Happy National Ice Cream Day!

Ask not what you can do for ice cream, 

but what ice cream can do for you!

Sunday Spice - Cinnamon Ice Cream

Oh, long gone are the days when I couldn't say it - cimmanem.  And forgotten are the years when the homophonic similarities between it and "synonym" made me giggle.   But has my love for cinnamon dwindled?  Nope, never, getouttahere.  

Welcome, dear readers to the first installment of Sunday Spice - where I will bring on the spice cream as well as the herby gelato, and the peppery pops.  Why?  Because Sundays need spice.  Sundays can be hard if you no likey your job or you are nursing yesterday's hangover or you wish you could rewind to Friday and do it all again...

Fear not the inevitability of Sunday for I am here to help.  

Do I think I'm some sort of doctor, administering what feels good where it hurts?  No.  Not at all, though I think it's cute you'd even go there.  Am I a drug dealer, getting you what you need to get by?  Don't be absurd.  We're talking dessert, here.  Truth be told, I'm more like Mother Theresa, doing really important things for those in need...of sweets.  Isn't there something about sugar being close to godliness?

Anyway, Sunday Spice, here we go!

This recipe comes from none other than David Lebovitz.  Instead of shaking ground cinnamon into the custard, he has us infuse the milk with cinnamon sticks.  If you have never tried this, I urge you to give it a shot and see the difference.  Ice cream with cinnamon powder is great.  It has cinnamon.  Cinnamon with a milk infusion IS cinnamon.  I don't know how else to say it.  It's perfectly incorporated into the ice cream the way air is incorporated into ice cream.  It's just in there.

David Lebovitz's Cinnamon Ice Cream

1 c whole milk

1/4 c sigar

pinch of salt

Ten 3-inch cinnamon sticks, broken up

2 c heavy cream

5 large egg yolks

Warm the milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon sticks, and 1 c of the cream in a medium saucepan.  Once warm, cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

Reheat the cinnamon-infused milk mixture.  Remove the cinnamon sticks with a slotted spoon and discard them.  Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.  Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scrapping the bottom as you you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.  Pour the custard through the strainer and into the cream.  Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Ice cream on the fire escape.  So Brooklyn.

Ice Cream Truck Music Drives Me Crazy

Ice cream truck music drives me crazy.  Seriously.  Besides, I think the ice cream truck drivers in my neighborhood are selling more than frozen goodies.  I can only think of a few products that one would sell on a residential block after midnight and none require egg yolks.  Also, many of them play this song that starts with a lady from Long Island asking, "HELLO?"  The tune then goes on to feature a car honking and a policeman's whistle blowing.  Sorry, if you don't know it, you ain't gonna here it here.  I just can't post it.

What you will hear here are some modern takes on ice cream truck music.

On his album "Songs for Ice Cream Trucks," Michael Hearst brings the sugar...

...while Queen Frostine brings the spice:

Queen Frostine Ice Cream - Music

People's Pops

The dudes I admire over at People's Pops had lovely article and even a recipe on Tasting Table today. Check it out here. But I have to admit, a recipe for 40 is a little, uh, ambitious for most of the folks at home!

What to do with leftover egg whites?

Perhaps you noticed a slice of cake next to that  buttermilk ice cream in yesterday's post.  Just in case you didn't, here's another look.  

My food "styling" look like The Ploughman's Lunch 

at a some pub in the English countryside.  I'm into it.

Yes, I baked something other than a potato - terribly rare.  But, my goodness, you just have to do something those leftover egg whites!  This ice cream adventure has made me feel just awful about tossing egg whites.  And to be clear, I don't ever plan on tossing them.  I plan on doing something amazing with them and then they sit in my fridge for so long that the choice becomes I either get rid of them or start charging them rent.  So, I Googled the issue and got a recipe from Nami Nami.

The measurements are metric but it looked so delish that I went out and bought a scale that does metric conversion and, oh, baby, is it ever worth it!

Egg White Cake
(Munavalgekook)
6 large egg whites
250 g caster sugar
160 g plain/all-purpose flour
1 heaped Tbsp potato starch or cornflour
1 tsp baking powder
100 g melted butter (just under a stick), slightly cooled

• Whisk the egg whites with 2 Tbsp of sugar until thick and pale and very foamy. Mix the rest of the sugar with flour, potato starch and baking powder, then sift into the egg mixture and fold in gently.
  
• Finally fold in cool melted butter.
  
• Pour the batter into a buttered bundt-form and bake in a pre-heated 180 C oven for 30-40 minutes. Test for doneness with a wooden toothpick.
  
