Celebrating National Ice Cream Day

Did you know the 3rd Sunday in July is National Ice Cream Day? Yeah, me neither and I am not normally one for “Instagram” or “Hallmark” holidays, but this is one I can get behind! To celebrate tomorrow’s sweet day, I have rounded up some of my favorite ways that I have enjoyed this cold, sweet treat! From a pie to a grill to a cone, there is a no wrong way to enjoy ice cream! Happy National Ice Cream Day! I hope your day ends on a sweet note and hope you enjoy some of my favorite cold creations! In case you don’t feel like busting out your ice cream maker, I have also rounded up my favorite places to grab a scoop in Dallas:

1. Wild About Harry’s If you’re a native Dallasite, this choice comes as no surprise. Harry Coley’s Dallas institution has been serving up delicious hot dogs and toppings to be sure, but the thing that really sets them apart is their custard. It is said that their custard recipe was born out of Harry’s mother’s recipe. All I know is I can taste all the love and care that went into the recipe when I get my two scoops of coffee custard with Oreos. Divine.

2. Cool Haus While it didn’t start in Dallas, this West Coast transplant brings all of the flavor to their pints and ice cream sandwiches and creativity to their flavors! You can visit their ice cream truck at Klyde Warren Park or their store front at the Dallas Farmers Market. Don’t feel like venturing out to their store? They are sold in grocery stores too! I pick up a few sammies on my trips to Central Market to keep in the freezer and they have dairy-free options too! My favorite is their coffee ice cream sandwich!

3. TCBY Whenever I want a no fuss, but delicious treat, this is the drive-thru (!) I head to! Especially after my tennis lessons in the one million-degree temperatures we have had lately. I have been visiting this location since I was a little ice cream enthusiast and my order has not changed much: a swirl with Oreos! Yum!

4. Baldo’s Ice Cream & Coffee I had been wanting to try this relatively new spot and got to do so after our shelter in place got lifted and they offered socially distanced service. They focus on high quality ingredients and if you cannot choose between flavors, they offer ice cream flights! They also offer dairy-free options! Their cookies ‘n cream is delicious!

5. Howdy Homemade I absolutely adore this ice cream store and the mission they stand for. Known for their Dr. Pepper Chocolate Chip and employing teens with special needs to develop job skills, their flavors and service are one of a kind! When I helped put on a summer day camp for children with Down syndrome during my time a Junior League member, we spent many afternoons in this store, and I became very well-acquainted with their flavors! My favorite is their salted caramel that is served with a smile!

My ice cream creations:

Summer Italian Pasta Salad

Meet the fridge-friendly lunch that is reframing how I see my midday meal! I am not a big lunch girl and generally have thought of it as “second breakfast.” As I am trying to add more greens into my lunch routine, the second breakfast mentality doesn’t exactly lend itself to that. So, I came up with this recipe to help meet that need—and it needed to be ready in a flash! This dish checks all the boxes. The only thing to cook is the pasta and you can do the minimal chopping it calls for while the pasta cooks! After the pasta is done, this dish comes together in under 5 minutes! What I love about this dish is that it can be modified to suit whatever you have on-hand or modified to your tastes. Need it to be gluten-free? Use a gluten-free pasta! Want to add olives or capers? Go for it, honey! Want a different type of cheese? Get mad with mascarpone or the ricotta! Watch these flavors come together in no time flat and voila your lunch is ready!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of pasta, cooked and drained

• 1 cup San Marzano tomatoes, quartered

• `1 cup mozzarella (pearl size)

• 2 cups arugula, chopped

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

• 1/4 cup torn basil leaves (I prefer torn rather than chopped basil because the heat of your hand helps release the oils in the basil—making it more fragrant in the dish!)

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 tablespoon of dried oregano

• Optional: shaved or grated pecorino, parm, or grana padano over the top

Method:

1. Rinse cooked pasta with cold water to help remove the starches—this will help keep the pasta from sticking together.

2. In a large bowl combine, pasta, tomatoes, mozzarella, arugula, and basil, toss to combine.

3. Add in olive oil and balsamic and toss again to thoroughly coat the pasta mix.

4. Once coated add in the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. (The oil mixture is going to grab our seasonings and help them stick!)

5. Optional: Add shaved or grated cheese of your choosing. Taste for seasonings and alter to suit.

6. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

7. Congratulations! Your lunch is made for the week! (Also makes a wonderful side dish for dinner!)

How to Reverse Sear a Ribeye

Picture it: 1998, A young, food lover is asked to write an ode to something in her second-grade class. She chooses something very close to her meat-loving heart as her subject matter and the following poem is written:

Steak, steak, steak,

Yummy steak, hot steak,

Brown, grilled, great, steak,

Last of all, best of all,

Tasty Steak.

It probably comes as no surprise that, that young girl was me. My love of meat runs deep. If you have read my “hi, y’all” page then you know that my mother’s side of the family runs a ranch and cattle feedyard in South Texas. My grandfather started in the custom cattle feeding business in the mid-70’s and still runs it to this day, along with my uncle and his son, my cousin. Always agriculturally-inclined, prior to cattle feeding, he was a farmer with his father and brother. They still farm to this day, but most of the corn crop goes to feeding the cattle and they don’t measure their feeding needs in acres, but sections. So it is a rather large operation. My loyalty to my family’s business runs so deep that when I went for a routine check-up when I was no more than five or six, upon hearing of my “meat tooth,” my pediatrician made the recommendation that maybe I should not eat red meat five times a week. I quickly crossed my arms across my chest and told him very firmly and very loudly, “No!” Needless to say, I was not given the Walkman I so desperately wanted after the appointment to listen to my Space Jam soundtrack. And to this day I’ve never seen my mom so embarrassed (sorry, Mom!). Do I still eat red meat five times a week? No. But when I do indulge my meat tooth (What? Some people have a sweet tooth) I am a go big or go home girl. Give me a nicely marbled cut of meat, preferably a ribeye, cooked to a nice dark pink, an arugula salad, with a glass of Pinot Noir. Heaven.

Let’s take a quick dive into some of the most popular cuts of meat that you have probably seen on a menu and at the grocery store, and their best cooking methods for optimum flavor and texture.

