DB: Cheese Cake

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

I have made cheese cake in the past, from several different recipes in fact, but this one came with directions on how to prevent that dreaded crack, and a water bath for increased creaminess, very very good! I however was a rebel and tried something different, no bake cheese cake, no not that stuff from JELLO, cheese cake ice cream!

First the official instructions and then what I did.

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake:

crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:

3 sticks of cream cheese, (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in a bowl and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla and lemon juice and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil "casserole" shaped pans from the grocery store. They're 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.

For the ice cream I basically cut the recipe in 1/3 added a little sugar and then added enough milk to make up the difference in my machine.

Cheese Cake Ice cream

8oz of cream cheese
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 tbsp. lemon juice
1/3 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 cups milk

cook over medium heat stirring constantly until it reaches a temp of 160. Remove to the fridge to cool down for several hours. Proceed as directed by your machine.

I used a springform pan and the graham cracker crust to pour my finished Ice cream in. I then served it with some Black and Blue Jelly.

Temper's Take:
Ok I admit I also made the cheese cake and while it was good it isn't the best I have made. The tips that came with the recipe were invaluable to me though.

The ice cream turned out fabulous, Indra even asked for more :) It had a great texture and the jelly set it off to perfection! It is easy enough that I am thinking it is going to be used again next time we have company this summer.

BBD: Bunny Rolls

For this months Bread Baking Day event I choose to make Easter Bunny Rolls. I found the recipe here, when looking for something that really said Easter to me. After all what says Easter like bunnies?

BBD #19 - Spring Country Bread is hosted by Cindystar. to quote her...

It will be Easter in a few days and I would like to share with you a virtual pic-nic on Easter Monday. In Italy it's a popular tradition to have an outdoor trip in the countryside, on that special festive day all families and friends gather together, lay a blanket or a tablecloth on the grass and have a sort of epicurean brunch (never missing hard boiled eggs, part of tradition!)with children enjoy playing outdoor and adults lazily enjoying the first warm spring sun.
And my theme would like to be a celebration to Spring with Spring Country Breads.

Easter Bunny Rolls
This recipe is from a 1959 vintage holiday cookbook.

1 package yeast
1/4 c water, lukewarm
1 c milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
1/2 c butter melted in the hot milk
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp salt
5-5 1/2 c flour
2 eggs, room temperature, beaten
1/4 c orange juice, lukewarm
2 Tbs grated orange peel

1. Dissolve yeast in water.
2. Blend milk, butter, sugar, and salt. Make sure that the mixture is lukewarm. Stir in 2 cups of the flour.
3. Add eggs, beat well. Stir in yeast, orange juice, and peel. Add enough of the remaining flour to make a dough. Let rest for 10 minutes.
4. Knead dough 10 minutes, or until elastic, on a floured surface. Place in a greased bowl, turn to grease top, cover and allow to rise until double. About 2 hours.
5. Punch down, cover, and allow to rest 10 minutes.
6. On a lightly floured surface roll dough into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Cut dough in strips about 1/2 inch wide and roll between hands to smooth.
7. You can make these into two kinds of bunnies.

For twist bunnies (the one that looks like it is sitting upright):
1. For each bunny you will need a 14 inch strip of dough. On a lightly greased cookie sheet lap one end of the strip over the other to form a loop. Now, bring the end that is underneath up over the top end, letting each end extend to the sides to form ears. Pat tips of ears to make a point.
2. Roll a small ball of dough and put it on the bottom loop for a tail. Let rise until double.

For “Grazing” Bunnies:
1. For each bunny you will need a 10 inch piece of dough for the body and a 5 inch strip for the head.
2. On a lightly greased cookie sheet make a loose swirl for the body with the longer strip, and one for the head with the smaller strip. Place the head close to the body. To add the ears pinch off 1 1/2 inch strips of dough and roll to form ears. Place next to the head. Use a little bit of dough to make a small ball for the tail. Allow to double.

