I made my last ice cream recipe (Dark Chocolate Ice Cream) for my mom, so this time around, I am making Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream for my dad!
I feel like Mint Chocolate Ice Cream can be a pretty divisive flavor, but my dad loves it, so it’s about time I made him some!
This is a pretty simple recipe and does not require you to heat the milk mixture or add in eggs. It does still require overnight refrigeration of the mixture to get it nice and cold before churning.
This recipe also includes some food coloring to get a nice mint green color, but that is completely optional (my dad swears the green mint chocolate chip ice cream tastes better!)
The weather this September has been quite warm, but I am starting to crave more comfort-food-like dishes. This recipe for Sous Vide Boneless Leg of Lamb is a combination of warm weather meets comfort food, perfect for this time of year.
The lamb is slow cooked to the perfect temperature in a water bath and then is finished off on the grill to add some char!
This Homemade Dark Chocolate Ice Cream recipe has been a long time coming! As I mentioned in my Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream post, I have been trying to emulate Capogiro’s scuro gelato – a beautifully dark chocolate gelato that I have missed since the day Capogiro closed years ago.
This recipe for Dark Chocolate Ice Cream is just that. It’s ice cream, not gelato. Gelato tends to have less egg yolks and is churned at a lower speed. Regardless of the technicality, this Dark Chocolate Ice Cream is silky, decadent, and decidedly dark chocolatey!
Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups dark chocolate cocoa powder (paid link)
Note: I was sent a DREO BaristaMaker Milk Frother in order to write this Iced Latte recipe. Opinions are mine alone.
We had a little bit of a respite from the heat, but those August temperatures are back! So it’s the perfect time to test out DREO‘s BaristaMaker Milk Frother’s Cold Foam option; Iced Latte time!
This Iced Latte recipe includes a recipe for an espresso simple syrup to add some sweetness to the latte without taking away from the bold coffee flavor. You can make the espresso syrup ahead of time and store in your fridge until ready to use.
If you want to learn more about DREO’s BaristaMaker Milk Frother, check out my last post featuring this snazzy appliance: Ube Au Lait.
Ingredients:
Espresso Syrup:
1 tablespoon espresso powder
1 cup hot water
1 cup sugar
Iced Latte (makes one serving, multiply as needed):
Note: I was sent a Hurom H320 Slow Juicer in order to write this post including a recipe for Green Juice. Opinions are mine alone.
This summer, I have really been enjoying having a CSA share again. However, no matter how hard I try, it is still difficult to use up all of those beautiful fruits and vegetables!
When Hurom contacted me about trying one of their Slow Juicers, I felt like the timing was perfect! What a great way for me to utilize these ingredients more, like in this recipe for Green Juice!
My husband has been making himself “green drinks” for years now in a blender (paid link) but I have trouble getting over the super pulpy texture of it. So Hurom’s H320 Slow Juicer (paid link) called out to me immediately. Not only is the juicer quite the visual stunner (shown in color “Kale”), but it also has two different strainers, one which yields an ultra-low pulp juice.
Despite the name, slow juicers are still pretty darn quick. Hurom’s patented Slow Squeeze Technology uses an auger to squeeze out juice (similar to how you would hand-squeeze an orange). This natural motion minimizes damage to ingredients, keeping their natural taste and nutrition intact.
Photo courtesy of Hurom
I am still learning the ins and outs of juicing and how to create the perfect balance of tasty and nutrient-rich juices, but I figured I’d take inspiration from my husband’s green drinks for my first try to make this Green Juice.
This recipe for Green Juice uses quite the colorful group of fruits and veggies, but the color of the kale and spinach wins out in the end, providing that nice green color to the drink.
Ingredients (makes ~16 oz juice; multiply as needed):
My CSA share has been full of tomatoes lately. And as much as I love tomatoes, I’m even having trouble getting through them all! Sounds like a perfect excuse to make some Tomato Jam!
If you’ve never tasted tomato jam before, it is quite the tasty little condiment! It works so nicely with grilled meats; I love it slathered on a burger instead of using ketchup.
This Tomato Jam recipe, adapted from a Mark Bittman recipe, has a wonderful spice profile and a nice amount of citrus to deliver a not-too-sweet, flavorful condiment.