1. The Ribeye, also known as the Tomahawk or Delmonico. See also: my favorite cut. Very nicely marbled, generally speaking depending on the grade out of choice, select, or prime, which could be another post all to itself. (Marbling is the white lines of fat running through the meat.) The ribeye comes off the top of the steer’s back, in the rib area, meaning this muscle is rarely used in its movement, and therefore going to be very tender and very flavorful due to the high level of fat in the muscle. Due to that high level of fat this cut of meat can get away with being cooked past medium and will not turn into a gray, chew toy. Also due to the higher fat content, this cut takes well to grills and cast iron, and cooking in direct, high heat. But if you have the time, reverse searing is a total game changer because you cook it initially low and slow, keeping as many juices in the meat as possible, and then sealing them in with a quick sear to create a crust.

2. The Filet Mignon, this is a very lean, tender cut that comes off the smaller part of the tenderloin of the steer. You will find it in the back-top half of the cow’s body, right under the sirloin. This cut takes best to a low and slow cooking technique, as with very little fat, can come very little flavor, if not prepared and cooked correctly. It also over cooks very easily, so I find that sous viding or reverse searing is your best bet, so you can more easily control the heat. Good for someone with a meat tooth that is watching their cholesterol.

3. The New York Strip, also called the Kansas City Steak or the sirloin, this cut is known as the “goldilocks” of steaks because can help please a crowd and is a little more wallet friendly, making it “just right.” The Strip comes from just behind the rib area of the steer, from the short loin. While it is not as lean or tender as the filet, it is much leaner than the ribeye, and can still deliver a rich, meaty flavor. Since it is on the leaner side, like its filet friend, it can be overcooked more easily. Sticking with a more precise cooking method, a sous vide or reverse searing is going help the New York Strip step out of the shadows of its meat counterparts. Cook rare to medium for best results. It would take well to a wood-fired grill with a precise temperature gauge to help infuse flavor via smoke.

4. The Porterhouse, also known by its stage name the T-Bone. The porterhouse is nothing more than the marriage of two steaks: the filet and the New York Strip, separated by a T-shaped bone. Neighbors with the Strip, this cut comes from behind the short loin, from the sirloin part of the steer. While a bone in a piece of meat generally means a more flavor, this is cut that needs to be a little more babysat in order to help that flavor come out. Meaning put any flat surfaced cooking device away. Due to the presence of the bone, the steak will not sit flatly in a pan; therefore, one side could overcook, and we already discussed how the filet is already prone to do that. Best to fire up the grill or broil in order to achieve an evenly cooked steak.

You probably noticed that I referenced the reverse sear cooking method multiple times above and are wondering what on Earth is this magical method you keep referencing, Savannah? Fear not. I am about to talk you through it and give you my recipe. Reverse searing is nothing more than reversing the typical cooking process of a steak. So instead of using heat to cook the steak from the outside-in, you cook the steak from the inside-out. By doing this you get more control over the internal temperature of the steak by using the oven. Then once your steak has reached your desired temperature, you place your steak in a ripping-hot skillet, and allow it to develop a crust with butter, garlic, and if you’re feeling fancy, thyme. Let’s talk through my recipe and method.

Ingredients/Materials:

• 8 oz ribeye (or really any cut/size of steak you want)

• Kosher salt, measurement will vary due size of meat

• Fresh-cracked pepper,measurement will vary due size of meat

• 3 tablespoons of a neutral, high smoke point oil (ex. canola or avocado) or 3 tablespoons of shortening

• 3 tablespoons of butter

• 3 smashed garlic cloves

• 2 sprigs of thyme (optional)

• A thermometer

• Foil

• Sheet pan

• Wire rack or cooling rack

• paper towel

Method:

1. Take your steak out to come to room temperature for about 20-30 minutes prior to preparing it to be cooked. Using a sheet pan that is lined with foil, with a rack placed on top. Place steak on top of the rack and allow to come up to temperature. Once to room temperature, dry off excess moisture with a paper towel and liberally apply salt and pepper to all sides of the steak and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

2. While resting, preheat your oven to 250 degrees.

3. Once oven temperature is reached and steak finished resting, place steak into the oven. Cooking until it reaches your desired internal temperature: for rare 105 degrees, 115 for medium-rare, 125 for medium, I allow my steak to cook first 30 minutes and then check the internal temperature about every 5-10 minutes after depending how close it is to my desired temperature, then more frequently as it gets closer.

4. Once your steak is within a few degrees of your desired temperature, place your skillet on high heat with your choice of oil or shortening and heat until pan nearly smokes.

5. Take out steak immediately once desired internal temperature is reached.

6. Place steak into the skillet and allow crust to develop. If the steak has a fatty collar, like on a ribeye, place fatty side in the pan first to release more fat and flavor into the pan, then place on one of its sides. Reference the how to video for further clarification on this.

7. Sear steak for 60-90 seconds, or until deep crust has developed and flip.

8. Once flipped to the other side, place butter, garlic, and thyme into the pan.

9. Tilting the pan up so that butter pools, use a spoon to coat steak in butter, and rub with hot garlic and thyme.

10. Continuing to sear for 30 seconds and take immediately off heat.

11. Place on a carving board, spooning remaining butter, garlic and thyme over the top. Tuck in the whole endeavor in with foil, covering the steak completely, and rest for 10 minutes.

12. Serve immediately and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Here’s to celebrating your own meat tooth!

A quick how to video that I made last year. Note: this video does not include the butter basting technique I included in the recipe above.

The little girl who yelled at her doctor and her cattleman grandfather, along with some other pictures of the gentleman cowboy in the place he built from scratch, the feedyard…

Fourth of July Trifle

Happy Fourth of July! I hope you are celebrating America’s 244th birthday with some good food and a little fun (at a safe social distance!). In case you need a last minute Fourth dessert that is equal parts festive and delicious, allow me to introduce you to my trifle! Here’s my little secret, I use an angel food cake because if you inverted the cake, it is the same shape (albeit a little wider) than my trifle dish. It is like American and freedom, some things are just made to go together. The dish is then filled with layers of delicious cake, gorgeous berries, and a whipped cream that brings the whole thing together. All in a matter of minutes. You could even put some candles in it and sing “Happy Birthday” to America. Happy Birthday, America! You look good, girl!

Ingredients:

• One premade or store bought angel food cake

• 3 cups blueberries

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

• 1 tablespoon chopped mint

• 3 cups sliced strawberries

• 3 cups heavy cream

• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Note: You can make this very adults only by soaking each layer of cake with 3 oz of rum after adding it to the dish. You could even soak the fruit in it too!