The second rise will take from 45-60 minutes. Bake at 375 for 12 -15 minutes. Frost while warm with sugar glaze. Makes 2 1/2 dozen.

Sugar Glaze (I skipped this)

To 2 1/2 c confectioners sugar
1/4 c hot water
1 tsp butter.

1. Stir until blended.
2. Use this to brush over warm rolls.

Temper's Take:
I loved the subtle orange of this bread, the bread is good, darn good. The bread is plenty sweet with out the glaze but a nice orange glaze would be great too. Heck, it would be a great sweet roll period, maybe with some dried cherries.

The bunnies turned nicely bunny shaped (which I had been worried about) and were easier to form then I thought they would be. My favorites were the standing up ones.

Spaghetti Squash ala Esther

My Friend Esther is a true foodie, unfortunately she is also diabetic and managing it through diet, which means almost no carbs. I don't know about you but I don't think I could live that way. This was her suggestion of a side when we had Thanksgiving together.

Spaghetti Squash ala Esther

1 spaghetti squash, cut in half and deseeded
2 table spoons butter
Nutmeg (freshly grated is best)
Salt (kosher or sea, not table)
Pepper (fresh ground)
Dried Cranberries

Rub each half squash with a table spoon of butter, Sprinkle with nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste (I like it to look freckled) and then wrap in tinfoil.

Cook at 350 degrees until soft (test with a fork through the side or by squeezing gently).

loosen the sides with a fork and 'fluff'. I then sprinkle with the dried cranberries. It sits well and reheats great in the microwave making it great for family get togethers.

Temper's Take:
This turns out surprisingly rich tasting and the dried cranberries (my addition) offsets that beautifully. I have also used this method with Italian seasoning, a couple of meatballs, garlic and a sprinkling of parmesan with great results. As an additional plus spaghetti squash is cheap and it is easy to make, just what I want in a great dish.

R2R, Steak Diane Flambé

This months Recipe to Rival challenge was Steak Diane Flambé. I hosted with assistance from Shawnee of Delishes Delishes (ok, so she found the recipe and came up with the disclaimer and... well alot of other thing). As she said "I've never purposely set fire to my food before (besides marshmallows)". You know what, neither have I, about time wouldn't you say?

And here is the wonderful disclaimer:

Disclaimer: We do not require that you flambé, if you choose to flambé and burn down your kitchen, don't sue us. If you choose to flambé try and get a picture (I recommend getting someone to help). Remember when playing with fire keep a fire extinguisher close and never use water on a cooking fire.

Steak Diane Flambé
recipe by Frank Bordoni from Great Food Live.
Ingredients

For the steaks

4x85g beef medallions
1 tsp Dijon mustard
freshly ground salt and pepper

For the sauce

1 tsp Butter, clarified
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp Shallots, finely chopped
50g button mushrooms, finely sliced
1 tbsp lemon juice
125ml double cream
1 tbsp Chives, snipped
50ml Brandy

Method
1. Rub the medallions of beef with the mustard, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and when hot, add the clarified butter and Worcestershire sauce.
3. Add the shallots and mushrooms, and push to the centre of the pan. Arrange the medallions around the edge. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring and tossing the mushroom mixture as you go. If you prefer your steak well done, give it an extra minute or 2.
4. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
5. Turn the steaks over and pour in the cream and chives. Tilt the pan slightly (away from you) and pour in the brandy at the far end. Now turn up the heat to high so that the brandy ignites. Swirl the sauce around in the pan and turn off the heat.
6. Put the medallions on 4 plates, pour over the sauce and serve.

I served it with roasted asparagus (recipe later) and they went great with the sauce for left overs.

Temper's Take:
This was so easy, the flames where great (the pyromaniac in me is saying do it again!), and it was very nummy. The meat was a little undercooked for our pallets, and I wish I had got a nice brown coat on it like some of the others. But it is definitely something I will be doing again, maybe for company, it is fancy and easy, so perfect for entertaining.

