Panna Cotta, an Italian Treat

 If you love the taste of ice cream, you will love the taste of panna cotta.   Panna cotta is Italian for cooked cream, although the cream isn't really cooked, more barely heated to simmering.  What in the old days, we would call scalded.   It is easy to make, although it can take 6-8 hours to set to it's jiggly succulence.  

1 pkg unflavored gelatin

1/4 cup milk

2 cups heavy cream

1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar, white or brown or even Splenda (or to taste)

2 tsp GOOD vanilla extract

2-3 DROPS almond extract (be careful not to use too much or it will over power things, you may omit if you wish)

Place the gelatin in a small bowl and cover with the milk.  Allow to sit around 10 minutes, which is about the amount of time needed to prepare the other things. 

In a saucepan, combine the milk and sugar or Splenda.  Place over medium heat and bring to just barely a simmer.  Don't boil.   Remove from heat and whisk in the softened gelatin, it should dissolve almost instantly, if not, stir gently until it is.   Add your extracts, mix well and then pour into four small serving dishes.   Cover and chill about 6-8 hours or until set.   Serve in the dish with some fruit or a spoon full of fruit syrup or your flavored booze of choice.   You can also serve with nothing at all.   

You can vary the flavor by using other extracts or flavorings.  

Potato Crusted Quiche

This is a delicious take on a quiche and since there is no grain or flour in it, it is gluten free!   You can change the filling according to your tastes and to what you have in the fridge. 

3 cups hash browns, thawed if frozen
2 tbsp. oil, melted butter or bacon fat
4 slices of crisp bacon (leftover or packaged crumbles), crumbled
1/4 cup chopped onion, green onions if you prefer
1 cup chopped raw spinach leaves
3/4 cup grated Parmesan, divided
1 cup grated sharp cheddar
3 eggs beaten with 1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, grease a 9 inch deep pie pan.   Drizzle the 2 tbsp of oil or butter or bacon fat over the grated potatoes and add 1/4 cup of the grated Parmesan.  Mix together well and then press into the pie pan, up around the sides and bottom.   Press it in firmly.   Bake in the preheated oven about 30-40 minutes or until nicely browned on top and bottom.   Remove from the oven and cool about 10 minutes.

While the crust it cooling, beat the eggs and milk together until well blended.   Sprinkle the bottom of the crust with the bacon, then the spinach, and the cheeses.   Sprinkle the onion on top.   Then slowly pour the egg and milk mixture over the top, allowing it to settle through the other toppings.    Reduce the heat of the oven to 350 degrees, then put the pan in the oven.   Bake about 30 minutes or until the filling is set and the top is starting to brown.   Remove from the oven and allow to sit about 10-15 minutes before cutting and eating.   Enjoy!!!

Options:   any cooked, drained vegetables (broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, peas, green beans, etc), cubed or chopped ham or chicken or any kind of cooked meat or fish,  other types of cheeses, favorite herbs, you name it.

Diego's Mom's Italian Style Hot Chocolate

Way too many years ago (December 17, 2005-January 7, 2006,) I had the privilege to visit some friends in northern Italy.   My friend Diego took me to his home village up in the mountains (near where the skiing competition of the 2006 Winter Olympics were held), by the name of Perosa Argentina.   It was a magical visit.   I was lucky to get to spend Christmas in this little mountain village with Diego's family.   I remember going to  Midnight Mass in the old parish church and after the Mass, drinking mulled wine in the church square.    Another memory I have is of Diego's mom making me Italian hot chocolate.   Ever since that visit I intended to ask Diego's mom for her recipe, but kept forgetting.   Finally last week I remembered to ask Diego to speak to his mom and today I received her recipe.   I guarantee you, this will be the best hot chocolate you have ever tasted.  This how Diego said his Mom said to do it:

"For 2 persons:
1/2 liter (1,1 pint) of milk [just a touch more than 2 cups]
120 g (4,2 oz) of dark chocolate [4 1/4 squares of cooking chocolate]
20 g (0,7 oz) of cocoa powder or chocolate powder (if you prefer a sweeter flavor) [4 teaspoons]
20 g (0,7 oz) of cornstarch [4 teaspoons]
20 g (0,7 oz) of sugar [4 teaspoons]

Pour the cold milk, the cornstarch and the cocoa (or chocolate) powder into a saucepan and heat up. Melt the dark chocolate in a microwave oven. Bring the milk (with cocoa powder and cornstarch) to the boil over a low flame, mixing all the time then add the melted chocolate. To increase the density of the chocolate, boil for longer. If a less dense chocolate is required, add more milk. Remove from the flame and enjoy the chocolate by adding sugar to suit personal preference."