Method:

1. In a large bowl mix together blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and zest, and mint. Leave to sit for 10-15 minutes.

2. In another large bowl, beat together cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form. Set in the fridge to chill.

3. Using a bread knife, cut off the top 1 inch of cake, where the cake is the most narrow. Slice the top piece that is now separate, into two separate pieces. Place pieces in the bottom of your preferred trifle dish and fill in the hole in the middle with a piece of cake. Press cake into the dish to make even. If you need a helpful how to, check out the pictures below to a step by step photo guide!

4. Top cake with half of blueberry mixture, pressing up the sides of the bowl.

5. Make a strawberry perimeter around the sides of the bowl. Fill in the middle with half strawberries—saving the longer slices for the next layer of strawberries.

6. Top strawberries with half of the whipped cream.

7. Cut another layer of cake and fill in the hole with extra cake. Press into the dish to help compact.

8. Top with last half of blueberries and make another strawberry wall and fill in with the last of the strawberries.

9. Top with remaining whipped cream and use the back of the spoon to create peaks.

10. Refrigerate until serving and enjoy!

Trifle assembly in photos:

BBQ Grill-Friendly Bananas Foster Dupe with Cinnamon Ice Cream

Yes, you read that right! This is a bananas foster dupe that yields a totally gorgeous and delicious result! This is for all you girls that love bananas foster but are terrified you might singe your eyebrows off trying to make it at home! (Side bar: Especially if you were the child who was trying to imitate your much cooler, older sister who got her eyebrows waxed, and in your 8 year old state of mind, decided it would be a great to go ahead and throw a nice strip of Scotch tape over your eyebrow to replicate the process. Leaving a bald spot on your brow that would take many years of brow therapy (brow waxing and shaping appointments) and tubes of a regrowth serum to come back from.) Saving time and saving your eyebrows, this recipe is everything you need!

For Ice Cream:

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups whole milk

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 2 cups heavy cream

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• Optional: 1/4 cup dark rum

Method:

1. Freeze ice cream maker bowl at 0 degrees for 24 hours.

2. In a large bowl combine, milk, sugar, and salt. Stir together until sugar and salt are dissolved.

3. Add in cream, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg (and rum if you please). Stir until incorporated.

4. Cover and chill for 2 hours, or if needing quicker, put in the freezer for 30 minutes.

5. Pull out mix and give it a final stir. If the cinnamon looks clumpy in the mixture, don’t panic. Your mixer will take care of it!

6. Pour into ice cream bowl and make according to your machine’s settings.

7. Once completed, put in a freezing container, and let harden for 3-4 hours or overnight.

For Bananas Foster:

Ingredients:

• 4 peeled bananas

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• a dash of nutmeg

• 4 tablespoons of butter, cut into 8 pieces

• 4 sheets of foil to wrap bananas in

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425 or if you’re using a grill, a medium-hot fire. (If you’re grilling meat prior to grilling this, wait about 5-10 minutes for the grill to cool down and bit and then you’re good to go. See also: girl, eat that delicious steak and then worry about your dessert!)

2. Place bananas on their sides on each piece of foil.

3. Divide seasonings evenly between each banana.

4. Place two pieces of butter on each banana.

5. Bring all of the foil seams to the top and fold down (like a little banana tent). You don’t want any butter spilling out into your grill or the bottom of your oven!

6. Place on the grill for 15 minutes, or until banana is soft. If you’re using an oven, place bananas on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until banana is soft.

7. Serve immediately with cinnamon ice cream and enjoy!

Dirty Mint Ice Cream

I absolutely adore mint in everything from my salads to my cocktails to my desserts—but most especially my ice cream. Recently, I have observed that the mint-chocolate flavor combination is becoming increasingly overlooked in favor of things that are more inventive and current, like mascarpone and fig or honey and lavender ice cream flavors. But what flavor is as refreshing as mint? It stands alone. What food is as celebrated as chocolate? None. It is time to revive this classic and celebrate her contributions to our spoons and stomachs. I’m a proud member of the ice cream party and am voting Mint-Chocolate 2020!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups whole milk

• 3 cups heavy cream

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon mint extract

• 3-5 drops green food coloring, personal color preference

• 1 cup Oreos, crushed

• 2 tablespoons chocolate hard shell (optional)

Method:

1. Freeze ice cream maker bowl at 0 degrees for 24 hours.

2. In a large bowl combine, milk, sugar, and salt. Stir together until sugar and salt are dissolved.

3. Add in cream and mint extract and food coloring. Stir until incorporated.

4. Cover and chill for 2 hours, or if needing quicker, put in the freezer for 30 minutes.

5. Pull out mix and give it a final stir.

6. Pour into ice cream bowl and make according to your machine’s settings.

7. While that’s churning, count out 12 Oreos and put 10 into a plastic bag and smash into crumbs with a rolling pin. This should yield about 1 cup. Snack on the saved two while waiting for ice cream to finish; when you finish the package of Oreos without sharing, hide the evidence.

8. With 5 minutes left on the churn, add in crushed Oreos and drizzle in chocolate hard shell.

9. Once completed, put in a freezing container, and let harden for 3-4 hours or overnight.

10. Welcome to the Ice Cream Party! We are glad to have you!

Peach Cobbler 2.0

I love recipes. I love them for many reasons, from being able to pass down dishes served around the family dining table for generations to the fact that they can be as comforting and familiar as an old friend; however, I believe there is an element that can make recipes even more precious. They often can take on a life of their own. A simple tweak here and there can yield something new and exciting, maybe a different flavor profile, or an element of texture that elevates a dish that much more. That is what I have been learning in the kitchen as of late, the big tweaks are sometimes necessary, but the difference between a good and a great dish is often made by a smaller, more precise change. Think paring knife instead of chef’s knife. While I didn’t take a paring knife to my family’s peach cobbler recipe that I originally shared last summer: here, I did breakout the microplane and a teaspoon for some tweaks. Those little tweaks added up to big flavor development! The addition of citrus zest brightens the whole dish, while cinnamon provides that warmth on your tongue when it first hits your taste buds. Though this recipe has been elevated a bit, the batter feels reminiscent of Miss Truvy’s “cuppa, cuppa, cuppa” simple recipe in Steel Magnolias and I’ve always loved that, no tweaking there.

