I came home from work the other day to the best surprise in the whole world. A big box with those big, glorious red letters “KitchenAid” was sitting on the kitchen table!

I had been lusting over the ice cream maker attachment to my stand mixer for months. Though I would love a self-refrigerating machine, like the kind we use at the restaurant, the KitchenAid attachment is really the most practical, reasonable and efficient for at-home churning. Ice cream is kindof like jam (my other recent obsession) – as long as you get the basic process down, you have the ability to be creative and experimental, or simple and traditional, mixing an infinite number of different flavor options, savory and sweet, into one delicious little package.

Naturally, as a thank you for this ridiculously perfect gift, my first ice cream adventure had to be Bobby’s #1 favorite, rum raisin, made with his #1 favorite rum, Sailor Jerry’s.

Now, I have to take a moment to talk about Sailor Jerry’s. This rum is unlike any rum I have ever tasted. It was created to honor the legacy of Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins, the prolific tattoo artist who is considered the father of old school Navy tattooing (swallows, anchors, pin-ups, etc). He spent half of his life as a sailor, and the other half tattooing them, and as such, Sailor Jerry’s is made in accordance with the old sailor’s tradition of infusing the spirit with a special blend of Eastern spices. It is therefore absurdly smooth, with intense notes of vanilla, butter, toffee, nutmeg and cinnamon. Phenomenal on the rocks, but also perfect for rum raisin ice cream!

Rum Raisin Ice Cream
adapted from, where else, but “A Perfect Scoop,” by David Lebovitz
-yields 1 L-

Ingredients:
2/3 c (100 g)raisins
1/2 c (125 mL) Sailor Jerry Spiced Navy Rum
strips of orange zest
3/4 c (180 mL) whole milk
2/3 c (130 g) sugar
1 1/2 c (375 mL) heavy cream
pinch of salt
4 large yolks

Technique:
1. Mascerate the raisins in the rum and orange zest.

2. Warm the milk, sugar, 1/2 c of cream and salt in a sauce pot.

3. Pour the remaining cream into a separate bowl, and set a strainer on top.

4. Whisk the eggs in another bowl. Slowly pour the milk into the yolks, constantly whisking. Then, scrape the mixture back into the sauce pot and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens to coat the back of a spoon.

5. Pour the custard through the strainer and into the cream. Stir over an ice bath until cool, then refrigerate until completely chilled (I leave mine overnight at the least).

6. Drain the rum from the raisins. Add more rum so that you have a total of 3 tbsp, and stir into the custard. Then turn the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions. Add the raisins during the last few minutes of churning.

Boozy, boozy goodness!

Photos by Bobby Z Photo

I was walking home from work about a few weeks ago, at 1 am as per usual, when I smelled something new…what was it? LILACS. Considering I live in a big, metal and glass condo in Queen West, Toronto, with construction sites all around me, it was pretty spectacular to be assaulted with one of the most fragrant flowers I can think of instead of the usual smell of city and dust. The first thing I thought…I have to cook with this! What better way to preserve that undeniable smell of spring all year long than lilac jelly!

Knowing that lilacs bloom for only a few short weeks (if that), my time was limited to gather my seasonal ingredient. I felt like a proper homesteader. So there I was, my first day off from the restaurant in 6 days, in a pair of cutoffs with a pair of scissors and a shopping bag, foraging around the side of my building for gorgeous clusters of aromatic lilac. Luckily only a few people walked by! I think there is a bit of hunter gather gene in me, because for the better part of the gloomy, humid Toronto spring day, I sat in my apartment, 19 floors up and balcony door wide open, picking the tiny flowers into a bowl while Bobby cheerfully rattled on about music and edited his new photos of These Kids Wear Crowns.

I have never worked with pectin before, but it was pretty clear that there was no way a pectin-free procedure would work in this case. To make any type of floral jelly, herb or mint jelly, pepper jelly, etc, you basically make a tea or “infusion,” and then set that tea with added pectin. Otherwise you will just end up with a thick simple syrup-like product. Whether that be in the form of natural pectin (from boiled apple peels and cores or citrus skin), or in the form of the packaged stuff is your decision. This is an amazing resource to get a simple overview of all of the different types of pectin, their advantages and disadvantages, how to use them, and which is ideal for your purpose.

I used the Roscommon Acres and The 3 Foragers recipes as a base, as they seem to be the ones that most people refer to – about equal steeping liquid-to-petal ratio, and then double the sugar (1:1:2), plus lemon juice. Make sure you follow the recipe exactly because, of course, lemon juice is key as it is the sugar/acid/pectin ratio that achieves ideal gelling. As Pick Your Own states, “Pectin’s structure binds with water in an acid environment. Sugar increases pectin’s ability to gel, and affects the texture and consistency of jellies and jams as they cool and set.”