Ricotta revisited: pancakes

Since my first shot at ricotta didn't turn out quite how I wanted I went back did a little research and tried again. The great recipes my fellow Recipes to Rival members submitted had nothing to do with it, honest. As it turns out I was overcooking the stuff, apparently 185 is not boiling, it is should in fact never boil. All I can say is oops and look what I did this time.

Ricotta

8 cups whole milk
2 cups dry white wine

1. Place buttermilk and milk in a pot, heat on med-low heat until it reaches 185 degrees.
2. It will begin to separate into curds and whey. Be sure to stir occasionally to make sure no curds stick to the bottom and burn. You will see that as the temperature approaches 185, the whey becomes clearer as the curds coagulate more.
3. Pour the curds into a cheesecloth lined colander. Tie the ends of the cheesecloth together and hang for 10-15 minutes. Remove from cheesecloth and place in an airtight container.

With it I made Ricotta Pancakes as featured on A Good Appetite by Kat. Also just in time for bbd #18 - Quick Breads hosted by Fun & Food Blog.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
(from Bobby Flay) Makes 10 pancakes.

3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/4 t salt
2 T sugar (we used 3)
1 c ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 c milk
1 lemon, zested & juiced
black and blue jelly
powdered sugar
butter for the griddle

Whisk together the cheese, eggs, lemon zest & juice. Stir in the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, salt & sugar just until combined. Melt a little butter on a hot griddle. Pour 1/4 c of batter on the griddle for each pancake. Cook until brown on both sides, flipping once.

Top pancakes with black and blue jelly & a little powdered sugar.

Temper's Take:
I used my thermometer and low and behold at 180 had clear whey and curds. no boiling no scorching and the end result was not dry. I still over cooked it a tad (wasn't patient enough reading the thermometer) but much better, and the wine added a nice subtle fruity element.

Which made it perfect for the pancake. the dough was thick, almost muffiny, which got me thinking and I may be experimenting in the future. I ate the first several straight and they were wonderful, tangy and light, just great. I wasn't as impressed once I added the powdered sugar and black and blue jelly. Next time I think fresh fruit is the way to go or something lighter like whipped cream. And there will definitely be a next time for these.

Cream of Mushroom soup

Ever since I had this a year ago I have wanted to make it for myself. I was stopped in this pursuit because I was sure it came from Alton Brown. I still swear the recipe I printed out back then said Alton Brown on it, it certainly is Good Eats. On the other hand The Barefoot Contessa's recipe is pretty much what I remember.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients
5 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms
5 ounces fresh portobello mushrooms
5 ounces fresh cremini (or porcini) mushrooms
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1/4 pound (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 carrot, chopped
1 sprig fresh thyme plus 1 teaspoon minced thyme leaves, divided
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions
Clean the mushrooms by wiping them with a dry paper towel. Don't wash them! Separate the stems, trim off any bad parts, and coarsely chop the stems. Slice the mushroom caps 1/4-inch thick and, if there are big, cut them into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

To make the stock, heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large pot. Add the chopped mushroom stems, the onion, carrot, the sprig of thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add 6 cups water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the liquid. You should have about 4 1/2 cups of stock. If not, add some water.

Meanwhile, in another large pot, heat the remaining 1/4 pound of butter and add the leeks. Cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the leeks begin to brown. Add the sliced mushroom caps and cook for 10 minutes, or until they are browned and tender. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine and stir for another minute, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add the mushroom stock, minced thyme leaves, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the half-and-half, cream, and parsley, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and heat through but do not boil. Serve hot. (I like it with toasted bits of nice crusty bread.)

Temper's Take:
MMMMmmmm Good! I left out the flour so it was a little thinner than I preferred. Still good though. I think sourdough makes the best bread to go with it, the tang of the bread offsets the richness of the soup nicely. I used plain ol baby portabellas for the mushroom, but I think I would really like to try it with some other varieties. I also learned that homemade veggie broth is the way to go.

