Cool Ice Cream Recipes

Yesterday's New York Times Dining section was completely devoted to ice cream. Yesterday I wrote about Julia Moskin's article on the city's most expensive ice creams. Today it's about Melissa Clark's forays into making egg free or Philadelphia style ice cream. She offers good advice and tips on churning out a better than the store kind.

When I was making ice cream I always made the eggless kind. To me this was the purer , better tasting. After all what could beat rich cream .A custardy ice cream is great however it requires a lot of work and patience along with some luck. If you're a novice stick with the Philly or American version as it's sometime called. The trick is using good cream, natural ingredients and just regular sugar. Another trick is combing heavy cream and milk with a ratio of 65 to 35 percent .This is from pastry chef and owner of the ice cream company The General Greene, Nick Morgenstern. he also recommends adding a dash of salt to bring out the flavors as well.

I like the recipes that come with the article. They were a summer berry, made with a combination of raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries)maple spice , roasted hazelnut vanilla and bittersweet chocolate. The maple spice sounds intriguing because it combines maple and cinnamon flavors . I can see this over a piping hot waffle. The dark chocolate recipe calls for rum and that's an interesting twist. This I can see on it's own in a little shot glass served after a steak dinner.

Ice cream is a great treat. An even greater treat is having homemade. Think about making a simple Philadelphia style kind during these hot days.

Today'ss Times

This is going to be quick. I saw that today's Dining section of the New York Times has a whole article about the Food Channel spinoff. At first I thought this wasn't going to be so good. After all do we really need more cooking shows with celebrity chefs? However it's going to be slightly different There are going to be imported shows from the great North, Canada which will be very interesting. I feel that country doesn't get enough air time and its' chefs bring about real cooking with good and practical ideas.

Another plus for this channel is the variety of shows. There will be some that show how unusual food machines are made along Unique Eats along with some newer and grittier shows. The Food Channel has become bland (which to a certain aspect I agree.) It needs to be shaken up with new faces and new cooking techniques and ideas.

Will it? I hope so. we need a revolution to come along and shake us out of our boring culinary existences.

The Truth About Salsa

The Times Dining Section yesterday had an interesting article about real Mexican salsas. We usually think of salsas as those bottled up condiments, similar to ketchup.Either those or the mash up of tomatoes and peppers we usually make for our chips. However real Mexican salsas are not that simple .They're complex and layered with different ingredients and different textures. They're what makes the real deal pop.

The article, written by Dining regular Julia Moskin explores the varieties of salsa and the ingredients in it. The original ones have a mix of tart, sweet salty and different degrees of "heat". This last depend s on th e chilis that are put into it. Salsa shouldn't be too hot unless it's salsa picante . Salsas can be fresh or cooked depending on what they're used for. Fresh chilis are such as the serrano, jalpeno poblano and habenero can be used in making a quick orro the ever popular chipotle. You can buy the peppers in Mexican or Latin American based grocery stores or even in the bigger supermarket chains. Salsa can also have pumpkin seeds and peanuts and the indigenous canela, the native Mexican bark that tastes like cinnamon.

The article also recommends the best tools for making at home salsa. You can buy a molcajete , and a tejolete or roughly translated mortar and pestle. Most kitchen stores such as Williams & Sonoma and even Amazon sell them. Even newbies can make a simple pico di gallo or salsa Mexicana., It's finely cut tomatoes green chilis and onions blended together into a smooth sauce. You can also spike it with tequila to make what's known as a drunken salsa or add cooked onions as opposed to raw. This last imparts sweet taste that would go good with grilled meats. Also salsa depends on how the ingredients were prepared The veggies can be charred for a smokiness, or pan fried in oil for a creaminess. You can also parboil them as well . to maintain their color but to give them some flexibility when they're being crushed.

There;'s nothing like a good salsa m,there it;s on chips or gracing a taco. If you want authentic, make your own, using the different chilis and cooking techniques. You can also serve it not only with chips. but gracing a taco or even on fajitas to give them bite. Get away from the every day salsas and try the traditional , true Mexican one.