Strawberry Rhubarb Sorbet | Secret Recipe Club

Summer is around the corner.  Not sure about you, but I can sense the change of seasons.  There is just something in the air that triggers the transition from one season to the next.  I can appreciate each season but summer is at the top of my list.  The days are longer, the nights are warmer, the food is fresh and abundant and generally people are happy and relaxed.  Now is the time of year where I pull the ice cream maker out from the back of the pantry and move it front and center.  I already have a bucket list of flavors to make and look forward to sharing with all of you in the coming months.

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Rhubarb Ice Cream + Weekly Inspirations

Rhubarb always catapults me back to my childhood in an instant.  My Mom would prepare it in a simple fashion by cutting into cubes along with adding a bit of sugar and then proceed to cook it until soft.  She would let it cool and we would eat it.  I absolutely love it prepared this way.  With the season in full swing, I thought why not make some Rhubarb Ice Cream to celebrate the season and near arrival of summer.  I wanted to add that something extra to the recipe, so I added pomegranate liquor.  Quite honestly, it was the perfect addition.

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Strawberry Balsamic Ice Cream

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. With summer approaching, it is time to extract the ice cream maker from the back of the pantry and put it into action. Not sure why I don’t make more ice cream during the winter months – note to self – need to change for this year.

My first real job was working at the local ice cream parlor when I turned 16. It was an old fashioned ice cream store with table service and a candy counter. All of the ice cream was made locally, full of fresh cream and delish-is-ness. We had a full menu and I still remember how to make 99% of the sundaes listed. The menu included everything from thick milkshakes, old fashioned ice cream sodas to the traditional hot fudge sundaes.

Life is full of lessons and if you take a moment to reflect what you have learned thus far, you will discover that lessons can happen daily. From my days at the ice cream parlor, I learned the art of organization, customer satisfaction and teamwork.

The art of organization came from taking an order from the local little league where it would be 20 different orders, all with customized requests and being able to deliver in a timely manner, so as not to have all melted sundaes. Customer satisfaction came from enhancing the ability to really listen, understand and solve any issues as they arose. Finally teamwork was learned. You are thrown into working with individuals you would have never probably interacted with and need to accomplish the company’s mission, vision and goals.

To this day, I have fond memories of my ice cream scooping days and take those valuable lessons into the present. In addition, I still have a love for really good ice cream. I think the simple flavors that are enhanced by a unique ingredient often create a special flavor, such as the Strawberry Balsamic Ice Cream I am sharing with you today. I took the basic vanilla ice cream recipe from David Lebovitz’s book – The Perfect Scoop and created my own strawberry balsamic infusion mixture to add to it. The result – a delightful sweet taste of summer!

Strawberry Balsamic Ice Cream

About 1 quart

Vanilla Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk
A pinch of salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 cups heavy cream
6 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Strawberry Balsamic Mixture

2 Cups Strawberries, diced small
2 T. Sugar
1 T. Balsamic Vinegar

In a medium skillet over medium heat, add the strawberries, sugar and balsamic vinegar. Stir mixture and heat for about 3 to 5 minutes until strawberries are soft. Set aside to cool.

Making Ice Cream

Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, and then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour.

In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Re-warm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.

Strain the custard into the heavy cream and add the vanilla extract. Stir in the cooled strawberry balsamic mixture and refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight.

Remove the vanilla bean and freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Double Peach Ice Cream

Nothing says summer than a golden juicy peach. We are in the heart of the season and I am just ecstatic. Recently on a trip to Trader Joe’s, right front and center was a display of peaches in these boxes that resembled a freshly packed from the farm look. Almost looking like an old fashioned wooden crate, albeit these were cardboard.

My mind began racing and thought what to make with these gorgeous beautiful summer gems. As you may or may not be aware I have discovered my passion for making jam last year and each time the season changes or a new produce items becomes available, it is jam making time. My recipe for pure peach jam will be up soon. Stay tuned.

Along with the jam inspiration was my passion for making homemade ice creams. Although Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s make some pretty tasty ice cream and creative flavors, the taste of handcrafted ice cream can compare. I first flirted with the idea of making a simple vanilla ice cream and putting in chunks of peaches.

Tasty idea, but not quite bold enough. Then the idea hit, make a peach puree and blend into the vanilla ice cream and kick it up with adding chunks of fresh peaches at the end. The birth of double peach ice cream was born.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Do you have any super creative flavors you have experimented with?
Look forward to hearing from all of you.

Double Peach Ice Cream

About 1 quart

1 C. Half and Half
¼ t. Salt
3/4 C. sugar
2 t. Vanilla
2 C. heavy cream
6 large egg yolks
Heat the half n half, salt, and sugar in a saucepan.

