Trappings

Whatever is one to do with the pounds and pounds of candy canes that accumulate from various holiday parties, decorations, and kids' backpacks?

My standard approach is to tuck these trappings of Christmas season into nooks and crannies, into this candy bin or that... and then in, ohsayNOVEMBER of the next year, to tentatively unwrap and taste one, confirming my deep suspicions that said candy cane arsenal is, YES, truly stale.

Well.
When last year's peppermint stash and this year's (oh, let's be frank, I'm not certain whether or not an archeological find from 2010 is included!) had gotten inauspiciously mixed together, I decided it was off to the trash bin for the lot of them.

Or...
Insert *sigh* of indecision.

You see, I hate resorting to throwing out perfectly stale good food.
Hmmmm.  There must be some way to repurpose old candy canes...

ICE CREAM!

We have a verifiable ice cream connoisseur visiting us now so it all kind of fit together in my grand plans.  This guest isn't just a "this girl likes ice cream a lot."  She's more along the lines of she-who-maps-out-establishments, charting every frozen dessert (every!) shoppe worth dining in within the limits of New York City. I think she's covered all the boroughs.  She goes to ice cream pairing menus (a full dinner based on ice creams?!?).  I kid you not.  And she created a Google map of NYC ice cream for sharing.  Her recommendations have never done me wrong.  (Here's lookin' at you, WCD!)

And what did Ms Ice Cream herself think of my salvage scrumptious candy cane efforts?

(She liked this dessert.  A lot.)

Bonus: no extra sugar is required- the peppermint candy is sweet enough, at least to my taste!

Peppermint Ice Cream

makes 1 1/2 quarts

2 c milk
roughly 9 oz coarsely broken stale (or fresh) candy canes, divided into 3 parts
1/8 tsp salt
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 c cream
(1/2tsp peppermint extract, if desired for greater minty-ness)

Heat 2 c milk to nearly simmering.  Add roughly 1/3 of the crumbled candy canes and salt.  Stir until candy has dissolved, lowering heat to avoid bringing milk to a boil.

Whisk 3 egg yolks together.  Temper with splashes of the hot milk, whisking well after each addition until you've added at least 1/2 c of milk.  Return milk with yolks to the pot.

(note: my custard looks peach in color, largely b/c of the backyard fresh egg's neon orange yolks)

Over medium heat, stirring constantly, bring mixture to the thickness that will coat the back of a wooden spoon. You can taste the mix and determine if (based on color or flavor) you'd like to add another third of the crushed candy now (for a pinker ice cream) or instead to reserve and add later (for greater texture variety in the finished product). Remove from heat.  Add extract or more crumbled peppermint to taste.  Cover and chill the custard until cold (2 hours or overnight).

Churn in ice cream maker per instructions.

Pack into a container, stirring in the final allotment of crushed peppermint.  Cure in freezer for at least several hours prior to scooping and serving.

Serve alone, sprinkled with more crushed peppermint, with a drizzle of dark chocolate, or (oh, the glory) packed in between 2 chocolate sugar cookies.

Inconceivable!

Gluten-free is not a happy adjective, at least in my mind.
It usually means forgoing amazingness.

Take pasta for example.

I mean, really.  How can noodles possibly be good without wheat?
It would be absolutely, totally, and in all other ways inconceivable!
(picture a short, balding Sicilian with me now)

Right?

Well.

I have found and tweaked a concoction that just might be a reasonable, enjoyable substitute!

My source is here.  However, I'm a devoted fan of quinoa.  And we have decidedly not liked gf pastas I've made with potato and rice flours in the past, so I believe my version yields a winning flavor, nutrition, and texture combination for our palates.

If you're of the can't-do-gluten (celiac) variety, or simply trying to minimize simple carbs for health reasons, this recipe is for you.  If you're Italian, a pasta-fanatic, or otherwise not in a reactive-against-wheat camp... just stick with this kind of pasta recipe, with or without the sneaky-greens.

My poster-child for gluten-intolerance friend (SRM, I love your gluten-challenged self) really enjoyed these noodles.  And my children (who adore carbs, particularly glutinous pasta) enjoyed them whole-heartedly as well.  It warmed my heart to know there was more nutritional value (quinoa, anyone?) involved in the dish than the average plate-o-noodles.

So, realizing the ingredients are a bit arcane, perhaps expensive, just know that they're worth it.  Go to your local health-food store, grocery co-op, or bulk food section for the most cost-effective procurement of ingredients. Invest in a kitchen scale, too.