Ingredients:

• 8-12 soft peaches, yielding about 2.5-3 cups of diced fruit and juice

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

• 1 cup AP flour

• 1.5 cups sugar

• 1 cup milk

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter cut into 16 pats, 1/2 tablespoon pieces

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Peel and cut up peaches into 1/2 chucks and put into a large bowl. Tip: Make sure you squeeze the pits of the peaches to get all the juice and the fruit off the pit!

3. Add 1/2 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and lemon zest to your peaches and let sit for 15 minutes. Hello, maceration!

4. In another bowl combine, 1 cup of sugar, flour and milk and mix together.

5. Add in vanilla and mix.

6. Cut a stick of butter into 1/2 tablespoon pieces (you’ll get 16!)

7. Grease a baking dish (I used 9 x 13) and pour batter into dish.

8. Distribute the butter evenly over the top of the batter (like little butter life rafts!).

9. Pour peach mixture over the top of the batter. Aim for the center of the pan as the sides of the batter are going to bake up and need to come up and over the peaches. (Say it with me, batter: “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…”)

10. Bake for 45-50 degrees or until golden brown and sides of pan and center bubble.

Hearty & Herb-y Chicken Noodle Soup

I asked earlier this week if I was the only weirdo that craves soup in the summer heat. I am so glad to know that I am going to see some friends at the soup asylum with me! Last Sunday, I got the hankering for some chicken noodle soup and it served as my lunch for the better part of the week! Such an easy way to clean out some vegetables and have something on hand that is hearty and healthy!

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. butter, olive oil, or avocado oil

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 4 large carrots, chopped

• 4 stalks celery, chopped (Don’t be afraid to dice those celery leaves and add them too—so much flavor!)

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced or microplaned into the pot

• 2 bay leaves

• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, tied together

• 1 pound of chicken breasts

• 8 cups of warm water (temperature is important because you don’t bring down the temperature of the pot too much)

• 5 cups of chicken stock or broth

• 8 oz of your choice of dried pasta

• 1 tbsp of poultry seasoning

  • Every poultry seasoning’s composition is different. Mine has sage, onion, white pepper, parsley, ginger, and cumin in it (Morton & Bassett).

• Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

• 2 tsp of celery seed

• Water or more stock, as needed

• Half a lemon

Method:

Remember: In soups and sauces you are building flavor in steps, so it is important to check for salt and seasoning at every step!

1. In large pot on medium heat, coat the bottom of the pot with your choice of butter/oil. Add the onions and cook until starting to become translucent but not browning.

2. Add in garlic and heat until you smell the garlic. Add in carrots and celery. Add a pinch of kosher salt (1/2 of a tsp) to help pull out the water in the vegetables. Cook, stirring every few minutes until the vegetables begin to soften—6 to 8 minutes.

3. Stir in the poultry seasoning, celery seed, a pinch of salt and pepper, and bay leaves.

4. Pour in the chicken stock, water, thyme bundle, and bring to a boil.

5. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

6. Add chicken breasts into the soup and make sure they are covered with liquid. Reduce soup to a simmer then partially cover the pot with lid and cook, stirring a few times until the chicken breasts are cooked through; about 10-15 minutes or until they register 165 on a thermometer.

7. Take chicken out and dice into bite size pieces. If the liquid seems low, add a little more stock or water. When you add more liquid, you’re diluting your initial seasonings, so check for them! Turn the heat to medium-low.

8. Stir the pasta into the soup cook until tender. Add diced chicken back into pot.

9. Taste the soup once more for seasoning. Adjust with more salt and pepper, as needed. Fish out the thyme bundle and bay leaves, and squeeze half a lemon into the pot and stir.

10. Serve up in a big bowl and enjoy!

S'Mores Ice Cream

Well friends, we made it to June—Happy Summer! The temperatures in Texas have officially moved from warm to just plain H-O-T! With the rising temperatures, I am thinking of all the ways to cool down and my favorite way to do it is with my number one vice: ice cream! This recipe pays tribute to those nostalgic s’mores I used to enjoy at camp and at my family’s lake house growing up. I’m curious are you very methodical about your marshmallow roasting, trying to get just the right golden color, or do you simply just light yours on fire and let nature take its course? I am the latter—I love the crunch that comes with a burned marshmallow. I feel like you can get a small taste of children’s risk tolerance, watching them around a campfire, engaging in the roasting practice. I am no rebel though; a burned marshmallow is about as wild as I get! Spreading s’more love from my ice cream maker to yours—here’s to a sweet treat to beat the summer heat!

Ingredients:

• 5 graham cracker sheets broken into pieces

• 3 cups whole milk

• 2 cups heavy cream

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 tbsp vanilla

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 3/4 cup chopped chocolate bar

• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (I used a box of graham cracker pie crust) You could always pulse some graham crackers in the blender until you get a powder-like consistency

• 3/4 cup of mallow bits (I used Kraft)

Method:

1. Freeze ice cream maker bowl at 0 degrees for 24 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place broken graham crackers onto a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until you start smelling them.

3. Pour toasted graham crackers into a bowl with 3 cups of milk. Cover and steep for 15 minutes. Strain milk out of crackers, pressing with a spatula. You should get back 3 cups of milk, but if you get a little less than that—don’t worry—just top off with regular milk!

4. In a large bowl, combine graham cracker milk, sugar, and salt. Stir together until sugar and salt are dissolved.

5. Add in cream and vanilla extract. Stir until incorporated.

6. Cover and chill for 2 hours, or if needing quicker, put in the freezer for 30 minutes.

7. Pull out mix, and give it a final stir, taking care not to make it bubbles, as you do not want to add air.

8. Pour into ice cream bowl and make according to your machine’s settings.

9. With 5 minutes left on the churn, add in chopped chocolate, graham cracker crumbs, and mallow bits.

10. Once completed, put in a freezing container, and let harden for 3-4 hours or overnight.

11. Enjoy your s’mores ice cream and remember to spread s’more love!

Jazzed Up Banana Bread

I feel as if banana bread needs no introduction, it is standard fare in most home kitchens. But this isn’t your grandmother’s banana bread. I am all for classics, but sometimes you need to throw on a pair of leopard heels and a studded bag to jazz things up a bit! That is exactly what we have here, a classic that has been given a little makeover! Don’t worry you’ll still recognize her; she’s just a little more fun than you remember—with plenty of sugar and spice—and a little twist (of lemon!).