To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2l) bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream into the bowl.

In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Use the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.

Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract and refrigerate to chill thoroughly.

Stir in the peach puree in to the custard and freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Peach Puree

4 Large Peaches
½ C. Sugar
½ C. Water

Cut the peaches in half and remove the pits. Cut into small pieces and add to a small sauce pan with the sugar and water. Heat over medium heat until soft – about 10 minutes. Puree the mixture and set aside.

Once the mixture is processed and firm, place into a freezer container that is airtight and stir in about 1 cup finely diced fresh peaches. This will create the “double” peach effect.

Balsamic Macerated Strawberry Sundae

Happy 4th of July weekend everyone! Strawberries just sing all American and have a rightful place at any 4th of July celebration. Add in a few blueberries and now you have traditional American fare for this holiday season.

Over the last couple weeks, I have hosted a couple dinner parties and served this simple yet deliciously sublime dessert to my guests. The secret ingredient is the balsamic vinegar and folks instantly associate a tart taste. The surprising fact is that when balsamic is reduced it actually becomes sweet. When you purchase balsamic vinegar that is well aged, it takes on a particular sweetness and the tart flavor disappears.

Balsamic Macerated Strawberry Sundae

4 C. Strawberries, hull removed and cut into fours
½ C. Sugar
½ C. Balsamic Vinegar
Vanilla Ice Cream

Place the strawberries into a medium bowl and add the sugar. Toss well. Meanwhile reduce the balsamic vinegar in a small sauce pan. Heat on medium high heat and stir often. Should take about 3 to 4 minutes to reduce and begin to form a syrup consistency. Be careful to not over cook or it will burn.

Let cool for about 4 to 5 minutes and then add to the strawberries. Toss well and chill for a minimum of two hours. (Can be chilled overnight)

When ready to serve, scoop the vanilla ice cream into small bowls and gently toss a generous spoonful or two of the macerated strawberries on top. Enjoy!!

Sweet Corn Ice Cream

A few weeks ago my husband and I met a few friends after work at Flora in downtown Oakland. I jumped on BART and simply walked a block and there was this amazing restaurant. It is located in the uptown district of Oakland and the surrounding area is going through revitalization. Oakland has a poor reputation due to the high crime rate; however the local chefs are quickly realizing that Oakland is becoming the next gourmet scene in the Bay Area. Local foodies are beginning to flock to these new hot spots and taking advantage of this new restaurant boom.

Flora is the brain child of Dona Savisky and Thomas Schnertz who wanted to create a dining destination and bar the was reminiscent of the prohibition era with art deco style. The cocktails are specially crafted to echo that era along with updated American classics that have a definite flair. Flora sits in the beautifully ornate Oakland Floral Depot building and across from the newly renovated beautiful Fox Theatre.

Our food was amazing but the dessert really struck me and inspired me to make sweet corn ice cream. We shared two desserts with one being “corn ice cream, peach sorbet, crisp puff pastry, hazelnut streusel with blueberries”. The corn ice cream just added that extra special flavor profile to the blueberry crumble and the only problem was that there were four people sharing this divine dessert. Note to self for next time – order my own dessert.

Sweet Corn Ice Cream

4 Ears Fresh Corn
2 C. Milk
2 C. Cream
¾ C. Sugar
6 Egg Yolks
1 t. Vanilla

Remove any husks from the corn and then cut off the kernels. Break each of the cobs into three or four pieces.

In a medium pot add the milk and cream and bring to a boil, then reduce to medium low heat. Add the corn kernels and cobs. Cook for 10 minutes then turn off heat and let steep for about one hour.

After one hour, remove the cobs and pour the remaining liquid with kernels through a fine sieve or strainer. Add back to the pan and add the vanilla. Heat on medium heat until warm.

In a bowl add the egg yolks and sugar. Whisk until slightly fluffy and a light yellow color. Add about a ¼ cup of the warm milk to temper the eggs, and then add the entire egg mixture to the pot of warm milk and cream. Cook on medium until the back of a wooden spoon is coated and slightly thickened. Remove from heat and let cool in a water bath or refrigerator overnight in a covered container.

Process through an ice cream maker according the to the manufacturers directions. Serve alone or over your favorite fruit crumble.

Fresh Fig and Honey Ice Cream

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. How many times did you say or hear that when you were a kid? I bet more than you think. My very first job was working at a local ice cream parlor in the Bay Area, called Loard’s Ice Cream. It was one of those old fashioned places that made their own ice cream from pure cream and had great flavors ranging from banana, coffee to champagne sherbet. Of course, all of the standard flavors existed plus seasonal favorites including eggnog and pumpkin.