Lilac Jelly
-yields 4 8-oz jars-

Ingredients:
2 c picked lilac flowers
2 1/2 c hot water
4 c sugar
4 tbsp lemon juice
1 package powdered Certo pectin (regular, full sugar)

Technique:
1. If you are an urban forager like myself, wash your lilacs very, very, very well! There is lots of smog and yucky things in city air that sticks to everything! My fingers turned black while picking my lilac flowers from their stems. I did 5 washes of my flowers, the first wash with dish soap, in order to make sure my flowers were clean. Fill a bowl with water and toss the petals like a salad, moving them around with your fingers to create some friction with the water. Lift out and into another big bowl of clean water, and continue until the water comes out completely clear.

2. Boil water until just simmering and pour over the petals. Dont worry…all of the petals will instantly wilt and turn brown. This is normal. Cover, and allow to sit for 8-24 hours. (I let my infusion sit at room temperature for 8 hours, and then in the fridge for an additional 16.)

3. Strain the flowers out of the infusion using a coffee filter. Measure the resulting liquid again, and add exactly 2 cups with the lemon juice and pectin to a heavy bottomed pot and bring to a boil.

4. Add the sugar all at once and bring to a rapid boil, ensuring that all of the sugar dissolves, for 1 minute. Then, remove from heat, skim off all the foam and stir for 5 minutes. Then ladle into sterile jam jars and process.

Spring all year round!

Photos by Bobby Z Photo

I got this idea from Grant Achatz from Alinea. He calls it “flavor bouncing,” (watch this, seriously) and I have been keeping a little notebook, keeping track of different flavor combinations that sound good to me. Sometimes my flavor maps are bigger, and sometimes it is just two flavors that I think would be really interesting together, or tasted, or heard of somewhere. Blueberry, ginger and vanilla is one combination that pops up a lot, and when Bobby brought home 3 boxes of blueberries the other day, I knew it was time to experiment. I love making jams, especially at this type of year when all sorts of summer produce starts to pop up at the markets.

So, I never posted about a terribly overcooked blackberry and white wine jam I tried a few weeks ago. It was embarrassingly bad…a big block of congealed fruit. Anyway, a pattern I noticed with this jam, compared to when I make jams with pectin-rich fruit, like tomatoes or strawberries, is that while the jam is still hot, it appears much more liquid-y when cooking with berries. Well, blackberries and blueberries, at least. Maybe it is because they rely more on the sugar to do the gel-ing work rather than the fruit’s pectin itself? Anyone know? Luckily, just to see where we were at, I stuck my handy digital thermometer into the bubbly liquid and to my surprise, it already read 220 degrees! Good thing because it came out the perfect consistency once it cooled.

The consensus from a number of sources around no-pectin blueberry jams is about a 2:1 ratio of sugar to blueberries, which I think worked quite well. After much research, I settled on using this recipe over at My Sister’s Kitchen as a base. Its pretty spot on in terms of how sweet the jam turned out, as the sweetness doesn’t mask the blueberries at all. The powdered ginger (though I think candied ginger would work even better) gives it a subtle savory spice, and the vanilla lent a lovely warmth – I’ll add more next time. Almost like blueberry pie in a jar!

Blueberry Ginger Jam
-yields 3 8-oz jars-

Ingredients:
6 c blueberries
3 c sugar
1 vanilla bean (or 1 tbsp vanilla extract)
1 tsp ground ginger
juice of 1 lemon

Technique:
1. Add all of the ingredients to a heavy-bottomed pot, and as the mixture starts to heat up, begin crushing the blueberries with a potato masher. (Its easier this way than smashing the cold blueberries on their own…no rogue blueberries under the fridge and splatter on your clothes!)

2. Cook on medium heat, frequently skimming the yucky foam that will collect around the edges of the pot. Mix occasionally to make sure that the bottom does not scorch, and keep the sides of the pot clean of crystallized sugar.

3. Test a dollop on a cold plate or spoon until the liquid does not run back into an area you push away, then remove from heat and process in sterilized jam jars. (See this post for a step-by-step of this whole process.)

Maybe next time, the same flavor combination in a main dish…maybe some sort of braise? Im thinking…vanilla braised short ribs? With blueberry jus? And ginger sweet potatoes? Or, seasonally appropriate…smoky vanilla, blueberry and ginger BBQ ribs? Hmmm…gonna keep thinking about that one!