• Cool slightly before turning out of the cake tin.
  

Thanks, Nami Nami!

The Kitchn at Apartment Therapy offers instructions for making meringue, macaroons, angel food cake, egg white omelets, and a Gin Ramos fizz here.  

Waste not want not!

National Ice Cream Month!

Woo-hoo - July is National Ice Cream Month!  Who knew?  Since I'm not sure what one does for National Ice Cream Month, I went to the website of the International Dairy Foods Association.  Surely, they would have some insight on the rich history and annual celebration of one of life's least addictive pleasures.

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream Day. He recognized ice cream as a fun and nutritious food that is enjoyed by a full 90% of the nation's population. In the proclamation, President Reagan called for all people of the United States to observe these events with "appropriate ceremonies and activities."

Yawn.  

Okay, we need to do some thinking here.  

1. I propose instead of National Ice Cream Month, we call it NICM and pronounce it to rhyme with "lick'em."
   
2.  One should use July as a time of exploration and reflection.  Find new flavor!  Step out of your comfort zone with toppings!  Make your own cones!  If you think jalapeno ripple fudge is the love stuff of the future well then, by golly, go for it! 
   
3. Give the gift of ice cream all month long.  Yesterday, I gave the woman who owns the laundry mat down the street from my house two scoops of honey vanilla in paper cup with a slice of cake.  It made her smile and, of course, her smile made me smile.  Sure it was a little awkward because I didn't have any plastic spoon but the point is, why have a "sense" of community when you can actually be a community?  She had a spoon inside so hesitate not.  Give someone a scoop of happiness today!
   

Van Leeuwen's New Flavor

Remember when I took the class with Ben Van Leeuwen and we made Earl Grey Tea Ice Cream?  Well, word on the street - and by street, I mean Grub Street, the daily food blog over at New York Magazine - is that Earl Grey Tea flavored ice cream will be hitting the shelves soon.  

I'm not trying to brag or anything but, uh, I totally have that recipe.

Fluttermilk

There was a time when the look of the high tech restaurant had spread through New York like kudzu.  You know the spot - a spacious place with white melamine chairs, orange seat cushions, bluish lighting, square plates of pad thai,  and a DJ in the corner spinning drum and bass.  Well, those days are over.  Unless you're in college.  College students find that sort of thing not only "exciting" but "exciting!"

For the last five years or so, Brooklyn cafes, bars, and restaurants have been on a frenzied pursuit buying old mirrors and sourcing hard to read fonts in an attempt to have their places feel like a cross between a depression era pharmacy and a shop in the 1880's that sells nothing but twine. 

Don't get me wrong - I like this look.  A little overdone, perhaps, but the tone on tone browns, caramel lighting, and strange meats on menus works for me, whether I order the strange meat or not.

So when a restaurant bears the moniker Buttermilk Channel, I'm thinking "buttermilk" is just another one of those old-fashiony historical buzzwords that keep popping up like apothecary, dry goods, larder, chattel, tap room, and speakeasy.  Maybe that's because I never use buttermilk.  To me it's something one of the Walton kids may have asked for in a glass and was then reprimanded for being so fancy.   Additionally, like vanilla extract, I think of buttermilk as a very bad tasting thing that has the power to makes something else taste very good.  That something else, of course, is either pancakes or fried chicken and that's about it.

Yeah, well, I was totally wrong.  Let me count the ways.

I Was Wrong Part 1: The Buttermilk Channel is a mile long tidal straight between Brooklyn and Govenor's island.  According to legend, the straight got it's name from the days when dairy farmers would cross the water and the currents were so strong that "it could churn milk into butter."  Or perhaps it's comes from the practice of walking the cows from Brooklyn to graze on the island when the tide was low. 

Historical map and photo of Buttermilk Channel.

I Was Wrong Part 2: Buttermilk Channel the restaurant has a calm, cozy, quiet feel that doesn't look totally modern nor like a general store.  Actually, it feels pretty timeless.  And to start the meal, they serve popovers  which were the very first recipe I ever tackled on my own!  

The scallops were divine.

I Was Wrong Part 3:  Buttermilk tastes mighty fine...in ice cream!  You knew I had to try it.  It gives the custard a perfectly lemony, sour taste that is similar to the cream cheese ice cream but not as sticky.  It's light, perfectly pairs with baked goods or fresh fruit, and yes, it does taste rather old fashioned.  

Being wrong never tasted so right!  

Buttermilk Ice Cream

1 cup heavy cream

6 egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups buttermilk

• Heat cream to nearly boiling in a small sauce pan. 
  
• In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar togetherk.
  
