Rum Raisin Ice Cream

Two friends recently had a birthday. I asked one of them what her favorite ice cream flavor was. She responded with: Rum Raisin. Rum Raisin? I can't even remember the last time I had Rum Raisin ice cream. So, I felt the need to make it. What better gift than a big batch of Rum Raisin Ice Cream for the both of them??? Good thing they live together.

Rum Raisin Ice Cream (adapted from Epicurious)

1 cup raisins, packed
2/3 cup dark rum
8 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
3 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Combine raisins and rum in a small bowl. Cover. Let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours. Drain raisins, reserving 6 tablespoons rum. Combine in the same bowl and set aside.

Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until blended. Bring milk and cream to a slow boil over medium heat in a heavy large saucepan. Once at a boil, whisk a bit of the milk mixture into the eggs, careful not to let the egg mixture curdle. Once the egg mixture is sufficiently tempered, place the saucepan back on the stove and add the egg mixture back into the rest of the milk, whisking constantly. Turn the heat to medium-low and stir the mixture until the custard thickens, about 15 minutes. It should coat the back of a spoon without running.

Strain custard mixture into a large bowl. Cool. Add raisin mixture to the custard. Stir and refrigerate until cold.

Transfer custard to ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's instructions. Freeze ice cream in a covered container until firm, about 4 hours.

Trader Joe's or Bust - Mushrooms and Polenta

Robin and I have decided that we are going to try to shop exclusively (or as close as we can come) at Trader Joe's and farmer's markets. I think that this is totally possible and will save us a TON of money in the long run. Last night I made my first exclusively TJ's meal since we made our pact: Polenta topped with mushrooms.

2 packs sliced Crimini mushrooms
2 leeks (already trimmed and cleaned at TJs - yeah!), chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil, separated
2 green onions, chopped
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 cup water
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup Sherry wine
1 tube prepared polenta
Parmesan cheese, to taste
salt and pepper

Heat butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add leeks and garlic and saute for about 10 minutes until soft. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add mushrooms and sherry and saute for 5 minutes. Add water and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Uncover and let simmer over medium-low heat until the sauce reduces a bit.

While the sauce is reducing, slice polenta into 1/4 in. discs. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a large nonstick skillet. Heat on medium heat. When pan is hot, add polenta and fry for 5 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and let cool on paper towels.

Take 1 tsp arrowroot and dissolve in 2 tbsp water. Add to mushroom sauce and let cook until thickened slightly, stirring occasionally. For a thicker sauce, add more arrowroot, but always dissolve in water. Add green onions and parsley. Stir and remove from heat.

Place polenta on a plate and cover with mushroom sauce. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Eat Real Food

I'm doing my best to live up to this mantra. Here's what we had for dinner last night:

Linguini with Swiss Chard and Italian Sausage

1/2 lb linguini, reserve 1 cup cooking water
2 Italian hot sausages, casing removed and chopped
1 bunch Swiss Chard, stems removed and chopped; leaves rolled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper
2 sprigs fresh thyme

- Heat oil in a deep skillet on medium heat. Add sausage and brown. Add add onion, garlic and bell pepper to skillet and cook 2-3 minutes. Add chard stems and cook another 5 minutes. Add chard leaves and salt and pepper. Then add tomato paste, salt, pepper and thyme. Cook covered over medium-low heat for about 10 more minutes.

- Cook pasta for 9 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water. Uncover greens and add 1/2 cup reserved pasta water. Stir. If the consistency is too dry, add more liquid. Toss with pasta and serve.

Roasted Broccoli

Last night, I had my heart set on making some swiss chard. Unfortunately, I communicated this desire too late to my dear husband, who had already made it to the store and purchased another vegetable: broccoli. "Broccoli?," I said. "Ugh." Whenever I think of broccoli, I think of steamed floretts, tasteless and tough to chocke down. But I realized that I don't have to eat it like that. I had a change of heart and decided that I would roast the broccoli and make it awesome. So that's what I did. And it was awesome.