Photos by Bobby Z Photo

There is no better way to wind down after a busy Sunday, full of running errands and doing chores, than in an apartment filled with the sweet smell of roasting lamb and garlic. Lamb rack is one of my favorite pieces of meat to cook. It is so elegant, tender, juicy and lean, plus it is such a consistent cut you can cook it with your eyes closed. A quick sear, pat on a crust of whatever happens to be your favorite spices of the moment, and pop ‘er in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Dim the lights, open a bottle of wine, and enjoy.

Honey, Mustard, Garlic, and Herb Rack of Lamb

Ingredients:
1 lamb rack
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp honey, to taste
1 tbsp confit garlic (a little trick I learned from the restaurant – cook whole, peeled cloves of garlic in olive oil very slowly until golden brown and tender. I keep this in my fridge and use it in everything from marinades to dressings to frying oil.)
lemon juice, to taste
3 tbsp panko crumb
smoked paprika
lavender
fresh parsley
fresh mint
salt, to taste

Technique:
1. Trim your rack, carefully cutting off any extra flaps of fat. You should end up with a lean chunk of meat at the bottom of the bones. French the bones by scraping them with your knife. This way there is no tissue that can burn during cooking.

2. Season the meat well with olive oil, salt and pepper, and sear on high heat for a nice brown crust.

3. Mix together the Dijon, honey, garlic confit (or raw garlic, or powdered garlic), lemon juice, and salt. Feel free to add anything else to the marinade that you like, taste it, and make sure it is delicious. Rub it on the top of the meat in a thick layer.

4. Mix together the panko crumb, chopped herbs, spices, and anything else you feel like. I like to run my knife through it to better blend the herbs and break up the panko a little bit, or you can put it in a food processor. Then, pat it into the Dijon marinade in a thick layer.

5. Pop the rack into the oven at 400 F for 10-12 minutes. Allow to rest on your cutting board for about 10 minutes before slicing into it.

6. Deglaze your pan with some red wine, allow to reduce for a few moments. Then I like to whisk in some cold butter. Pour a spoonful over your lamb for a little added richness.

I have been doing a lot of reading lately about buttercreams. I had a horrible pastry teacher in culinary school, and I have always been confused about the different types of buttercream, what classifies them and why one would use one over another.

After having tasted a true Italian buttercream at work, however, (our pastry chef was using it to frost a wedding cake) I was hooked and had to understand, once and for all, the basics of buttercreams. So, out came my trusty friend Gisslen.

As it turns out, there are 3 types of buttercream:

Simple buttercream, is the type we all grew up with…butter whipped with confectioners sugar. It holds well, and is super easy to make, and is tooth-achingly sweet.

Meringue buttercream, as a group, are icings that are made by first beating egg whites, and then adding boiling syrup or sugar. Then, soft butter is whipped into the meringue. The result is a soft, light and fluffy icing with the delicate taste of butter.

French buttercreams are similar to meringue buttercreams, but are made with yolks or whole eggs instead of exclusively whites. The yolks made for a richer icing.

I have already encountered meringue-type desserts in the form of French macarons, however my recipe uses a raw sugar preparation, where the sugar is simply whisked into the frothy egg whites until they dissolve on their own (I learned how to make these at the restaurant…it’s the quick and easy macaron technique.) So, I embarked on my first cooked-sugar meringue, and it was much less intimidating than I expected! Though I wouldn’t recommend attempting it without a recipe and candy thermometer – our pastry chef eyes the measurements and sugar temperature by “the size of the bubbles” – I’ll have to work on that one.

I got this recipe from Pastry Chef Online, and used the technique from my Gisslen. Gisslen has an almost identical recipe, but i yeilds a 5 lb batch and I couldn’t be bothered to do the math. Also, he adds a bit of shortening to stabilize the buttercream, but I hate the mouth-feel of shortening so of course I used only butter.

Italian Buttercream

Ingredients:
4 oz egg whites
8 oz sugar
2 oz water
10 oz butter, cubed and soft
1/2 vanilla bean (or 1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract)

Technique:
1. Begin to bring sugar and water up to a boil. At the same time, start to whip the egg whites. The goal is to have your egg whites at soft peaks at the same time as your sugar reaches 244 F. Don’t be afraid to slow down the speed of your mixer if your whites are getting close, or crank it if vice versa.

2. Turn the mixer down to medium so that your syrup doesn’t splash, and add in a stream. Then, crank the mixer up to high and whip until the bottom of the mixing bowl is completely cool to the touch and your meringue is thick, shiny, and at hard peaks. (This actually took a lot longer than I expected. Anticipate at least 10 minutes of whipping.)

