Malted Milk Ice Cream

I have to warn you now, I've fallen in love with malted milk powder treats over the past few months. I found myself flagging a new recipe every few weeks, there are at least 5 or 6 on my list right now. The only problem? I kept forgetting to buy malt powder, which was sort of a key ingredient. Finally, I added it to my shopping list recently - sadly, if it's not written down on a list, I don't remember much these days. I haven't stopped baking since since I brought the malt powder home and I am loving everything it touches. I'll space them out so you're not all malted-out, but don't be surprised to see more malt desserts in the not-too-distant future.

This malted milk ice cream was the first thing I tried, and is probably my favorite (among the malt treats) to date. Even David Lebovitz, king of all things ice cream, mentions that when he was testing recipes for the book, he gave away a lot of ice cream, but this flavor was the one he kept for himself. The malt flavor is hard to describe - sort of mildly sweet, but it's distinctive in this simple ice cream and transforms it into something really delicious. Malted milk balls are folded into the ice cream at the end, and they reinforce the malt flavor as well as add texture. The ice cream is really good without them though so feel free to omit if you're not a fan.



PS - I had to search a few stores to find the malt powder.  Eventually, I came across Carnation brand. (here's what the container might look like).  King Arthur Flour also sells it if you plan ahead.  (Not a paid advertisement, just trying to be helpful :) )

PPS - No ice cream maker? You can still make ice cream at home using this method from David Lebovitz.

Malted Milk Ice Cream
adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovtiz

2 cups heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup (90 g) malt powder
1 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
pinch of salt
6 large egg yolks
1 cup malted milk balls, coarsely chopped

Whisk the heavy cream, vanilla and malt powder in a large heatproof bowl and set a mesh strainer over the bowl.  Combine the half-and-half, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan and heat just until warm.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks in a heatproof bowl. Slowly add the warm milk mixture to the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Pour back into the saucepan and set over medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (about 170-175 F on an instant read thermometer). Pour through the strainer into the malt powder mixture and stir to combine.

Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled (overnight is good). Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.  As you transfer the ice cream to an airtight container, fold in the chopped malted milk balls.  Store in your freezer.

Cola-Braised Pot Roast with Vegetables

I can't believe we've nearly reached the end of Emeril's One-Pot Blogger Cooking Party. Today I'm sharing my 8th post; if you're curious about the first 7, you can find them here. This cola-braised pot roast almost didn't happen. When the book first arrived, Shane placed little blue sticky flags on about 20 recipes he was interested in, and the pot roast didn't make the cut. But as I sat deciding what to make for my final few posts this week, I kept coming back to it. It was easy, and I had almost all of the ingredients on hand - two critical factors in menu planning for me. I asked Shane why he hadn't flagged it, and it turned out he wasn't exactly sure what pot roast was, so he'd skipped over it. Goes to show you how often I make pot roast around here :) Once I explained the dish to him, he was completely onboard.





The recipe called for a 4 pound boneless beef chuck roast, but with just two of us, I bought one that was 2.5 pounds instead. I scaled back the other ingredients accordingly as well. You start by cutting small slits in the roast and filling them with a paste made from salt, garlic and thyme (which I subbed for rosemary since I already had it in the fridge). The meat is browned then braised in a combination of cola and beef stock for 3 - 3 1/2 hours, until it's fork tender. Vegetables are added to the pot for the last hour or so of the cooking period - Emeril suggested onions, potatoes, parsnips, carrots and celery. I love parsnips, but didn't find them in the store I went to for the roast and was too short on time to drive around to other stores, so they were omitted. I also made mashed potatoes to serve on the side instead of tossing the potatoes in with the meat. The final step in the recipe was to thicken the cooking liquid to make a gravy but I skipped it. I'm starting to think I'm the only one (this is especially evident at Thanksgiving), but I don't like gravy and the meat was plenty flavorful without it.



We shredded the meat before serving it and while I ran upstairs to take a few pictures, I told Shane to dig in. When I came down a few minutes later he was back with a clean plate looking for more! Needless to say, the dish was well received. I don't make pot roast often enough to offer any comparisons about whether the cola really added any sweetness or flavor that would have been missing had we just used stock. Guess I might need to do some more research this winter, I'm pretty sure Shane wouldn't complain.

I can't share the recipe unfortunately, but Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders was released on Tuesday and is now available for purchase if you're interested!  We've really been enjoying the recipes we've tried so I highly recommend it.  Also, just a reminder - I'm giving away a set of Flame Table Art by Emeril from Zak Designs.  You can find more details and enter the giveaway here.

