Cook the Books 2013 - Ice cream sandwiches from Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones

Generally I don't go out of my way for ice cream. Maybe it goes back to the fact my first job was at Baskin-Robbins. Every time you took a break you were supposed to have a scoop of ice cream so you knew all the flavors. This doesn't sound like a terrible fate, I know, but I only worked there about 2 weeks, and even by then I was already sick of eating ice cream. Daiquiri Ice was my favorite, and to this day I like ices or simple flavors best. Or mint chip. Anyhow, even though I won't wait in that crazy line at Bi-Rite Creamery, and I don't really fancy all the artisan ice cream places in general (Mitchell's and La Copa Loca remain my faves), I did get excited by this month's cookbook.

It starts right off with basic ingredients and techniques for making your own ice cream, sorbets, granitas and ice pops. And all the fixings too. Plus step-by-step instructions for assembling ice cream cakes, pies or sandwiches.

Then the book tackles flavor categories one by one, starting off with vanilla. The crème fraîche ice cream is the standout for me—maybe in the entire book—but it's not the one I ultimately made. But now I've gone and gotten ahead of my scene setting approach...

The first recipe that I knew for sure I would make was Lemon Gingersnaps. I will eat anything gingerbread-like, and the addition of lemon oil and zest seemed extra interesting.

These cookies turned out to be the head-turners in the crowd. Once I paid heed to the recipe and spread them far enough apart on the sheets, they spread their cookie wings and took flight. Perfect, round, sparkly cookie delight.

Good thing I took them to the food swap, because this recipe does make a monster amount of cookies.

Then, after borrowing a behemoth ice cream maker from next door neighbors (meet the Lello 4070 Gelato Junior), I set my sights on making some filling for my stellar cookies. Two ripe bananas had been calling out for some rum and heavy cream, so I got easily roped into the carmelized banana ice cream recipe...

But, have I confessed my terrible recipe reading skills yet? Alas, it's true and they struck hard here. Despite reading the explicit chilling directions: "refrigerate the base for at least 2 hours or overnight", I put mine in the freezer! Freezing it before making ice cream? That's nonsense, but I still did it. So, the next morning I found myself waiting for my base to defrost so that I could mix in the flavorings and freeze it into ice cream. Ridiculousness.

Within just a few hours, I was back in action. And after just 25 short minutes in the humming gelato factory, I stood looking into the eye of some homemade ice cream. My first batch ever (though perhaps that's already abundantly clear from my confessed faux pas above?).

My ice cream was creamy, nicely textured, and though a bit too sweet for my own tastes, pretty darn delicious. I kept licking it off anything I encountered with ice cream on it, so that's gotta be a good indicator.

Then came the moment I had been waiting for. The making of the ice cream sandwich. If you've read the book, you'll immediate notice my ice cream sandwich looks nothing like the perfection they picture. I admit it, I did not use a measuring cup to shape my filling, nor was there an offset spatula involved in smoothing the sides. But there was some messy ice cream sandwich eating, and that my friends was the end game.

So, after all this I can absolutely recommend Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones for making some ice cream. Next time I'm going to experiment (syrup swirls and herbal kicks for sure), but whatever recipe you choose I can promise that with not a lot of effort, you'll be kicking back and enjoying the pure, sweet taste of summer!

Make Pickles - Cook It! August Resolution: Curry Pickle Slices

Making pickles is already one of my preserving pastimes. And out of everything I've made, my hands-down favorites are these Curry Pickle Slices. Last year's supply didn't last long, so I made a few batches earlier in the summer for the June food swap, but as pickling cucumber season was beginning to wane I had to squeak some more in during August. So they are the perfect fit for the August "make pickles" resolution for Cook It! 2012.

If you are making pickle chips of any kind, I highly recommend using a mandoline. This is not only about a thousand times faster than slicing them with a knife (no joke), but will ensure your slices are uniformly thick and they'll look nice too.

For most pickle chip recipes you'll need to plan on two days. The first one you prepare your vegetables and leave them in salt overnight to remove excess moisture. The second day you make the brine and get them into jars. If you are not a home canner, you could easily make a half batch and keep them in your fridge. I bet they wouldn't last long at all.

