The Beginning of a New Addiction... Homemade Ice Cream

Even in the dead of winter, ice cream is by far my favorite treat... honestly, it's really my favorite food, if that counts. And no, I'm not talking about a giant sundae piled up with every topping known to man. I'm talking about plain & simple ice cream...chocolate to be exact. No chocolate syrup. No whipped cream. Nothing fancy. Just a plain bowl of chocolate ice cream. Occasionally, I'll crave crushed Oreo to top it, but its a rarity that I even bother. I'm not one to go reach for the candy bowl or the cookie jar when I'm craving chocolate or sweets. I go straight to the freezer. And no, vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup will NOT cut it.

So upon the purchase of my brand new red KitchenAid stand mixer (my birthday present to myself...one of the best purchases I have ever made!), I decided the first attachment I had to get was the ice cream maker attachment. I have never made homemade ice cream before, but I've always wanted to try...especially since I consider ice cream not only my favorite treat, but my favorite food. Sure enough, a giant box wrapped in pink wrapping paper, with ribbon on top, was sitting on my kitchen counter when I came home from work on my birthday. And of course... what flavor do you think was first on my list? You guessed it...chocolate.

Like I said, I always eat plain chocolate ice cream, but since making my own ice cream is a new adventure, I decided that I needed a new adventure in terms of flavor. Of course my first ice cream making adventure would NEED to involve chocolate, but I wanted to jazz it up...just a bit. After a lot of searching, I found the perfect recipe--- chocolate mint oreo ice cream. I love mint & I love oreos and I'm pretty sure I do not need to bring up my love for chocolate ice cream yet again...just the thought of that flavor combination makes my mouth water!

I had been pre-warned that making your own ice cream is a big pain. However, I was pleasantly surprised with how much easier it was than I expected! Despite the fact that it does take quite long to get to the end result, the process itself was pretty simple. I only ran into one difficulty, which might be solved upon a purchase of an actual double boiler, rather than using the makeshift version--- a bowl on top of a pot method. (The bowl started to slide around when the cocoa powder was added to the melted chocolate and then the cocoa powder caused the chocolate to firm up. It became almost impossible to mix the chocolate & pour the powder simultaneously. Luckily, my mom was around to be my second set of hands and hold the bowl still until the milk dissolved the chocolate).

If the thought of making homemade ice cream scares you away, fear not. It's really this simple--- you make your desired batter, stick it in the fridge for a few hours (or overnight), pour it into your ice cream maker, and then simply walk away for about a half hour....the maker does the work. You just have to put it in a freezer safe container afterward and wait for your desired result---if you want soft serve, your ice cream will be ready to eat in as little as a half hour in the freezer (according to my ice cream maker attachment) and if you want hard ice cream, you will obviously have to wait longer. Since I'm a huge advocate of hard ice cream, I left the container in there overnight...and voilà! Ice cream perfection.

And I'm really not kidding when I say ice cream perfection. It REALLY is. This is the perfect chocolate ice cream---rich and creamy with a hint of peppermint. Not an overpowering peppermint flavor, but just right. The occasional crunch from the mint just tops it all off, while teaming up with the peppermint extract in the ice cream Oreos to round out the flavor. After wolfing a helping of this ice cream down in record time, there is no other thought in my head besides... I WANT MORE!

Chocolate Mint Oreo Ice Cream

adapted from Ben & Jerry's & joelens.blogspot.com

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups milk

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup heavy cream (or whipping cream)

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract1 cup Mint Oreos, roughly chopped

Melt the unsweetened chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot (not boiling) water. Gradually whisk in the cocoa, stirring constantly, until smooth. (If the chocolate clumps or "seizes", like it did to me, don't worry - the milk will eventually dissolve it!). Whisk in the milk, a little at a time, and heat until blended. Remove from the heat and let cool.

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl or stand mixer until light and fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream and peppermint extract, and whisk to blend.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the cream mixture and blend. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 1 to 3 hours (or even overnight).

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's directions. (My ice cream maker directors told me to let it churn for 25-30 minutes, so I let mine churn for the full 30 minutes.) During the last 1-2 minutes of churning, add the chopped Oreos into the ice cream. Remove from the ice cream maker and store in a freezer safe container. Freeze overnight to meld flavors and serve. Makes 1 quart.

all photos © Bunhead in the Kitchen, 2010

Bananas, Blueberries, and Blogging...oh my!

If you would have asked me over a year ago at my college graduation where my life would be right now, in August 2010, I definitely would not have thought I'd start writing a food blog. Nor would I have thought that I would have acquired yet another hobby and that it would be baking. And by baking, I do not mean the occasional holiday or birthday baked good. I mean a new recipe almost every single week. Multiple times a week...if I'm lucky.

Over the past year, baking has not just become a hobby of mine. It's become a passion. It's become a stress relief. And I've learned a lot. The days I'm able to come home from work and bake something are some of the best, most healing days ever. Okay, I know I sound like a loser, but that's what brings me here. I started posting all of my baking adventures on my Facebook and from the continuous & encouraging responses I got from my friends who claim to be drooling over my photos, I knew I wanted to keep sharing those adventures. What better way to do it than in a blog!