3. At this point, begin to add the soft cubes of butter, one cube at a time. Don’t get impatient and wait until the previous cube has been blended into the meringue before adding the next. You will get to a point when the meringue will suddenly change to a luscious, whipped texture.

4. After you have incorporated all of the butter, add the vanilla bean.

By incorporating the hot syrup, you have essentially cooked your egg white, so the buttercream will last at least 2 weeks in your fridge, and also freezes nicely, just re-whip it at room temperature to bring it back to life. I have a half liter patiently waiting for the next baking adventure!

Also, this is Bobbie‘s first photographic contribution to the blog! My brilliant boyfriend and partner…I cant wait to post more of his gorgeous documentation of our life in and around the kitchen.

This is by far the most easy, reliable red velvet recipe I have tried. The color is a rich red, without being neon nor a muddy brown, the top is thin and crunchy and the cake is dense and moist in the center. And the best part is it comes out the same every time!

I don’t like when icing is too sweet or creamy and this cream cheese buttercream fits the bill. I made these in mini size for my best friend’s sisters bridal shower and people actually came into the kitchen to tell me it was the best icing they ever had!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Cake

Ingredients:
2.5 c A/P flour
1.5 c sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cocoa powder
2 eggs, room temperature
1.5 c vegetable oil
1 c buttermilk (or 1 c milk soured with 1 tbsp white vinegar)
1 ounce red food coloring
1 tsp white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Technique:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt together.

3. Separately, mix the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla until well combined.

4. Add the flour mixture until combined and smooth. Pour into lined cupcake pans and bake for 20-22 minutes.

Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:
16 ounces cream cheese (full fat!)
2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 c icing sugar

Technique:
1. Whip cream cheese and butter, add vanilla.

2. Add icing sugar, 1/2 cup by 1/2 cup, until smooth, incorporated, and holds its shape, and whip until light and fluffy.

Ice, sprinkle and eat!

In all honesty, I have little talent for pastry. I am even less of a bread maker. But I have to say, this is one of the easiest breads I have ever made and it comes out absolutely delicious. It is crusty and golden on the outside, yet fluffy, yeasty and dense on the inside…filled with wholesome oats and sweetened with a touch of honey. And it will fill your kitchen with that amazing smell of fresh baked bread that can calm even the most high-strung nerves.

Don’t laugh, but the original recipe is from my KitchenAid Instructions and Recipes book!

Homemade Honey and Oatmeal Bread
-yields 1 9×5″ loaf-

Ingredients:
3/4 c water
1/4 c honey
1/6 c butter
2 3/4 – 3 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c quick-cooking oats
1 tsp salt
1 packet of active dry yeast
1 egg
1 egg white
1 tbsp water
extra oats for sprinkling

Technique:
1. Combine water, honey and butter in a small pan and heat over low heat until the butter is melted and the mixture is warm, between 120-130 F. (Unfortunately, it is important to make sure that your mixture is within this temperature range. Higher temperatures can kill yeast, and lower temperatures will retard yeast fermentation – both of which will make your dough not rise.)

2. First, place oats, then blanket with 2 cups of flour, then salt, and then yeast into your mixer bowl. Stir with dough hook attachment for a few seconds on 2nd speed.

3. Gradually add warm liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and continue to mix for about 2 minutes, then add 1 egg and mix about 1 more minute.

4. White mixer is still on 2nd speed, add flour, about 1/4 c at a time. When the dough stops climbing above the collar of the hook, starts to clean the sides of the bowl and forms a ball around the hook, you have added enough flour. Continue to mix for about 2 more minutes.

5. (This is going to sound vague, but follow me here…) Pull the sides of the ball into your palm, so you have a nice, smooth “babies bottom” top to your ball, and all the edges are gathered at the bottom, squeezed together. Place the dough in a bowl greased with butter and spin the dough around so that it is greased all around. Cover with parchment paper and a tea towel and allow to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

6. Punch dough down. On a lightly dusted surface, roll out dough into a rectangle approximately 9″x14″. Beginning at the short end, roll the dough up tightly like a yoga mat and pinch to seal the seam, as well as the ends.

7. Place the loaf into a greased loaf pan, turning the ends under and with the seam facing down. Cover with parchment paper and a tea towel and allow to rise in a warm place for another hour, or until doubled in size.

8. Beat egg white and water and brush top of loaf. Be sure not to let any egg wash pool or drip or it will burn. Sprinkle with oats.

9. Bake at 375 F for 30 to 40 minutes. To check for doneness, the crust should be a deep golden brown in color, and the bread will have pulled away from the sides of the pan. There will also be a hollow sound when you tap on the top.

10. Remove from pan right when it comes out of the oven (so that it doesn’t get soggy) and cool on a wire rack.

Slice and enjoy!

