Thursday, June 21, 2012

A Milkshake with Cashew and Rum

Lately I've been humming the theme song from the classic movie Thoroughly Modern Millie.  

What? You never heard of it!?

Julie Andrews! Mary Tyler Moore! No??? Not ringing any bells? Apparently the film was quite popular in its day, but I think the only reason I'm familiar with it is that I had a cousin named Millie and we watched it together.

I thought it was sort of cute; I think she hated it because she had a name that was modern in the 1920's.

What's this got to do with milkshakes? How about a book named Thoroughly Modern Milkshakes?

Yep, a whole book about milkshakes, and I'm been blending my way through it with mad abandon thanks to my spiffy new blender that actually blends.

I love kitchen gadgets ... sigh ...

But on to the milkshakes! I was invited to participate in the The Great Shake 2012 to help promote the book. And you're invited, too. Just show up on Twitter on June 25 at 8 p.m. Eastern, and follow the hashtag #GreatShakes and hang out with the publisher, the author, and a bunch of other folks who may or may not be slurping milkshakes.
When I found milkshake in the book that combined cashew butter and rum, I had to try it. I didn't have any cashew butter on hand (I had just used the last of it to make cashew butter ice cream) so I did the only possible sensible thing - I ground some cashews to make my own cashew butter.

Perfectly normal, right?

And then I made this:

Vanilla, Rum, and Cashew Butter Shake
From Thoroughly Modern Milkshakes by Adam Ried
Used with permission; all rights reserved 
 
Dessert-sized portion. So you can have two!
1/4 cup whole or lowfat milk (about 2 ounces / 60 ml)
1/4 cup dark or amber rum (about 2 ounces / 60 ml)
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons cashew butter (about 3 1/2 ounces / 100 grams)
Pinch of salt
8 medium scoops French vanilla ice cream (about 1 quart / 24 ounces / 680 grams) softened until just melty at the edges

Place the milk, rum, vanilla extract, cashew butter, and slat in a blender and blend to mix thoroughly, about 30 seconds.

Add the ice cream and pulse several times to begin breaking it up. With the blender motor off, use a flexible spatula to mash the mixture down onto the blender blades.

Continue pulsing, stopping, and mashing until the mixture is well blended, thick, and moves easily in the blender jar, roughly 30 to 90 seconds.

Pour into a chilled glass or glasses, and serve at once.

The verdict? 

This is a really thick, rich shake and the rum makes it a nice after-dinner treat. I treated this like it was dessert - which it was. With a teeny bit less milk, this would make a great soft-serve dessert, served in smaller glasses and eaten with spoons.

Or, you know, in a really big glass with a straw.

I'm looking forward to making my way through the rest of the book. There are some interesting spins on even the classics, like a chocolate shake that includes both ice cream and sorbet. and some that are a little more unusual, like this one. Or the Bananas Foster shake or the Ginger Chai shake.

I sure hope that blender can keep up!

And now, for those who are curious about the movie: 


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