Tuesday’s browned butter peach recipe had me inspired to keep experimenting with peaches. I had all these browned butter peaches and thought the only way I could improve upon them was to turn them into ice cream. So I did.

My favorite ice cream cookbook has a peach ice cream recipe, but I’m all about kicking it up a notch. Instead of fresh peaches I decided to use my browned butter peaches to give the ice cream base a richer depth of flavor.

I then decided that browned butter peach ice cream was too simple and was calling for a change of texture. That’s where the graham cracker crumble comes into play. This ice cream tastes like a peach crisp dessert in ice cream form.

I guess the title of Peach Crisp Ice Cream would have been a lot more concise, but I like to be descriptive. I also didn’t want to deceive people because when you think of a crisp dessert you could be thinking about one of two different toppings. There is the rolled oat topping, that I of course am not a fan of with my new oat allergy. Then there is the brown sugar crumble topping. I’m not sure which is more traditional, but this ice cream incorporates the later.

Matt has proclaimed this browned butter peach ice cream with a graham cracker crumble as his favorite homemade ice cream. Maybe it will become your favorite, too!

Browned Butter Peach Ice Cream with a Graham Cracker Crumble

 

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Yield: 1 quart

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 large peaches, peeled and sliced
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 sleeve of graham crackers, about 6 ounces, crushed to fine crumbs
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• Pinch of salt

Directions

1. Begin in the process of browning the peaches by melting the butter over medium heat in a medium skillet. Swirl the butter until golden brown and aromatic, about 5 minutes. Add the peach slices and cook until soft, about 8-10 minutes. Make sure to turn stir and flip the peaches over. Add the sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves. Remove the peaches with a slotted spoon and let cool to room temperature.
2. Add the peaches, sour cream, heavy cream, vanilla and lemon juice to a food processor or blender and puree until mostly smooth.
3. Completely chill the mixture in the refrigerator. While the mixture is chilling make the crumble. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil. Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar and salt until crumbs are formed. Spread the crumbs on the baking sheet then bake until light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
4. Once the ice cream mixture is chilled freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Layer the ice cream and the graham cracker crumble and freeze before serving.

3.2.1311

Lauren Uncategorized 0 Comments

I eat Greek yogurt almost every day for breakfast, but sometimes on the weekends when I have a little more time I like to spice up my yogurt. Unfortunately since I discovered I’m allergic to oats I’ve had to forgo granola, which leaves me mostly with fruit toppings. Blueberries, strawberries and blackberries are all tasty options, but a few months ago I decided to be adventurous.

Peaches are one of those recently discovered foods of mine. This probably isn’t shocking if you have read my earlier posts on Lemon & Mocha. I grew up eating nectarines, but peaches and plums alluded me until several years ago. Same old story: I had never thought to try it, but then someone gave me a piece. It was delicious and I couldn’t believe I had gone all these years without it in my food repertoire, etc. etc. etc.

Now that peaches are part of my life I am continuously looking to make up for lost time by cooking with peaches in as many ways as possible. Grilled? Delightful. In a salad? Yes please. With chicken? No thank you, but at least I tried it. In a cake? Scrumptious. One variation I hadn’t tried was dessert peaches by themselves. This quickly led to browned butter peaches. I had seen it on menus before and since I am very familiar with browning butter from my Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies I thought I would give it a shot.

I browned some butter by swirling it in a skillet over low heat until it was golden and smelled nutty. I then added some slices of cut and peeled peaches and let them cook in the browned butter until soft. I took one bite and instantly knew this was the most delicious version of peaches I’ve ever had. I quickly spooned some over vanilla yogurt and for a second time that morning I knew that this was the most delicious way to eat peaches I’ve ever had. Eat these browned butter peaches by themselves, over yogurt, angel food cake, ice cream, french toast, raspberry cobbler, oatmeal, whipped cream, pancakes…

Browned Butter Peaches

 

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Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 4 large peaches, pitted, peeled and sliced

Directions

1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a medium skillet. Swirl the butter until golden brown and aromatic, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the brown sugar and stir until combined.
3. Add the peach slices and cook until soft, about 8-10 minutes. Make sure to turn stir and flip the peaches over.

Notes

If serving over yogurt let cool until slightly, about 15 minutes.

3.2.1311

Lauren Uncategorized 1 Comment

Something about summertime makes me want hot dogs. I won’t eat a hot dog all fall and all winter, but the minute it gets warm outside I buy a package at the grocery store.

If I’m at a barbecue and the hosts went all out for some delicious steak and chicken, deep down I’m disappointed I couldn’t have just a couple bites of a classic hot dog.

As perfect as that classic hot dog is smothered in ketchup, mustard and onions, there are too many amazing hot dog variations out there that have been ignored for far too long. It’s time to elevate our barbecue hot dogs so they can stand there proud with the steak and chicken!

These bruschetta hot dogs do just the trick. Hot dogs are grilled, placed in a toasted Italian bun, then topped with tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Dang-nabbit, these hot dogs are good!

The bruschetta ingredients bring freshness, acidity and complexity to the hot dog, while the crusty bun envelopes the dog with enough room to hold the flavorful topping in place.

If you’re someone who can’t imagine a hot dog without ketchup or mustard trust me when I say the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and olive oil provide no need for condiments. Elevate your barbecue hot dogs this summer and make some fancy bruschetta hot dogs!