Birthday Pie

Yesterday was my birthday, and as buirthdays go it wasn't half bad. A friend got me a rice cooker and I got myself an icecream maker (and recipe book). I had the day off work so I slept in and had french toast made with french bread and real maple syrup for brunch. for supper it was the freezer section, cheese enchiladas and apple pie.

I like pie, I like pie alot and since I was not going to cook on my birthday that ment no chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting or rhubarb cake, no rhubarb either :(, so my second choice is pie, I like almost all of them, but fruit pies are my favorites, berries, cherries and apples (but not blueberry) are all good.

The highlight of my day is discovering you can make a wishlist on Target.com, I spent alot of time windows shopping and marking all the things I plan on getting. Oh how I drooled over the Kitchen Aides, and I was seriously eyeing the pasta maker before I decided the ice cream maker would be a better deal.

So happy birthday to me and I hope you had a good day as well.

Ginger Pear Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

I received some lovely Ginger Pear Balsamic vinegar from a friend who had purchased it at Target and then discovered it had to many carbs for her diet. So I got lucky and have a new toy to play with. My first thought was wouldn't that be good with pork (I might have been influenced by the pork loin in the freezer). So off to google to find recipes. I found alot of inspiration but one recipe really jumped out at me. So with out further ado, here it is.

Based off Raspberry Vinegar Pork Chops Recipe from Taste of Home. I had to make a few changes based on what I had available but it is basically the same recipe.

Ginger Pear Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pork tenderloins (1-inch thick)
1/4 cup Ginger Pear Balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
fresh Sage
Fresh Rosemary

Directions:
Melt butter in a large skillet, add oil. Brown the pork on each side over high heat. Pour off oil; reduce heat to medium-low. Add 1 tablespoons vinegar and garlic. Cover; simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove pork to heated container; cover to keep warm. Add remaining vinegar; stir up browned bits from bottom of skillet. Raise heat and boil until the vinegar is reduced to a thick glaze. Add the sage, rosemary and chicken stock. Boil until liquid is reduced to half of the original volume.
Strain sauce; season with the salt and pepper. Spoon over chops.

I paired this with roasted sweet potato fries that had been tossed in the vinegar and a little oil, then sprinkled with sea salt. I set them to roast while I did the pork (I actually gave it a 15 minute head start).

Temper's Take:
This was so good I did my happy food dance (so named by the Frogman). Who knew vinegar could be so good when reduced, and why didn't they tell me? I literally licked the pan clean (and then my fingers), so uncouth I know but it was that good.

Indra, said it was good, but she missed the Lowery's seasoning salt I usually use, and why do I have to cook so fancy. She also said the sauce tasted like a Christmas tree (the rosemary and balsamic reduction was to blame I am sure, next time I will use something besides rosemary) and the roasted sweet potato fries reminded her of apples (she was right. the vinegar and sweet potatoes combined to taste like apples). so I have permission to do it again if I do some with Lowery's first, I call that a success.

R2R, Ricotta

This months Recipe to Rival challenge was Ricotta. I was very excited about it. The figuring out what to make with it was a bit of a stumper as it is not an ingredient I usually use. I have made Maybelle's Mom's Great (and I do mean great) Gnocchi and Lasagna and even Cheese cake, but that really is the extent of my experience. So this was a real learning experience for me.

Fresh Ricotta

you'll need:
5 cups 2% milk
1 tbsp vinegar

Place vinegar and milk in a pot, heat on med-low heat until it reaches 185 degrees.

It will begin to separate into curds and whey. Be sure to stir occasionally to make sure no curds stick to the bottom and burn. You will see that as the temperature approaches 185, the whey becomes clearer as the curds coagulate more.

Pour the curds into a cheesecloth lined colander. Tie the ends of the chesecloth together and hang for 10-15 minutes. Remove from cheesecloth and place in an airtight container.

