Chocolate Malt Milkshake

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Chocolate Malt Shake 1
I was making a smoothie at the end of last summer when I noticed black smoke billowing from the base of our blender. I called Nathan to come and survey the situation and he confirmed that the black smoke was indeed, not normal. As the smell of burning plastic filled my nostrils I whined, “Are you SURE it’s broken?!?” Nathan cast a humoring gaze in my direction before simply saying, “yes dear.”

So, for the past 6 months or so we haven’t had a blender. Fortunately, the blender broke at the end of what I consider to be ‘smoothie season’ so we haven’t missed it much. Once the weather started getting warmer, however, we knew it was time to start looking for a new blender.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned this on the blog before but I am really bad at spending money… The thought of spending a lot of money can put me in a bad mood and sometimes I will go without something that I need simply so that I don’t have to buy it. After reading 1.3 million reviews and deliberating for 2 months I chose a Vitamix. I informed Nathan of this decision with all of the pomp and circumstance with which it deserved and he simply shrugged his shoulders, said “Ok, sounds good.” and went back to playing video games. Finally, after I found an astonishing number of ways to rationalize spending a hefty chunk o’ change on a blender we finally procured said Vitamix and I half danced out of store with visions of sugarplum smoothies and milkshakes dancing around my head.

And so we present to you the product of the maiden voyage of our new Vitamix: the Chocolate Malt Irish Cream milkshake. We made our own chocolate ice cream and then blended it with malt powder, milk, and irish cream for a smooth, thick, rich, and decadent frozen drink. If I may go so far, I would say it’s the perfect milkshake. One of the ways I rationalized buying the Vitamix was promising myself that I would use it alot. Get ready to see an assortment of blended, pureed, whipped, ground, and ‘crumbed’ foods. I know you’re excited.

Chocolate Malt Shake 3

Double Chocolate Ice Cream

From Williams-Sonoma: Ice Cream

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
6 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
1. In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, combine the milk and 1 cup of the cream. Cook over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges of the pan, about 5-7 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks, sugar, cocoa, salt and remaining 1/2 cup of cream in a bowl. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and the sugar begins to dissolve.

3. Remove the milk mixture from the heat. Gradually whisk about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly, until smooth. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and keeping the custard at a low simmer, until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leaves a clear trail when a finger is drawn through it, 4-6 minutes. Do not let the custard boil. Put the 6 ounces of chopped chocolate in a heat-proof bowl and pour the hot custard over it. Stir until the chocolate melts and the custard is smooth. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Add vanilla and stir to combine.

4. Place the bowl into a larger bowl partially filled with ice cubes and water. Stir occasionally until cool. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

5. Pour the custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer the ice cream to freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days before serving.

Chocolate Malt Milkshake

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 cups chocolate ice cream
1/2 cup malted milk powder
1/2-1 cup whole milk
3 ounces Bailey’s Irish cream

Directions:

In the container of a blender, combine the ice cream and malted milk powder. Add the milk, a quarter cup at a time, blending between each addition, until the desired consistency is reached.

Chocolate Malt Shake 2

Flourless Chocolate Cake

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Oh my friends…my dear invisible, internet friends. Have we got a recipe for you! I have made this cake five times in the past two months…seriously, FIVE. Way more than I have made any other cake recipe in my repertoire. I have tested it on Nathan, my family, and several friends and it has the power to stop conversation and focus the mind to one singular thought…chocolate. The first and second times that I made this cake I made a single, plain layer and it was good but it wanted frosting. The second and third times I made it I made two layers and added a fluffy vanilla buttercream and it was even better. For Easter, I took the cake to the next level with a fresh raspberry buttercream. Amazing. The flavors are rich and complex and the cake happens to be gluten free. It is also the easiest cake I have ever made…it can be made, start to finish in around an hour. I just don’t think I can stress how much you, YOU, need to make this. You will gain friends, win over enemies and secure invitations to any dinner party your heart desires…if, of course, you’re willing to bring dessert.

