Chocolate Thin Mint Ice Cream

Serves 8

Recipe from http://stephenandnat.blogspot.com Life Made Simple

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

I must confess that I actively sought out a couple of girl scouts in our community just so that I could make this ice cream. It didn’t disappoint.  Wow!  It’s creamy, dark chocolate and the perfect amount of peppermint with crunchy Thin Mint Cookie bits mixed in.  So, pull out the Thin Mint stash you have in your freezer and make this treat for your favorite people.  

2 cups heavy cream, divided

1 cup whole milk

3 Tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder

5 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used bittersweet chips and didn’t bother chopping them.)

¾ cup sugar

5 large egg yolks

½ teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 sleeve (15 cookies) Girl Scout Thin Mints, roughly chopped

In a medium saucepan, warm 1 cup of heavy cream with the cocoa powder, whisking to blend cocoa.  Bring mixture to a boil, remove from heat and add bittersweet or semisweet chocolate. Stir until smooth.

Add the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream, stirring until smooth. Pour mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan to remove all chocolate. Set a mesh sieve over the bowl.

Warm the whole milk, sugar and salt in the same saucepan.

In a separate large bowl, whisk yolks lightly. Slowly pour the warm milk, sugar and salt mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then pour the mixture back into the saucepan to cook. Constantly stir the mixture over medium heat with a heat resistant spatula, scraping the sides and bottom. The mixture will begin to thicken and coat the spatula. Do not boil. Remove immediately and pour through the mesh sieve into the chocolate mixture. Stir in vanilla and peppermint extracts.

Place the bowl over an ice bath to cool and then place in the refrigerator to chill thoroughly (approximately 25-30 minutes).

Pour mixture into ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Churn for 20-25 minutes. Fold in the chopped Thin Mints.  Store mixture in an airtight freezer safe container and freeze for 4-6 hours before serving.

Old Fashioned Fluffy Tapioca Pudding

Serves 4-6

Recipe from Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

My husband and son absolutely love this simple treat.  When our friend Bob’s wife is out of town, we have him over for dinner and I always make this for his dessert.  (His wife is not a fan of tapioca, so he only gets it when he comes here.)  Bob says, “I’ll walk across the street for this tapioca.”  Funny thing is that he lives a good 25 minutes away from our house, not across the street.  We all think it tastes best warm. 

1/3 cup small pearl tapioca

3/4 cup water

2¼ cups whole milk (You can substitute 2% milk or skim, but the tapioca tastes especially rich when whole milk is used.)

¼ teaspoon Kosher salt

½ cup sugar, divided

2 large eggs, separated (room temperature)

½ teaspoon vanilla

Soak tapioca in water for 30 minutes in a saucepan. Do not drain remaining water, if any. Add milk, salt, and lightly beaten egg yolks to tapioca and stir over medium heat until boiling. Simmer uncovered over very low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until thickened. Beat egg whites with the sugar until soft peaks form. Fold about 3/4 cup of hot tapioca into the egg whites, then gently fold mixture back into saucepan. Stir over low heat for about 3 minutes. Cool 15 minutes then add vanilla.  Serve warm.

Maple Pumpkin Custards

Makes 6

Recipe from Everyday Food Magazine (October 2005)

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

This is my kind of dessert.  It’s easy to make.  It can be made in advance.  The ingredients can be found all year round at Lost River Market & Deli.  The custard cup looks lovely on a dessert plate.  And, it tastes scrumptious!  

1 cup heavy cream

¾ cup whole milk

¾ cup maple syrup

¾ cup canned solid-pack pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

7 large egg yolks

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325, with rack in the center.  In a medium saucepan, whisk together cream, milk, syrup and pumpkin.  Bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together yolks, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

Whisking constantly, gradually add hot cream mixture to the yold mixture.  Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large liquid measuring cup (for easy pouring.)

Divide the mixture evenly among six 6-ounce ramekins or custard cups.  Line the bottom of a 9”x13” baking pan with a kitchen towel; place ramekins on top.

Place in oven and pour enough boiling water in pan to come halfway up the sides of the cups.  Cover pan tightly with foil.  Bake until custard is set and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes.  Let cool completely.  Discard the water. Chill the custards in the refrigerator, covered first with a paper towel and then with plastic wrap, for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Notes:  Baking in a water bath helps the custards cook evenly and lining the pan with a dishtowel keeps the bottoms from scorching.  When refrigerating, cover first with a paper towel (over custards, not touching) then with plastic wrap.  The paper towel absorbs moisture and keeps the custards free of droplets.