Many thanks to my dear Italian friends!   

The Best Chocolate Milk You've Ever Tasted

Hey chocolate milk fans, my local grocery chain, Dillons (part of the Kroger chain), had started carrying a brand of chocolate milk that is to die for. The brand is from Texas and their milks are 100% Jersey milk, with no artificial hormones or antibiotics. The flavored milks are all flavored with natural ingredients.  The chocolate milk is called Midnight Chocolate and comes in full fat or 2%. It has the smoothest texture, richest chocolate taste of any chocolate milk I've ever had. If you ever have a chance to try it, do so! I didn't see any of their other dairy products at the store, but I will be watching for them to try. At the website they have a map that shows where you can buy their milks. Sounds like it pretty much all over the southern half of the USA. P.S. I do not work for this company or Kroger, I just wanted to share what I consider a top notch product. Oh, and for Jewish folks, their products are certified Kosher.

Promised Land Dairy

Rich Egg Custard

Lately I've been thinking about my friend Sue.   Sue was a nurse I worked with for many years.   She was very intelligent, very funny and a devoted friend.   Unfortunately, I lost Sue many years ago to cancer.   She lived with cancer for a long time, before it finally got her.   During the times she was receiving radiation, her throat would be so sore she could hardly eat.   However, one thing she could eat was this egg custard and I would make it for her on a regular basis.   Luckily, she liked it and really needed the high calorie count to keep her going.   So now I am posting this recipe in Sue's memory.   May her memory be eternal!

2 cups cream, heated to scalding
1/2 cup sugar (for a caramel flavor, use dark brown sugar)
pinch of salt
4 egg yolks and 1 whole egg
1 tsp. of vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and have a pan of boiling water on stand-by.   Beat the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, salt and vanilla together.   Add just a small amount of the hot cream, about 1/4 cup, beating constantly.   Continue adding small amounts of the hot cream, beating well each time, until you have about half of it beat in, then add the remaining cream and beat well.   Evenly distribute the egg and cream mixture into custard cups and place in a deep pan.  Carefully pour the boiling water around the custard cups until it comes about half way up the sides of the cups.    Carefully place the pan in the preheated oven and bake about 20-30 minutes.    Test the custard for doneness by inserting a knife in the middle of the custard and if it comes out clean it is done.  Do not overbake, it would be better to slightly underbake instead.   The custard will still be a bit "jiggly", but it will firm up as it cools.   Remove the cups from the pan of water and allow to cool on a towel or rack.   When completely cool, cover and chill in the fridge.

Options:   If you like, before placing the custard in the oven sprinkle a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg on top of the unbaked custard.

For a maple flavor, use 1/2 cup real maple syrup in place of the sugar.  I use syrup from Max Lown and think it is the best maple syrup I've ever tasted.   You can order from their website.   http://lownfamilymaplesyrup.com/

For a less rich custard, replace the cream with whole milk or half&half and omit the extra egg.   If you prefer a stiffer custard, replace the egg yolks with 2 whole eggs, using 3 eggs total.  I do not suggest using skim or 2% milk for this recipe.   As for replacing the sugar, you can use the same amount of Splenda instead.

Peach Ice Cream

I recently purchased a new ice cream maker, this one.   I had one like it in the past and loved it, but wore it out.   So I purchased this new model.   It works wonderfully!   I used it to make an awesome peach ice cream today.   I had some very ripe, fragrant peaches that I peeled and crushed with a potato masher, added a cup of sugar and the strained juice of one lemon, making about 1 1/2 cups.   I stirred it well and put in the fridge to chill.   When I was ready to freeze the ice cream, I added 1 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream and mixed it together.   I then poured into the freezer and froze it until it was done, about 20 minutes.   I then put it in a covered container and put in the freezer to firm up for a couple of hours.

To make other flavors, crush your fruit with sugar in the same proportions.   If you are using blackberries or raspberries, I would suggest straining out the seeds.   Blueberries should be simmered with sugar and lemon juice for a few minutes, then chilled.   Strawberries, just need to be crushed with sugar and lemon juice.   Keep the same proportions of cream:    1 part fruit and 1 part heavy cream.