• Slowly pour heated cream into the egg and sugar mixture, whisking constantly. 
  
• Return mixture to pot and cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
  
• Pour mixture into a clean bowl and stir in buttermilk. 
• Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about an hour.
• Prepare in ice cream maker per manufacturer's instructions. 
  

An open letter to Lola's on Ice

Dear Lola's on Ice,

That dream colored truck
And those crazy wild flavors
Oh, how it pains me
That we are not neighbors

Since you guys are in London
And I’m in New York
I’ll just fawn over your website
Like a big ice cream dork

That pineapple and chili sorbet
Sounds perfect in every way.

Is the cassis and beet
Both savory and sweet?

Hokey Pokey Ice Cream?
Dude, I don’t even know what that means!

But I know that I would try it...

Yes, I'd try it
I’d sample each and every one
So next time I’m in the UK
It’s to your lovely truck I shall run

Kisses,

Frozen Brooklyn

More flavors from Lola's on Ice and the recipe book, which is available from amazon.co.uk.

• Bourbon vanilla ice cream with summer fruit, Raspberry sauce or Pedro Ximenez sherry
• Red summer fruit ice cream
• Valhrona chocolate sorbet with a brandy snap
• Pina colada' - coconut and white rum sorbet with pineapple on a stick
• Burnt orange caramel ice cream
• Eton Mess ice cream
• Raspberry sorbet
• Affogato al caffé
• Fresh mint ice cream with a chocolate brownie
• Pineapple and chilli sorbet
• Horseradish ice cream
• Hokey pokey ice cream
• Gin and tonic sorbet
• Melon and ginger sorbet
• Lemongrass ice cream
• Memphis Belle (apricots, Southern Comfort and Oloroso sherry)
• Banana toffee ice cream
• 'Black Forest Gateau' Sundae
• Star Anise and Saffron Ice Cream
• "Turkish Delight" (Rose petal and Lemon Verbena Ice Cream)
• Beetroot and Cassis Sorbet
• Peach Melba

Kreativ Blogger Award part 3

Seven Things I Love

Since I ever only write about ice cream in this blog, I am going to take this opportunity to chat about something else entirely: music.

• I love my records
  

• I love Stevie Wonder on Sesame Street

•  

• I love Other Music in Manhattan
  
• I love the fact that all throughout the 70's and 80's, there came a moment in a young male musician's career when he felt the undeniable urge to wear a pair of Magic White Pants.  

Mick Jagger

The Brothers Johnson

Boston

David Bowie

The Jackson Five, but even more specifically -

Jermaine Jackson 

Journey

Shaun Cassidy

Teddy Pendergrass

Jimmy Page

And the king of Magic White Pants, bass player Jaco Pastorius.

• I love the chorus at PS 122 in Staten Island singing Landslide.

Kreativ Blogger Award part 2

Seven Deserving Blogs

1. La belle Alix at the Cherry Blossom Girl, of course!  My, what a charmed world she has created.
   
2. Kathleen at Twig and Thistle.  She had me at DIY Valentine's Day brownie bags - and I don't even like chocolate.
   
3. I have to give props to People's Pops.  Yes, I just wrote props.  Hammer, don't hurt 'em.
4. And I wouldn't know about People's Pops if it weren't for blogger, filmmaker, mother extraordinaire Melissa at Viva Snail Mail
5. Ez at Creature Comforts  always posts amazing finds and darling downloadables.
6. Tiina at Sparkling Ink has an sweet and sophisticated eye.  Everything she posts just makes me want to jump through the screen.
7. And last but not least, Michelle of When I Grow Up will get you motivated to make that change.

Kreativ Blogger Award part 1

The divine and devoted Stephanie Bond of Bondville has bestowed me with the Kreativ Blogger Award.  I am joining the ranks of some of the most inspirational thinkers of the blogosphere and believe me when I say I'm overwhelmed, overjoyed, and over the moon - thanks, Steph!

The Kreativ Blogger Award asks that you nominate seven blogs that, in your (in this case, my) humble opinion deserve the award.  Also, I am to name seven things that I love.  So, here we go...

Fresh Ginger Ice Cream with Mango Sauce

New York has been rainy.  I don't mean that it has rained in New York.  That would be normal.  I mean it has been raining nearly every day for the past two months.  Perhaps I'm exaggerating, but not much.  It reminds me of living in San Francisco and to be quite honest with you, if I wanted to be reminded of that, I'd still be living there.  

Oh, for the love of all things holy!  By typing that last paragraph I apparently just irked Our Lady of Perpetual Thunderstorms because it just started again right now.  Sorry, neighbors!  Lessoned learned.  For the rest of this entry I will call it "the r-word" or "the weather condition that shall not be named."  Onward.