I just can’t bring myself to make one more pumpkin pie this season, so Im switching it up Christmas Day and putting a slight twist on the typical desserts, but maintaining the traditional flavor profiles. Everyone loves cupcakes, right?

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream

Cake

Ingredients:
1 c pumpkin puree, either fresh or canned 100% pumpkin
1.5 c sugar
1/2 c water
1/2 c canola oil
2 eggs
1 2/3 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp ground clove
1/2 tsp salt

Technique:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Combine pumpkin puree, sugar, water, oil and eggs in a large bowl.

3. Separately, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and salt. Slowly mix the dry into the wet ingredients.

4. Pour into cupcake cups and bake for about 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Icing

Ingredients:
1 c sugar
1/4 c water
1/2 c 35% cream
2 egg yolks, beaten
1/2 c salted butter
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 to 1 1/2 c icing sugar

Technique:
1. In a saucepan, cook sugar and water on high heat, washing sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water if sugar accumulates.

2. When golden brown, quickly remove from pan. It will begin to burn very quickly! Stir in cream and dissolve all sugar. Be careful because it will bubble up dramatically.

3. Very, very gradually, whisk the caramel into the beaten egg yolks so as to not cook the eggs. Once all incorporated, cool the mixture to room temperature.

4. With paddle attachment ot hand mixer, beat butter and salt until light and fluffy, then beat in cooked caramel mixture. Slowly add icing sugar until the consistency is smooth and the icing holds its shape.

* Make sure cupcakes are completely cool before icing. Garnish with edible dried flowers, dusted cinnamon, or festive sprinkles. Enjoy!

When we think of tomatoes, we think of salsa, pasta sauce, bolognese…but jam? I got the idea from our friendly waiter at Colborne Lane, who got the idea from the restaurant’s brilliant Chef Claudio Aprile. I have been itching to try to make jam at home, especially since its the holiday season and homemade delicacies always seem to go over well as gifts.

I compared a bunch of recipes, and compromised on a spiced concoction which came out so yummy and delicious I am tempted to keep a jar for myself!

Spiced Tomato Jam
-yields 2 8-oz jars-

Ingredients:
2.5 lb ripe tomatoes (I used beefsteak because they were on sale, but a more refined choice would be plumb or a sweet heirloom variety)
2 1/4 c sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
3 whole cloves
6 strips of lemon zest, cut with a vegetable peeler
1/4 c port (I used a 10 year old tawny porto)
chili powder and allspice to taste, if you like a spicier jam

Technique:
1. Score a small X in the skin on the bottom of the tomatoes, and blanch by placing the tomatoes in boiling water for about 20 seconds, until the skin begins to peel on its own. Rinse in cold water.

2. Peel the tomatoes by cutting through the skin, bottom to top, and peel the “petals” away from the seeds and core. Then, cut the “petals” into small squares.

3. Combine the tomatoes, sugar, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and port in a saucepan. Heat on high heat until the sugar melts and the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and keep at a simmer for about an hour. Mix occasionally, and wash down the sides of the pot with a pastry brush and water if sugar begins to accumulate.

4. When the one hour mark begins to approach, place your mason jars in a stock pot and fill with water until jars are covered by at least 2 inches. Bring the water to boil for at least 10 minutes to sanitize jars.

5. Place a small ceramic or glass plate in the freezer for about 10 minutes. You will use this plate to test whether your jam is ready. Place a small dollop of jam on the cold plate, and give it a minute or two to cool slightly. Push the jam with your finger. If it wrinkles up and does not fill the space where you pushed it away, it is ready to jar.

6. Add allspice and chili powder to taste. I only added a pinch of each in order to add that subtle hint of spice and an additional level of flavor, but not enough to make it spicy. If you like it spicy, add more by all means!

7. Remove the jars and lids from the boiling water with tongs or a jar lifter if you have one. Allow the water to evaporate off of the jars, and begin to spoon your jam into the jars. Leave about 1/4″ of headroom at the top of the jar.

8. Tighten the lids on the jars (but not too tight!) and place the full jars back into the boiling water. Once the water has returned to a boil, process for 5 minutes.

9. Remove the jars and place them on a heat resistant surface to cool. At some point, you will hear the “popping” sound as the jar seals. If you look at the lids, they will be depressed like the top of a Snapple bottle.

* If your jars did not pop or the top is not depressed, make sure you eat your jam within 2 weeks. If you have sealed your jam correctly, it will keep for about a year. In either case, keep in the frige after opening.

Spread on toast or crackers, or better yet, serve on a baguette with brie or chevre. Yum yum!