Just as with any fresh pasta making, the humidity in your kitchen and the size of the eggs (which I didn't weigh out) will dictate how much flour you need to add as you roll out the dough- you want it supple but not sticky, tender but not tacky.

This gluten-free dough was, by the way, a joy to work with!  It easily formed a nice, soft ball and rolled out beautifully.  Easier, I must admit, than our usual glutinous strands.


Gluten-Free, High-Protein Noodles
makes 1 lb pasta

70g sorghum flour
70g quinoa flour
60g tapioca flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp guar gum
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 large, fresh eggs

Weigh out the flours and add to the bowl of a stand mixer.  Measure and add the xanthan and guar gums, as well as the salt.  Blend briefly, then mix in the eggs.

Once the dough begins to clump or form a ball, remove from the mixer and knead briefly by hand to form a slightly-sticky mound of dough.  (Unlike glutinous pasta dough, which needs to rest to allow glutens to adequately stretch, this dough does not.)

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to boil while you roll out the dough.

Divide the dough into 8 roughly equal pieces.  Pat one 1/8 piece flat with hands, adding a dusting of sorghum flour as needed.  Either roll pasta by hand to desired thinness or use pasta machine to roll out dough into sheets (I used the #5 setting). You may need to dust sheets between rollings with more sorghum flour.

Let sheets rest on a dry towel or sheet-lined surface.

Slice into fettucini width strips (by hand or with machine attachment).  I think this dough would work well cut as spaghetti as well, if you prefer.

Once the salted water is at a rolling boil, add the pasta.  There should be enough water for the pasta to swim freely without being crowded. Cook fettucini for just 3 minutes before tasting to see if it's tender, but still al dente, letting cook for an additional 1 minute, if needed.  (Fresh spaghetti will cook in a mere 2-3 minutes.)

Drain and sauce the pasta, adding a splash of pasta water if desired as you toss.  Sprinkle with grated Parmesan, as desired.

To serve with this gf pasta, I made a slightly-tweaked version of Batali's romanesco alla diavola (broccoli-cauliflower hybrid cooked with minced green olives, lemon zest, parsley, capers, olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes).  I tossed the pasta in some of the sauce with a generous pat of butter, and then topped it with the sauced romanesco florets.  And a few extra shakes of red pepper flakes for the adults at the table...

Beet it!

It is beet season, my friends.

Today is one of those days when I have to look at my CSA box's contents to recall what time of year it is. It was marked by brilliantly sunny skies that act as if they've never seen a cloud, much less fog, and a (generally understimulated) thermometer groaning to reach up to the high eighties.

But my produce basket has acorn squash, persimmons, leeks, kale, and beets.
Therefore, it's fall, shorts and sandals notwithstanding.

Yes, beets.

It continues to befuddle me that such a brilliant magenta color wouldn't win my children over in one glance. And yet somehow... I keep trying nonetheless.

Beet risotto, pasta, or gnocchi. Beet napoleon. Borscht.
I like them all.

A recipe just caught my eye from September's Food & Wine. In a feature on Jerusalem, there it was: a beet appetizer. A spread!

I'm a sucker for brilliantly flavored, brightly colored spreads.

I minimally altered the recipe (personal taste, available ingredients, etc).  And here you have it.
A magical, magenta spread that has the stunning colors of fall and the heat of a San Francisco October afternoon. I had a mix of traditional and chioggia (light pink, as below) beets, so your dip might be a bit more garnet hued.

Enjoy with pita, crackers, olives, etc.
Lavish it upon other beet lovers! (and torture your kids with an enforced taste of it because ONE day...)




Spiced Beet Spread
makes 3 cups

5-6 medium beets (roughly 1 1/2 lb after trimming off stems)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 of a habanero chile (more if you're adventurous, less if not)
3/4 c plain yogurt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt (optional)

1/4 c chopped salted, roasted, shelled pistachios
1/4 c goat cheese

Preheat oven to 350degF.

Roast beets in a roasting pan with 1/4 c water, covered tightly with foil, until tender (approximately 1 hr). Let cool until reasonable to touch, then peel off beet skins.

Quarter the beets and place in a food processor. Add garlic, chile, and yogurt. Pulse until well incorporated, scraping sides. Add olive oil and maple syrup, pulsing to incorporate. Taste and add salt if desired.

Serve sprinkled with pistachios and some of the goat cheese.  Place remaining goat cheese and crackers with the beet spread on a platter.