To combat the r-word, I have decided to create a little sunshine in the kitchen.  Today's sweet mixture comes to us from David Lebowitz's delectable tome, The Perfect Scoop, published by Tricycle Press.  Most ginger ice cream recipes call for candied ginger.  I was glad to see this recipe uses fresh ginger mainly because I have so much of it in the fridge.  Who doesn't accidentally triple up on ginger every now and then?

I paired it with a mango sauce of my own creation and since I am in no mood to annoy anyone by ripping off a recipe, I'll just advise you to buy the book.  It's excellent.  As for the mango sauce, here you go:

1 mango, chopped

1 tablespoon of sugar combined with 4 tablespoons of boiling water to make a simple syrup

1 teaspoon of lemon

Combine everything in the blender and chill before serving.

Ah, look at that.  Summer in a glass!  The fresh ginger makes it a whole other experience, trust me.  It's lighter and brighter than recipes that call for candied ginger.  One bite of this and you will forget all about the weather condition that shall not be named.

Icy Pride

This weekend is LGBT Pride in Brooklyn and next weekend it's Pride in NYC - don't forget to support The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck!

Sailing Around the Brooklyn Museum

I did not know the work of Gustave Caillebotte.  Furthermore, I did not know that I love the work of Gustave Caillbotte.  Now, I do.  

Caillebotte was an impressionist painter as well as an engineer, art collector, naval architect, and yachtsman who lived in Paris in the 1800's.  Perhaps you have seen these posters for the show at the Brooklyn Museum posted around town.   

He was friends with, and bought many paintings of, Degas, Renoir, Pisarro, Monet, Manet, and Cezanne.  But his own work differs from his contemporaries.  He washes his work in that thin, pale mauve-gray lighting impressionists were so fond of and he paints scenes on the Seine like the others.  The end result, though, is more precise, more photorealistic. Simply put, his work "takes you there."  

And when I say, "there," I really mean, "away from here." Don't get me wrong, I love living in NYC but one needs a mental breaks from all the hubbub.  So when I find something that allows me even five minutes of escape, I grab it.   

So at the Brooklyn Museum, I engaged in some class A escapism with Caillebotte and contemporary artist Hernan Bas.  I plunged in, as it were, since they both find inspiration in the nautical.  By Bas:

By me:

 Are the sailboat ice pop molds to die for or what? You have to let them sit for a second before even attempting to take off the sail and even then, you have to pull a lot harder than with other molds.  I thought I was going to break it the shape but alas...

the end result was rather pretty. Merci, Monsieur Caillebotte!

Inspired by Havemeyer: The Cherry Blossom Collection

The giant old man of a building on the waterfront of the Williamsburg section in Brooklyn is the Domino Sugar Factory.  God, do I love it.  It was spewing white steam and odd smells when I first moved here many moons ago but it's been empty for some years now.  From the way I understand it, the sugarcane was grown in the Dominican Republic then processed in here.  I was always jealous that the factory workers got to have lunch in the tiny park right on the water when the weather was nice.  A pretty little park just for them.  

Like everything else that surrounds me, it will be a luxury condo one day soon.  And by "luxury condo" I mean "small shoddily constructed apartment for sale in the 'right' zip code."  Oh, dear, reader, I shan't bore you with my endless annoyance of urban rezoning for the wealthy but know that my irritation is real and fairly dramatic.  Instead, I will stay on topic and say this: the Havemyer family were the first owners of the sugar factory.

That doesn't sound like I stayed on topic at all, does it? Well, I did, because a few weeks ago I shot this:

These are the cherry blossoms that line Havemeyer Street.  Yes, the family got it's own namesake.  The street is pretty, no?  But, look, if I pull back, it's not pretty at all.  

It's a bus depot.  I suppose that's how I will have to see all these high rise apartments changing my neighborhood right before my eyes - they are as pretty as I choose to see them.  And the pretty that I chose to see...

inspired something truly lovely.  Introducing....

The Cherry Blossom Collection!

Freezer pops made with: 

Edible blossoms

Cherry juice (naturally)

Peach nectar

Grape juice

For this spring quickly turning into summer, I challenge myself to let go of my big city angst and see something pretty everyday.  One woman who sees beauty everywhere she goes is Alix, The Cherry Blossom Girl.  I don't know her but she's a blogger in Paris who takes dreamy pictures and wears fantastic outfits like:

• Baby the Stars Shine Bright
  
• Feathers and Sun
  
• Capeline and Rayures

Every time I check her blog, her whimsy and her hats inspire me to no end so, Alix, these Cherry Blossom Pops are for you!

