Ice cream | Gourmandistan

Grapefruit ice, brown sugar shortbread and the surprising benefits of staleness

January 10, 2013 by Steve

Sometime we may speak at length about Bill Neal, as his recipes are consulted frequently when Gourmandistan needs to go Southern. But for now, we will speak of staleness. Steve loves fruit, and stubbornly tries to stay organic and somewhat local even in winter. (This does, however, require a somewhat strained definition that includes the entire southern US.) So we take in a lot of citrus, which Michelle will only eat if all traces of pith and membrane have been […]

Categories: Cookies, Cooking, Food, Fruit Desserts, Grapefruit, Ice cream, Old cookbooks, Recipes, Vegetarian

Calvados overdose: Calvados Ice Cream with Apple Calvados Compote (now with bonus Calvados!)

November 3, 2012 by Steve

Those Norman French sure love their apple brandy. A sidebar next to this recipe in Susan Herrmann Loomis’ French Farmhouse Cookbook lists seven rounds of Calvados served at the end of old-school Norman meals, including the coup de pied au cul or “kick in the ass.” Gourmandistan’s recent relocation to Normandy saw us imbibe several shots throughout many meals, some as apéritifs and some in desserts, but never seven in one sitting. (Steve would not have fared well, as Steve […]

Categories: Apples, Cooking, Food, France, Fruit, Ice cream, Recipes, Vegetarian

Impulse to action via Roasted Plum Frozen Yogurt

August 13, 2012 by Steve

We have been talking about fresh plums all summer long. When we finally spotted them at a recent market, we (OK Steve) couldn’t resist snapping up a bagful without bothering to ask the vendor anything regarding variety, locality or organicity. When we returned home all we knew was they were big, very purple and seemed very, very unripe. A few days later we also discovered they were very, very sensitive, as almost half of our purchase “ripened” into juice-weeping balls […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Fruit Desserts, Ice cream, Plums, Recipes, Vegetarian, Yogurt

A parching, painterly interruption leads to Peach Ice Cream Pie

July 29, 2012 by Steve

Horrifying heat is not good for ice cream. Neither, it seems, is it good for house painters. After weeks of weather-related delay, our house and kitchen were freshly painted and finally freed from painters. The outside, in its lovely new creamy white color, was baptized by a couple of non-drought-relieving nickel-sized hailstorms (thanks again, global weirding!). After restoring the cookbooks, WWII posters and various tchotchkes to our kitchen we were ready to once again bespatter its freshly painted walls with […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Fruit Desserts, Ice cream, Peaches/Nectarines, Pies & Tarts, Recipes, Vegetarian

The solution: Strawberry Ice Cream

May 15, 2012 by Steve

The problem? A large quantity of soggy, slightly discolored strawberries. We were so excited at the arrival of fresh fruit season that we ordered up several gallons. Unfortunately, between our order and the pickup, there were heavy rains. Rain makes mushy berries, and hard rain gives them bruises. The berries were so beat up even Steve didn’t want to eat them out of hand—and Steve has (in Michelle’s eyes, at the very least) an amazingly high tolerance for damaged fruit. […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Fruit Desserts, Ice cream, Old cookbooks, Recipes, Strawberries, Vegetarian

Honey-Rosemary-Ginger Ice Cream with Peaches

August 21, 2011 by Michelle

While we enjoy rosemary and ginger, we really never considered using them together—and especially not in ice cream. But while pining for something dessert-ish, Michelle found this recipe in Patricia Wells’ The Paris Cookbook and decided to give it a go. She was a little dubious even as she steeped the ginger and rosemary custard, but started to be convinced by its savory aroma. The recipe comes from Alain Dutournier’s Carré des Feuillants, a wonderful restaurant we visited with Michelle’s […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, France, Fruit Desserts, Ice cream, Peaches/Nectarines, Recipes, Vegetarian

Gourmandistan

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Category Archives: Ice cream