#COOKING WITH CLORIS--CHERRY ALMOND CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM

I’ve been on an ice cream binge lately. Can you blame me? It’s the perfect finish to dinner on a hot summer day. (It’s also perfect at any other time during the day!) For me, nothing beats homemade ice cream. It’s quick, easy, far less expensive than purchased gourmet ice creams, and free of chemical additives whose names no one other than chemists can pronounce.

I love experimenting with different flavors whenever I make a batch of ice cream. Sometimes I use fresh fruit. For this batch I grabbed a jar of natural cherry fruit spread, the kind without any added sugar, because no matter how sweet a sweet tooth you have, you simply don’t need it for this ice cream. It’s sweet enough from the sugar and chocolate chips. The addition of almonds gives it a bit of crunch.

Cherry Almond Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups whipping cream

1 cup whole milk

1 T. vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3/4-cup sugar

pinch of salt

1/2-cup mini chocolate chips

1/2-cup sliced almonds

1/2-cup cherry fruit spread or jam (such as Polaner All Fruit)

Whisk together cream, milk, vanilla, and almond extract. Slowly whisk in sugar and salt until dissolved. Place in refrigerator to chill for at least an hour. 

Turn on ice cream maker. Slowly pour in mixture. Process 15 minutes. Add chocolate chips and almonds, then cherry spread, processing 5 more minutes.

Serve immediately for soft-serve. For harder ice cream, scoop into a plastic container and freeze for a couple of hours before serving.

#COOKING WITH CLORIS--WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM!

Photo by ElinorD

Ever receive a gift you either already have, don’t want, or can’t possible use? Such was the case many years ago when my husband and I received a wedding present from one of my mother’s neighbors. The gift was a rather odd kitchen appliance that seemed to have very little practical application. So after writing a lovely thank-you note (after all, it’s the thought that counts, right?), we decided to exchange it. The gift was purchased through a private warehouse-buying club that seemed to sell nothing but similarly odd items. After wandering around the aisles for nearly an hour, we finally spied an ice cream maker. Now that we would use!

The ice cream maker was one step removed from the old-fashioned hand-cranking variety. It had an electric motor that did the cranking for you. However, it still required massive amounts of rock salt and hours of running time. Between the cost of the rock salt, the ingredients, and the electricity, the ice cream wound up costing two to three times more than if we bought the most expensive ice cream sold at our local supermarket. It was also next to impossible to make a batch without at least a little slurry of rock salt leaching into the ice cream compartment. After trying a few times, we finally gave up, and the ice cream maker sat on a shelf for years until we finally donated it to Goodwill.

Fast forward to a few months ago when I received a gift I already owned. This gift came from a shop that sold gourmet foods and high-end kitchenware and small appliances. Once again I wandered around the aisles, trying to decide on an exchange item. Can you guess what I bought? That’s right, an ice cream maker.

Ice cream makers have come a long way since I was married all those years ago. I also knew that if I wasn’t happy with the ice cream maker, I could bring it back to the store, no questions asked, something I couldn’t do with the one from the private warehouse club.

I’m happy to report that it was love at first try—no more rock salt, minimal expense, and a process that takes twenty minutes to create a batch of the best ice cream I’ve ever eaten.

Now, of course, the problem becomes limiting myself to an occasional treat to keep from packing on the pounds!

Basic Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups whipping cream

1 cup whole milk

1 T. vanilla

3/4-cup sugar

pinch of salt

Whisk together wet ingredients. Slowly whisk in sugar and salt until dissolved. Place in refrigerator to chill for at least an hour. 

Turn on ice cream maker. Slowly pour in mixture. Process 20 minutes. Serve immediately for soft-serve. For harder ice cream, scoop into a plastic container and freeze for a couple of hours before serving.

Note: Make different flavors by blending in 1 cup chocolate chips, diced fruit, chopped nuts, fudge, caramel, etc. at the 15-minute mark and continue processing for the remaining 5 minutes.

COOKING WITH CLORIS--GUEST AUTHOR SUSAN SANTANGELO AND ICE CREAM BREAD

An early member of the Baby Boomer generation, Susan Santangelo is the author of the humorous Baby Boomer mystery seriesShe’s currently working on the sixth book in the series.  Her spoiled English cocker spaniel Boomer serves as the model for the books’ covers. Learn more about Susan and her books at her website. 

This time of year, there’s always so much to do, and there never seems to be enough time to do it. At least, in my house. I’m sure I’d get a lot more done if I were organized. My main problem seems to be that I’d rather shop for gifts than anything else—including cleaning the house and baking the tons of holiday goodies everyone expects. I’ve tried substituting store-bought cookies for all those neighborhood exchanges, but I always get caught. And I’m always embarrassed when I am! But I have a secret, which I’ll share with you—a quick and VERY easy recipe that’s bound to impress all those friends who seem to drop in without calling ahead. (Who are these people, anyway?)  Ice cream bread.

Yes, you read that correctly. Not ice cream cake. Ice cream bread. I used this recipe, which was given to me by a dear family friend, in Retirement Can Be Murder, the first book in my Baby Boomer Mystery series. Like me, my protagonist Carol Andrews is no great shakes in the kitchen.

Ice Cream Bread

This two-ingredient bread is great any time of day. It can be prepared as a dessert topped with fresh fruit, whipped cream, chocolate, or other flavored sauces, or toasted and used as a side dish to a meal or for breakfast.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pint ice cream, softened, in your choice of flavor. (fruit flavors like peach or strawberry work very well. For the holidays, try peppermint stick – one of my all-time favorites.)

1-1/2 cups self-rising flour.

Stir ingredients together just enough so that flour is thoroughly moistened. Spoon batter into 8x4 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350F 40-45 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.

Remove bread from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Funerals Can Be Murder

Baby Boomer Carol Andrews is shocked to learn that her hunky landscaper, Will Finnegan, has died, and feels obligated to pay her respects to his family. But this Finnegan’s wake is shut down before it even starts, when Carol discovers someone has added a pair of scissors to the guest of honor’s chest. Once again, her husband Jim and the Fairport police forbid Carol to get involved. But the always curious Carol can’t help herself when one of the most important people in her life jumps to the top of the suspect list.

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