Mint Pistachio Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

If you have an herb garden and you grow mint, then you understand my dilemma!  Mint can quickly take over a garden.  So that is why I found myself pruning and about to throw away a basketful; when it occurred to me that there just might be another purpose for this fragrant weed, other than adding flavor to my decaffeinated unsweetened iced tea.  With summer (too) rapidly approaching, ice cream seemed like the obvious choice.  And since it didn’t seem right to let the mint alone steal the show, the pistachios and chocolate chips added the perfect balance. This is guaranteed to help keep you cool this summer!

Mint Pistachio Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Recipe

Makes 1-1/2 quart

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cup whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup mint leaves, packed*

4 egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla, optional

pinch, salt

1/2 cup chocolate morsels (mini chocolate chips)

1/2 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped

Preparation:

Put milk, 1-1/2 cups cream and mint leaves in a medium saucepan; and heat over medium heat until slightly bubbling, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and let sit for 20 minutes.  

Combine egg yolks, sugar, remaining cream and vanilla in a bowl and whisk until smooth.  Gradually whisk into to mint-flavored mixture and return to saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, about 4-6 minutes.  Do not let boil.  Strain through a sieve, into a bowl, pressing on the mint with the back of the spoon.  Place the bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice and water.  Stir occasionally to cool.  Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the custard to prevent a skim from forming.  Refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours or overnight.

Pour the custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturers instructions.  Add chocolate and nuts after the custard is nearly frozen - about five minutes before removing from the machine.  Transfer to a freezer-safe container, cover and freeze until firm.

*(For a less powerful minty flavor, use half the amount of mint leaves.) 

Double Chocolate Cupcakes

This is the time of year I really miss my hometown - Chicago.  I don’t know of any other city that celebrates St. Patrick’s Day the way Chicago does.  Heck, we even dye the Chicago River green to celebrate the occasion.   And if that isn’t cool enough, all of the local draft beer is served green on that day.  What a town!  Although I am seldom there anymore to join in the festivities,  every year I try to create a little bit of the ‘spirit’ for myself and nearby family and friends.  So what does chocolate have to do with St. Patrick’s Day, you ask?  Well, according to the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, Ireland has the third largest consumption rate of chocolate in the world.  Works for me.  So, to help set the mood this year I decided to make these Double Chocolate cupcakes.  

Happy St. Pat’s Day!


Double Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe
Ingredients:
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1-1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract


Chocolate Frosting:
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a small bowl stir until smooth the boiling hot water and the cocoa powder. Let cool to room temperature. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Then in the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat only until incorporated. Then add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.

Fill each muffin cup about two-thirds full with batter and bake for about 16 - 20 minutes or until risen, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. (Do not over bake or the cupcakes will be dry.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. You can either spread the frosting on the cupcakes with a small spatula or if piping, use a large Wilton 1M open star tip to make lovely swirls. These cupcakes are best the day they are made, but can be covered and stored for a few days.

Chocolate Frosting: 
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until it is light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the chocolate and beat on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is smooth and glossy (about 2 -3 minutes).
Makes 24 cupcakes.

Caramel Bourbon Pecan Pound Cake

I love taking old recipes and giving them a new twist.  Let’s face it, if it was good twenty years ago, it is probably just as good now.  Good is good!  I also don’t like doing the obvious.  So on Valentine’s Day, when most of us are making everything chocolate, I am taking the opportunity to mix it up.  I’ve taken this bourbon pecan pound cake and topped it with my good friend, Nancie McDermott’s Gigi’s Caramel Icing, from her popular cookbook, Southern Cakes.

Caramel Bourbon Pound Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

3 sticks butter (unsalted

3 cups light brown sugar

3 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cardamom

5 eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup bourbon

1 cup pecans, chopped

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 12 cup bundt-style pan or a 10-inch tube pan.  

In a large bowl, whisk together flour baking powder, salt and spices.  

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl after each addition.  Add the flour mixture, one cup at a time, alternately with the milk and bourbon.    Blend in the pecans.  Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 75 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes our clean.  Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 10 minutes.

Gigi’s Caramel Icing Recipe (Nancie McDermott, Southern Cakes)

2-2/3 cups light brown sugar

1 stick butter

7 tablespoons evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

In a heavy medium-sized saucepan combine the brown sugar, butter, evaporated milk and vanilla.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Stir well and then adjust the heat so that the frosting boils and bubbles gently.  Cook for 7 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

Beat the warm icing with a wooden spoon until it thickens, 2 to 3 minutes.  Quickly spread the icing over the cake - starting on the top and then over the sides.  If the icing becomes too hard to spread, warm gently over low heat.  Add a spoonful or two of evaporated milk, and then scrape and stir well until the icing softens enough to spread again.  Dip a table knife in very hot water to help soften and smooth out the icing once it is spread.