  

Scoops: Bond Dude as Ice Pop

Oh, what to call frozen goodness on a stick?  

In other English speaking countries, the term is "ice lolly" but here in the US, most people say "Popsicle." I try not to use "Popsicle" because it's a trademarked brand name and really isn't all that representational of what I'm doing (all-natural, homemade, etc).  So I always write the technical term for the treat which is "ice pop."  I find this completely awkward because, let's face it, no one ever calls them that.  That said, writing or saying "ice pop" isn't half as awkward as this madness:

Yes, that's Daniel Craig, the latest actor to utter the words, "Bond.  James Bond," as a frozen dessert.  Apparently, there was a contest in the UK that asked people "Who do you want to see as an ice lolly?" and this dude won. 

Given the opportunity, I think I the only English guy I would have voted for is Jay Kay from the band Jamiroquai - but only if he still wears all those ridiculous hats.

Drink, Dance, Kiss - Champagne Sorbet

Generally speaking, I am not one for mixing booze with icy, frozen goodness.  I like cocktails and I like iced treats but I've never felt the need to combine the two.  However, I had to make a grand exception when I saw this sign outside of the 205 Club in the Lower East Side. 

I was so moved by the simple sentiment: drink, dance, kiss.  A good bit of the New York experience is about the drink, dance, kiss, no?  Unless you're an alcoholic.  Then it's maybe more like drink, drink, drink, dance, drink, kiss, black out, come to, wonder "Who's house is this?" followed by shame, shock, headache, and more drink.  But alas, I digress.  When I saw this sign I was charmed to the bone and had to respond with a sparkling concoction.  

Champagne Sorbet - from Ices by Sunil Vijayakar:

1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

2 1/2 cups Champagne

1/2 cup peach juice

Place the sugar in a saucepan with 1/2 cup water and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.  Bring to a boil and remove from the heat.  Allow to cool.

Add the Champagne and peach juice to the sugar syrup and churn in an ice cream maker until just thick enough to scoop.  Serve immediately.

Et voila, the end result as seen from my fire escape. 

For more sorbets, granitas, and sherbets, pick up a copy of this book.

  Until next time - kiss, kiss, kiss!

Scoops: Congratulations, VanLeeuwen!

The perfect pints made by team Vanleeuwen were name checked by Bon Appetit magazine in their quest for the best ice creams in the US.  Nice one, BVL!

Inspired by Greenpoint: Raspberry Tea Granita

In 1990, Poland held it's first free elections.  Many absentee ballots were sent in from around the world but one neighborhood in Brooklyn accounted for 7,000 of those ballots: Greenpoint.  Did you get that?  Not 7,000 from one city or 7,000 from one borogh but 7,000 from one zip code.  This, good reader, is why I live in New York.  It's the most wonderfully diverse place on earth.

Greenpoint sits on the banks of the East River and Newtown Creek just across a short bridge from Queens.  Ten years ago you'd be hard pressed to get much more than pierogi, kielbasa, and nalesniki for food offerings.

But nowadays there are Thai and Japanese eateries alongside Nouveau American joints.  Manhattan Avenue is the established main drag but Franklin is where all the new action is coming up.  And by "new action" I mean cute bars with obscure beers and clothing stores I cannot afford.  I recommend both for a full and bountiful Greenpoint experience.  

Having lived near Greenpoint for so long, it's hard to see things anew but I for the sake of the freezer, I damn well did my best!  As you can tell from the pictures, there is a lot of red and white going on in the neighborhood.  So I went for something that would be sure to yield scarlet - raspberry tea.

I bought this tea in a deli and after coming home, decided to try my hand at granita.  This particular brand is a mix of raspberry, apple, rowan, rosehips, elderberry, and hibiscus.  I think plain old raspberry herbal tea will do.  

Raspberry Tea Granita

2 1/2 cups boiling water

4 tablespoons raspberry tea

3/4 cup turbinado sugar

Steep tea in boiling water for ten minutes.  Strain into pot over low heat.  Add sugar and stir until melted.  Pour the mixture into a shallow, oblong dish (dessert guru David Lebovitz prefers plastic and if he does, I will, too).  After one hour your mixture should start to freeze around the edges.  At this time you will want to take a fork and star breaking up the frozen parts into smaller bits and raking them toward the center of the dish.  Repeat this every 30 minutes or so until you have a marvelously course consistency throughout. Enjoy!

My boyfriend took this picture.  He's sweet that way.