Whole Foods Friday: Strawberry and Balsamic Ice Cream

Whole Foods Friday is what I'm calling my new partnership with the local Whole Foods stores in Boulder County. Whole Foods lets me shop for what I need for any recipe I want to make, and I post the results here. Whole Foods also posts my recipes on their Boulder blog. It's a fun project.

Strawberries and balsamic vinegar are a classic combination. Strawberries and cream are a classic combination as well. And good balsamic vinegar drizzled over vanilla ice cream is yet another classic.

They all seemed like such good friends, I decided to combine them in a different way. Strawberry ice cream. Balsamic vinegar ice cream. Garnished with some fresh strawberries. No need for drizzling, unless you want an extra punch of flavor.

Or, for something different, macerate some strawberries in sugar and just a touch of balsamic vinegar, and use those as your garnish.

For the balsamic ice cream, I wanted something that started out sweet, but had a hit of the balsamic flavor at the end. The first version I tried started out with a custard base - cream, milk, lots of egg yolks - and while I liked the result, the balsamic flavor was a little too muted. I wanted something that had enough of the balsamic flavor to pair with the strawberry ice cream without getting lost - just like drizzling balsamic vinegar over strawberries and vanilla ice cream.

I hemmed and hawed a little bit about what sort of balsamic vinegar to get. The super-expensive, aged 100-year stuff was out of the question. But I didn't want the super-cheap stuff, either. I wanted the richness and depth of flavor to shine through before the acidity curdled the milk. In the end, I settled for a bottle of good vinegar made by Elsa.

Then I moved on to the pink part of the duo. The strawberry ice cream.

When I was a kid, it seemed like Neapolitan ice cream showed up at every birthday party I was invited to. Stripes of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream, all in one container - and if mom or dad was adept at scooping, you'd end up with a scoop of ice cream with all three flavors. It looked pretty, but I absolutely hated the strawberry ice cream.

I liked strawberries well enough, but even as a kid I recognized that the strawberry ice cream of the day tasted very little like actual strawberries. And the little bits of strawberry were either gummy or icy. Neither was very good. The chocolate and vanilla ice creams in the Neapolitan combo were never outstanding, but they were edible. The strawberry, not so much.

I avoided strawberry ice creams forever after, only occasionally tasting it out of politeness. The cheap brands still tasted nothing like strawberries and even the better brands suffered from the odd texture inherent in frozen strawberries. The seeds were another issue. Strawberry seeds on strawberries are just fine. Flecked through ice cream, I wasn't a fan.

Until I made my own ice cream, I never found one that I liked well enough to try a second time. To take care of the texture issues, I puree the strawberries and strain out the seeds so there are no icy-gummy bits and no seed gravel. What I'm left with is a smooth, creamy ice cream that tastes like strawberries and fresh cream.

This strawberry ice cream isn't quite as creamy as some of the ice creams I make, since the strawberries add a lot of water to the mix. Even though I'm using all cream instead of half-and-half or milk in the mix, the fat content is reduced because of all the water in the berries.

In theory, you could cook the strawberries to reduce the amount of water, but then the berries wouldn't taste as fresh. Or you could reduce the amount of berries, but that would weaken the strawberry flavor. I think this version has just the right balance of flavor, fat, sweetness, and berry flavor.

Using egg yolks to make a custard would also thicken the ice cream and make it seem creamier, but that changes the flavor. It's a fine version of ice cream, but this one is all about freshness. Fresh berries and fresh cream. Like strawberries and whipped cream - but a little colder.

To make this ice cream, you don't need the prettiest berries. In fact, the ones that are just starting to get a little soft can be the sweetest, so don't be afraid to use those. Cut away any bruises or bad spots, but don't fret if they're slightly overripe.

This recipe calls for 1 pound of berries, but I'd suggest that you buy more so you have plenty to use as garnishes. Or, if you prefer, steal a few from the ice cream recipe and set them aside for your garnish.

Strawberry Ice Cream

1 pound strawberries
1 cup cane sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups heavy cream

Combine strawberries, sugar, and salt in a nonreactive bowl. Stir to combine, then cover and refrigerate for at a least a few hours, or overnight. The berries will soften and the sugar will dissolve.

Put the strawberries and all the liquid into a blender. Blend until smooth. (You can also mash by hand or use a food processor. Pass the mixture through a fine strainer. You should have nothing left but seeds. Since the mixture will have warmed up a bit during this time, cover and chill it for at least an hour or so.

Combine the strawberry mixture with the cream. Whisk well to combine, then churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze until firm.

Balsamic Ice Cream

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 - 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Combine the condensed milk, cream, salt, and 1/4 cup of the balsamic vinegar in a bowl. Whisk to combine. It will thicken as you whisk.