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 cup butter, softened (1/2 stick)

• 1/3 cup greek yogurt ( I used Fage 2%)

• 2 tsps vanilla

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup bananas, mashed

• 1/2 tsp lemon zest

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350.

2. Mash 3-4 bananas, to achieve 1 cup, to your liking. I like mine a little more chunky! Set to the side.

3. In a large bowl combine, flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir and set to the side.

4. In a stand mixer or in a bowl with a hand mixer, combine butter, sugars, and beat until fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Beat in yogurt, then eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated. Add in vanilla and lemon zest. I grated my lemon zest right over the bowl! I wanted my batter to catch all of the oil that is released when grating! Stir together.

5. Slowly pour in dry ingredients into wet, mixing until just combined.

6. Add in bananas and bring together.

7. Pour into a greased and lined loaf pan. I simply cut a rectangular piece of parchment paper and let the sides hang over the pan so I can lift my bread out easily.

8. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Crispy Salmon

Need a 30 minute dinner that tastes like it took 3x longer? Look no further! This salmon dinner and roast chicken have been my saving graces during these weeks at home. I deeply appreciate recipes that are greater than the sum of their parts and require little to no fuss. This recipe checks both of those boxes for me. And if that doesn’t inspire you to give it a try, maybe this will: I love salmon—I could eat it everyday—my husband, on the other hand, was not its biggest fan saying that it was too fishy. Now, he asks for this recipe once a week. See also: Hook, line, and sink(him!).

Serves 2-4 depending on the size of your salmon fillet.

Ingredients:

• 2, 8oz salmon fillets or 4, 4oz fillets

• For the paste:

  • 1 heaping tablespoon of mayonnaise

  • 1 tablespoon Sriracha

  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• For the breadcrumbs:

  • 1/2 cup of Panko breadcrumbs

  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon of pepper

  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest

  • dash of paprika

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Mix together ingredients for paste and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes to thicken.

3. In a small bowl, add in ingredients for breadcrumb mixture and combine until evenly distributed.

4. Over medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil (or a spray of avocado oil) to coat the bottom of a pan. Pour in your breadcrumbs, toss with oil, and toast until lightly golden. Remove from heat and put back into the bowl, or they will keep browning.

5. Place your salmon on a foil-lined sheet (This will help clean up if there is spillage from the paste and the skin will stick to it so you can easily use a spatula to separate the meat from the skin once it is done cooking!). If you’re into fish skin, make sure you grease the skin and the foil before putting them down.

6. Pat the salmon dry with a paper towel—this will help the paste stick. Add a pinch of salt to each piece of fish.

7. Divide paste between your salmon pieces and coat each piece.

8. Add your toasted breadcrumbs on top to each piece. **Tip: I use an avocado oil spray when I cook so I add a spritz to the top of my breadcrumbs to help them crisp up a bit more in the oven before I put my salmon in the oven.

9. Bake for 12-15 minutes. For well done salmon, cook until the center reaches 145 degrees and for medium salmon cook until it registers 125 degrees. Smaller fillets will cook faster so check them more often!

10. Take out of the oven and serve immediately! You can add an extra squeeze of lemon on top!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Bark

I love making cookie dough. I love setting out my butter the evening before to get soft. I love the mise en place of the dry ingredients. I love creaming the butter and sugar together until fluffy, and then the smell of the vanilla when it is added to the mix. I love making cookie dough. What I don’t love is making the cookie balls once the cookie dough has formed. You could say, the actual cookie part of the dough making process is not my jam. (Kind of like the folding part of the laundry process, also not my jam!) You have to create the dough balls to be the same shape and size so they bake evenly. Then your hands get messy, so then everything in your kitchen gets messy after you touch it—cough—OCD—cough. Most of time (well every other time before this) I soldier through the dough rolling with my trusty cookie scooper in hand and music playing in my ears. However, when I was making cookie dough last week, I thought to myself, “What would happen if I just scraped all of this dough onto the baking sheet, made the width uniform, and baked it?” I was already leaving out the flour (read: gluten) in an attempt to make gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, and gluten-free baked items already have a tendency to go for more of a crunchy texture. As I was rolling the cookie dough into the pan, I felt like I was making Peppermint Bark again, so I decided that if it turned out that’s what I would name it. Well, I am happy to say not only did it turn out, but it was delicious! And like Peppermint Bark you get to choose your serving size—whether it be a handful or a pan-full! There’s no bite in this bark—it is very nice to your taste buds!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of butter, 1 stick (softened)

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 cup of sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 1 1/2 cups of oats

• 1 cup oat flour—which you can make simply by milling oats in your blender until powdery

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp espresso powder

• 1 cup of chocolate pieces (dealer’s choice of wafers, chips, or chopped chunks!)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a stand mixer, cream together sugars and butter, add in egg and beat until well combined and fluffy, and then add vanilla.

3. In a bowl combine oats, oat flour, salt, baking soda, and espresso powder, stir to combine.

4. Turn the stand mixer back on a gentle stir and slowly add in the dry ingredients. Once dough has combined, add in the chocolate of your choice and mix in!

5. In a greased and lined sheet pan, press dough into a flat rectangle—you can use your hands or put parchment paper on top of the dough and roll out with a rolling pin! Flaten until dough is about 1/4 inch thick (or just under the sides of the sheet pan!). I used a half sheet pan, if you need a size reference.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes—until golden brown and the center is set!

7. Let cool and then break into your desired size pieces for serving! And yes, if you see the full sheet as your preferred serving size, I affirm that choice.

Chocolate Ice Cream

A sweet treat for a sweet day! Today is our 3rd wedding anniversary and actually the first time we have spent May 6th in Dallas since the day we got married! We love to take a trip over our anniversary! Tonight will look a little different, but still delicious! Ribeyes on the grill, twice baked potatoes, a glass (or two!) of red wine, the leftover brisket queso from yesterday’s Cinco de Mayo dinner, and finally, cookies and ice cream! I whipped this ice cream up in no time at all and it will be the perfect sweet treat to cap off tonight’s celebrations. I included some wedding photos below and it is very easy to see that our wedding revolved around food! I don’t think our guests went more than 30 minutes without eating! Starting off with our fabulous passed hors d'oeuvres (including mini crab cakes!), our three signature cocktails for our hour and a half cocktail hour (the Kentucky Derby ran in the middle of our cocktail hour so we had the country club set up a TV outside and served mint juleps during it too!). Leading to a seated dinner of salmon and beef tenderloin, my bride’s cake with vanilla and red velvet cake, my husband’s cookie bar with 2000 Oreos stacked with 15 dozen cookies and macaroons and spiked milk punch, a midnight snack of sliders and fries, and then donut holes in cinnamon and sugar to end the night on a sweet note! Clearly, our priorities have not changed—I would not have it any other way!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups of whole milk

• 2 cups of heavy cream

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 1 cup of sugar

• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

• 1/2 cup of cocoa powder, unsweetened

• 1/2 tsp. espresso powder—it is just going to enhance and intensify the cocoa flavor!