{Disclaimer: I received a free copy of Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders in exchange for participating in the party. All of the opinions expressed are mine alone.}

Step-by-Step Chocolate Croissants

When I worked in Boston, there was an Au Bon Pain in the lobby of my building. On particularly rough days I'd sneak down at around 3pm and grab my favorite snack at the time, one of their chocolate croissants. This was before I started cooking or baking at all, so that croissant was a real treat, and I didn't think it could get any better than that. Then last year I attempted homemade croissants for the first time and realized I was wrong. Warm homemade croissants fresh from the oven were about a thousand times better than the ones that had been sitting in the store all day, and cheaper too :)

When I wrote that post, and decided to include step-by-step photos, I had no idea how well-received it would be. The emails I've received from readers telling me they successfully baked croissants at home too just make my day. I've been wanting to make chocolate croissants for a while now, and decided to again include process photos since I used a completely different recipe than last time. I'm by no means an expert, I'm just showing you what worked for me. Hopefully a few more people will discover the joy of homemade croissants!



I chose to make these croissants on pretty much the worst day possible. The skies were overcast so there was little to no light for the process pictures, and the humidity was about 99.9% which meant the butter just wanted to melt all over the counter, no matter how many times I stuck it back in the fridge to chill it. Still, despite the trying conditions, these turned out better than I could ever have dreamed. Golden brown and slightly crisp on the outside, which yielded to the most delicious buttery, flaky interior. And of course, there was the chocolate! It melted perfectly in the oven (thankfully without escaping the croissants) and really took these croissants to the next level. I made half of mine with milk chocolate and half with bittersweet. I am a milk chocolate girl all the way, but in these croissants, I was surprised to discover that I really preferred the bittersweet. These were heavenly warm from the oven, but with a quick zap in the microwave the next day we still enjoyed them a lot.



I actually think these chocolate croissants are a tiny bit easier than the original recipe I shared last year for two reasons. First, I liked the method for making the butter square better in this recipe. I definitely struggled a lot less than I did the first time I made croissants. Also, these chocolate croissants have a rectangular shape as opposed to a crescent shape, and it doesn't get much more simple than a rectangle. Both recipes are long, but a majority of the time involved is hands-off just waiting for the dough to chill and proof. As I mentioned the last time I made croissants, I don't think the process is incredibly difficult as long as you take your time and go step-by-step. There's no question in my mind the end result is worth the effort, I still think homemade croissants are one of the most delicious treats to ever emerge from my kitchen :)

PS - if you have questions, feel free to leave them in the comments, or email me at traceysculinaryadventures@gmail.com

Step-by-Step Chocolate Croissants
from Baking Illustrated

Dough
3 cups (15 oz) all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1/4 cup (1 3/4 oz) sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cups cold whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Butter Square
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

8 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 large egg, lightly beaten (for egg wash)

To make the dough: In a medium bowl, whisk 2 3/4 cups of the flour with the yeast, sugar and salt.  Add the milk to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.  Add the dry ingredients and turn to the mixer to low, beating until the dough comes together in a rough ball, about 4 minutes.



Add the pieces of butter and continue kneading until the butter is completely incorporated, about 5-6 minutes.  The dough will still be sticky, but should form a rough ball and mostly clear the sides of the bowl (if you make bread regularly, this dough will be more sticky than you're used to and won't clear the sides of the bowl as fully as a typical yeast bread).  If it's too sticky, add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.





Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap.



Wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

To make the butter square: Place the pieces of butter on your work surface and sprinkle the flour over the top of them.



Use a bench scraper to smear the butter/flour mixture back and forth against the work surface.



Continue until the mixture is uniform and smooth.  Gather in a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a 7-inch square.



Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface.  Roll into an 11-inch square, lifting and turning as you go to make sure the dough isn't sticking.  Place the chilled butter square diagonally in the center of the dough.



Lift each of the four corners of the dough up and over the butter square.



It's fine if they don't meet exactly, just pinch them together to seal completely.



Use your rolling pin to gently tap the dough, starting in the center and going outward, until square gets larger and the butter begins to soften slightly.  Roll the dough into a 14-inch square, flouring your work surface and rolling pin as necessary to ensure the dough isn't sticking.  (no idea why I chose to roll it diagonally over my parchment...)



Fold one side of the dough to the center and then bring the other side up and over it - basically, you're folding the dough like you would a business letter.  This is also called a "turn" of the dough.







Complete a second turn by folding the top half of the dough down to the center and then bringing the bottom up and over it.





Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.



Repeat the process above (roll into a 14-inch square and fold like a business letter twice) to complete 2 more turns of the dough.  Again, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface, and roll into a 20-inch square (flour as necessary to make sure it's not sticking).  Cut the dough into 4 equal 10-inch squares.



Cut each of those squares into 3 rectangles (about 10 x 3 1/4-inches each) - you should have a total of 12 rectangles.



