Marmiton: Sauce au Comté et aux Morilles (Comté and Morel Sauce)

If you've looked through this blog with any regularity, you'll know that whenever I see fresh morels at the store, I must purchase a bag of them.  Not a ton, but enough to make something delicious with.  I didn't want to go my usual route and make them with chicken again (although that's absolutely delicious), so I went googling, and I came up with this recipe on a French website.  How's that for authentic?  Served over rice, it's a nice meatless meal.

Sauce aux Comté et aux Morilles (Comté and Morel Sauce)

Adapted from Marmiton.org

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 shallot, sliced thinly
5 ounces fresh morel mushrooms
2 cups heavy cream
1 small bay leaf
Pinch ground nutmeg
5 ounces Comté cheese, shredded

Melt butter, add shallot and morels, sweat morels until they release some liquid, add cream, bay leaf, and nutmeg.  Take off heat and let sit for 30 minutes.  Put back on heat, add the cheese, and stir until melted.

Cuisinart: S'mores Ice Cream

I seem to be on a bit of an ice cream kick lately.  I guess that's what happens when it's over 100F outside, and you just splurged on an expensive ice cream maker with an internal compressor.  Because when ice cream calls, it doesn't like to wait for the bowl to chill overnight.  This was one of the recipes included with the instructions, so I figured it was a good place to start.  And besides the marshmallow cream getting everywhere, I would absolutely make this again.

Note: Instead of melting the chocolate chips, I just poured some mini chips into the ice cream mixture.

S'mores Ice Cream

From Cuisinart

½ cup cocoa powder, sifted
⅓ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup packed dark or light brown sugar
1 pinch kosher salt
⅔ cup whole milk
1½ cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¾ cup marshmallow cream or fluff
2 full graham cracker sheets, crushed
2 ounces milk chocolate (⅓ cup chips), melted and reserved at room temperature

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugars and salt. Add the milk and, using a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk, beat to combine until the cocoa and sugars are dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Pour the mixture into the mixing bowl of the ice cream maker. Let mix until thickened, about 40 minutes. Five minutes before mixing is completed, gradually add the marshmallow cream, one spoonful at a time. Once mixed, add the crushed graham crackers and melted chocolate, one at a time, through the mix-in opening and let mix in completely. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

Tip: If marshmallow cream is too stiff, warm slightly in microwave before adding to freezer bowl.

Makes about 6 cups

I Heart Umami: Hobak Bokkeum 호박 볶음 (Stir-Fried Zucchini)

Of all the Korean banchan, this one comes in as my #2 favorite (behind the magnificent fish cake).  And when it's summer, with its plethora of zucchini, it's a perfect time to experience it at home.  I didn't even have Korean food to eat with it - it's just that good as a summer salad.

Note: This dish traditionally uses saewoojeot (fermented mini shrimp), but I opted to swap in fish sauce.

Hobak Bokkeum 호박 볶음 (Stir-Fried Zucchini)

Adapted from I Heart Umami blog

4 medium zucchini
6 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 large cloves garlic
2 green onions, chopped, plus more for garnish
2 to 3 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon toasted white sesame seeds

Trim away both ends of the zucchini and slice the zucchini into round discs about ¼-inch thick.  Then cut the discs in half to make half moons.

In a large mixing bowl, add the zucchini slices and sprinkle in salt and use your hands to gently rub the salt evenly into each slice. Set it aside for about 1 hour. This will pull out excess moisture.
In the meantime, finely mince the garlic and chop the scallions.

After 1 hour, dump out the excess water in the mixing bowl and then spread the zucchini slices on some paper towels. Use several extra paper towels to blot the tops of the zucchini until it is mostly dry.

Preheat a large sauté pan over medium heat until it feels warm. Add the vegetable oil and turn the heat up to medium-high. Add the zucchini and sauté for 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients, sauté for 1 minute and then turn off the heat.

Transfer the zucchini onto a large serving plate and garnish with more scallion, sesame seeds, and oil. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Makes 6 servings

Serious Eats: Blackberry Ice Cream

Each year I purchase a membership to a pick-your-own farm, and they have row upon row of blackberry bushes.  You have to brave the heat, the bugs, and especially the wasps who want to share in the blackberry sweetness.  But you arrive home with a bag full of beautiful ripe berries.  The only problem is that they don't tend to keep very long, so these had to be instantly made into...something.  So I picked ice cream to cool off.  The flavor was absolutely spot on; however, with cream being the only dairy, it leaves a greasy film on your tongue, kinda like the whipped cream on the Frappuccino at Starbucks.  If I made this again, I'd probably do half cream, half milk.

Blackberry Ice Cream
Adapted from Serious Eats

40 ounces fresh blackberries, washed and drained
5¼ ounces sugar
⅛ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
14 ounces heavy cream
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons bourbon, rum, or gin
½ ounce fresh lemon juice

In a 3-quart stainless steel saucier, combine blackberries, sugar, and salt. Using a metal spatula, crush the berries until the sugar dissolves (the spatula's comparatively sharp edge will minimize splashing compared to the dull edge of a potato masher). Using a kitchen scale, weigh the pot and fruit together, then make note of that number to track the reduction. Cook over medium heat until bubbling hot, then simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture has reduced by 14 ounces. The time required will vary depending on the size, shape, and type of cooking vessel, as well as the size and output of the burner, but expect about 30 minutes, and adjust heat as needed to proceed at a similar rate. (Try not to over-reduce the fruit, as it can produce unwanted flavors, but if you do accidentally do it, you can add back just enough water to correct the weight.)

When reduced by 14 ounces, strain into a large bowl through a fine-mesh stainless steel strainer. Press and stir the blackberries with a flexible spatula to extract their juices, until there's nothing left in the sieve but about 10 ounces seedy pulp, with 20 ounces blackberry purée in the bowl.

Discard the blackberry pulp. Stir the cream, cinnamon, and alcohol (if using) into the concentrated blackberry purée, along with lemon juice to brighten the flavor. Cover and refrigerate or place in an ice bath until no warmer than 40°F, then churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Meanwhile, place a 1-quart container and flexible spatula in the freezer.

When ice cream looks thick and light, shut off the machine and, using the chilled spatula, scrape ice cream into the chilled container. Enjoy as soft-serve, or cover with plastic pressed directly against surface of ice cream, then close lid and freeze until firm enough to scoop, about 4 hours.

For a blueberry version: Frozen wild blueberries, Stoli Blueberry for the liquor, and add ¼ teaspoon of orange flower water.