Roasted Broccoli

Two small heads of broccoli, base removed, cut into small florets
Olive oil, both plain and meyer lemon infused, about 1/4 cup total.
Crushed red pepper, a few shakes
Oregano, a few shakes
Sea Salt, two shakes
Fresh ground pepper, a couple of turns
Dried parsley, a few shakes
Onion powder, a few shakes

Preheat oven to 425. Place the cut broccoli in a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and combine with your hands. Place in a casserole dish. Roast for about 30 minutes, stirring occassionally, or until the broccoli is tender.

Thai Food Adventure

I have never even tried making Thai food before last night I was intimidated by the level of complexity in the flavor of my favorite Thai dishes. I figured I'd need a bunch of hard to find ingredients and a lot of time. I was dead wrong. I found a Thai market close to my office that had everything I could ever need while cooking Thai food. Then, when researching Thai curry recipes, I discovered that cook time is quite minimal. All excellent things!

Fancypants' Thai Curry

1 can coconut milk
1 can water
3 tbsp. curry paste (I used a mix of Thai red curry paste and another one)
1 onion, chopped
1 nub ginger, peeled and chopped
1 nub ginger-like root (I can't remember the name offhand), peeled and chopped
3-4 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 red bell pepper
1 yam, peeled and cubed
1 Japanese eggplant, chopped
2-3 dried red chilies
dried black mushrooms
1 stalk lemongrass, chopped into quarters
2 tbsp peanut oil
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp peanut sauce
Thai Basil - a few sprigs, chopped
Lemon Basil, a few sprigs, chopped
Green onions, 3-4, chopped
dash white pepper

Heat oil in a large dutch oven. Add onions, garlic, ginger and other root to pan and saute 5 minutes. Add yam and curry pastes. Stir to combine. Add the other ingredients and stir. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes or until yam is cooked through. Serve over brown rice or jasmine rice.

Running on the Strand and The Veggie Grill

Last night, my friend Amy and I hit the Strand in Hermosa Beach for a short (2.75 mi) jog. It was a lovely evening. I had a decent run and even passed a fat dude! The only thing that made it better was the fact that I found out that there is a Veggie Grill in El Segundo, conveniently located on my route home. I love that place. If you've never been there before, its a vegetarian chain restaurant that has some amazing and healthy food. I usually go to the one on Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood. Tonight I got the All Hail Kale salad. Yum. I would have taken a photo, but I ate it too quickly!

The Veggie Grill

Roast Boneless Leg of Lamb

Since it was Easter Sunday (I'm not a believer that Christ is risen, but I do enjoy a good brunch), I decided to roast a leg of lamb for a potluck over at our friend's place. I did a take on the pesto I made earlier in the week. Things turned out quite tasty...

Roast Leg of Lamb

1 boneless leg of lamb (remove netting)
1 bunch mint
1/2-1 bunch Italian parsley
4 whole roasted garlic cloves (roast with salt, pepper and olive oil)
Good amount olive oil
Salt and pepper

In a food processor, combine mint, parsley and roasted garlic. Blend to combine. While blending, slowly drizzle in oil until you get a good consistency, like a paste, but a bit more liquid. Season with salt and pepper.

Place lamb in a shallow roasting pan (I used a large copper gratin pan). Cover lamb completely on both sides with marinade. Tie lamb with cooking string or similar item to allow lamb to retain its shape. If you have some extra garlic, cut a few slits into the roast and stuff with whole cloves. Refrigerate overnight.

Allow lamb to reach room temperature before roasting. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roast lamb for 10 minutes and then reduce temperature to 325 degrees. Cook about 18 minutes per pound, or until a meat thermometer reaches 150 degrees (for medium rare). Allow meat to rest for at least 30 minutes before carving. Serve with pan juices. You could also deglaze the roasting pan with wine and serve with that gravy.