I already have so much to share and I really had a hard time trying to figure out what to write about first. However, this past weekend was the deciding factor. I spent it with my boyfriend (who is moving in a few days...and yes, despite the distance, we'll be fine! :] ) and he requested that we make pancakes together before he leaves. What could possibly be better for a first post than breakfast food?! How appropriate---first post, first meal of the day? (Alright, that's terrible, I know.) Anyway, breakfast really is my favorite meal of the day and I spotted a delicious banana pancake recipe a while ago. I just HAD to try it. Especially since I'm pretty sure I've never made pancakes completely from scratch before.

And let me tell you, I don't think I can EVER make pancakes from a mix ever again. These were just way too delicious. Not only were they perfectly light & fluffy, but the bananas made them super moist. And even though I love bananas, I'm not usually the biggest fan of bananas in my food. The flavor that the bananas bring is absolutely perfect---not overpowering, but just right. And thanks to this recipe, I think that I will have a hard time making pancakes without bananas from now on! (Oh, and if you're feeling extra adventurous, add some chocolate....the bananas, chocolate, and blueberries make an unbelievable combination! See photo above.)

Don't think I'm done talking about these yet. My dad, who is the culinary genius in our household, suggested making a fruit compote of sorts to use instead of regular maple syrup since he thinks its way too sweet. So there he was, using the leftover blueberries from the ones I bought earlier that morning for my brother's blueberry muffins (that I made later in the day), brandy, sugar, and butter to create the most delicious blueberry topping for our pancakes. He told me I could name them Caitlyn's Blueberry Brandy Pancake Sauce :)

And speaking of those blueberry muffins, immediately after finishing our pancakes, I whipped up a batch of them for my brother since he has been begging me to make them ever since I bought my stand mixer. Muffins are not something I make often, so I was a little weary, but they turned out insanely good. They are everything you would want a muffin to be and the lemon zest just pulls the whole recipe together. I still think I have to work on perfecting my muffin skills (I mean, come on, I am my own worst critic!), but that just calls for an excuse to make them again. They're even better the next day, especially after being popped in the toaster oven for a bit!

What a wonderfully smelling house we had Sunday and what a combination....bananas, blueberries, and blogging. Perfect for an early morning palate and perfect for a first time blogger.

Here are the recipes:

Double Banana Pancakes

(from 17andbaking.com)

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups buttermilk (see below to make your own!)

4 large eggs

1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas

coarsely chopped chocolate, optional

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center.

In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, and butter. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir by hand until the batter is evenly moistened.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and grease it lightly by brushing or spraying with oil. Right before you make the pancakes, fold the mashed bananas into the batter. Drop about 1/4 cup of pancake batter into the hot pan, spreading them into circles (or to the size of your choice... we decided to make some of them jumbo pancakes!) Leave about 2″ between pancakes.

Cook until small bubbles appear and the edges are set (about 2 minutes) then flip using a spatula. Cook on the second side an additional 2-3 minutes, or until the pancakes are golden brown. (Makes 4-8 servings. Note: If you double this recipe--which we did because we thought that it wouldn't be enough-- it pretty much triples it! It makes a ton of pancakes!)

We also added coarsely chopped chocolate pieces into part of the batter for Chocolate Double Banana Pancakes. Fold in the chocolate with the bananas right before baking.

Also, if you don't keep buttermilk around the house, or you just simply don't want to go buy it, you can make your own! Add a tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to a measuring cup and then fill it up with milk until it reaches a cup. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes. That's it.

Blueberry Brandy Pancake Sauce

(recipe compliments of my Dad)

1 cup of fresh blueberries

4 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 ounce of brandy

In a small saucepan, on medium-high heat, combine 4 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Cook it down for a minute and add a cup of the blueberries. Stir. Pour brandy into the mixture and continue stirring. Flambé the mixture and use immediately.

Blueberry Muffins

(from theguywhocooks.blogspot.com)

2 eggs
1 cups + 2 Tbsp white granulated sugar
1/2 cup melted butter1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour cream (or yogurt)
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (stems removed)

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees and grease muffin pan or line with 12 muffins cups. In a separate side bowl mix the flour, salt, and baking soda. In your mixing bowl beat the eggs and sugar until evenly combined, about 1 minute. Continue beating and slowly pour in the melted butter and mix until well combined.

Add in extracts and mix until evenly combined. Add the flour, salt and baking soda mixture alternatively with the sour cream (or yogurt) and mix until just combined (a few dry specs of flour is ok). With a spatula, fold in blueberries. Pour batter into muffin cups about 3/4 full and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. With five minutes left, sprinkle the sparkling sugar on the tops of the muffins and bake for another 5 minutes (20 minute bake time in total).Take out of oven and allow to cool in the muffin pan for five minutes. Remove to a colling rack and allow to cool completely.

all photos © Bunhead in the Kitchen, 2010