Ingredients: (makes about 1 cup; multiply as desired)
1½ pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped
Note: I was sent a DREO BaristaMaker Milk Frother in order to write this Ube au Lait recipe. Opinions are mine alone.
I am fairly serious about my coffee. I genuinely cannot think of the last time I did not start my day with a home brewed coffee, or a coffee or espresso-based beverage from a local cafe. Despite my love of coffee, I have rarely tried to make fun coffee drinks at home. The frothers I have tried in the past just don’t really seem to cut it; the handheld frothers have trouble creating the microfoam desired for lattes or creating a thick enough foam for my favorite beverages. Not to mention, they don’t do anything to get that foam to the proper temperature!
I was recently contacted by DREO, a leader in smart home innovation, about their launch of the DREO BaristaMaker Milk Frother, and I couldn’t wait to try it out! The BaristaMaker is the most professional smart milk frother capable of creating latte art with all types of milk (dairy and non-dairy), delivering barista-quality microfoam at the touch of a button. BaristaMaker also offers multiple frothing settings, allowing you to choose from microfoam, thick foam, and cold foam, depending on your preference and the type of beverage you are making.
DREO is not messing around with this BaristaMaker. DREO BaristaMaker is the culmination of extensive research, patented impeller combo design, and tailored algorithms meticulously developed to replicate the technique of professional baristas. After thousands of simulations mimicking the frothing process of expert baristas in their Beverage R&D Lab, DREO has developed a milk frother capable of emulating the froth quality found in commercial coffee shops, surpassing the capabilities of most traditional, off-the-shelf home frothers with unmatched froth quality and texture.
DREO BaristaMaker Milk Frother will be available on Kickstarter from August 13th, with a Super Early Bird offer of up to 30% off the suggested retail price of $99. If you join the DREO community now, you could win a grand prize worth $3,200! Plus, if you sign up for the BaristaMaker launch on dreo.com, you can now enjoy a $15 storewide discount. On September 15th, the BaristaMaker Frother will be available to the wider public at full price on dreo.com and more trusted retailers.
I am still trying to master my latte art making with the snazzy BaristaMaker (and am having a ton of fun trying!), but wanted to share a recipe that shows how easily you can make a cafe-quality cafe au lait with minimal effort.
I wanted to try out the BaristaMaker’s blending abilities as well as highlight the Hot Thick Foam option. I’m pretty sure an Ube au Lait isn’t a “thing,” but it’s too pretty and tasty to not share! (Plus, “ube au lait” is super fun to say.)
This Ube au Lait recipe is so simple to make and tastes as good as it looks! Ube is one of my favorite flavors to incorporate into, well, anything I can. If you’ve never had ube before, the flavor is similar to vanilla, with a bit more nuttiness, so it is a perfect complement to coffee.
Ingredients (makes 2 coffees)
1 cup (8 oz) milk of your choice (I’ve used whole milk and oat milk)
Although some may think this is in bad form, hosting friends is when I love to try out new recipes. Luckily, I get more hits than misses, but it’s always fun to experiment with friends who are up for the adventure.
So when we recently hosted a bunch of friends at our house for the weekend, I decided to try this Grilled Zaatar Chicken recipe. I love a good prep ahead recipe (and a good On the Grill recipe!) so that I can get a bunch of things done ahead of time, and this Grilled Zaatar Chicken tastes best when allowed to marinate overnight.
If you’re unfamiliar with za’atar, it is a Middle Eastern spice blend. The ingredients in the blend can vary, but the blend I used, Pereg Za’atar (paid link), contains quinoa flour, coriander, olive oil, hyssop (a mint-like herb that has a slight bitterness to it), parsley, salt, and sour salt.
If you follow me on Instagram, you probably noticed that I pick up a student-run CSA share every week from a high school in New Castle, Delaware, which means I have a bunch of fruits and vegetables in my home that need using! (If you’re in the area, definitely check out Penn Farm CSA!)
The last couple of weeks have included beautiful peaches so this week, I knew I had to make a homemade peach ice cream!
This rich and creamy homemade peach ice cream can be made in an electric ice cream maker (paid link). This recipe includes small chunks of fresh peaches as well as the juice of the peaches, so it’s chock full of peachy flavor!