I paired my ricotta with cornmeal crepes and pork loin in a blackberry wine reduction. Overall a success, but there is plenty of room for improvement.

Cornmeal Crepes
5 crepes

1/2 batch cornmeal pancakes
2 well beaten eggs
milk

add the eggs to the cornmeal pancake mix.
then add milk til you reach the desired consistency
pour a portion into a hot skillet and swirl to coat.
cook on med low heat until they are done (do not turn)
gently peel from the pan and set aside to cool (they are delicate so be careful)

Ricotta Stuffing

1 cup ricotta
1 well beaten egg
1 tbsp Honey
Salt and pepper

mix well and wrap in crepes.

Pork with Wine Reduction

Salt and Pepper
Garlic Salt
1 tbsp Butter
2 Garlic cloves sliced
fresh Rosemary
fresh Thyme
Blackberry Wine
1 tbsp Plum preserves

Use salt, pepper and garlic salt on the pork loins and sear both sides
put ricotta stuffed cornmeal crepes in 350 oven while making the sauce.
melt butter and add herbs and garlic, saute gently for 3 minutes
add wine (twice as much wine as you want finished sauce) and reduce by half
add plum preserves and gently stir until it is melted.
remove chunky bits from sauce and serve.

Temper's Take:
The ricotta turned out drier then I expected and I had some problems with scorching and temperature control (next time I am going to try it in the crock pot) But it was good and it was cheese. :) I didn't use buttermilk because I made the mistake of looking at the ingredient list, tapioca starch was one of the more recognizable things on it. I think I would like to try substituting a dry white wine for the butter milk once, it has the potential to be quite good.

The crepes turned out wonderfully and were so much easier then I thought they would be. The stuffing was a good match but my proportions were off (less ricotta more crepe next time) and I really think some parmesan in the crepes and some herbs in the stuffing would be even better.

The pork was lovely and the wine reduction paired perfectly with it. Unfortunately the wine reduction didn't go as well with the crepes. It was too sweet, next time I think I want to try a sauce with a bit of bite to it.

TC: Carmalized Apples

My partner for this months Taste & Create was Veronica of La Recette du Jour. Her blog is the kind I can only dream of, great recipes that Indra would never eat. I really wish this challenge had come in about 2 months when I wasn't in the middle of tax season. There are so many recipes I would have liked to have chosen. But time and stress made me choose something simple, and it doesn't get much simpler then Caramelized Apples.

Caramelized Apples
A quick dessert, based on a medieval recipe.

Apples
One-day old bread
Lemon juice
Sugar
Butter

Allow about one apple (eating for preference) per person. Peel and core them, and chop into 1/4 inch dice. Drop the pieces into a bowl as you go along, with sugar to taste, and a little lemon juice to stop them going brown. Cut a similar quantity of stale white bread (crusts removed) into dice as well.

When you are ready to eat, melt a good quantity of butter in a heavy frying pan and throw in the apples along with the sugar. Cook briskly, stirring about, until the apples are brown round the edges and the butter and sugar are starting to caramelize. Remove the apples to a plate. Put the bread cubes into the pan and cook, tossing them so they don’t burn, until they are crisp. Then return the apples to the pan, mix everything together, and serve instantly, on their own or with cream or ice cream.

If you get this right, the apples are soft and the bread is crunchy, with a lovely caramel sauce.

Temper's Take:
Well I did it right and this was a great breakfast treat. I flambe'd it for fun (and to reassure myself that it really does take two people to photograph flames) and I didn't whip any cream (I really wish I had). I considered adding some cinnamon to the bread but really it didn't need it. This is definitely going on my make it again list. Probably when I am stuck for a quick dessert for company, or a treat for us.

