End of Summer, New School Year

The party is over at our house.  Today is the last day of freedom and tomorrow a new school year begins (for me too!).  No more lazy mornings on the deck with coffee, staying up super late reading a good book or keeping pj’s on allll day long if you feel like it.  I really love summer and my only wish was that it was just a little longer (say… 10 months longer….)

My kids are away today, all doing something fun for their last day of holidays.  I left them a little surprise for their return….

Just a little thank you for being great kids and hanging out with me this summer.  For putting my bait on the hook for me, for going for bike rides with me, for walking the dog with me, for playing endless games of Scrabble and SkipBo with me and for staying up late around a camp fire sharing funny stories and things about your life with me.

It’s a new school year and things will soon become hectic and busy.  Instead of saying “come sit by the pool with me” I’ll be screaming “for the last time get out of bed or we’ll be late!!”

Nothing says summer like ice cream and this is a fun and whimsical dessert.  Would be perfect for a birthday too!  I used my favourite Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream (here) and a new Vanilla Cake recipe (below).  Just colour icing to suit and have fun!  I used a piece of 29″ x 12″ yellow foam board with ribbons glued to the bottom.  This idea is from My Cake School Blog, which is full of fabulous resources.

Pure Vanilla Cupcakes

• adapted from Form V Artisan
  Makes 18 cupcakes

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup full fat sour cream
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup buttermilkPreheat oven to 350°F. Line 18 standard muffin cups with paper
  liners.1.  In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, sift together flour,
  baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add sugar and mix on low-speed until well
  blended. Add softened butter and beat on medium-low speed until butter is coated
  with flour and mixture resembles dry crumbs, about 3 minutes. Increase speed to
  medium and beat 30 seconds longer.2.  In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream and vanilla extract until smooth. Add to the flour mixture and
  mix on medium-low speed until moistened and the batter begins to form webs along
  the sides of the bowl and the beater, about 45 seconds. With mixer on low speed,
  gradually add milk and beat until batter is smooth, about 20 seconds. Scrape
  down the sides of the bowl and mix until batter is light, airy and creamy
  looking, another 15-20 seconds on medium to medium-low speed. Do not over
  mix.

  3.  Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling them about
  two-thirds full. Bake until a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into the
  center of the cakes comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Transfer cakes to wire
  racks to cool completely.

Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches and a Birthday (or two!)

Yesterday my boys turned 11.  Hard to believe that 11 years ago they were so tiny (just a little over 4 pounds when we brought them home!) and now I wear their shoes when I need to go outside for a quick second.  They are both very different personalities (one’s neat and tidy and one’s a whirling dervish!) but also so similar in some ways.  Both have a great sense of humour and both are sporty social guys who are really loyal to their friends.  They’re good boys.   I can’t really take credit because I think they were just born that way…perfect to me.

I have to say though, something happened, maybe ’in utero’ as they say….

I don’t know what I did….

I don’t know how it happened…I question it all the time…..

My boys don’t really like cake.  They don’t really have a sweet tooth which probably in the long-term is fantastic for them, however for me it continues to be a puzzle.

So, for birthday dessert one of my sons requested Homemade Brownie Ice-Cream Sandwiches.  Pretty easy to do, but a little tough to decorate with candles….

I found the recipe in Chatelaine Magazine and have made it many times over the summer.   There are so many options for flavours!  The sandwich part is a brownie baked on a cookie sheet.  Easy easy!  And so rich and yummy.

I did make some cupcakes too (I can’t help myself…) just for blowing out candles.  Some were a yummy Milk Dud flavour and some were Devils Food Chocolate with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream which I’ll be sure to share in a later post!

Brownie Ice-Cream Sandwiches

• 84 g  unsweetened chocolate, about 3 squares,  coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 cup  granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp  salt
• 1/4 tsp  vanilla
• 2   eggs
• 1/4 cup  all-purpose flour
• 2 L  vanilla ice cream or flavour of choice, in rectangular box

Preheat oven to 350°.

1.  Oil a rimmed baking sheet measuring about 11 × 17 in., then line with parchment paper. Place chocolate and butter in a large microwave-safe bowl and microwave on medium until chocolate is almost melted, about 2 min. Stir halfway through.

2.  Stir sugar, salt and vanilla into warm chocolate mixture. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, until blended. Stir in flour just until mixed. Scrape onto prepared sheet. Spread batter over parchment using an offset spatula to create a smooth, even, very thin layer.

3.  Bake in centre of oven until brownie appears shiny and is firm but slightly undercooked, about 8 min. Remove from oven and cool in pan, about 30 min. Run a knife along edges of pan. Cut brownie in half, making two long rectangles. Place pan in the freezer for 5 min. Remove from freezer. Gently lift brownie and, using scissors, cut the parchment, separating the rectangles.

4.  Place 1 brownie top-side down on a cutting board. Peel off parchment. Open box of ice cream. Slice off 5 1-in. slices and arrange on top of brownie on board until it’s completely covered. Peel parchment from bottom of remaining brownie and place on top of ice cream. Pat down firmly. With a sharp knife, score top of brownie into 16 rectangular pieces.

Freeze for at least 3 hours, until very firm. Remove from freezer and, using a serrated knife, cut into 16 sandwiches, using the scored lines as a guide. Individually wrap each sandwich in plastic wrap. Sandwiches will keep well in the freezer up to 1 month.

Good Things Come In 3′s….