Add about 1 tablespoon (about 1/2-oz) of chopped chocolate to the center of each rectangle.



Fold the top of the rectangle over the chocolate and down to the center, then lift the bottom up and over it (again, we're folding it like it's a business letter).





Transfer to the prepared baking sheets, seam-side down.  Try to keep the croissants horizontal as you move them so the chocolate doesn't spill out the sides.  Also, you can see on mine I have a little flap sticking out the side - that flap will get bigger as the croissants rise and puff so you can try to hide it under the croissant a little better than I did to avoid that.



Loosely cover the croissant with plastic wrap and let them rise at room temperature for 45-60 minutes, or until they're puffy (they won't necessarily double in size).  While they're rising, preheat oven to 400 F with racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven.

Brush the croissants with the egg wash then bake for 18-22 minutes, or until they are golden brown, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the halfway point.  Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let the croissants cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.  They're best warm, but will keep for a few days at room temperature if tightly wrapped.  I zapped mine for 15-ish seconds in the microwave on the 2nd day to enjoy it warm.

Makes 12 croissants

TWD: Flip-Over Plum Cake

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was selected by Becky of Project Domestication. Dorie described this cake best when she said it has "down-home, not-in-the-least-fussy-good-looks." It's the kind of cake you might make when you have last minute dinner guests and need a quick, but delicious, dessert. It's so easy you can whip it up even if you're in the midst of preparing pulled pork in your slow cooker and jambalaya on your stove top.  Usually attempting a dessert when my kitchen is already bustling with activity is a recipe for disaster but not this one.  



Italian prune plums are tossed with sugar, cinnamon, coriander, and ginger and set aside to macerate while a quick batter is thrown together with just a bowl and whisk.  The batter is poured into a baking dish on top of hot melted butter and the fruit is scattered over the top.  Into the oven it goes, where the fruit settles to the bottom and the batter rises to cover it.  I halved the recipe and baked it in an oval baking dish, which was probably a tad too small, but it worked out nonetheless. 



(Random side note - we registered for these colorful bowls when we got married almost 5 years ago and they're still my favorite.  Love the variety of sizes and the pop of color, they make me happy!)

This isn't the kind of cake you slice into neat pieces - the texture is soft and it's best dished out with a big spoon and topped with vanilla ice cream.  I was a little wary - Dorie used the word "pudding" to describe the cake, and that texture didn't sound appealing to me, but I wound up loving it.  The moist, buttery cake sitting on the sweet, juicy plums was such a delicious combination.  It almost reminded me of a cobbler-type dessert.  I sent most of the cake home with my mom and my stepfather emailed me less than 12 hours later to say he'd finished it already and that it was outstanding.  I think it'd work with a variety of fruits and I definitely plan to make it again to find out!



Many thanks to Becky for hosting! She'll share the recipe for the plum cake on her blog today or you can find it on page 42 of Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

I think I told you guys that I spent the past week house sitting for Shane's parents.  If not, I did :)  I kept busy by cooking and baking up a storm the entire time I was there.  You'd be surprised how productive you can be in the kitchen when you don't have to worry about cooking meals (I mostly ate raw veggies and a few things I'd made ahead of time to bring with me and stick in the freezer for quick dinners), running errands or cleaning (aside from the giant mess you make in the kitchen every day).  Remember when I mentioned that my folder of draft blog posts was full of savory items, but shockingly low on sweet treats?  Yeah, I remedied that problem big time last week.  I now have so many delicious things to share in the coming weeks - honestly, it was tough to decide what to start with today.



But, in the end, the combination of peanut butter and chocolate won, as it so often does.  The only thing better than combining peanut butter and chocolate dessert is putting them together in a coffee cake you can justify eating for breakfast :)



I made a giant 13x9 pan of this coffee cake instead of scaling back as I so often do.  I kept a slice (or two) out for myself, wrapped the rest and stuck it in the freezer for Shane's parents to enjoy over time now that they're back.  Needless to say, they'll be eating coffee cake for many, many weeks.  Hopefully they won't mind, as this cake was fantastic!  There's peanut butter in both the cake and the topping so it's not short on peanut butter flavor.  The cake had a great light, tender texture, which was contrasted by the sweet, crunchy topping.  My favorite part was easily the topping, but to be fair, I can't really remember a time when a sweet, streusel-like topping wasn't the best part of a cake for me. It is pretty rich, so it'd make a great dessert too if you prefer something a little lighter for breakfast.