DB: Chocolate Valentino Cake

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
5 tablespoons of unsalted butter
3 med eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Classic Vanilla Ice Cream
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Recipe comes from the Ice Cream Book by Joanna Farrow and Sara Lewis

Ingredients
1/2 Vanilla Pod
1 1/4 cup coconut milk
4 large egg yolks
6 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp corn flour {cornstarch}
1 ¼ cups Heavy Cream
A big handfull of toasted coconut

1. Using a small knife slit the vanilla pod lengthways. Pour the milk into a heavy based saucepan, add the vanilla pod and coconut and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse
Separate coconut from the milk Lift the vanilla pod up. Holding it over the pan, scrape the black seeds out of the pod with a small knife so that they fall back into the milk. SET the vanilla pod aside and bring the milk back to the boil.
2. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and corn-flour in a bowl until the mixture is thick and foamy.
3. Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle hear, stirring all the time
4. When the custard thickens and is smooth, pour it back into the bowl. Cool it then chill.
5. By Hand: Whip the cream until it has thickened but still falls from a spoon. Fold it into the custard and pour into a plastic tub or similar freeze-proof container. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop, beating it twice (during the freezing process – to get smoother ice cream or else the ice cream will be icy and coarse)

(I made a second one with the left over coconut milk some cinnamon and brandy with honey to sweeten)

Tempers Take:
Indra declared it a fail, She didn't like the chocolate I choose (requested a repeat with white or milk chocolate) and the texture of the ice cream didn't work for her (she is not a fan of custards).

I declared it a learning experience, I needed to whip my cream better and measure the ingredients better (my scale broke, I realized this when it told me I had 123oz of chocolate), and most importantly TRUST MY INSTINCTS.

I thought the chocolate was A. a little too bitter for Indra (ok, and me) B. to thick, it crushed my whipped cream. :( and C. the heart mold was hokey (it was valentines day, I had a good excuse). Lastly I really need an icecream maker to make good icecream.

Definitely going on my list to try again, both cake and icecream.

Corn Pancakes

I have been a fan of these for a while, unfortunately I haven't found anyone to share my enthusiasm and I hate to waste so I don't make these often. I figured Pancake day was a great excuse (and I had plans for the left overs.) This recipe is straight off the side of the Jiffy box.

Corn Pancakes
10-12 pancakes

1pkg Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 egg
3/4 cup milk

Mix ingredients until moist, it will be slightly lumpy.
Preheat and lightly grease pan.
Turn when bubbles appear and edges begin to dry.

Temper's Take:
These are very very heavy, which might be part of the reason I like them. Slather some peanut butter on and you won't have to eat for the next week! Other wise a little honey is great with them. you need to have the temp a little low to give them plenty of time to cook and don't add extra milk it doesn't work well.

BBD #16 roundup 41 thru 48

Susan of Wild Yeast made Gorgonzola Fougasse With Figs and Pecans. Finally someone has explained what is up with this funny looking bread, More Crust! definitly a rational I can get behind. The figs and pecans don't hurt either.







Natasha of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies made Rye Fougasse with Two Cheese Fillings. I love the laddered look of this bread.








Tanna of MyKitchenInHalfCups made Maytag Blue Buns. These pretty rose shaped buns come with a great soup recipe.








Mary of One Perfect Bite made Muenster Cheese Bread. With the pretty crust on this bread I really don't care what it tastes like I am sure I would still love it. Fortunately for me Mary says this bread is even tastier then it looks.






Lien of Notitie van Lien made Rosemary-Asiago Bread. I love the chuncks of cheese in the finished bread, The little sprigs of rosemary on top though are what really made it thogh. I only wish I could have smelled it too.









Asha of Aroma! made Spinach and Feta cheese Bread. Spinach and Feta are one of my favorite combinatioons. I am not sure I could have made my self share this with a neighbor like she did.








Dhita of Cooking Etcetera made Crusty Loaf with Gruyere Cheese. Dhita made the cheese bread that started this whole thing. With another rave review I am going to have to make these myself soon.