Cranberry Coffee Cake

Recipe from Gourmet

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Makes 1 loaf

Well, this is just about the prettiest coffee cakes ever!  The cake is just slightly sweet and perfectly balanced with the tang of the cranberry swirls.  Serve this with hot coffee or tea for a special breakfast or break from your workday.  Give a few slices to your best buddies to sweeten their day.  All of the ingredients are available at our community-owned grocery store, Lost River Market and Deli.

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

2 cups fresh or thawed frozen cranberries

1 ¾ cups sugar, divided

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup whole milk

Powdered sugar, optional garnish

Put a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350° F.  Generously butter a 9” x 5” loaf pan with the melted butter.

Pulse cranberries with ½ cup sugar in a food processor until finly chopped; do not puree.  Transfer to a sieve and let drain while you make the batter.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.  Combine 1 stick of room temperature butter with remaining 1 ¼ cups sugar in a large bowl and beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla.  Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and milk alternately in three batches, beginning and ending wit the flour mixture and mixing until just incorporated.

Spread one third of the batter evenly in the loaf pan.  Spoon half of the drained cranberries evenly over the batter, leaving a ½ inch border on all sides.  Top with another third of batter and the remaining cranberries, then cover with the remaining batter.

Bake until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes (My oven is a little off, so my cake took at least 65 minutes to complete.)

Cool cake in pan on a rack for at least 30 minutes.

Invert cake onto rack.  Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with powdered sugar, if desired.

Raspberry/Blackberry Shortcake, Mascarpone Cream with Raspberry Framboise Sauce

Serves 6 (with some shortcake leftover for another dessert)

This is a very easy dessert to make, but it looks so elegant and tastes just dandy!  All the components can (and should) be made ahead so that you can enjoy your guests because this is definitely a summer party treat.  When it's dessert time, just assemble all the components on pretty plates and voila!  Other Husband-Tested Recipes using blackberries are:Blackberry Vodka Gimlets; Blackberry Sorbet; Blackberry Cornbread Tartlets with Ricotta Cream; Plum Blackberry Streusel Pie; Meringue Chantilly & Pastry Cream with Cognac


Sauce Ingredients: (Makes 2 cups...more than you'll need for this dessert.)
3 pints fresh raspberries or blackberries (divided)
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
5 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons Framboise (raspberry brandy) (optional)
Shortcake  Make the cake as directed and then once it has cooled, cut the cake into rounds using a biscuit cutter.
Mascarpone Cream Make the cream as directed and store in the fridge until ready to use.

To make the sauce:
Place all the sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan.  Crush the berries.  (I used an old fashioned potato masher.)  Bring to a boil.  Lower heat and then simmer until

To assemble, place a shortcake round on a pretty plate.  Top with a generous dollop of mascarpone cream.  Place berries on top and then drizzle 2 Tablespoons of sauce on the plate around the cake.

Strawberry Shortcake

Recipe from Bon Appétit  | May 2008

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Our friends, Janet and Nathan, invited us to a strawberry party where we feasted on the last of the strawberries from their garden.  First, we had strawberry daiquiris, then a delicious salad of their spring lettuces and strawberries with a strawberry vinaigrette.  Afterwards, we enjoyed their strawberries over two shortcakes that I made.  I made two different types of shortcake for us to taste test.  It turns out that both types were great, but it was like comparing apples to oranges because they were totally different in texture and flavor.  This recipe made a fabulously moist, rich cake that would taste wonderful all by itself.  We all agreed that this cake would be best with fruits (peaches and plums come to mind) and berries (blueberries!) that don’t create a lot of juice since the juice of the crushed strawberries turned the cake into a kind of mush (delicious mush though.)  I will definitely make this cake again when the other summer fruits are bountiful!  The other shortcake (Strawberry Shortcake Biscuits) was more biscuit-like and tasted best with the crushed strawberry juice soaked in.  

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 9-inch diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Sprinkle bottom and sides of pan with sugar; tap out any excess sugar. Whisk flour and baking powder in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar, cream cheese, and butter in large bowl to blend. Beat milk, eggs, and vanilla in another medium bowl to blend. Beat milk mixture into cream cheese mixture. Add dry ingredients; beat until smooth. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon sugar over top of batter.

Bake cake until golden brown on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool in pan on rack.

Notes: 

•   Serve plain or with fresh berries or fruit along with sweetened whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, sweetened mascarpone cheese or sweetened Greek yogurt. 

•   This cake can be doubled easily. 

•   Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.