Ingredients (makes 1 quart):
2 cups peaches, peeled and roughly chopped (about 3 peaches)
I am having way too much fun making all these different types of ice cream! Homemade ice cream is so SO much better than store bought, and this Homemade Coffee Ice Cream is absurdly delicious!
If you’re a coffee lover like I am, you may have just found your new favorite ice cream.
Note: I was sent a bottle of Valdo Marca Oro Prosecco DOC Brut and a bottle of Valdo Marca Oro Rose Prosecco in order to write this post and recipe for Rosemary Grapefruit Prosecco Cocktail. Opinions are mine alone.
I love a simple cocktail that still somehow feels celebratory. That’s where Prosecco cocktails come in! Prosecco tends to be my sparkling wine of choice. A little bubbly always makes everything feel a bit more special, don’t you think?
Later this month, (June 24-30) is National Prosecco Week so I wanted to celebrate a bit early! National Prosecco Week is the largest nationwide celebration of Prosecco DOC. It’s a nationwide campaign that is supported by the Prosecco DOC Consortium. Every year, National Prosecco Week reaches 1,000+ e-commerce, restaurants, and brick-and-mortar stores across the US!
For this Rosemary Grapefruit Prosecco Cocktail, I’m using Valdo Marca Oro Prosecco DOC Brut. Made with 100% Glera grapes and aged for three months using the Charmat method, this bubbly is characterized by a crisp palate and fine effervescence. This prosecco is structured yet bright, making it a beautiful pairing with the woody rosemary and tart grapefruit.
Ingredients (serves 1, multiply as needed):
Rosemary Syrup (makes enough for about 5 cocktails):
So, I’ll be honest. I was actually trying to make a different ice cream than what I ended up with. But this oh so chocolatey Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream is so delicious, it was quite a happy mistake!
My original goal/inspiration was to recreate the now defunct Capogiro’s scuro gelato – the most decadent and beautifully silky dark chocolate gelato. It was my mom’s favorite gelato ever and she’s basically been chasing the high of Capogiro’s scuro gelato ever since they sadly closed in December 2018.
I didn’t quite get to dark chocolate status this round (don’t you worry, that will be a future post!), but I am pretty sure this is the best chocolate ice cream ever. EVER. Don’t believe me? Try this recipe out for yourself!
If you’ve never had a Paloma Cocktail before, you are in for a treat! This 3-ingredient cocktail is a refreshing tequila-based drink perfect for warm weather!
Originating in Mexico, Palomas are sometimes compared to margaritas, but they are really closer to a greyhound, which is made with gin and grapefruit juice.
The Paloma Cocktail is one of the most simple cocktails to make. It is made right in the serving glass so you don’t need any bartending equipment to make it!
Ingredients (makes one glass, multiply as needed):
2 ounces blanco tequila
the juice of one lime
4 ounces grapefruit soda (like Jarritos – paid link)
Note: I was sent a copy of Ticket to Ride The Official Cookbook in order to make this recipe for Homemade Poutine. Opinions are mine alone.
During the pandemic, my husband and I, like many others, did a lot of puzzles and played a lot of board games that could be played with just two people. One of our favorites is/was Ticket to Ride (paid link), which is described as “a cross-country train adventure in which players collect and play matching train cards to claim railway routes connecting cities throughout North America.” We also love playing Ticket to Ride with friends and other family members now that restrictions have lessened.
So when I was contacted about a cookbook based on the board game, I knew I had to try it! TickettoRide: The Official Cookbook (paid link) offers dining car menus inspired by destinations throughout the United States and Canada.
The 75+ recipes are organized by the Destination Tickets from the core TickettoRide game, featuring unique dining-car menus inspired by the cities through which you travel. Each of the 15 routes includes an appetizer, a side dish, a main course, a dessert, and a cocktail (with or without alcohol)—all with deliciously strong ties to destination cities. Inside you’ll find easy-to-follow recipes and full-color photos for local favorites, regional desserts, and cocktails.
As I was paging through, I couldn’t stop thinking about how fun it would be to do a potluck game board night with some of these recipes! I really had a difficult time choosing just one recipe to highlight for this post but finally settled on the Poutine recipe for the Vancouver – Montreal route. If you’ve never had poutine before, it is an absolutely delicious dish of French fries topped with cheese curds and gravy that originates from Quebec. Once I saw the recipe, I couldn’t get the idea of a Homemade Poutine out of my head!
