i die

freshly churned chocolate ice cream

after the success of the peach ice cream, i decided to tackle chocolate. the recipe i used called for chopped dark chocolate (i used half 70% and half 60% cocoa solids because that's what i had) to be melted in milk on the stove. in another saucepan, i was directed to boil cream, but i actually used a combination of cream and my favorite chocolate milk.

the most interesting step to me was to beat the six egg yolks and sugar for 10 minutes! could that be a typo? i'll say it again--where is my stand mixer!? well, actually when you beat egg yolks for that long, their properties stabilize and prevent them from curdling when heated. cooking the egg mixture and cream together is the final step, and the scariest part of making ice cream--there's that risk of curdling. whipping the eggs for so long eliminates the need to be so cautious (nervous!), and also made the custard incredibly thick and creamy, almost pudding consistency. after chilling in the freezer, i churned it. because that's the rule. towards the end, i embellished with some toffee bits. what a delightfully rewarding afternoon in the kitchen that was!

i know what'll be waiting for me when i get home from work tonight... besides that stinky dog. anyone want to join me?

thanks, bobby!

a few weeks ago i tried to recreate this fancy dessert we had as a part of a 9 course meal in spain. the most challenging part of this particular dessert was a thyme honey ice cream, which i failed miserably at. i hadn't planned right and didn't have time for the ice cream to actually freeze before it was time to eat it. my new ice cream machine and i were in a fight. well, last night we made up.

i got home from an exhausting trip to that fancy new buffalo market (heb-central market love child) with general ice cream making supplies: milk and cream and lots of random potential ingredients. i was uninspired by my cook books and quickly turned to the trusty internet, where bobby flay called out to me... peach-maple ice cream, of course!

with rachel zoe in the background (i wouldn't say guiding me... i have a feeling she doesn't often enjoy ice cream), it was pretty easy to throw the custard together. after my tragic first run with the ice cream maker, i was extra careful to make sure everything was very cold. and it turned out to be fantastic! i left the peaches a little bit chunky. next time i might add a bit more maple, which was very subtle, but that machine is kindof my new best friend.

before

after

next up: chocolate ice cream!

cookies

i already admitted i can't make a macaroon. i'm even more shameful to admit i don't have a signature chocolate chip cookie. it seems like every baker worth mentioning (obviously my momma, ash, jordan) has their own special recipe, whereas i only have special places i go to buy one. maybe i could steal tiny's recipe?

what i do have is a stellar sugar cookie! i like sugar cookies because, aside from being so melt in your mouth good, you get to be super creative with them. the shortbread recipe i use comes from my tartine cookbook, and i actually ran into it first when i was making a tart (big surprise). it's not a flaky tart dough, and is really easy to work with through all the rolling and cutting that sugar cookies require. the icing is what i grew up eating, a simple mixture of powdered sugar, egg whites, and almond extract. sometimes i make plain cookies with pretty icing and stripes or dots. i've also made all kinds of animals, sparkly tutus, bright apples, and even plaid cookies.

sadly i lost a lot of pictures in the great computer crash of '08. here are a few from more recently.

mixing up the dough

rolling it out

frog cookies

pam loves a frog prince. when she got engaged, i couldn't resist getting this frog cutter to make her treats with. turns out i got myself my first job: pam wanted me to make these cookies (frog prince and princess) for the welcome bags she was putting together for the out-of-towners' hotel rooms on wedding weekend. if i recall correctly, that was close to 70 frogs.

baby shower cookies (i see these in my future...)

i've even made cookies for a pay check! after the success of the frog cookies at the wedding, tyann hired me to make and package 80 cookies for her sister's baby shower last winter. it was a lot for my little kitchen to handle, but i had a great time designing carriages and rattles. it was interesting to have to stick to the shapes and colors that ty's sister specified, but everything turned out really well. dog ollie supervised the project.

note to self: next time i make this many cookies, get a kitchen aid mixer!

my only competition in this city:

tart cafe's sissie cookies

paulie's seasonal cookies

parisian macaroons

i have a frustrating love/hate relationship with macaroons. i actually think the "love" part is almost over... i first was wooed by the fancy french sandwich cookies in sofia coppola's marie antoinette (you remember that scene with "i want candy" blaring and all those great dresses and wigs!).

the macaroons used in the film were from the famous parisian bakery, laduree

it's a pretty good thing i couldn't convince oliver to host a marie antoinette themed party, because i could not have delivered in ways i advertised (and was most excited about)-- i can't make macaroons!

ashley has mastered them over and over. i blame her success on her stand mixer and that page in martha's book with the photos whipped egg whites that helps her identify when her 'medium-soft peaks' have been achieved. the stiffness of the peaks are key. once in austin, she offered to help me out. one batch of the handful we made together came out right.

ash and i's lemon macaroons resting before taking a trip to the oven

fresh from the oven. notice how the tops aren't smooth like the professional macs? another batch we sifted the almond over and over, which resulted in the shiny smooth tops.

at least these developed "feet" and didn't get stuck to the parchment. and they tasted amazing!

...but on my own i am completely useless. blame it on my hot apartment, not beating the eggs properly, not using fine enough almond flour... mostly i think i'm impatient with the whole process. the most successful batches come from lots of patience and prep-- letting egg white sit out overnight, sifting almond over and over, letting piped macaroons 'rest' a while before baking. so many rules! it's annoying because the ingredients are so simple, but the technique apparently takes some real skill. which i thought i had. some of my disgraceful results are documented below.

the first time i tried making macaroons at home didn't go so well. these strawberry monsters were all wrong. what's with all the lumps? and the colors are just terrible!

these espresso macaroons had blackberry jam inside. they were smooth on top, but didn't have the "feet" that give the cookies the proper thin outer shell and slightly chewy inside.

recently i discussed macaroons with houston's mac-master at t'afia's farmers market. i realized that perfecting something like proper french macaroons can take years and years of practice.

grabbed some maison burdisso macs at the market on saturday...

i devoured the vanilla and strawberry, but didn't care for the tiramisu.

well then, ms. burdisso, explain to me why a small japanese co-worker of mine can pound out seemingly ((thesaurus.com for perfect because i don't want to say perfect...)) macs and i, a "seasoned" baker can't!? i still think i should be good at it. hitomi just got lucky. twice.

here is a recipe for ashley's favorite macaroon in new york:

http://jv-foodie.typepad.com/foodie/2008/01/bouchon-macaron.html