Ice Cream Sandwiches

Sometimes I get ideas. And they're usually the sort that send other people running in the other direction, back towards sanity. This is when I usually take a 20 minute nap and then dive straight into the project I've come up with. These ice cream sandwiches are one of the latest ideas, hatched with exactly 40 minutes to go until heading to Nic's for a homemade pizza and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" night. Dessert was my responsibility.

After my 20 minute nap, I ran into the kitchen and flicked on the oven. Whizzed together in a food processor and baked in under 10 minutes, these had me out the door, tubs of ice cream and beer in hand about 25 minutes later.

These cookies are good- great chocolate taste and sturdy, though I wish they had been a little softer. I guess that just means I'll have to do another experiment. I used coffee ice cream and raspberry sorbet, but any flavor you like with chocolate would be great.

Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies
Makes 24
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, and Retro Desserts

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room- temperature, unsalted butter

1 large egg

1.  Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.

2.  In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass. (I needed a little drizzle of water to help the dough come together- about 1/4 cup)

3.  Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.

Strawberry Limeade Sorbet

Strawberries; I just can't quit you. As good as ice cream sounds, sorbet is even easier. And dare I say, healthier? No cream, no custard to cook and then cool. Just fruit, water and whiiiiiirrrrrr.

The thought of any food requiring oven or stove top preparation at this point is unbearable. Thank god for attachments that help the Kitchen Aid transition from a winter bake-aholic to a summer sorbet factory. Though if you are not equipped with an ice cream machine, you could easily make your own popsicles.


Strawberry Limeade Sorbet
Yields 6-8 polite dinner party servings, or one huge bowl

1 pound fresh strawberries
3/4 cup sugar
2 limes
1 lemon
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon melon flavored vodka, or alcohol of your choice

1. Hull/slice strawberries straight into the bowl of a food processor. Add sugar, and the juice of the limes and lemon, plus zest if you will. Add a tablespoon of alcohol of your choosing to prevent it from freezing solid.

2. Puree it all together. If you are abhorred by the idea of those little strawberry seeds getting stuck in your teeth, you can press through a sieve to remove them, but be sure to stir in zest AFTER that step. Let chill for an hour or so.

3. Set up ice cream maker and whir up your sorbet according to instructions. Or pour mixture into popsicle molds or plastic cups with sticks for ease of handling.

4. Let set in the freezer for an hour. Enjoy the refreshing relief!

Basics: Oven-Fried Chicken Fingers

Another installment of our (very) occasional series on basics, staple recipes every cook should have in their arsenal.

It's been a while since my last McNugget or dino-shaped "Now with more cardboard!"finger food. Atlanta's favorite chikin eating cows reign supreme, delivering us from bland, dry chicken bricks but unfortunately causing a heated nuggets vs. strips debate. Today, I prove that we can leave all that mess behind and shake n' bake our way to healthy, scrumptious fingers of chicken. Because the only dinosaur-shaped food I plan on eating is genetically reconstituted pterodactyl.

These succulent and healthy fingers comes from a cookbook entirely devoted to chicken, which also just happens to SMELL like chicken. In a good way.

This recipe is the only reason we have a box of corn flakes. It's been going strong for over two years.

BONUS: They travel quite well, and are known for making frequent picnic and Screen on the Green appearances.

Oven-Fried Chicken Fingers
Adapted from Cooking Light Chicken

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breast, sliced into finger
1 cup milk (optional: low-fat buttermilk)
1 1/2 cups corn flakes
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil

1. Pour milk over chicken pieces in a bowl. Cover and chill for at least 10 minutes. In big zip-top plastic bag, crush corn flakes. Add bread crumbs, thyme, paprika and a few grinds of fresh black pepper.

2. Preheat oven to 400°. Spread oil evenly on a jelly roll pan.

3. Drain the milk from the chicken. Pop three or four pieces in the coating bag and shake to coat. Repeat with remaining chicken, arranging fingers on the pan in a single layer as you go.

4. Bake fingers for five minutes, then turn and bake five minutes on the other side. Serve with simple honey mustard. Lick fingers clean.


Honey Mustard

Honey
Mustard [whole grain, spicy brown or variety of your choice]

1. Mix

My First Crawfish Boil

It started innocently enough. A trip to the burbs, a beer, a cooler of live squirming animals to murder. FIVE 20-gallon buckets of spicy crawfish, corn, garlic, mushrooms and potatoes later, I knew better.

Thank god for the Brigade of Pastel-Clad Southern Gentlemen who taught us the proper way to suck the head and eat the tail. We are grateful to these fine fellows.

Dear husband may have let the spiciness go to his head. Master chefs reuse the cooking water from each batch, making each successive haul more and more flavorful.

ICED!

