FoodFixe

Bourbon Ice Cream

A couple months ago, I had the pleasure of discovering a wonderful local distillery—St. George Spirits. You might not be familiar with the distillery by name but you may be familiar with its vodka, Hangar One, so named because the distillery is located in one of the old hangars at the now defunct naval base on Alameda. (OK, so they’re really in hangar 21, but you can’t fault them for taking some liberties with paint.)

Oh, but St. George makes so much more than that vodka. There are incredible infused (not flavored) vodkas, including mandarin and Buddha’s hand (a citrus fruit similar to lemon that looks like, you guessed it, a hand); exceptional eaux-de-vie (the Thai basil is delish), stellar gins, and the most incredible coffee liqueur I’ve ever tasted, currently made with coffee from Verve in Capitola. St. George even makes absinthe and, to my surprise, I loved it.

Pork, Beans, and Avocado Daiquiris

For some reason, I’m having a hard time letting go of summer. Maybe because we didn’t get much of a summer this year in the Bay Area. At least it didn’t feel that way. So, in an effort to kick a little spice into what’s left of the season, I invited some friends over for dinner. My first real dinner since the “kitchenlift” and an excuse to make a couple dishes from my very long “recipes to try” list. Well, it’s not so much a list as a spreadsheet.

The food wasn’t fancy. It rarely is with me. But it was flavorful. I prefer to focus on what I’m good at, putting together a menu of complementary dishes. What I may lack in sheer cooking creativity, I make up for in planning and coordination. Or, as StrengthsFinder typed me, I’m a “maximizer.” I excel at making something that already exists into something better.

7 Summer Favorites

Just in time to celebrate our country’s independence, I thought I’d share some of my favorite summer recipes. They run the gamut from cocktails and appetizers to entrees and desserts. Truly, there’s something to suit everyone’s tastes and time constraints.

Happy 4th of July!

Raspberry Lemon Clafouti

It’s summer, finally! This is my favorite time of year to make dessert. All that glorious fruit—berries, cherries, peaches, apricots—in everything from pies and crostatas to cobblers and ice cream, even naked with nothing but a dollop of limoncello cream. Yum!

When I saw this recipe come from Sunset magazine, I was instantly inspired. Armed with a load of raspberries, my plan was to make just that. Then, I got lazy. I wasn’t in the mood to whip egg whites, prepare a water bath, yadda, yadda, yadda. It’s summer after all. I didn’t want to spend that much time making dessert.

The best birthday recipe: food and friends

A couple weeks ago I threw myself a small birthday party. Because food and friends are my two favorite things (not necessarily in that order), any chance to bring them together is always a special gift.

I wanted to keep things simple. After all, the birthday girl wants to have fun, too, and not spend the entire day and night in the kitchen. I pulled out some of my favorite recipes and created a menu for the party that included a couple heartier dishes that I then supplemented with nibbles and noshes. I chose sangria as the signature drink for the evening.  

Cherry Sorbet

If berries are the harbinger of spring, then cherries are summer’s calling card. I love cherries—both for the wonderful memories they evoke of childhood summers and for the luscious fruit themselves. (It’s no surprise that my favorite game as a child was Hi-Ho Cherry-O.) Even better, cherries are really good for you, approaching the “super fruit” status of blueberries.

So I was thrilled when cherries started appearing at my local farmers market a couple weeks ago. I’m happy to snack on the delicious ruby red orbs out of hand. In fact, they usually don’t last long enough for me to cook or bake with. However, I wanted to try making cherry sorbet now that the weather had finally turned summer-like.

Cinnamon Ice Cream

As seems to be my M.O. lately, I’m barely squeaking this recipe in under the seasonal wire, but it’s not officially spring—yet. The aroma and flavor of cinnamon typically evokes all things fall and winter. However, the truth is my first cinnamon ice cream experience was at a Haagen Dazs shop on Maui in late summer. It’s delicious any time of year.

Today’s post is for my friend Kyla, who months ago requested a cinnamon ice cream recipe:

“And speaking of cinnamon things, have you ever made a cinnamon ice cream? I've had some at restaurants, usually served with a to-die-for apple crisp or something like that, and have always wanted to figure out how to make some. When I've had it, the cinnamon flavor has been very strong, and it's sooooooooooo delish. If you are ever looking for ideas to play around with ice-cream-wise, I'll put in a vote for that!”

Peach Buttermilk Ice Cream

 

I had every intention of sharing the recipe for Peach Buttermilk Ice Cream earlier in the stone-fruit season. Before I knew it, fall was hot on summer’s heels. Because I just spied peaches in the grocery store the other day, I figured there was still some time left. Better late than never, I suppose.

 

I’ve been eating Peach Buttermilk Ice Cream for as long as I can remember. My dad used to make it every summer, pulling out the ice cream maker for its annual run. Actually, the ice-cream making was a team effort. My mom would make the custard, and my dad would man the machine, feeding it with rock salt and ice. (This is one of the very few cooking-related tasks my dad did with aplomb as well as barbecued burgers, and “real” Chex Mix.)

Buttermilk Panna Cotta

Valentine’s Day is upon us and, yes, I feel compelled to offer up a suitably inspired recipe. However, this Buttermilk Panna Cotta is the antithesis of your typical Valentine’s Day dessert. It is neither chocolate nor heart-shaped, but it can be shared by two (or more).

Italian in origin, panna cotta means “cooked cream.” What I like about the Buttermilk Panna Cotta is its light and silky texture. And though somewhat sweet, the panna cotta possesses a refreshing tang from the addition of lemon zest as well as the buttermilk.

If your plans for Valentine’s Day include a big and/or rich dinner, Buttermilk Panna Cotta is the perfect finish to the evening. For example, I served this dessert as the finale to a dinner that included Braised Short Ribs and Grainy Mustard Smashed Potatoes.

Pomegranate Sorbet

Even at the end of January, the thought of a rich, decadent dessert doesn’t appeal to me. However, I’m often in the mood for something a little sweet, usually something on the fruity side. My solution? Sorbet.

My all-time favorite sorbet was Haagen Dazs’ cassis sorbet. I think perhaps I was the only person who bought it, because I haven’t seen it on their store menu in, well, a couple decades. I can understand why. Cassis is a flavor you either love or hate, because it’s rather tart.

I discovered, by accident, several years ago a close second to my beloved cassis sorbet -- pomegranate sorbet; a recipe for which I found in Bruce Weinstein’s The Ultimate Ice Cream Book when I was awash in pomegranate juice. (When you have not one, not two, but three ice-cream makers, you need an ice-cream cookbook.)