Harv: My Ice Cream Idol

One very special friend of mine, Harv, surprised me with a fabulous new kitchen toy over the weekend. He graciously gave me a Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker. Thank you Harv! He’s quite the ice cream connoisseur and well, I have ice cream maker envy because he has the king of all ice cream makers. Even more impressive is that he’s rebuilt/refurbished 2 commercial ice cream makers from scratch himself! (I’m in complete and utter awe…) Here are similar pics of his handsome ice cream maker, a Taylor 104-27 (which is very similar to what is used on Iron Chef competitions of Food Network):

My first recipe I tried was a simple strawberry ice cream. Unfortunately my attempts to make it healthier by using 2% fat milk and half & half didn’t result in the consistency I wanted. I learned from a fellow friend and blogger, Annie of Annie’s Eats, that full fat is definitely necessary. Check out her blog for the same recipe but with much better results!

So for my second attempt I wanted to use up some well ripe fruits and ingredients I had on hand. Thankfully this time around I had success! I made an adaptation of a sherbet recipe included in the instruction/recipe booklet. Here’s my recipe for a low fat pineapple sherbet:1 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
2 cups 2% low fat milk
1 cup processed fresh pineapple*
3-4 tablespoons powdered sugar

*Process fresh pineapple in a blender. Use 1 cup of this processed fresh pineapple for the recipe.

Combine all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.
Pour into your ice cream maker and churn/freeze based on your manufacturer’s directions.
You may want to transfer the finished product in a freezer proof container so that it can “ripen” for an hour or two in the freezer.

Fragrant Korma Curry

Our palattes were in the mood for something exotic tonight. One of my favorite ethnic cuisines is Indian and the fragrant spices seemed to be just what we needed. Tonight I made a lamb korma curry.

Korma is a type of mild curry dish from Indian and is often made with a yogurt sauce, cream or peanuts. The flavor is based on a mixture of spices, combined with yogurt and/or cream kept below curdling temperature and incorporated slowly and carefully.

Here is my recipe for Lamb Korma Curry. Note there are a few traditional Indian ingredients, which I purchased from an Indian market:

1.5 lb lamb chops

1 large onion, chopped
2oz ghee
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek

2 cardamom pods, crushed
1 teaspoon hot chilli powder

1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups water or beef broth
1-2 baking potatoes, chopped
1 cup frozen peas

1 cup plain yogurt
salt & pepper, to taste

In a dutch oven, heat ghee and saute onions, garlic.

When onions have softened, add lamb and brown.

Add the remaining ingredients except the potatoes, peas and yogurt.
Stir and cover, allowing the lamb to simmer on low.
Simmer for about 30-45 minutes to ensure the lamb is tender.
After 30 minutes, add chopped potatoes. Cover & simmer.
After 45 minutes, add frozen peas and stir.
Remove from heat and stir in yogurt.
Allow it to rest covered for 5-10 minutes before serving.

I served this over couscous cooked in beef broth and a side of garlic naan.