we all scream... for coffee-chocolate chunk ice cream

we got a kitchen-aid ice cream maker attachment for our kitchen-aid mixer as a wedding gift. i have been wanting to try it out for weeks, as ice cream is my favorite food group. i decided that mother's day was the perfect opportunity!

 this is a picture of the kitchen-aid mixer with the ice cream bowl attachment. 

I love the fact that i don't have the mess of the melted ice and the ice cream salt during the ice cream making process. the only thing is you have to make sure that you have your ice cream bowl in the freezer far enough in advance for it to be frozen (they recommend 15-24 hours).

Coffee Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream-

(I will preface this recipe by admitting that this is an INSANELY involved process... but the results were well worth it.)

• 1 ½ cups heavy cream
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 ½ cups whole coffee beans
• generous pinch of salt
• 1 ½ cups half-and-half (10% M.F.)
• 5 large egg yolks
• ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon finely ground coffee (press grinds through a fine mesh sieve)
• ½ teaspoon instant coffee
• 3 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate, roughly chopped

***  this is only a 1/2 of the regular recipe since there were only going to be 4 of us for mother's day lunch (and i knew who would end up eating the leftovers if i made the whole batch).

1. Heat the half-and-half, sugar, whole coffee beans, salt, and 1 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan until it is quite warm and steamy, but not boiling. Once the mixture is warm, cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.
2. Pour the remaining 1/2 cup of cold cream into a medium size metal bowl, set on ice over a larger bowl. Set a mesh strainer on top of the bowls. Set aside.
3. Reheat the coffee mixture on medium heat until hot and steamy (not boiling).
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks together. Slowly pour the heated coffee mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly so that the egg yolks are tempered, but not cooked. Scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
5. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof, flat-bottomed spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula so that you can run your finger across the coating and have the coating not run. This can take about 10 minutes.
6. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Press on the coffee beans in the strainer to extract as much of the coffee flavor as possible; then discard the beans. Mix in the vanilla, instant coffee and finely ground coffee, and stir until cool.
7. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator; then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions, (for the kitchen-aid attachment, mix in pre-frozen bowl for 15-20 minutes) adding the chocolate towards the end.

this is a picture of the coffee beans in the custard part of the process. honestly i don't know that the cream really soaked up much of the coffee flavor from the beans.

*** i made this a day ahead and stored it in the freezer in a rubbermaid container. although it was wonderful straight out of the ice cream maker, it was actually a perfect consistency after freezing for a day.

Um... YUM!!!!!!!

mother's day chez moi

i had so much fun hosting mother's day lunch at the collogan home this year. i don't know why, but i felt stangely "adult" as i prepared the first meal for my mom as a married woman. i guess it's about time, i am 30. :) 

i have my mother to thank for every bit of my love for cullinary experimentation and creativity... but the fact that she is an amazing cook does tend to make cooking for her slightly more difficult. fortunately she is also the most gracious woman that i have ever met, so apprehension to cook for her subsides when i remind myself that she is my mother, not my critic. 

today's mother's day lunch menu was-

olive chicken

chicken rice

grilled asparagus

greek cucumber salad

&

coffee-chocolate chunk ice cream 

and brownies

i am going to share the chicken and greek salad recipes in this post and i will do a separate post with the ice cream recipe.

olive chicken recipe-

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 30-40 pimento-stuffed green olives
• 3 cups chicken broth

1. Season chicken with salt. Heat oil in a large skillet (i used my le creuset french oven) over medium high heat; brown chicken in oil, about 5 minutes each side. Add garlic, bay leaf, thyme and pepper and mix well, then stir in tomatoes, olives, and broth.
2. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes- 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Remove bay leaf and serve.

Greek Cucumber Salad-

• 
  

• 3 large ripe tomatoes, chopped

• 1 or 2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped

• 1/2 sweet (vidalia) onion, chopped finely

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 3 teaspoons lemon juice

• 1 Tablespoon vinegar

• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

• salt and pepper to taste

• 4 oz. crumbled feta cheese

• 10-12 kalamata olives, pitted and sliced

1. In shallow salad bowl, combine tomatoes, cucumber, and onion. Sprinkle with oil, lemon juice, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle feta cheese and olives over salad. Serve.

 

i hope that my mom wasn't too disappointed in her mother's day lunch. everyone seemed to enjoy it. :)