• Optional spike: 1/8 cup of preferred bourbon or whiskey—this will also intensify the chocolate flavor

Method:

1. Pre-freeze ice cream maker bowl at 0 degrees for 24 hours.

2. In a large bowl, combine milk, sugar, and salt. Stir together until sugar and salt are dissolved.

3. Add in cream, vanilla extract, and espresso and cocoa powder. Add your spirit spike here too! Stir until incorporated, it’ll take a second! You might have to whip out a whisk!

4. Cover and chill for 2 hours, or if needing quicker, put in the freezer for 30 minutes. This time is going to help the milk absorb all the cocoa powder you just threw at it!

5. Pull out mix, and give it a final stir or whisk.

6. Pour into ice cream bowl and make according to your machine’s settings.

7. Put in a freezing container and let harden for 3-4 hours or overnight.

8. Behold—your new favorite summer treat!

Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Treats (For Your Four-Legged Friends!)

I cannot tell you how many times during the course of this “quarantine” that I have joked with my husband that the dogs must have planned it. All of the humans stuck at home—I cannot think of something my dog dreams of more. Even though with my pre-COVID work schedule, our dog, Luke, was typically only left at home alone for a handful of hours a day. My husband is generally home by 6 or 7, and I don’t leave for work until later in the afternoon, so goes the life of a child and adolescent therapist. If we had to name who has enjoyed quarantine life the most in our home it would have to be Luke. He has no idea what is going on in the world, but mom and dad are home so that makes all well in his world. I feel like I have tried to tackle all kinds of things in the kitchen to make my time at home productive, from ice cream to making biscuits using different types of flours to cocktails to pork tenderloins, and roasting whole chickens. Though trying to the lose the novice feeling for many recipes that I have not tried before, I realized that I had left out making something special for my favorite furry friend. Sure he has gotten samples of many of things that are safe for him to eat, but nothing purely made for him. While we do not have human children, we consider Luke to be our firstborn. He loves anything on our plates, but especially loves the following: chicken and rice, Greek yogurt, eggs, sweet potatoes, peanut butter, frozen blueberries, dried pasta, and canned pumpkin. Luke is a fan of oats so I used them here instead of flour to give the treat more flavor. I also picked out a few things on his favorites list and mixed them together—he already follows me around to the point where I call him “Shadow'“ but now he will not stop harassing me for another round at the treat jar. I can’t say I blame him; mama has been known to put a few cookies away herself. Like mother, like son.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of canned pumpkin

• 1/2 cup of peanut butter (tip: check your PB’s ingredients for the presence of xylitol, which is a sweetener—safe for humans but can be toxic for dogs!)

• 2 1/2 cups of oat flour (you can make this by simply grinding or milling oats in your blender until they are powder)

  • Or you can sub in AP or whole wheat flour, just remember that you will need less of these flours about 2 cups

• 2 eggs

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine pumpkin, peanut butter, and eggs. Beat until fluffy.

3. Add in flour until it forms into a dough ball.

4. Turn out onto parchment paper, that has been dusted with your choice of flour (sticky alert!)

5. Knead until dough is smooth and supple and roll out with a floured rolling pin (or pressed out with your hand!).

6. Use a floured cookie cutter and cut out your treats!

7. Place on parchment or silpat-lined pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.

8. Let cool and then reward your favorite quarantine and walking buddy!

A photo diary of Luke’s COVID adventures: many treats and tastings, walks, cuddles, trips to the fountain to cool off, naps on the couch, car rides, and watching Mom in the kitchen.

Grandpa's Breakfast Ice Cream

Okay, okay, I have to say that my beloved grandfather “Papu” was not the inspiration for this recipe. He enjoys grapes and milk with his cereal at his 3:30 am wake up call—oh the sleep-deprived life of a cattle rancher and farmer. This recipe is more of a figment of my imagination: an incorrigible, white-haired man slipping spirits into his breakfast cereal before anyone can catch him. In my imagination this ice cream sounded delicious, and I am happy to report that in real life it tastes as good as I imagined. I think the tongue-in-cheek title adds to the flavor too—I deeply appreciate food that doesn’t take itself too seriously. In fact, that is exactly what this quarantine has brought out in me, a recovering perfectionist—a charge to try and not to take things so seriously. A reminder that life is finite and precious. The schedule, the plan, the day, inevitably, changes. I can either waste energy trying to course-correct, or go with the flow and put my energy into creating progress on what I can control: me doing my darnedest to see and keep up with therapy clients through telehealth and giving myself permission to play with food and flavors! Though I hope this quarantine will end soon, I must say that I have appreciated the pause and creativity that has come with the stillness—though I know that has definitely not been the case for everyone. I hope you are staying safe and well, and don’t forget to play with you food and laugh when you can. You never know what you will come up with, like putting cornflakes and bourbon together to make a delicious bowl of ice cream. 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cornflakes

• 2 1/4 cups milk, yielding 2 cups of cereal milk

• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream

• 1/8 cup bourbon

• 1 cup sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Method:

1. Freeze ice cream maker bowl at 0 degrees for 24 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place 3 cups of cornflakes onto a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes.

3. Pour 2 cups of toasted cornflakes into a bowl with 2 1/4 cups of milk. Cover and steep for 15 minutes. Strain milk out of cereal, pressing with a spatula. Due to the cornflakes absorbing the milk you will probably be left with 2 cups of cereal milk. If you get a little less than that—don’t worry—just top off with regular milk!

   P.S. Congratulations you just made cereal milk! It’s all the rage in NYC.