Curry Pickle Slices

Adapted from The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Top

Makes 4 pint jars

8 cups pickling cucumbers, sliced

3 small onions

1 tablespoon pickling salt

2¾ cups cider vinegar

1¾ cups sugar

1 tablespoon curry powder

2 teaspoons pickling spice (Penzey's has a great one, or you can make your own)

1 teaspoon each: celery seeds and yellow mustard seeds

Remove the cucumber ends and then cut into thick slices. Thinly slice your onions and place with the cucumber in a large non-reactive bowl. Sprinkle with pickling salt and let stand, covered, for 24 hours.

Drain the cucumbers and rinse them twice with cold water, draining thoroughly.

Combine your remaining ingredients: vinegar, sugar, curry powder, pickling spice, celery and yellow mustard seeds — and bring to a boil over high heat in non-reactive pan.

Add the cucumbers and onions and return just to a boil before removing from heat.

Remove hot jars from the canner and fill with vegetables, using a slotted spoon to remove from the pickling liquid. Pack into jars and pour in liquid, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. 

Process 10 minutes for pint jars and 15 minutes for quart jars.

Note: I've increased the amount of pickling liquid in this recipe adaptation as I always seem to be just a little bit short, and it is much better to have an excess than not enough to properly pickle all your hard work.

These pickles go great on nearly any sandwich and are awesome in egg salad.

August Swap Recap (filled with lots of caramel)

It's always good to try something new. Which goes hand-in-hand with the old adage 'all good things must come to an end'. So it turns out that we are doubly thankful! First, for the friendship and collaboration with Patricia — which via the Algarden and her landscape architecture business BASE — included use of the space we held most of our swaps in for nearly a year! And second, for the new partnership with Sports Basement where we held the August swap.

In direct contrast to our former space being on the tight side, the Grotto Gallery seemed a bit vast for our group. We've already got some ideas on how to make it more intimate, and to take advantage of the extra space for next time though.

As it always seems to go, we had a great mix of new faces and familiar ones — plus we attracted the interest of a few folks who were just passing by in the store but got excited about swapping, including Jay who even snapped & shared the photos above/below this section from his phone (thanks Jay). Spreading the swap love, that's what we like!

So the master swap list this go around is filled with all kinds of goodness, and yes, indeed featured quite a bit of caramel: 

Chocolate Caramels, Vanilla Bean Salted Caramel Sauce, Bulleit Bourbon Caramel Sauce, Chocolate Dipped Mangoes, Vegan Biscotti, Organic Sprout Mix, Chunky Pluot Cardamom Jam, Herb Sauce, Eggplant, North Carolina Style Pulled Pork, Salsa, Bacon Jam, Organic Yogurt, Organic Banana Bread, Tayberry Jam, Pickled Zucchini, Lavender Chocolate Macarons, Black & Orange Preserves, Chicken Liver, Apple & Bourbon Pate, Plum & Pomegranate Jam with Tarragon, Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho, Chile Infused Vodka, Papaya Habanero Hot Sauce, Boozie Cherries, Spicy Pickled Carrots, Pickled Spiced Beets, Creme Fraiche, Wild Presidio Blackberry Jam, Rustic Chocolate Choffy Truffles, Mahummara, Olive Oil Granola with Cherries, Pineapple Jam, Nectarine Plum Ginger Jam,  Asian Plum Sauce, Peach Jam with Star Anise, Apricot BBQ Sauce, Firehouse BBQ Sauce, French Yogurt Cake and Blueberry Lemon Bread

I know I don't have the names for two types of Martine's jam and one of Katie's breads...did I miss anything else? Let me know in the comments below please, (I do nerdily like to keep a full list).

Want to see more pics? Find them all here.

Big thanks to the marketing folks at the Bryant Street Sports Basement store! They not only provided the space cost-free, but provided beer and wine, as well as tables. Hooray for their support of local businesses and organizations.

See you again in October!