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DSC_1789Katryn’s Wine Paring: Yalumba Shiraz/Viognier 2010, South Australia
Rating: 9.0 out of 10.0

I was intrigued by the Shiraz/Viognier blend and thought the juicy, smooth Shiraz with the sweeter Viognier would work. And this was a spectacular pairing! I took a bite of the cake/raspberry frosting, then a sip of the wine and was totally blown away by how much the flavors of each were deepened and defined. The wine had prominent blueberry and cherry flavors that mingled well with the raspberry flavor and brought out all the complexity of the cake.

DSC_1798Nathan’s Beer Pairing: Gonzo Imperial Porter, Flying Dog Brewery
Rating: 8.5 out of 10.0

For someone who doesn’t particularly care for Stouts or Porters I seem to be drinking a lot of them recently… and enjoying them!  This Imperial Porter from our local Flying Dog Brewery pours an oily black with sweet malty aromas followed up with flavors of chocolate, coffee, and malt.  These flavors are also accompanied with some nice hop bitterness that keeps the flavors from becoming too rich.  This beer paired great with Katryn’s flourless chocolate cake with the sweet malts and chocolate enriching the flavors from the cake while the coffee and hops helped to keep things from getting to heavy.  If you want a dessert match made in beer heaven give this duo a try!

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Flourless Chocolate Cake:

Ingredients:

For the cake:
10 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 ½ cups sugar
6 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. instant espresso powder (optional)
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

For the rasberry buttercream:
1 cup fresh raspberries
2 sticks (½ pound) butter, softened
1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon milk (If you want the cake to be gluten free and lactose free, use lactose free or soy milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

For the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F and butter two 8-inch round baking pans. Line bottoms with rounds of parchment paper or craft paper and butter the paper.

2. Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture.

3. Add eggs, vanilla, and espresso powder (if using) and whisk well. Sift cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined.

4. Pour batter into pans and bake in middle of oven 25 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.

For the rasberry buttercream:

1. Put the raspberries in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat stirring with a spoon until they break down into a sauce.

2. Pour the sauce through a fine mesh strainer to take out the seeds and then allow the sauce to cool completely.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until combined. Add milk, vanilla extract, and the raspberry sauce and continue beating on high until the frosting is thick and light, about 5 minutes.

4. When the cake layers are cooled completely, spread one third of the frosting on top of one layer, and top with the other layer. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining frosting.

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese on Homemade English Muffins

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Homemade English Muffins

“Oh do you know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Do you know the muffin man,
Who lives in Drury Lane?

Oh yes, I know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Yes, I know the muffin man,
Who lives in Drury Lane.”

As of today you can say that indeed you do know the Muffin Man. His name is Nathan and he doesn’t live on Drury Lane but on 14th St!

The muffins referred to in the classic nursery rhyme are not the sweet muffins that we’re used to here in the U.S. but rather the English muffin, a quick-baking circle of yeasted dough that is baked on a hot skillet.
If you’re like me, you had no idea that English muffins are not baked in the oven and that they take less than an hour to make, start to finish. I also didn’t know that English muffins require metal rings in order to maintain their shape while ‘baking’ in the skillet. Finding these rings might be the hardest part of producing your own homemade English muffins. We went to Sur le Table to find metal rings and were directed to the wrong part of the store…then Nathan happened to spot a box of special English muffin rings collecting dust on a hard-to-reach top shelf! I guess English muffin rings aren’t in high demand?!?

Once you have the metal rings, however, these muffins are easy to make and they turn out really well! It was a hugely satisfying feeling to cut one open and to see the trademark ‘nooks and crannies’ and to turn our fresh made muffins into an awesome breakfast sandwich! We topped our English muffins with egg spiked with green onions, melty havarti cheese and crisp thick-cut bacon for a sandwich that puts any other breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had to shame. Become the ‘muffin man (or woman)’ and make these muffins!

Victory Imperial Stout Nathan’s Beer Pairing: Storm King Imperial Stout, Victory Brewing Company
Rating: 8.25 out of 10.0

As you know from last weeks post, I don’t like Stouts. However, I’ll make an exception for this Imperial Stout. Where regular stouts tend to taste watered down and bland to me this imperial version was packed full of coffee, chocolate, and malt flavors in a full bodied and balanced way. I liked this stout so much that I’m not going to have to force myself to finish the six pack… I will happily make the sacrifice! The aforementioned coffee and chocolate flavors, while heavy, actually worked to cut through the grease and butter from the bacon, egg, and cheese while complimenting the salt and yeasty bread flavors from the English muffins.