Bruschetta Hot Dogs

 

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Yield: 4 hot dogs

Ingredients

• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
• 2 large leaves fresh basil, torn
• Salt
• 4 hot dogs, grilled
• 4 Italian buns, toasted

Directions

1. In a small mixing bowl combine the diced tomatoes, garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, basil, and salt to taste.
2. Place the grilled hot dogs in the toasted buns then top with the tomato mixture. Drizzle with olive oil before serving.

3.2.1311

Recipe from July/August 2010 issue of Food Network Magazine.

Lauren Uncategorized 0 Comments

I don’t have some great tale associated with this recipe. It doesn’t come from some heartfelt childhood memory. Nor did I stumble upon it in a cookbook with excitement and rush to make it. And it’s definitely not a copycat recipe from my favorite meal at my favorite restaurant.

The story is quite simple. One day I was deciding what to have for lunch. I had leftover noodles and tuna fish so I mixed them together with some raw veggies. It was yummy so I kept making it. The end. Sometimes the best recipes are the most simple ones.

Many years ago this was my most requested dish from my friends for all our summer barbecues. This was before I ditched the boxed cake mixes and started baking these Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes of course.

I don’t make it as often now since Matt is a tunafish-hater. Do you have anyone like that in your house? I rinse the can, toss it in the enclosed trash, run the disposal and eat the evidence, yet as soon as Matt walks in the kitchen the first words out of his mouth are, “Did you make tunafish?” Insert scrunched up grossed out face here. Is he a secret detective or do all tunafish-haters have such a ridiculous tunafish radar?

Anyways, back to this delicious pasta tuna salad. The creaminess of the mayonnaise mixed with the pasta and delightful tunafish make this a perfect barbecue side dish, but the best part comes from the crunchy sweetness of the peas, bell peppers and grape tomatoes. I keep mine pretty basic, but feel free to jazz yours up with different veggies, different seasonings or even sun-dried tomato mayo.

Pasta Tuna Salad

 

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Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound tri-color short pasta, cooked al dente
• 12 ounces tunafish, drained and flaked
• ½ red bell pepper, chopped
• ½ orange bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise, more if desired
• 1 pint grape tomatoes
• 8 ounces frozen green peas, cooked and cooled
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Combine the pasta, tunafish, bell pepper and mayonnaise in a large mixing bowl.
2. Carefully stir in the tomatoes and peas. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

If serving after being refrigerated stir then add more mayonnaise if desired to renew it’s creamy texture.

3.2.1311

Lauren Uncategorized 0 Comments

I don’t have very many Fourth of July food traditions, but there was one dessert my grandma and I used to make every year: the quintessential flag cake.

I’m sure most of you know the cake I am talking about as I’m sure it has appeared on almost every Fourth of July spread at some point in time. Vanilla sheet cake, vanilla frosting, cut strawberries, or raspberries, laid across to create the stripes in the American flag, 50 blueberries placed in the upper left corner to mimic the flag’s stars.

It is a delightful classic, but I decided this classic needed a major makeover. As much as I love the original, oftentimes the red from the strawberries bleeds into the vanilla frosting if decorated ahead of time and who wants to be laying out lines of strawberries in the kitchen while everyone else is outside enjoying the barbecue.

Also, I am all about multi purposing and the flag cake is not really an enjoy-it-all-summer-long kind of treat. When I was looking through an old issue of the Food Network magazine I came across the perfect solution: this patriotic berry trifle.

Cubes of moist angel food cake are layered with fluffy homemade whipped cream and fresh sweet berries to create a delicious, fuss-free, make-ahead, presentation-worthy dessert. Now that’s a quadruple win right there!

I must admit that I had a serious addiction to this dessert and may have eaten three servings in one sitting… I’ll never tell!

Perfect for your Fourth of July party, Labor Day potluck and just-because-it’s-a-nice-day-out barbecue.

Summer Berry Trifle

 

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Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients

• ¾ cup sugar, divided
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 pre-made angel food cake, cut into 1" slices
• 8 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 16 ounces fat free Cool Whip
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, to taste
• 2 pints blueberries, washed and stems removed
• 2 pints strawberries, washed, hulled and thinly sliced

Directions

1. Over medium-high heat in a small saucepan heat ¼ cup of the sugar and ¼ cup of the lemon juice. Stir frequently while heating until the sugar dissolves. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the almond extract.
2. Lay the angel food cake slices face down and brush with the syrup. Flip over and brush the other side of the cake slices. Cut into 1" cubes.
3. Beat the remaining ½ cup of sugar and the cream cheese on medium speed with a mixer until fluffy. Add the Cool Whip and very lightly beat until smooth. Stir in the tablespoon of lemon juice, to taste.
4. Using a 13 cup trifle bowl place half the cake cubes in an even layer on the bottom. Add a layer of ⅓ of the blueberries, followed by half the cream mixture. Layer with half of the sliced strawberries, followed by the remaining cake. Then layer ⅓ of the blueberries, followed by the remaining cream mixture.
5. Top with a layer of strawberries overlapping around the edge of the bowl. Place the remaining ⅓ of blueberries on the top in the center. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Notes

For easiest preparation, cut angel food cake with a serrated knife in a slow sawing motion.

3.2.1263

Lauren Uncategorized 6 Comments