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Posts Tagged ‘dessert’

Chocolate-banana ice cream: Experiment No. 4

Posted in Eats, Photographs, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on July 26, 2011| Leave a Comment »

This version of the sugar-free frozen banana ice cream that I’ve been toying with all summer (see Experiments 1, 2 and 3) is the best yet. Seriously, it will change your life. Or at least the mid-afternoon snack portion of your life.

I found the recipe while browsing Pinterest, a “virtual pinboard” that lets you post photos of awesome stuff you find on the web. Better yet, Pinterest lets you see things that other folks have found, leading you into a scavenger hunt of awesomeness that is reminiscent of the Internet circa 1996.

Anyway, I traced the original recipe back to here, although it seems to have originated from a Tumbler blog that’s no longer in existence. Sorry, rouxeats.

Cut up a ripe banana, freeze the slices, dump them in a food processor with 2 tbsp. cocoa powder and you have a delicious, if weird, rendition of chocolate-banana ice cream. Those beige pieces you see in the photograph above are bits of peanuts; because I famously cannot leave well enough alone, I threw in probably 3 tbsp. of peanuts. DO THIS.

It was so delicious that the husband ate the two bites I offered him and noted that, perhaps, his earlier derision of the mixture as “frozen banana mush” was a bit shortsighted. He wants back in on the banana ice cream experiment.

Next up: Nutella banana ice cream.

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Peanut butter-banana ice cream: Experiment No. 3

Posted in Eats, tagged , , , , , on July 3, 2011| 1 Comment »

After the grand pineapple-rum-banana ice cream failure, I was hesitant to add anything new to my frozen banana ice cream, but curiosity won.

After returning from a long weekend drive, I wanted peanut butter. I also wanted banana ice cream.

I was afraid the addition of peanut butter (not even an entire tablespoon) would make the bananas mushy, but instead, the frozen banana slices seemed to freeze the peanut butter during the processing. The bananas and peanut butter ended up with the same texture.

I will be making this again.

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Pineapple-rum-banana ice cream: Experiment No. 2

Posted in Eats, tagged , , , , , , on June 21, 2011| 2 Comments »

I figured out what you can’t add to banana puree ice cream: 1 ounce of cachaca and most of a 4-ounce cup of pineapple chunks.

A friend suggested adding rum and pineapple to the ice cream, and it seemed like such a great idea that I immediately refrigerated the pineapple and inspected the rum supply, which was running unexpectedly low. I grabbed the bottle of cachaca instead, since it’s very similar to rum.

The combination completely ruined the texture of the final product, but I’m the only person in the house who enjoyed a refreshing bowl of banana-pineapple daiquiri for dinner.

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Strawberries + white chocolate = new summer cookies

Posted in CSA, Eats, Photographs, tagged , , , , , , , on June 18, 2011| 1 Comment »

Even after making jam, I had at least a quart of strawberries left yesterday. Enter Facebook, where one of my friends had recently posted a recipe for White Chocolate and Strawberry Cookies. They were reported to be pink and delicious, and while I’m no great fan of pink food, I am quite fond of all things delicious.

The dough turned out a bit thinner than most cookie dough I’ve worked with — I think it’s difficult to add strawberries to some foods without watering them down. Thus, the cookies spread out a bit during baking more than I would have liked, but they were still delicious.

They have more of a cake-like texture than your average cookie, and the white chocolate chips almost make them cloyingly sweet, but not quite. I’m tempted to make them without the chips, but I don’t think the strawberry flavor will shine on its own.

I used the shorter baking temperature for softer cookies.

White Chocolate Chip and Strawberry Cookies

1 1/2 cups strawberries, cleaned
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Clean, trim, and slice berries.
  3. Crush strawberries with a potato masher. (You should end up with 3/4 cup of crushed strawberries.) Leave some larger chunks if desired; set berries aside.
  4. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars.
  5. Beat in one egg at a time.
  6. In a separate bowl whisk flour, salt and baking powder.
  7. Add dry mixture to creamed mixture, about 1/2 a cup at a time.
  8. When well mixed, slowly add berries, about 1/4 cup at a time, while mixing at the same time, ensuring berries are spread well throughout.
  9. Add the white chocolate chips and stir to combine evenly throughout batter.
  10. Drop batter in tablespoons about 1-inch apart on a greased baking sheet.
  11. Bake at 350 degrees for 11 to 12 minutes for soft cookies, or up to a maximum of about 14-15 minutes for crunchier cookies, watching the edges to ensure they are lightly browned.
  12. Cool on wire racks.

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Coffee-banana ice cream: Experiment No. 1

Posted in Eats, tagged , , , , , , on June 16, 2011| 1 Comment »

I finally had time for my first experimental batch of the easy-to-make frozen banana ice cream that’s gone viral. I added about a tablespoon of cold coffee (I had refrigerated the dregs from the coffee pot) before I whirled the frozen banana slices around in the food processor. It was absolutely delicious.

I used the food processor attachment that came with my immersion blender this time. It’s got a very small bowl, so it hasn’t been very useful in the past, but it was just the right size for this job. Especially given that the husband doesn’t want any part of this dessert.

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That frozen banana ice cream thing? It works.

Posted in Eats, tagged , , , , , , , on June 5, 2011| 3 Comments »

I was slightly skeptical that a frozen pureed banana would emerge from the food processor and actually resemble ice cream, but I couldn’t ignore the numerous posts that have been making the Internet rounds. When a friend posted this one on my Facebook page a couple of weeks ago, I knew I had to run my own experiment.

It totally worked. After whirling frozen banana slices for about one minute in the food processor, I took off the lid to reveal a clumpy-looking concoction that really did have the consistency of ice cream when I tasted it.

Totally worth it, especially given my revulsion for bananas that have slightly exceeded their perfect level of ripeness.

Now I’m contemplating additions, like a hint of cinnamon and maybe a spoonful or two of walnuts. And chocolate. Definitely something chocolate.

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Sweet alternative for using sweet potatoes

Posted in CSA, Eats, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 21, 2010| 4 Comments »

True confession: I have never liked sweet potato casserole, that impostor of a side dish that shows up on the table every year at Thanksgiving. It always seemed more fitting as a dessert, but it in no way could compare to the pecan, egg custard or chocolate pie that sat in the kitchen waiting for the turkey to be cleared.

Sweet potatoes are put to much better use in pies; sweet potato pie, after all, tastes astoundingly like pumpkin pie.

(more…)

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