Bacon Egg and Cheese

English Muffins:

based on this recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup non-fat powdered milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon shortening
1 cup hot water
1 envelope dry yeast
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup warm water
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
Non-stick vegetable spray
Special equipment: cast iron skillet, 3-inch metal rings

Directions:

1. In a bowl combine the powdered milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, shortening, and hot water, stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool.

2. In a separate bowl combine the yeast and 1/8 teaspoon of sugar in 1/3 cup of warm water and rest until yeast has dissolved. Add this to the dry milk mixture.

3. Add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

4. Preheat the skillet to medium low.

5. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt to mixture and beat thoroughly. Place metal rings onto the skillet and coat lightly with vegetable spray. Using an ice cream scoop or spoon place 2 scoops into each ring (or enough to just cover the space inside the ring, you want to leave enough room for the dough to rise) and cover with another skillet or pan (the skillet or pan should act as a flat lid over the muffin rings) and cook for 6 minutes.

6. Remove the lid and flip rings using tongs. Cover with the lid and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack, remove rings and cool. Cut in half and serve.

Bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches

Two English muffins

Ingredients:

4 slices thick-cut bacon
3 eggs
1 Tbs. green onion, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
2 slices of havarti cheese

Directions:

1. Cook bacon to desired crispness.

2. Whip eggs in a bowl and add green onion, salt and pepper. Put two of the (oiled) metal rings that you used for the english muffins on the oiled skillet. Divide the egg evenly between the rings and cover the pan for several minutes until the egg begins to set.

3. Remove metal rings and flip the egg rounds. Cook for a minute or so and remove from pan. Toast the English muffins. Place egg round on muffin and top with a slice of cheese and 2 slices of bacon. Top with the other half of the muffin and serve!

Irish Soda Bread

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Irish Soda Bread Slices

It’s a good thing that this recipe makes two loaves of bread because I was tempted to finish one loaf all by myself! This might sound bad but this post surprised us by how amazingly good it was. With most of our posts we have a pretty good idea of what we’re making and how it’s going to taste. With this recipe we didn’t know what to expect because neither of us had tasted Irish Soda bread before. I was skeptical that the bread would be nice and ‘bread-like’ since it requires no yeast, no kneading, and no time to rise. WOW…this bread has a light but hearty consistency with a nice firm crust. The addition of sweet raisins balances the earthy, slightly bitter caraway for a flavor that is complex and intriguing.

I was surprised to learn that the tradition of Irish Soda bread only dates back to the 1840’s when baking soda was introduced in Ireland. At that time, baking was done in the home and, in addition to having limited supplies, time was often limited as well. The use of baking soda as a leavening agent was quick, effective and it produced a much more consistent result than yeast. It caught on quickly and made soda breads a staple of the Irish diet until commercial bread production began in earnest.

The original soda breads contained nothing more than flour, buttermilk, baking soda and salt. The buttermilk was leftover from the butter making process and the bread was almost always served with freshly churned butter. Today, the breads (like the one we made!) often contain additional ingredients, like sugar, butter, raisins or caraway seeds to enhance the flavor of the bread. We paired our bread with two Irish cheeses…an aged sharp white cheddar and an Irish Porter cheddar. The white cheddar was an especially successful pairing because of how the sharpness of the cheese interacted with the raisins and caraway…so good! Stop buying Irish Soda breads and make some right now!

Chateua De Camarsac Bordeaux Katryn’s Wine Pairing: Chateua De Camarsac Bordeaux, 2009
Rating: 8.75 out of 10.0

This wine was perfect with the bread and cheese! It was juicy and rich with blackberry and cherry flavors that complemented the sweet raisins and balanced the savory notes of the caraway and cheddar. Taking a bite of bread and cheese and then taking a sip of the wine was like a flavor explosion and I’m pretty sure Nathan started getting tired of me saying how delicious this pairing was! I’m glad we liked the wine pairing better than we liked the beer pairing!