I worked there for about a year and half and then it was time to move onto the next job. Too much temptation to taste everything there; plus my pants were not as loose as they use to be. It was a terrific first job which taught me organization, customer service and problem solving skills. To this day, I could make any of the various sundaes on the menu – funny how you just don’t forget certain things.

Over the long holiday weekend, my creative juices were flowing. I had the urge on Saturday morning to make homemade ice cream. I had fresh figs – quite frankly I am obsessed with figs this year. I thought the figs would be good in an ice cream, but what else to put with these little treasures. Ah ha - a great compliment would be honey. Now I had my flavor – fresh fig and honey ice cream. Rather than blending the bits of figs in the ice cream while it was being processed, I wanted a more organic texture and experience. After the cream was almost frozen, I blended by hand the bits of fig to give texture and a beautiful appearance when formed into that lovely round sphere of goodness.

On Sunday evening we were invited to our next door neighbors for a rib eye steak dinner with all of the wonderful sides – mashed potatoes, sautéed portabella mushrooms and sautéed zucchini with garlic. It was a great weekend of dining with our great neighbors - one family on Sunday and another on Monday.  We felt very special to have such thoughtful people invite us over.  I always enjoy when dining out or at friends, the experience of being pampered by not actually cooking and someone spoiling me. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE cooking for people, but every once in a while, it such a treat to be catered to. I ended up running home to grab the Fig Ice Cream to share with everyone. My scooping skills are still current and everyone enjoyed a bit of homemade goodness.

Fresh Fig and Honey Ice Cream

½ C. Honey
1 ½ C. Heavy Cream
1 ½ C. Half n Half
¼ C. Sugar
1 t. Vanilla
¼ t. Salt
5 Large egg yolks
6 Large fresh figs, stemmed and chopped into tiny pieces

In a medium sauce pan, add the cream, half n half, honey and salt. Cook over medium heat until it is warm. In a separate medium bowl, add the egg yolks and sugar. Whisk until creamy. Take about a fourth of a cup of the warm mixture and add to the egg yolk mixture and whisk quickly to temper the eggs.

Add the egg mixture to the cream mixture and cook on medium heat while stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats a wooden spoon.

Chill the mixture over an ice bath and let chill in the refrigerator until completely cool. Freeze the mixture according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once it is chilled, the stir in the chopped fig pieces. Transfer to a plastic storage container and freeze until ready to serve.

Hershey's Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! It is funny how the beginning of summer makes us want to either make or buy ice cream. My very first job beyond babysitting the neighbors kids, was working at Loard's Ice Cream. It is an old fashioned ice cream parlor where you can have sit down service or get a cone to go. I can still remember how to make any one of the numerous sundaes that are on the menu and that was quite some time ago that I worked there.

My absolute favorite sundae that I would make was coffee ice cream with marshmallow topping. I believe they called it a Coffee Mallow. Did not need any nuts, whip cream or cherry to make it complete – it was perfect with just the two simple ingredients. Still to this day, I often crave that sundae, but know that I would have to get on the treadmill every day if I ate those everyday. LOL

I went to lunch on Friday for a work event and we decided to share a dessert. This particular restaurant made their own ice cream in house and they were quite proud of it. We enjoyed a duo of handmade ice cream – strawberry and milk chocolate. The milk chocolate, as simple as it sounds was absolutely outstanding. It almost had a hint of espresso and a background flavor of marshmallow. We inquired with the waiter to see if our taste buds were fooling us and he assured us it was just really good milk chocolate ice cream. It inspired me to create my own version at home the next day.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Hershey's Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

1 C. Half and half
1 ½ C. Heavy cream
½ C. Low fat milk
1 Tbs. Cocoa powder
1/3 cup granulated sugar
5 (1.55 oz) Hershey milk chocolate bars
8 egg yolks

In a saucepan, combine the half and half, milk and cream. Sift the cocoa powder over the mixture; whisk thoroughly to combine. Sprinkle about half the sugar into the saucepan and slowly bring the mixture to a simmer.

Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar. Whisk vigorously until the yolks thicken and become a paler shade of yellow, 3 to 4 minutes.

To combine the egg and milk mixtures, slowly pour half the simmering milk into the yolks while whisking constantly to temper it. Whisk that mixture back into the milk in the saucepan. Reduce the heat to low and stir constantly with a wooden spoon or whisk until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Pour the cooked custard over the chocolate. Whisk until all the chocolate is melted. Set the custard bowl over the bowl of ice water; stir until the custard is completely cool. Pour the cooled custard into an ice cream machine with at least a 1-quart capacity and freeze following the manufacturer's directions.