican gyro.  It was delish.  But everything is tasty enough to be eaten on its own.  I also had a little dish of cotija cheese crumbles, cilantro, and limes at the table.  Oh, and Kam had his beloved sour cream of course.  Enjoy!

(Note: Kam wanted me to mention that HE barbecued the meat.)