Eagle Island Low Country Boil

It doesn’t get more “off the beaten path” than this!  Eagle Island, located 15 minutes off the coast of Darien, Georgia, is the perfect “getaway destination.”  Meet Captain Andy Hill, owner of The Private Islands of Georgia, which counts Eagle Island among its’ chain.  

For a romantic retreat, a family reunion or friends going wild,  Eagle Island won’t disappoint you.  Everything is provided for your enjoyment - you bring the fun!  And if just being there makes you feel as if you’ve died and gone to paradise, just sit back and let Captain Hill further spoil you with his shrimp and oyster roast or low country boil.

Eagle Island Low Country Boil Recipe

Seasoning Ingredients and Preparation:

2 sticks butter

1 cup pepper

1/2 cup red pepper

1 cup garlic salt

1/2 cup seasoning salt

1/2 cup celery salt

10 lemons

10 jalapeno peppers - thinly sliced

Melt butter in large sauce pan on low to medium heat. Mix all of the dry ingredients from the Private Islands of Georgia Cajun Seasoning Blend in bowl and stir with wire whisk. Pour contents of mixing bowl into melted butter and stir with wire whisk until well blended. Pour fresh squeezed lemon juice into pan and stir. Add jalapeno pepper slices and stir. Add mixture to boiling water, and now the fun begins!

Note - Old Bay Seasoning can be substituted for the Private Islands of Georgia Cajun Seasoning Blend if desired

Low Country Boil Ingredients and Preparation:

4 pounds shrimp - 1/2 pound per person

2 packages Hillshire Farm sausage cut into 1" slices - or substitute your favorite brand

8 onions, peeled - 1 per person 

16 new potatoes - 2 per person 

4 ears of corn, halved - 1/2 ear per person

small bag of baby carrots

After adding the Private Islands of Georgia Cajun Seasoning Blend to the boiling water, you are now ready to add the food. The food items are added in order of longest to shortest to cook. First, add the potatoes and boil 10 minutes. Next, add the carrots, sausage and whole onions. Return to boil. Add corn and return to boil. Then, add the shrimp last. Cook until shrimp are pink in color, approximately 3-5 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp!

Note - other ingredients that can be added to personal taste are rutabagas, sweet potatoes, crabs, crawfish or the 'kitchen sink'. Adding extra potatoes and onions allows for leftovers that can be used for some great tasting hash browns the following morning.

Disgustingly Good Chili

Football season is really heating up now, and on Sundays you can’t tear me away from the televised games.  Go Bears!!  (I had to say that - I am from Chicago).   My favorite football season fare is chili.  I like it spicy and with a lot of kick.  It’s easy, filling and downright good, made with this recipe.  Now don’t forget all the other fixins’ to go along with it, like devil hot wings, and lots of ice cold brew, just to name a few.  Whether you’re making and eating it at home or tailgating at the stadium...games on!

Disgustingly Good Chili Recipe

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 red bell peppers, diced 

1 large jalapeno, minced 

3 Anaheim or Poblano chiles, chopped

1 yellow onion, diced 

1 head garlic, minced

1-1/2 lbs. ground beef

1/2 lb. bulk Italian sausage

2 tablespoons Everyday Spice Blend

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons cumin

1 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup tomato paste

6 ounces beer (I prefer Guinness Stout)

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, with juice

1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, with juice

green onion, thinly sliced on the bias (garnish)

shredded Cheddar (garnish)

Preparation:

In large stock pot over high heat, add canola oil. Add bell pepper, jalapeno, chiles and onion and cook until caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute a minute longer. Add ground beef and sausage.  Cook until meat is nicely browned and cooked through, about 7 to10 minutes. Add in Everyday Spice Blend, chili powder, cumin,  and cook for 1 minute. Add in tomato sauce and paste and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in beer and chicken stock. Add beans, lower heat and simmer for 2 hours.  Garnish with green onions and grated cheddar cheese. Serve with French bread or crackers.

Bananas Foster Bread Pudding

On Sunday I hosted a pre-Thanksgiving Brunch for some close friends; and ended up with a surplus of croissants.  If you find yourself in the same situation - with lots of leftover bread and rolls -  the day after Thanksgiving, you might want to try this recipe.  By the way, bread  pudding - without the sauce - freezes beautifully.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL!!

Bananas Foster Bread Pudding Recipe

Ingredients:
12 Croissants *  cut into 1-inch cubes

4 Eggs - lightly beaten

2-½ cups Heavy cream

⅔ cups Sugar

1 Tablespoon Vanilla 

1 Tablespoon Cardamom, 

¼ cup currants 

½ cup Pecans, roughly chopped

Banana  Rum Sauce (recipe below)

Preparation

Lightly butter a deep 9 by 12 baking dish and add the bread cubes in an even layer. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, sugar, vanilla and cardamom. Pour the mixture over the bread cubes. Gently fold in the pecans and currants. Cover the dish with foil and place in the refrigerator overnight or at least an hour to allow the liquid soak into the bread.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place bread pudding on a middle rack. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes until firm and a knife inserted comes out clean.