4. In a large bowl, combine cereal milk, sugar, and salt. Stir together until sugar and salt are dissolved.

5. Add in cream, vanilla extract, and bourbon. Stir until incorporated.

6. Cover and chill for 2 hours, or if needing quicker, put in the freezer for 30 minutes.

7. Pull out mix, and give it a final stir, taking care not to make it bubbles, as you do not want to add air.

8. Pour into ice cream bowl and make according to your machine’s settings.

9. While your ice cream starts churning, take remaining cup of cornflakes and place into the jar of a blender. Blend into a fine powder. This is your mix in!

10. With 5 minutes left on the churn, add in cornflake powder!

11. Once completed, put in a freezing container, and let harden for 3-4 hours or overnight.

12. You can absolutely leave out the bourbon to make this kid-friendly! Or the mix in if you just want plain cereal milk!

Watermelon Crawl

Truth be told I pretty much avoid alcohol Monday through Friday unless I am celebrating a special occasion—even then I am a one drink with dinner kind of girl. But yesterday I got a hankering for the watermelon juice that I typically make myself in the summer afternoons (think of an agua fresca!) where you basically just blend watermelon and ice together (so refreshing and hydrating). As I started blending the watermelon though, the proverbial creative juices really started flowing and all of the country songs involving alcohol-soaked watermelons at church picnics started playing in my head: I decided this juice needed a kick and a twist! My husband, seeing me pouring out a shot of vodka, walked by the kitchen laughing and said, “Quarantine has changed you!” I told him to hold onto his socks, and into the blender went the vodka. Next, I decided on lime juice, simple syrup, and mint and blended it together. It smelled amazing! Then I shook it over ice, strained it, served him a tester of the concoction. One sip in he decided that he was on board with the cocktail train that was leaving the station. This cocktail is refreshing with a citrus and mint kick and while it does have vodka in it, it is very light and not boozy! See also: perfect for sipping on a sunny afternoon. Happy Friday!

Tip: Serve with a watermelon wedge and eat your booze-infused watermelon once you have finished the drink!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups watermelon juice

• 2oz vodka or tequila

• 1.5oz lime juice

• .5oz of simple syrup

• 2-3 mint leaves

Method:

1. In the jar of a blender combine, watermelon juice, your spirit of choice, lime juice, simple syrup, and mint leaves.

2. Blend until liquified.

3. Pour juice into cocktail shaker and fill shaker 1/2 way full of ice. Shake it for 10 seconds.

4. Fill a cocktail glass with ice and strain juice into glass. Serve with a watermelon wedge and a sprig of mint.

5. Enjoy!

Happy Easter and Meyer Lemon Pie

I love Easter. Everything about it just makes me so happy: The sunrise service at church, the bright florals, the adorable children in seersucker, the cascarones (confetti eggs), the warm weather, and the citrusy desserts. Clearly, none of that is happening this year with the exception of sunrise service that is being live streamed and the bright florals I see on my daily walks. I suppose I could sleep in one of my seersucker nightgowns to get that fix. Typically, my husband and I would attend the sunrise service and then go over to my parents’ house for lunch, who attend the 8:30 service, and eat ham, macaroni and cheese, and an endless string of desserts. Of all the desserts in the traditional line up, this meyer lemon pie is the star of the show. Though this Easter looks very different—my husband and I are making gourmet pizzas on the grill for dinner and not eating off the china or the crystal—this pie was a nonnegotiable for our Easter table. Pretty to look at, literal sunshine in food form, this pie will bring a smile to your face, and hopefully a “spring” in your step! Happy Easter!

Ingredients:

For pie shell:

• 1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers

• 5 tablespoons melted butter

• 2 tablespoons sugar

For pie filling:

• 1 cup meyer lemon juice, if you don’t have meyer lemons simply blend together 3/4 cup of lemon juice and a 1/4 cup of mandarin orange juice, fresh squeezed. A meyer lemon is just a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange!

• 1 teaspoon lemon rind

• 4 egg yolks

• 2 cans sweetened condensed milk

For meringue:

• 4 egg whites

• 6 tablespoons sugar

• 1 /4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a pie dish, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter and mix until it feels like wet sand. With a smaller measuring cup, I used a 1/3 cup size, press evenly into a pie dish and bake for 6-8 minutes. Take out to let cool and keep oven on for browning the meringue.

3. Combine condensed milk, lemon juice and rind, and egg yolks in a large mixing bowl stirring until homogeneous.

4. Pour mixture into pie shell.

5. In a large mixing bowl, combine egg whites and cream of tartar and beat until it begins to froth. Slowly pour in sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

6. Top pie with meringue, sealing the sides, and bake for 15-20 minutes or until meringue is lightly toasted.

7. Allow to cool and then refrigerate, covered, until serving. Best served chilled.

No cook Banana Pudding

The crust is a premade cookie. The filling is chopped fruit (premade too, I guess you could say) and no-cook, instant vanilla pudding. The topping is whipped cream. The typing up of this recipe is honestly more time-consuming than the actual making of it. I suppose I could have made my own pudding for this, but I am rationing my cartons of eggs for the double recipe of Meyer Lemon Pie that I am going to make tomorrow and that is a nonnegotiable for our Easter table (I will be sharing the recipe for that tomorrow!). Could I have made a fancy meringue too? Yes, but again I am making a pie tomorrow that warrants that amount of formality. Banana Pudding is a let your hair down dessert and I appreciate its unpretentious, approachable nature. While this pudding might be semi-homemade, don’t let the shortcuts fool you, it is truly delicious. If you have some bananas that need to be used, it is a great vehicle for that too! Also, because it does not involve a hot stove or oven, this would a great recipe for little ones to help with in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Nilla Wafers

• 6-7 bananas

• 1 box of instant vanilla pudding, 5 oz size

• 1 tbsp powdered sugar

• 2 cups of heavy cream

Method:

1. Make vanilla pudding according to box’s instructions and set to the side.

2. Beat powdered sugar and whipping cream until stiff peaks form and set to the side.

3. Slice bananas to about 1/8in. thickness and set to the side.

4. Now assemble:

   In a 9x13 dish, put down a layer of Nilla Wafers cookies to cover the bottom of dish. Place half of sliced bananas on top of the cookies, cover with half of the pudding mixture, smoothing it out. Place another layer of cookies on top of the pudding, place the rest of the bananas on top, and then top with the rest of the pudding mixture. Top with the whipped cream and crumble some the remaining cookies on top for show.