Since balsamic vinegars will vary in tartness and depth of flavor, you'll need to taste and adjust this mixture. Keep in mind that both sweetness and tartness will be muted when this is frozen. You should taste a little kick of the vinegar, but it shouldn't be sour. Add more vinegar, as needed. For the vinegar I used, 6 tablespoons (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) was the perfect amount.

Cover the bowl (or transfer to a storage container and refrigerate for at least several hours, or overnight.

Churn in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-proof storage container and freeze until firm.

To Serve: You'll end up with about twice as much strawberry ice cream as the balsamic - and that's just about right. The strawberry should be the star. Garnish with extra berries.

When I was working on this recipe, I kept thinking that it needed just one more thing. I was looking for something that would add a little texture; a little crunch. But I didn't want anything that would compete with the flavor of the berries and balsamic. Nuts seemed wrong - too rich to go with the rich ice cream. Cookies didn't seem right, either.

Then I thought that maybe a dessert drink would work, so I made my way to the Whole Foods liquor store where I asked for advice. They suggested a bubbly wine - just a little taste - to go with the ice cream. It makes perfect sense. The crispness of the wine would cut the richness of the ice cream. So that was the final piece of the puzzle.

Perfect!

Walnut Breakfast Quick Bread

Does anyone else do this? You start with one recipe, change an ingredient, make it again, change something else ... add something, remove something, fiddle with technique? Then you have a completely different product. It's not anywhere close to what you started with, but it's really, really good.

It's like starting with spaghetti sauce and ending up with chili. There's still meat, but it's a completely different dish. That's what happened here. After enough changes, not only are the flavors completely different from the original, but the form and texture of the final product are different, too.

I wasn't sure exactly what to call this bread. The shape is like a scone. The texture is muffin-like, but with a little more structure and wonderful crispy edges and tender insides. Whatever it is, it's quick - mix, form, and bake. The assembly will probably be done before the oven is fully preheated.

Click to continue >>>

Mini Burger Appetizers

I ate three of these burgers. As an appetizer.

Why do I launch these crazy projects? Heck, I don't know. It sounded like a brilliant idea at the time, but in the midst of it, it started seeming like a lot of work - and re-work - for something so small.

But, see, if you decide to do this, it will be sooooo much easier. Because I've figure out all the silly details for you.

My plan was to make tiny hamburgers - single-bite sandwiches - for appetizers. I figured that shoestring potatoes - the kind that come in a can and are like potato chips - would make the perfect "french fries."

I started assembling my supplies. For tomatoes, the size that's just slightly bigger than a cherry tomato seemed perfect. Ground beef and cheese were no problem.

The french fries, on the other hand, were an issue. Seems to me that when I was a kid, shoestring potatoes were square-shaped things. I bought three different brands of shoestring potatoes and they were flat rather than square. Sigh.

I went looking for other options, and picked up a can of french-fried onions. They looked sort of square on the photo, but in reality they were a little lumpy. Ah well.

Burger buns were going to be easy, right? I make bread all the time.

Ha. Haha. Ha-ha-haha-hah. Riiiiiight.

It took me a couple tries to get buns that looked right. I won't bore you with the details of what went wrong, but here's what went right:

I made a basic white bread recipe, and cut off a chunk of dough to use for my little mini-buns. Unless you're making these for a huge crowd, you probably won't need a whole bread recipe worth of dough. I used the remainder to make regular dinner rolls.

And then:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Take your lump of dough, form it into a ball, then flatten it. Then, using a rolling pin, roll it to about 1/4 inch thick. A little thinner is fine.

Using a 1 1/2 inch biscuit cutter, or something of a similar size, cut rounds from the dough, avoiding the outer edges of the dough you rolled out, since it always tends to be thicker at the edges. You don't want lop-sided buns.

I know those raw edges are bothering you, but don't fret. It will work out fine. It actually keeps the tops from puffing too much and turning into balls instead of normal-looking burger buns.

Place the buns on a baking sheet and let them rise until they have just about doubled - about 15-20 minutes.

Brush the tops of the buns with melted butter, and bake at 375 degrees until they are golden brown - about 15 minutes. If they aren't browned, you can turn on the broiler and blast them for about 30 seconds.

Let the buns cool on a rack.

Meanwhile, the burgers. A one-teaspoon scoop, just barely over-filled, was exactly the right amount for my burgers. Scoop the meat, and flatten it as much as possible. It will seem way too wide, but it will shrink in width and grow in height as it cooks. If you don't flatten the heck out of it, you'll have a fat little meatball instead of a proportional-looking burger.

Cook on one side until brown, flip, add the cheese and cover the pan (or toss a piece of foil over the top of the pan). If you don't cover the pan, chances are that the cheese won't melt before the burger is overdone. That's a thin piece of meat.

For the tomato, slice very thinly if you want it to look proportional to the burger and bun.

If you have baby lettuce, it will work well, otherwise tear off small pieces of whatever thin-leaf lettuce you have. Iceberg might not be the best idea.

Top with condiments, if you want to, and serve.


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