Grapefruit-Champagne Sorbet

I’m not generally a fan of frozen treats. I have very sensitive teeth and the coldness of ice creams, sorbets, and popsicles is usually rather painful.

There are a few notable exceptions. For some reason frozen custard doesn’t bother me, nor did some of the most amazing pistachio gelato last year in Florence. Perhaps it’s the fat content or the method of churning – I’m unsure.

Then there are frozen treats that are so incredibly delicious that I don’t care if they hurt my teeth, I just eat them slowly and carefully. This sorbet is one of those treats.

It’s like a frozen mimosa exploding in your mouth. Which, to me, sounds like bliss. The recipe is from David Lebovitz’s Perfect Scoop, which is, in my opinion, the definitive recipe book on ice creams and frozen delights.

So far I’ve made a few different things from it. I was pretty “meh” about the Watermelon Sorbetto, but the husband loved it. I adapted the Lemon Sorbet recipe to suit some fresh grapefruits sent lovingly from an aunt in Florida for Christmas, but it was pretty underwhelming – but the husband loved it. In fact, I think he ate the entire batch in about 3 days.

I’ve got a bunch of other recipes on my to-do list: Mojito Granita, Olive Oil Ice Cream, Orange-Szechuan Peppercorn Ice Cream, Rice Ice Cream…

This Grapefruit-Champagne sorbet, however, has rocked my world. The flavor of the wine is prevalent, so be warned. This probably isn’t appropriate for children or non-drinkers. The husband doesn’t drink alcohol, but he found the strong champagne flavor to be “un-offensive,” as he put it. I, on the other hand, want to take the entire container of sorbet, back myself into a corner, and growl at anyone who comes near.

Make this. Then don’t share it with your friends.

Grapefruit-Champagne Sorbet

from The Perfect Scoop

1 1/3 cups Champagne or other sparkling white wine

1 cup sugar

2 ½ cups fresh squeezed grapefruit juice

In a medium, nonreactive saucepan, heat about half the champagne with the sugar, stirring frequently until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in the remaining champagne and the grapefruit juice.

Chill the mixture thoroughly and freeze it according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.

*Notes: I didn’t use a saucepan, I microwaved half the champagne and the sugar in a large glass measuring cup a minute at a time until the sugar dissolved, stirring every 30 seconds. Then I chilled the champagne-sugar mixture, as well as the rest of the wine and the grapefruit juice. I combined them all once chilled and then put it in my ice cream maker. This worked perfectly for me and it seemed a lot easier than using the stovetop. It’s up to you.

White Beans and Ham

I remember my mother making white beans and ham anytime there was a leftover ham hock from a holiday meal. That soup had a stick-to-your-ribs level of heartiness that has remained unmatched, in my eyes, to this day. She’d simmer a pot of Great Northern white beans with the ham hock until the beans had gotten all creamy and thick; little bits of ham dotted throughout. She’d serve it with cornbread and we’d all gobble it down. My dad recently lamented (7 years post-divorce) that he still hadn’t been able to get it replicated in his own kitchen.

I will admit that it may be an acquired taste for some. It literally consisted of nothing besides a ham hock, beans, salt and water. While I appreciate the simplicity of the dish – and no one can deny how filling and economical it was for feeding a family of 5 on a budget – I wanted to add some more vegetables into my version. I’m trying to limit my meat consumption as much as possible while adding in as many vegetables as I can, in an effort to finally meet those 5 or more servings per day recommendations. Plus, adding a mirepoix isn’t that expensive and adds a ton of flavor and nutrients into the finished soup.

I had a ham hock left over from Christmas dinner, from the ham I bought from Copper Penny Farm. It was a beauteous thing, marbled with fat and loaded with flavor. It’s easy to forget how delicious ham is when it comes from a pig that’s raised properly and isn’t one of those commercially hybridized, Smithfield-patented abominations with a 2% fat content. Seriously, check out LocalHarvest.org and find where you can get a locally grown ham for your next holiday meal. It’s worth it.

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Vanilla Pistachio Biscotti

A few weeks ago I bought a couple bags of pistachios while they were on sale. While I’m a fan of the salted variety for out of hand eating, I accidentally grabbed an unsalted bag as well. After I’d devoured the salted bag and was searching through my cupboards for a late-night snack, I decided that the unsalted kind had to be better than nothing at all.

While munching I noticed some particularly strong notes of vanilla. I had a few dozen batches of cookies to bake for people on the horizon, so I started thinking of ways to incorporate the unsalted green nuts into some sort of cookie – like vanilla pistachio biscotti.