   Save a couple of cookies for a low moment and stash in a safe place!

5. Place pudding into the fridge to chill for 3-4 hours.

6. Or eat it before it chills. Honestly, there are no rules for quarantine-cooking.

Cappuccino Pie: A love story

I used my coffee chip ice cream recipe for the pie pictured above and even served the ice cream pie a la mode!

“…Amen”. Oh I’m sorry, I just had to say a quick prayer after eating another slice of this pie because it is so sinfully delicious. I have made it no secret that my favorite flavor combo is coffee and chocolate, a dessert that combines the two with ice cream: Sign me up! As if that was not enough reason to love this pie, the added bonus is that the crust is my favorite cookie, Oreo, and my favorite ice cream flavor, coffee, is the filling. If this pie were not already named after the frothy, caffeinated beverage, I would have probably started a petition to have it named after me. Since that role has already been filled, I will just stick to being this dessert’s #1 fan. If you are looking for a grown up version of the ice cream cake you had as a child, look no further, and has the simplest process to put it together.

I will always remember the first time I ever tried my first slice of cappuccino pie. My boyfriend—now husband—and I were seniors in high school and had just started dating. While driving back from dinner one night, we were stopped at an intersection, and he remarked that the restaurant we were stopped by had the most amazing cappuccino pie, and asked if I would like to try it. I think you could see my ears perk up from the next car over. He got the hint and on went the blinker! We pulled into the restaurant, and little did I know, the boy who would become my life’s staple introduced me to one of my dessert staples. I adore both of them—and could eat one of them with a spoon.  Like any good recipe does, this recipe has options. You want to make your own ice cream for the filling? Go for it. I linked my recipe for coffee chip ice cream here. If you want to buy a quart of your favorite coffee ice cream, that’s great too. This is a pie that is eager to please.

Ingredients

Crust:

• 25 Oreo cookies, yielding 2 cups of crumb

• 1/2 tsp. espresso powder

• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

• 5 tbsp. melted butter

Filing:

• 1 quart of coffee ice cream, softened

• or if you want to make your own: click here! Just make sure you have a quart of it!

Topping:

• 2 cups of heavy cream

• 2 tbsp. of lemon juice (okay your eyebrows might be raising at this one, but hear me out. Traditionally speaking, when espresso is served in an Italian restaurant, it is served with a lemon rind that you are supposed to rub around the rim of the espresso cup and put into the drink, to cut the bitterness. I thought this addition would be a fun nod to that! It also helps cut through some of the milk fat and brightens the flavor!)

• 1-2 tbsp. of powdered sugar, depending on how sweet you like your whipped cream

Method

For the crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a food processor, pulse Oreos, espresso powder, and salt until Oreos are a fine crumb. Pulse and stream butter in. Mix should look and feel like wet sand.

3. Press into a pie dish with a measuring cup, I find the 1/3 of a cup works best, and work to make the crust even.

4. Bake for 6-8 minutes.

5. Take out and let cool.

For the filling:

1. If you’re making your own ice cream, now is the time to bust out that ice cream maker! Your ice cream mixture can harden in your pie dish once it is done being mixed.

2. If you’re going the premade route, put your ice cream on the counter to soften for 30 minutes or until spreadable.

3. Fill pie dish with ice cream and place into freezer to set. About 30 minutes.

For the topping:

1. Combine heavy cream, lemon, and sugar into a bowl and beat until stiff peaks form.

2. Top pie with cream mixture.

3. Place back into freezer to harden for 4 hours.

Pie can be stored in the freezer. To slice, run some hot water over a knife to make cutting easier! Or you can just stand in your kitchen, in your jammies, with a spoon just enjoying the whole thing yourself. No judgement.

Baking Surfaces Review: Foil vs Silpat vs Parchment

Have you ever looked at a baking surface and wondered how it was affecting the way your cookies or baked goods turned out? Whether smooth, ridged, or textured, in chemistry even the smallest variables can have an affect on the outcome. It seems as though same applies to cookies, which are really just little, delicious, chemistry experiments! I have been wanting to run this test for over a year, and finally, my quarantined self found the time—still trying to stay productive! So here are my findings in comparing the results of different baking surfaces. These cookies were made from the same recipe, were scooped with the cookie scooper to be the same size, and were baked at the same temperature, for the same amount of time.

1. Foil- A much used option when it comes to covering things or making them in the oven. I feel that foil is often used in baking cookies. I found that the cookies baked morphed into less uniform circles. However, I did feel that the cookies baked very evenly, as foil works by reflecting the thermal energy used back to the food. The cookies baked on the foil-lined baking sheet also got crisper overall and toasted on the bottom, but did not burn. Also, I think by having more thermal energy directed towards the cookies, the butter and sugar had more of an opportunity to carmelize, and had a nutter/more distinct flavor once baked. If you like a chewier cookie, this is the baking surface for you! Rating: 8/10

2. Silpat- If you’re not familiar with a Silpat, I feel that today you have made a very important, life-changing, discovery. A Silpat is a non-stick, food-safe, silicon mat. When it came to the shape of the cookies, all of the cookies baked on the Silpat achieved a beautiful, circular shape, and the whole pan was very uniform. The cookies baked very evenly, but the bottom of the cookie did not get as toasted at the cookies made on the parchment or the foil. Overall, the cookies had a softer, more tender texture. Although the picture of the cookies above does not depict this, the cookies made on the Silpat were overall smaller than those baked on the foil and parchment, I think this is due to the texture of the mat that makes it harder for the cookies to spread. If you like a softer cookie, this surface is for you, and you can buy them here! Rating: 8.5/10

3. Parchment Paper- There is a picture of cookies on the box of my parchment paper. This had to be tested. Parchment paper is heat-resistant, moisture-resistant, and non-stick, all of the elements needed in order to be a baker’s partner in crime. However, I found that the cookies burned on the bottom and while still edible, it was not the toasted element the foil gave me. The paper was also the slickest surface option and while the dough was heating and spreading, it seems the bottoms of the cookies spread and baked first, and the rest of the cookie followed. As a result, the sides did not spread evenly and did not attain a circular shape. Overall the cookies this baking surface produced were overdone and unevenly spread and baked on the sides. However, my husband did want me to add that they were super crunchy. So if you want a crunchy cookie, this is your baking surface! Rating: 6.5/10