Temperance of High on the Hog made Crusty Cheese Bread or Gannat. This is my entry. I love the way it toasted up for my favorite grilled cheese recipe. Crisp crust and soft interior, perfect!

BBD #16 roundup 31 thru 40

Glenda of Domesticated Engineer made Cottage Cheese Bread. The name is a little deceptive, while there is cottage cheese there is also cheddar in this bread. The cottage cheese makes hthis bread soft and moist, who can argue with results like that?






Gine of i dolci fanno felici made Pane alla ricotta. A little left over ricotta can do great things for bread.











Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen made Cheddar Cheese and Onion Pretzel Bread. This is not your ordinary little pretzel, this is an entire loaf of bread twisted into shape.










Tommi of Brown Interior made Méteils au Bleu. Apparently Blue Cheese and Rye is a good combination. It certainly looks good.










Cristie of Edible Antics - Having Fun With Food made Cheese, beer and cranberries - 3 gourmet foods baked into 1 muffin. For a quick cheese bread this is definitly the way to go. As she says no yeast to coddle or leavening times to endure.





Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella made Maple, Walnut and Cheese bread. This bread wa so good 1/3rd of the loaf was gone before she noticed, I am not sure I could have stopped there.










Judy of Judy's Gross Eats made Casatiello. Little flecks of bacon take this bread over the top i can just imagine how good it must be toasted with eggs in the morning.







Sunita of Sunita's world made Cheesy, rye and tomato bread. An assortment of seeds and chillis sprinkled on top give this hearty bread a bit of bite.










Jude of Apple Pie, Patis, and Pâté made Ensaimada - Filipino Cheese Brioche. The snail like shape of these brioche rolls hides a cheesy Edam center or as she says in her blog... queso de bola, bowling balls of cheesiness covered in a protective shell of red wax.





Priyasuresh of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes made Cheese Oatmeal Bread. Oatmeal, olive oil and egg replacer make this a heart healthy bread. Also very tasty and great with any spread according to Priya.

BBD #16 roundup 21 thru 30

Mary of Delizie del palato made ciabatta con olive e formaggio. I love the way the whole olives look in this bread. I can just imagine how good a sandwich made with this would be.







Sailaja of Kids Zone made Cheesy Onion Stuffed Buns. I am a sucker for carmelized onions and these pretty little rolls look to be packed full of oniony goodness (not to mention cheese and garlic).










Sweathea of TastyCurryLeaf made Pesto Snack Rolls. Homemade pesto still amazes me, add in these pretty little rolls and I am impressed.







Zaira of La cocina de Zaira made Pan de mozzarella, orégano, perejil, cebolla y ajo ( Mozzarella, oregano, parsley, onion and garlic bread). This bread is a serious mouthful. I sat entranced by the picture for 5 mintues watching the cheese ooze thru the crust wishing I could have a piece. This is some serious cheese bread!





Our Very own Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka kochtopf
made Walnut Cheese Mini-loaves. This is a great looking loaf of bread, Zorra says even though the cheese disapears the taste remains.










Gretchen of Canela & Comino made Cheese Bread. The name does not do this bread justice! Gretchen has declared that it is a winner and I believe her, it certainly looks like one.






Astrid of Paulchen's FoodBlog made Rye bread with cheese. With a little help from Harry this rye sourdough turned out pretty tasty looking. (Of course that might just be my love of rye talking).







Cristina of La cucina di Cristina made Georgian cheese bread ( Khachapuri & Adjaruli Khachapuri ) I love the Adjaruli Khachapuri its boat shape with the egg on top is a great idea for breakfast (or a late supper).









DK of Culinary Bazaar made Wholegrain Milk and Cheese Bread. Not Vegan or particularly light, but well worth it. I wish I had nieghbors like this.






Laura of The Spiced Life made Tapatio Cheddar Bread. Appaently the First time was the charm, the second shot ended up in the trash and the third one wasn't bad, but not as good as the first. I certainly give her points for persistance!