Strawberry Lemon Ice Cream

It's the best time of year to make homemade ice cream, and with such amazing produce this time of year, fresh strawberries make some of the best ice cream there is.  With a hint of lemon, this ice cream was super creamy and delicious, perfect for summer!




Strawberry Lemon Ice Cream
adapted from Epicurious

1 3/4 cups heavy cream
3 (3- by 1-inch) strips fresh lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 lb strawberries (3 cups), trimmed and quartered
1 tsp grated fresh lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar

Combine cream, zest strips, and salt in a heavy saucepan and bring just to a light simmer. Remove from heat and discard zest.

Whisk eggs with 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl, then add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking. Pour back into the saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened and a candy thermometer registers 170°F (do not let boil or you will have creamy scrambled eggs!).

Immediately pour custard through a fine sieve into a metal bowl, scraping along the inside of the sieve to strain all the liquid.  Discard any solids that remain. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Chill, covered, at least until cold, about 2 hours, and up to 1 day.  (I did this step the day before)

While custard is chilling, chop the strawberries and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup sugar over in a bowl, stirring occasionally so the strawberries release some juice.  When you're ready to make the ice cream and the cream mixture has fully chilled, purée strawberries with sugar syrup with grated lemon zest and fresh lemon juice in a blender until smooth. Stir purée into custard.

Freeze in ice-cream maker, then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, about 3-4 hours.

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Cool Salad on a Hot Day

I don't know about your summer, but here in Chicago it's been downright steamy and sticky the past few days.  You know, the kind of steamy where you step outside and your glasses fog up.  When I get home at night after work and peel off my work clothes, the last thing I want to do is use heat of any kind to cook my dinner.  Lately we've been enjoying the beautiful produce and just making quick and delicious salads, and I must say that I'm becoming obsessed with them!



Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
serves 2
12-15 large Brussels sprouts
3 radishes
1/8 cup of dried currants
Cheese of choice - I recommend a hard, nutty sheep's milk cheese or a more common hard cheese like Pecorino Romano or Parmesan
Olive oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Fresh ground pepper

With such a simple salad, the key is the freshness and quality of ingredients.  You want to shave the Brussels sprouts on a mandoline so they are reduced to pretty ribbons of sprout leaves, and julienne the radishes.  Also make sure to use a good high quality balsamic vinegar (usually a little thicker than some of the watery versions we see today).  If you only have a thin balsamic, quickly reduce it in a pan on the stove to intensify the flavor and thicken in slightly.

Toss all the ingredients together, and enjoy the cool salad on a hot day!

Grilled Corn and Pepper Salad on Cilantro Lime Rice

Every year, as soon as spring hits, I'm constantly amazed at how amazing the fresh produce can be.  You'd think I'd get used to it, but after a dreary winter of eating soups and stews, a fresh meal on a warm day is absolute bliss.  And of course, anytime I can also fire up the grill, I'm even happier.

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Grilled Corn and Pepper Salad on Cilantro Lime Rice
serves 2-3

2 small red/orange/yellow bell peppers (I used 1 red and 1 orange), chopped
1 medium ripe tomato, chopped
1 poblano pepper
2 ears of corn, shucked
1/4 red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped
1 large lime
1 cup rice

Cook the rice according to its instructions, preferably in a rice cooker.

While it's cooking, rub the corn and the poblano in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill them, turning often, until the corn caramelizes slightly on the outside and the poblano skin is charred.  Let them cool off the grill for 5-10 minutes, and then peel the charred skin off the poblano and discard, and chop up the flesh (removing seeds and stem).  Carve the kernels off the corn cob (alliteration, for the win!).  Combine the chopped poblano flesh and corn kernels with the fresh chopped bell peppers, finely diced red onion, chopped tomato, and half of the cilantro.  Juice 1/2 of the lime on the mixture, and season with salt and pepper.  Toss to mix, and set aside.

When the rice is finished cooking, add the remaining cilantro and juice from the other half of the lime to the rice, add a pinch of salt, and fluff to combine.

Serve the corn and pepper salad over the cilantro lime rice, and enjoy!


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Grilled Red Snapper with Warm Grilled Salad and Herb Dressing

When the weather begins to warm up in the springtime, there's nothing more wonderful than grilling.  Don't get me wrong, I still grill all winter long so long as there isn't measurable snow covering my grill.  But that's just a method of cooking - grilling in warmer weather is an experience.  You invite people over, crack open a beer, leave the windows open, and throw anything and everything on a big grill.  There's really nothing like it.

This past weekend, a friend came over to grill up some whole red snapper.  We had been aching to grill and it was finally warm enough, and she also had recently mentioned that she had never prepared a whole fish, so what better time than now!




Grilled Red Snapper with Warm Grilled Salad and Herb Dressing

Ok, that's a terrible title - I used "grilled" twice.  I make good food, I'm not a copywriter.

Herb Dressing
Dill
Italian Parsley
Capers
Garlic cloves
Lemon Juice (1 lemon - fresh)
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

I realize I didn't use any measurements here, because you'll want to do this to taste.  Stuff a ton of dill and Italian parsley into a blender (or magic bullet, which I used), a few capers, 2-3 cloves of garlic, salt and pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil.  You'll want to keep adding olive oil as you blend until you get a thick creamy/smooth consistency.  Don't add too much oil, or it will turn into an herb oil not a thick herb dressing.


Preparing the Red Snapper
When buying your snapper, have the butcher remove the gills, and if the scales are still on, might as well have them scale it too.  Scaling a fish is no picnic, and those little buggers get everywhere.

Stuff the cavity of the red snapper with thin lemon slices, fresh dill, and Italian parsley. Score the flesh of the fish 2-3 times per side, and rub the outside with a Tbs or so of your herb dressing (be careful to not contaminate the remaining herb dressing with raw fish spoon or something - you'll want to use this cool and uncooked on the fish and salad later).  Set these aside to come to room temperature.  Fight off circling cats.


Grilled Salad
3 ears of corn, unhusked (pull off silks though)
3 large potatoes, sliced into 1" thick slices
1/2 yellow onion
1 small head napa cabbage, sliced in half

The ingredients are listed in order of how long they need to be on the grill.  The corn should be put on the grill first, and will take 15-20 minutes, rotating every 5 minutes.  Cook the potatoes until they're fully cooked throughout.  Grill the onion, cut side down, for 7-10 minutes.  And finally, oil (and salt & pepper) the cut side of the cabbage halves, and place them on the hot grill for 5 minutes.  Remove all the veggies, and let them cool.  Set aside.

Now it's time to come back to the fish.

Place the fish on the hot grill and close the lid; let cook for 6-8 minutes.  Then flip the fish, and let cook for another 6-8 minutes on the other side.



The goal of course is to preserve that wonderful skin, which will get nice and crispy.  The key to this is using enough of the herb dressing to oil the fish and help keep it from sticking.  You'll notice one of my fish got a little stuck, so I could have used a little more dressing/oil on the fish to avoid that.

After the 6-8 minutes are up, remove the fish from the grill.



As your fish rest for a couple minutes, roughly chop up the grilled veggies, which now should be warm enough to handle.  Toss with some of the herb dressing to coat.



Serve the fish family style with the warm grilled salad and a side of extra herb dressing.