Banana Rum Sauce 
Ingredients:

½ cup Dark Rum, such as Meyer's

½ Stick Butter, unsalted

1 cup Dark Brown Sugar

1 Teaspoon Cardamom, ground

5 Large Bananas - peeled and quartered

Preparation:
While the bread pudding is baking, heat up the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When the butter begins to melt add the brown sugar, cardamom, and quartered bananas. Saute gently, moving the bananas around, for about one minute. Remove the skillet from heat and add the rum. Return the skillet to medium heat. When the liquid begins to bubble, tilt the pan and using caution light the sauce with a long match. When the flames go away, remove the skillet from heat. (If you can't get the sauce to light, just cook for 3 to 4 minutes to allow the alcohol to burn off.) The rum sauce should be served warm. If it cools down to much, reheat in a sauce pan over low heat or in a microwave. 
To Serve:
Cut into squares or scoop out the bread pudding and place serving on plate or bowl. Add two pieces of cooked bananas and drizzle the sauce over the top.  If desired, add whipped cream or ice cream.

*  Or also use Challah, Brioche, French bread or rolls

The Culinary Face of Casa Marina Inn

Meet Chef Aaron Webb, Executive Chef of Casa Marina Inn,  in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.  Chef Aaron, who has been with Casa Marina for nine years, was formerly with The Tavern at Phipps in Atlanta.  Here he shares some of his signature recipes of the Inn's area-famous Champagne Brunch that features over 30 dishes, and serves between 150-200 guests every Sunday.

Red Snapper a la Casa Marina Recipe

Ingredients:

1 - 5 to 7 pound whole Red Snapper

olive oil

salt

pepper

garlic powder

other favorite spice(s)  e.g. lemon pepper, cumin, etc. 

Preparation:

Scale and de-gill whole Snapper, scaled & de-gilled, leaving on tail and head.

Gently score the fish long way and cross ways with a sharp knife (forming large diamonds). Do not cut through the center bone.

Pour or brush olive oil in between scored crevices.  Season the scored crevices with salt, pepper, garlic powder and your choice of spices. 

Create a large ball of silver foil and stuff into the open base cavity of the snapper so that it will stand up firmly on an oiled cookie sheet. Cook at 325 degrees for 45 minutes; rotate fish then check in another 20 minutes for doneness.

Serve with your choice of dipping sauce.

Serves 8-10 

Creamy Coastal Seafood Pasta Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup olive or vegetable oil

1 pound peeled deveined 21-25 count shrimp

1 pound of large scallops

1 pound diced filet of white fish (grouper, snapper, etc)

1 pound spiny lobster tail- uncooked and removed from tail, diced

6 vine ripe tomatoes, diced

2 Bermuda onions, julienned

1 roasted red pepper, cleaned and diced

¼ pound basil-leaves, picked and rough chopped

2 quarts heavy cream

½ Cup chopped fresh garlic

One bottle (650ml) chardonnay

Kosher salt

6 bunches curly parsley, washed, dried and finely chopped

3 lbs pasta (consider penne, cheese tortellini, cheese ravioli) ~ cooked al dente (just under cooked).This  keeps its texture and firmness while resting in the seafood sauce.

Preparation:

In a large saucepan, cover the whole surface area with a mild olive oil or vegetable oil.  Heat on high until almost smoking.

Put all seafood in the hot pan. Sauté until cooked on one side and turn all seafood over.

Add garlic, onions and tomatoes on top of seafood. Cook for about 8 minutes. Stir ingredients and add wine. Bring to a boil, turn heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes – to cook out alcohol.

Add basil, red pepper and heavy cream. Add roughly a small handful of kosher salt TO TASTE.

Simmer on medium heat to reduce by a quarter of original amount.

Add pasta and stir in chopped parsley. 

Serves 8-10

Chocolate Bourbon Bread Pudding Recipe

Ingredients: 

16 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 vanilla beans

1qt. heavy whipping cream

Plain white bread (baguettes)

2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup brown sugar

1-1/2 cup bourbon 

8oz whole unsalted butter

Preparation: 

Combine yolks, sugar, seeded vanilla beans, and cream in a whisking 

bowl and whisk until mixed well.

Grease baking pan or casserole with butter.

Dice bread in 3/4 in. cubes and fill pan.

Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of bread.

Pour liquid mixture over bread and work well until absorbed.

Set pan in refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight to macerate.

Preheat oven to 350, cover pan with aluminum foil and bake 45min-1hr 

until it reaches a cake like consistency.

Bourbon sauce

On medium heat in a sauce pan, dissolve brown sugar in bourbon. Be 

careful, bourbon may flambé. When sugar is dissolved, take off heat and whisk in remaining butter.

Drizzle over top of Bread Pudding.

Serves 10