Murphy's Imported Stout Nathan’s Beer Pairing: Murphy’s Irish Stout
Rating: 6.5 out of 10.0

I just can’t get on board with stouts! I know I’ve mentioned this before and that I am probably in the minority here but something about the light body, roasted and biscuit flavors, and creamy light carbonation just doesn’t do it for me… This stout didn’t even particularly pair well with the Irish soda bread and cheese as the strong flavors from both the bread and cheese completely overpowered any flavors from the beer and it tasted like I was drinking water. I would rate this beer lower but from what I can tell from my quick research online this is a pretty respectable stout and I know my own prejudice is getting in the way.

Irish Soda Bread in Skillet

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients:

5 cups all purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into cubes, room temperature
1 cup raisins
1 ½ tablespoons caraway seeds
2 ½ cups buttermilk
1 large egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Generously butter two small heavy ovenproof skillets with 2- to 2 1/2-inch-high sides. The bread will spread out when you bake it so a smaller skillet is better!

3. Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Add butter; using fingertips, rub in until coarse crumbs form. Stir in raisins and caraway seeds.

4. Whisk buttermilk and egg in medium bowl to blend. Add to dough; using wooden spoon, stir just until well incorporated (dough will be very sticky).

5. Cut dough in half and transfer the dough balls to prepared skillets; smooth tops, mounding slightly in center. Using a sharp knife dipped into flour, cut an X in top center of dough.

6. Bake until bread is cooked through and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool bread in skillet 10 minutes. Turn out onto rack and cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap tightly in foil; store at room temperature.)

Tamarind Margarita

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Tamarind Margarita

For Nathan and I, margaritas are very much an every day a year round beverage. During the winter, a margarita brightens a dreary day with hints of summer and during the summer, the margarita is a light and refreshing respite from the DC heat and humidity. To be perfectly honest, we’ve come to the point of not really liking other cocktails because they just can’t compare to the perfect balance of sweet and sour that the margarita offers.

Fortunately, the margarita lends itself well to additions and adaptations so if we ever get bored with the classic margarita (#thiswillnevereverhappen) there are opportunities for variety. And so we present the tamarind margarita, a spin-off that preserves the tart acidity of the margarita while introducing the unique sweet and sour flavor of the tamarind. The tamarind, meaning ‘Indian Date’, is a bushy tree that produces a pod-like fruit that is used extensively in cuisines around the world…but definitely not so much in American cuisine.

To find tamarind you’ll need to venture to your local Asian or Middle-Eastern grocery store. We encountered a language barrier at our local Asian market when we went to ask where the tamarind was located. Nathan pulled out his iPhone and conversed with the non-English speaking sales lady by showing her tamarind pictures until she said ‘Ah! Tamarillo!’ and directed us to the extensive tamarind section that we had previously overlooked.

We were then faced with a choice between sweet tamarinds (ripe and mature fruit) and sour tamarinds (juvenile fruit) and decided to buy and try both so you won’t have to! Originally I thought I would prefer the sour tamarind margarita but it ended up being too sour…even for my taste! The sweet tamarind provided a moderate level of tartness while introducing a mild sweetness that was a great balance to the acidic lime juice. Get creative and pair this margarita with your favorite Ethnic cuisines…it would be great with Thai food or Indian food!

Tamarind Margaritas

Ingredients:

For the tamarind puree:
4 sweet tamarind pods
½ cup water

For the Margaritas:
3 ounces tequila
1 ½ ounces Triple-Sec
1 ½ ounces lime juice (about 2 limes)
1 ½ ounces tamarind puree
salt, for the rims of the glasses
lime slices, for garnish

Directions:

1. Start by making the tamarind puree: Remove the husks from the tamarind and peel away the fibers. Place the tamarind fruit in a saucepan with the water. Using your hands, mash the fruit up to separate it from the seeds and remaining fibers and put the saucepan over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently until most of the fruit has dissolved into the water. Strain the tamarind puree through a mesh sieve to remove the seeds and fibers from the pulp. The resulting consistency should be that of a thin apple sauce or puree.

2. Juice your limes and add juice to your mixer. Add in the tequila, Triple Sec, and tamarind puree. Top off with ice. Shake vigorously. Dip the edge of your glass in water and line with salt (if desired).

3. Strain the margarita into the glass, garnish with a lime slice, and serve over several ice cubes.