I’d never made biscotti before, but had been meaning to for quite some time – perfect opportunity. Plus, since I was baking for other people I could experiment to my heart’s content and get the waistline-burgeoning results out of my house (not something I can say for the batch of cinnamon rolls I baked last night and am currently devouring).

Every recipe I came across also incorporated cranberries or chocolate, but I wasn’t interested in distracting from the nutty vanilla flavor I wanted. I eventually settled on altering one of Tyler Florence’s recipes and I think it turned out pretty well.

I wanted to amp up the vanilla flavor as much as possible, so I also used vanilla sugar. Vanilla sugar is one of my favorite baking secrets for sneaking some extra flavor into goodies without too much effort. Many recipes call for scraping the seeds out of a vanilla pod, but there’s still so much flavor left in there – it’d be a shame to discard it, especially considering how expensive they are. Instead, fill up a jar with sugar and stick the “spent” pods in there. Over time it will perfume the sugar with a lovely, subtle vanilla flavor. I just use an old spaghetti sauce jar (that’s been thoroughly cleaned, of course) and refill it with sugar every time I use some.

If you don’t have vanilla sugar then just use regular, I can guarantee the biscotti will still be delicious.

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Flourless Chocolate Cookies

I’m a big fan of King Arthur Flour for a number of reasons, not least of the which is that any recipes they provide are reliable, tested items. It’s kind of like getting a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated – you know that a real, live actual person has tested the recipes and – more likely than not – they’re going to work.

That being said, I’m usually too lazy to make bread anymore because I’ve been so busy with school the last few years (graduate this week!). Their cookies and quick breads, however, are usually pretty easy to whip up.

I also try to avoid baking cookies too often, really just out of sympathy for my poor bathroom scale and the seams in my jeans, but around Christmastime calories only count for half – or so I’m inclined to believe. These cookies, as far as cookies go at least, are relatively healthy. There's zero fat and they're not terribly caloric.

Last year I went on an all-out cookie bonanza for my father-in-law’s company Christmas party – sugar and gingerbread cookies painstakingly decorated by hand along with chocolate-peppermint cream whoopee pies.

It was exhausting.

This year I wanted cookies that were at least relatively easy to put together, while still making me look like a culinary badass. These, my fine Internet friends, are it. They take about 60 seconds to put together and about 12 minutes to bake, but they look like they involved all sorts of complicated things like whipping and folding and magical chocolatey fairies. But no, a 5-year old could do it. Literally.

So make like a 5-year old, throw these together, and let your office holiday partygoers revel in your awesomeness.

KAF’s Flourless Fudge Cookies

Yields about 2 dozen 2 inch cookies

(I prefer to bake by weight, click here to go to the original recipe at KAF with weight measurements)

2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional but good

1 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-process

3 large egg whites

2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets. Or line with parchment, and grease the parchment.

2) Stir together all of the ingredients till smooth. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and stir again till smooth.

3) Drop the soft, batter-like dough onto the prepared baking sheets in 1/2" circles; a two teaspoon cookie scoop works well here.

4) Bake the cookies for 8-12 minutes; they should spread, become somewhat shiny, and develop faintly crackly tops.

5) Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow them to cool right on the pan.

Ham and Sweet Potato Hash with Over-Easy Eggs and Pea Shoots

I had another lovely ham steak from Copper Penny Farm languishing in my freezer and couldn’t decide what to do with it. I had the sudden epiphany that it would be great with sweet potato the other day while planning my weekly dinner menu, and found this recipe over at Epicurious. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but it was close enough to get me started.

I was happy at how quickly this came together – from start to eating within 30 minutes – which makes it perfect for a weekend brunch item. Use a nice heavy bottom skillet for this to get a nice brown on the sweet potatoes while they’re cooking on their own – just make sure you have a lid that more or less fits to get the steaming action you need to cook them through.

Also, if you can’t find baby pea shoots, feel free to substitute any other delicate greenery like watercress, mâche, or arugula. And take it easy on the salt on this dish – between the salty ham and the salted butter I used I didn’t feel the need for any additional seasoning at all.

Ham and Sweet Potato Hash with Over-Easy Eggs and Baby Pea Shoots

Yields about 4 servings

2 tablespoons butter

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes (about 2 cups)

½ yellow onion, chopped

1 lb ham steak, cubed

2 cups baby pea shoots

4 eggs, cooked over easy

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet and add the sweet potatoes. Toss to coat and then cover with a lid, cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. When the sweet potato is almost done add the onions and ham and cook for a further 3-4 minutes – until onion is translucent and ham is heated through. Add the baby pea shoots and wilt. Divide into four portions and serve immediately with over-easy eggs on top.