Lost Mango Sorbet

Right after every sci-fi dork's favorite show came to an end, dear husband and I spent a weekend on a desserted island. Get it, 'desserted'? Ha! But seriously, we did go camping on the decidedly un-deserted Jekyll Island, where I sported some crazy Claire hair and pretended to run away from polar bears.

Thank god we didn't suffer through six long years of Lost like everyone else. No, instead we spent the entire month of January holed up with the soft glow of Island strife on screen. In our hibernation we caught up on five full season of mythology and mind games. So to commemorate the end of an [albeit short] era, I whipped up some fare the castaways would have appreciated, baring a supply drop from the Dharma Initiative.

Mango Sorbet
Adapted from Chocolate & Zucchini

2 large ripe mangoes, pitted and peeled to yield about 350g of flesh
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
Lime zest
Fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon of peach schnapps [or dark rum, ]
A pinch of salt

1. Find the easiest way to get the flesh off the mangos without the peel or the hard, fibrous pit. You might try peeling it first, then scraping off the orange flesh. Or cut off the flesh and scrape it off the peel. Your choice, but aim for at least 350g.

2. Puree the mango with the water, sugar, lime juice, zest, alcohol and salt in either a blender or food processor. Cool in the refrigerator for an hour or so.

3. Have your ice cream maker work its magic on the mixture. Once it sets up, transfer to the freezer for a few more hours of solidifying. Don't worry, the alcohol will prevent it from becoming rock hard.

Strawberry Chocolate Icebox Cake

I don't trust strawberries. 99% of the time they are too tart for my taste, all except for three weeks of the year. So for those three weeks, I am a fiend. But what to do with them after you've exhausted strawberry shortcake? I'm all for no-bake desserts after the clock strikes Memorial Day. And wow, the Icebox Cake is now firmly canonized thanks to the magical tiramisu-like transformation worked upon its ordinary ingredients.

This is how you hull a strawberry. There is debate about whether this step is necessary, and I admit it probably isn't in the case here.

I found a spring form pan to be helpful, but certainly not required. Frankly, I just need to keep trotting this pan out to justify its nine inch existence in my tiny cupboards.


This is an incredibly flexible recipe that can hold nearly any flavor. Not to mention it's fairly low-carb and low-sugar for those of us with an uncooperative pancreas. At least in comparison to the brownies I threatened to make.

Strawberry Chocolate Icebox Cake

Pint of strawberries
Filling of your choice (I used a whole package of sugar-free chocolate pudding and a half pint of fresh whipped cream)
Graham crackers or thin cookie wafers (like Deb's)
Chocolate ganache or garnish of your choice (optional)

1. Wash, hull (if desired) and thinly slice strawberries. Whip cream or prepare pudding as directed.

2. Choose your vessel: a spring form pan, a pie plate or baker. Start with a layer of Graham crackers. Then a layer of pudding and a sprinkle of sliced strawberries. Repeat until you reach the top of your vessel. Drizzle with ganache or add a better looking garnish.

3. Allow the icebox to work its magic for a minimum of two hours. Eight is better, 24 is best. The crackers will completely soften and dissolve into the pudding or cream to create a delicious spongey, cakey texture.

Tomatillo, Mango and Black Bean Salsa

My memories around vacations are usually tangled up with the meals I ate. What better time to bust out of whatever food rut you've been in and find what's fresh somewhere new. To really take your time and cook whatever has been lurking in the back of your mind. And to let others take over and show you something new.

The most recent vacation I took was centered on meals, because there were several great cooks in our midst. We were also on the Gulf Shores of Florida, which meant some of the best seafood I've eaten in a long time- fresh oysters (still learning to like), shrimp, blue crabs that I CAUGHT all on my own. Our host, A's mom, not only encouraged all of us to successfully crash a wedding but introduced me to this raw tomatillo, mango and black bean salsa that ended up in coming back home with me. There are all kinds of applications for this salsa- with chips, alone, in shrimp or fish tacos, with grilled meats. Don't be afraid of raw tomatillos- pick bright green, firms ones. They have a refreshing, slightly tart flavor that is summer. 

  

We did actually crash a wedding. But that pales in comparison to what happened recently. How could I not mention the oil spill?

Tomatillo, Mango and Black Bean Salsa

Makes around 3 cups

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

3 tomatillos, husks removed and chopped

1 ripe mango, seeded and chopped

a few tablespoons of chopped cilantro- to your liking

Salt

Lime Juice

1. Combine all ingredients.

2. I realize this isn't a real recipe- its a method and suggestion of ingredients. You combine as little or as much as you like. One of the secrets of good cooks are that they taste and taste and taste until they like what they get. And then get really good at memorizing and knowing how ingredients combine in quantity. And taste some more. Oh, and pull out the salt shaker.