 

I capped off my week at Shane's parents by attending his cousin's wedding. Shane had come down to meet up with me and his parents were home from their trip so we all went together. I don't usually talk about most of the weddings we attend, but we really enjoyed this one and most importantly, the food was fantastic! The wedding was held at a farm and had (what I would describe as) a great casual chic vibe that resonated through every detail. (excuse the iphone photo quality)





During the cocktail hours, hot hors d'oeuvres were passed and we ate so many I don't know how we had any room left for our meal. There were little slices of sweet potato topped with pulled pork, scallops wrapped in bacon, short rib sliders, and little mugs of chowder with a clam cake perched on top (among others!). No photos of them unfortunately, but they were beyond delicious. As for the meal itself, stations were set up and again, there was so much food we didn't get to try it all. I really wanted to sample the risotto, but after having visited the carving station as well as the salad one, it didn't happen. I hear it was good though!





The bride and groom skipped a traditional wedding cake and instead we were treated to a pie buffet complete with apple, blueberry, pumpkin and chocolate pecan. Vanilla ice cream too, of course. As if that weren't enough, as the night went on, the servers walked around with little nibbles to snack on, including red velvet whoopie pies, cheesecake pops and little shot glasses of ice cream topped with chocolate chip cookies. It's a good thing we did a lot of dancing to burn some calories because we definitely stuffed ourselves :)

As much as we loved the food, Shane's favorite part of the wedding was the whiskey and cigar table. Though it's a very occasional treat, he loves a small glass of scotch and a cigar, so this blew his mind. He was definitely kicking himself for not thinking of that for our wedding...



Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
adapted from Suite101 (via The Food Librarian) 

Topping
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used a combination of milk chocolate and semisweet)

Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Spray a 13x9 baking pan with cooking spray.

To make the topping: Stir the brown sugar and flour together in a medium bowl, breaking up any lumps of brown sugar.  Add the peanut butter and melted butter, stirring until the mixture is crumbly.  Mix in the chocolate chips then set aside.

To make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the peanut butter and butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth.  Add the brown sugar and continue beating on medium until the mixture is light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  With the mixer on low alternately add the dry ingredients and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and beating just until combined.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.  Sprinkle the topping evenly over the cake.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

Stir-Fried Squid with Chili Sauce and a Giveaway!

For this, my 7th dish for Emeril's One-Pot Blogger Cooking Party, I decided to step WAY outside of my comfort zone.  Shane and I are both fans of squid, but I've never cooked it myself.  Now seemed as good a time as any to give it a shot.  The other unknown here was just how hot the dish would be.  With chili sauce in the title and two different kinds of chili among the items on the ingredient list, I suspected it would be intense.  I'm sort of a wimp when it comes to spicy foods but we were both excited about this one so we threw caution to the wind :)



I wasn't sure how to buy the squid (calamari); a quick bit of research seemed to indicate that frozen was the way to go.  Many times if squid is available at the seafood counter at your store it's been previously frozen anyway.  I found mine at Whole Foods, but later saw it at several other grocery stores, so it wasn't a tricky ingredient to source.  When I opened the package, the squid were already separated into bodies and tentacles, so there wasn't much work to do.  I simply rinsed them before I threw them into the pan.



This recipe is in the wok section of Emeril's new book, and like many stir-fried dishes, it came together super fast.  Once the ingredients were prepped, it took less than 10 minutes to cook.  We sampled a few bites of the squid straight from the pan and they were good - tender and not chewy or rubbery.  After adding the remaining ingredients in the stir-fry and the sauce, though, this was probably our least favorite among the dishes we've tried from the book.  For me, there was just way too much heat - I couldn't enjoy the other flavors at all.  Shane thought the level of heat was ok, but couldn't get past all of the cabbage.  Obviously these are personal preferences and not necessarily problems with the recipe so if you like spicy foods and cabbage, you'll probably have better results :)



And now for the fun part - a GIVEAWAY!  Today you have a chance to win a set of Flame Table Art by Emeril from Zak Designs.  The set includes 7 red serving dishes which can be arranged in several configurations - they'd be really fun for snacks or appetizers at a party.  Had I not had so much fun at a wedding last night (more on that tomorrow) and totally slept in today (oops) I'd have taken pictures to show you, but here's one from Zak's site!  The dishes are stackable so they're easy to store when not in use too.



Sound good??  To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post!  I'd love to hear your best tip for entertaining, if you're inclined to share.

To Receive Bonus Entries (you must leave a separate comment for each)

1.  Like Zak! on Facebook
2.  Follow Tracey's Culinary Adventures on Twitter
3.  Like Tracey's Culinary Adventures on Facebook

{Note: if you already do any of these things, that counts too, just leave a comment for each one telling me.}

Comments on this giveaway will close on Friday, September 30, 2011 at 11 pm EST. A winner will be chosen using random.org. The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only (sorry!). Good luck!

**Updated: Comments are now closed. Winner will be announced on October 1!**

Congratulations to commenter #22, Tara! Hope you enjoy your flame serving dishes! Thank you to everyone who entered.