The first person every little girl falls in love with is her dad.  And I, like I’m sure many others, have spent a good deal of my life comparing the other men in my world to my dad.  He’s  an ultra-focused, perfectionistic kind of guy with a killer dry sense of humour.  He’s my ‘go to’ guy when I need a home inspector, an appliance repair person, someone to tell me how to cook my seafood dinner, someone to teach me how to build something, a financial advisor and the list goes on….Thank you dad for teaching me all about my heritage.  I love your family stories and how you have shown me all the neat places and people from your childhood.

How blessed I have been to have another father figure in my life too!  A step-dad who can tell you the back road route to any destination, whom I have called many (NUMEROUS) times when I needed directions or something was wrong with my car.  Oh, and not to forget the hell he put any date through who came to pick me up!  Thank you for making me proud to have the nickname “squirt” even though I’m a grown woman with a family of my own (who all have nicknames too!).

And, finally number three, a fantastic person who I love more each day for the role model he is to my own children.  He is a hard worker, ultra-loyal, laid back kind of soul.  And, he has taught my sons (without even realizing it), the way you respect and love your leading lady.   Thank you for showing me how easy it is to just sit back and enjoy the ride.

So, now that we’ve got all that mushy stuff out of the way, lets eat boys!  This one’s for you.  Who wouldn’t enjoy a dessert made with Irish Whiskey?  Yum!  Happy Father’s Day,

Irish Coffee Sundaes with Caramel Whiskey Sauce

from Epicurious - I did not change a thing from this recipe!  It is absolutely perfect as is.

For coffee nut crisp:

• 1 large egg white
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules, crushed
• 1 cup walnut pieces (3 1/2 ounces), coarsely chopped if desired

For sauce:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 6 Tablespoons Irish whiskey
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• good-quality coffee/cappuccino ice cream

1.  Whisk egg white, sugar, coffee powder, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Stir in walnuts until coated. Spread mixture onto a parchment lined cookie sheet (make an 8 x8 rectangle) and bake at 325° for 25 minutes or until fairly dry to the touch.  Remove to a rack and break into small pieces when cool (I left some larger pieces to use for garnish).

2.  For the sauce, bring the sugar and water to a boil in a 2–quart heavy saucepan over medium–high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil without stirring, until syrup begins to turn golden, about 5 minutes. Continue to boil, swirling pan occasionally, until syrup is a deep golden caramel.

3.  Remove pan from heat and carefully add whiskey, cream, and salt (mixture will bubble up and steam and caramel will harden).  Return the pan to heat and simmer, stirring, until caramel is dissolved and sauce is smooth. Cool to warm.

Serve sauce over scoops of cappuccino ice cream then sprinkle with walnut crisp.

I would double the batch of walnuts, these are really addictive all by themselves!

Early Spring Crop

Rhubarb is a “do like” or “definately don’t” kind of thing.   It’s a tart and sour fella that can produce the yummiest cobblers and coffee cakes.  And we all, I’m sure, have tried the rhubarb/strawberry combo.  My father-in-law has a patch in his large garden and I have recently been asking, “Is it ready yet??”  The season usually starts here in late May or early June.   His won’t be ready until next week so I hauled my sorry self out of bed early this morning to go to the market in search of freshly picked stalks for todays post.  I strolled by a few vendors who didn’t have any yet and then almost ran to the vendor who had a nice big basket full of freshly harvested stocks (I think she was taken aback by my excitement, it is only rhubarb after all…)…

Enjoy todays post, just in time for the rhubarb season to start.   A really simple Rum Butter Cherry Rhubarb sauce served warm over homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.   And I guarantee that once you make your own ice cream (without the ice cream maker…) you will turn your nose up at any store bought carton again!  Enjoy,

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Adapted from David Lebovitz, The Perfect Scoop 

1 cup homogenized milk

1/4 tsp kosher salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

2 cups half and half cream- you can also use heavy cream for a creamier texture

6 large egg yolks

1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan until hot, but not boiling. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and let milk infuse for one hour.

2. Set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Pour the half and half into the 2-quart bowl.

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

4. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the custard thickens. It should be thick enough to coat the spatula.

5. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly.  Several hours or overnight is best.

Once the mixture has chillled for several hours you can remove the vanilla bean* and put it in your ice cream machine and follow manufacterers instructions or do it without a machine as outlined below:

1. Remove the vanilla bean and pour ice cream into a freezer safe bowl (I use stainless).  Leave in the freezer (uncovered) for 45 minutes.  Remove from freezer and whisk for approx. 3 minutes.  Back into the freezer for another 30 minutes and whisk again.  Continue freezing and whisking for about 2 1/2 -3 hours until set.  Place ice cream in a sealable container and freeze until ready to use.

*Keep that vanilla bean!  Wash it with water and allow it to dry out.  Put it in your sugar canister to give an extra kick to baked goods.  And, you can use it again for your next batch of ice cream!

Rum Butter Cherry Rhubarb Sauce

*Adapted from Canadian Living Magazine

2 cups jarred sour cherries (reserve juice)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter

2 cups sliced rhubarb (fresh or frozen)

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp amber rum

1.  In saucepan, bring 1/4 cup cherry juice, sugar and butter to a boil over medium-high heat, until sugar dissolves.  Add cherries and rhubarb: cook over medium heat until rhubarb is tender, about 5 minutes.

3.  Blend cornstarch with rum; stir into fruit mixture and cook, stirring, until thickened.

Spoon warm mixture over ice cream.