September 12, 2007

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream Recipe - Flavor of the Month

September 12, 2007/ Marta M. Darby

Marta's cuban american kitchen

This was the noisiest dessert we've ever had.  Every spoonful brought on another chorus of:

"Ay! Que rico!!"

"Umph.. oohsh! Thith ish mmlishous!"

I think there were prayers of thanksgiving offered, too:

"Oh. My. God."

I am "sandpapering myself" (dandome lija) just a bit here.

Success!

Homemade Dulce de Leche Ice Cream Recipe

1 can Dulce de Leche
2 cups heavy cream 
1 cup milk 
1/2 cup sugar 
6 large egg yolks

Dulce de leche ice cream 1

1) In a medium heavy saucepan, combine: 3/4 cup dulce de leche, the cream, milk, and sugar.

2) Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. When it just starts to boil, remove from heat.

3) Beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl.

Dulce de leche de ice cream 2

4) Whisk 1 cup of the hot cream mixture slowly into the eggs.

5) Now, slowly add this egg mixture back into the original pan of hot cream in a slow stream.

6) Cook over medium/low heat, stirring occasionally, until it thickens (about 5 minutes).

Dulce de leche ice cream 3

7) Remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl.

8) Cover with plastic wrap, pressing down to keep skin from forming.

9) Refrigerate until well chilled - about 2 hours.

Dulce de leche ice cream 4

10) Remove from refrigerator and pour into the bowl of an ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.

11) When the ice cream is nearly completely thickened, spoon in the remaining 1/4 cup dulce de leche to create a swirl in the ice cream.

12) Transfer to airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.

Dulce de leche ice cream 5

13) Brace yourself for the noisy compliments that will inevitably follow.

April 21, 2007

Get REAL.

April 21, 2007/ Marta M. Darby

I posted my churro recipe here a couple of days ago. And the people who know stuff about churros also know that it is a sin (maybe not mortal, but certainly venial) to make churros without hot chocolate.

Sorry, my faux pas.

Of course, we make hot chocolate. Spanish (as in, from Spain) Hot Chocolate.

The thick, super-sweet, rich, gooey, consistency-of-pudding type hot chocolate.

But I assumed (incorrectly) that most Americans couldn't handle this delectable Awesomeness of Chocolate. Real chocolate. Real milk. Real sugar. This hot chocolate is not for the faint of heart. And truthfully, we can't make it too often. Don't get me wrong, it is wonderful. It's just sooo rich (and incredibly addicting).

My mom's Mexican caregiver just got back from Mexico and brought me a molinillo - a wooden whisk-like contraption specifically made to froth up chocolate. And I was anxious to try it.

I use Valor chocolate that comes in bar form. I get it from La Tienda. That also happens to be where I got the churro-maker and where I get the very best coffee for Café con Leche.

Marta's Authentic Spanish Hot Chocolate

12 squares Valor Chocolate a la Taza
6 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup water
3 cups whole milk (divided)
1 cup sugar

1) Dissolve the cornstarch in the water.

2) Heat 1 cup of milk in a large saucepan,

3) Break the chocolate pieces into the milk, stirring constantly with a whisk, until the chocolate melts.

4) Add the cornstarch-water mixture to the rest of the milk.

5) Slowly add the sugar to the chocolate.

6) Then add the rest of the milk-cornstarch mixture to the heating chocolate milk.

7) It will take about 8 - 10 minutes for the hot chocolate to thicken up with constant whisking.

Makes about 6 - 1/2 cup servings.

Serve with churros.

I was a little disappointed that I didn't quite get the hang of the molinillo thing. Just too complex for a simple mind like mine, I guess.

But I did find another use for it . . .

March 29, 2007

Crusty Pan Cubano Recipe In My Test Kitchen

March 29, 2007/ Marta M. Darby

Simple logic:

I'm Cuban. I like to eat Cuban food. Therefore I cook.

Since I've started posting my recipes over at Babalú I have been cooking like a mad Cuban woman.

(Much to my family's delight.)

They are all loving that I'm playing Test Kitchen here.

The buzz starts the night before as I'm pulling out something to defrost for the next day.

My sister will call to say that my Tamal en Cazuela Recipe is good, but has too much tomato sauce for her taste. My mom wants me to let her know if I'm going to be making Lechón so that she can bring over some casabe to have with it.

Eric likes the Picadillo Recipe made with ground turkey.

The kids just want to know: Are you cooking Cuban tonight??

But one thing they all agree on:

Make. the. Cuban. Bread.

I have two things in my Cuban American kitchen I cannot live without:

1) my crockpot

2) my bread machine (I love it almost as much as I love my camera & that's saying a lot.)

I have a super simplified recipe for Crusty Cuban Bread that I developed for my bread machine.

My mom calls it Pan de Agua. It has zero fat, has a nice texture and gets a pretty thick crust on it. If you can get over the bread machine shape, you'll find it's close enough to the real thing to enjoy with your crockpotted Cuban food.

There is one small problem - there are never any leftovers for Pan con Lechón Recipe the next day.

So I just have to make another loaf. And another. And another. (sigh) ;-)