Sweet Potato–Star Anise Soup with Ginger Cream

This past Wednesday... CHOW'S recipe of the day, was this Sweet Potato-Star Anise Soup with Ginger Cream, by Aïda Mollenkamp and Regan Burns. The weather here on Wednesday was clear and quite crisp... an excellent soup day, so I decided to whip this up. The flavours are warm and soothing with a nice soft bite from the ginger. A quick, easy cook up with comforting results.

Sweet potatoes simmer in chicken broth with onions, ginger and star anise.

Penne with Zucchini and Mint

This is one of my favourite zucchini recipes while mint and squash are still abundant in the garden. Basil and zucchini are such a natural pairing, but the mint is light and refreshing, a nice change of flavour, and another great partner to the squash.

Penne with Zucchini and Mint

• 1 lb penne pasta
• 2 medium zucchini, halved then sliced at an angle (similar in shape to the penne)
  
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 bunch fresh mint, leaves picked and chopped
  
• parmasean cheese, grated

Add the pasta to a large pot of salted boiling water and cook till just tender.

Meanwhile, saute the zucchini in two tablespoons of the olive oil, add the crushed pepper and cook until tender. When pasta is done, drain and place in a serving bowl. Top with the zucchini, sprinkle over the mint and drizzle with remaining olive oil. Toss and serve with grated parmasean cheese if desired.

4 to 6 servings

Ginger Ice Cream

I made this for a party, but I'm not sure if it's going to make it there if I keep "tasting" it.  I guess this was pretty popular a few years back, but I must have missed that wave. I found dozens of recipes, and this is my version:

Ginger Ice Cream

• 3/4 C sugar
  
• 1/4 C fresh ginger root, grated
  
• 2 C  half & half, I used fat free
  
• 2 C heavy cream
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  
• 1/2 C chopped candied ginger
  

Heat the sugar, cream and half and half over medium heat until the sugar melts and tiny bubbles begin to come up from the bottom of the pan. Do Not Boil.  Remove from heat and add the ginger and vanilla. Allow to steep as it cools for 30 mins.  Strain and put in fridge to chill for at least 3 hours. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturers directions. Add the chopped candied ginger (if using) when about 3/4 done. Transfer to a freezer container to firm completely.  Enjoy!

Makes a generous quart.

Grilled Pound Cake with Ginger Rum Peaches

You just want to get a char on the cake and fruit so it picks up a little grill flavour, not cook it through. I used a pound cake I had previously made and frozen and free stone peaches from the local farmers' market and served it with fresh whipped cream sweetened with cinnamon sugar. I'm sure nectarines or plums would be tasty too. It's also delicious served with Berry Sorbet.

Grilled Pound Cake with Ginger Rum Peaches

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup dark rum
• 2 inch piece fresh ginger, grated
  
• pinch of nutmeg
  
• pinch of cinnamon
  
• 4 ripe but firm peaches, quartered
  
• 4 slices pound cake, store bought or homemade
  
• whipped cream or ice cream (optional)
  
• candied ginger for garnish (optional)

Mix honey, rum, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon together and pour over peaches. Allow to marinate in the fridge for several hours or overnite. Drain peaches reserving marinade. Strain marinade and set aside. Grill pound cake and peaches just till charred with grill marks turning once or twice. Drizzle reserved marinade over pound cake to moisten well. Serve topped with grilled peaches and fresh whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

4 servings

Cooks Note: With my gas grill on high, it took only a few seconds per side for the pound cake and 5 to 8 minutes total for the peaches.

Copy Cat Ovaltine Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

I've been wanting to make this ice cream since seeing this recipe . I did not make a custard based ice cream though, and used what I had on hand rather than making a trip to the market (yes, I have a can of Ovaltine in the cupboard). It came out pretty well and certainly has that Ovaltine flavour. It may not be as smooth as the original recipe, but I saved a little time and cut out a step by not having to heat the ingredients and cook the eggs, and since the ingredients were cold, I didn't have to chill before freezing.

Copy Cat Ovaltine Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

adapted from Coconut & Lime's recipe

• 2 cups fat free half & half
  
• 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk ( I used 2% )
  
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
  
• 3/4 cup Rich Chocolate Ovaltine®
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 4 oz dark chocolate, chips or chopped from a bar

In a medium bowl, add the sugar and Ovaltine. Whisk in the half and half, evaporated milk and vanilla extract. Mix till the sugar and Ovaltine have dissolved. If not freezing right away, cover and refrigerate. Freeze in ice cream maker per the manufacturer's instructions. Add the chocolate chunks during the last 5 minutes or so. (Mine was at soft serve in about 30 mins.) Put in a freezer container to complete firming.
Makes 1 scant quart.

I grew up on Ovaltine and love it hot or cold. I have a friend who used to eat it right out of the jar. Thanks Rachel for the inspiration, this will be enjoyed by many.

Mixed Berry Sorbet

Berries were on sale this week so my fridge was overflowing with them. What better way to try out my new ice cream machine (my old one conked out last week) than to put those berries to good use in a refreshing sorbet. I used blackberries, raspberries and strawberries as that's what I had, but you could use one type of berry or mix what you like.

Berry Sorbet

5 cups berries

2 cups water

1 cup sugar

juice of one lemon

Make a simple syrup with the water and sugar by heating it to a boil and simmering for 5 to 8 minutes stirring occasionally till thickened. Remove from heat and let cool, stir in the lemon juice then chill in refrigerator until cold. Purée half the berries and half the cooled syrup in a blender. Pass through a sieve to remove the seeds and solids. Repeat with the remaining berries and syrup. Freeze in an ice cream maker following the manufacturer's directions or alternately, freeze in ice cube trays and purée in food processor or blender after frozen. Makes about 1 1/2 quarts.

The new machine I bought is the Cuisinart 2-quart Pure Indulgence. A couple steps up from my last machine, it made a nice smooth sorbet in 30 minutes. I needed to pop it in the freezer for further firming.

Focaccia Rolls on the Grill

It's summer, it's grilling season, why heat up the house. I put the pizza stone on the gas grill and cooked these outdoors. They pick up a bit of smoky flavour too. It's easy to make the dough in the food processor, but you can pick some up at the grocery store or a local pizza place.


Here's the basic dough recipe ~

• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 package dry yeast
  
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons olive oil - divided
  
• 1 bunch fresh herbs of your choice
• cornmeal for dusting baking stone
  

Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water and stir. Let sit for 5 minutes. Put the flour in the bowl of a food processor and add the salt and 3 tablespoons of the herbs, chopped. Add 3 tablespoons of the oil to the water. With the processor running, slowly add the water mixture to the flour. When it forms a ball, let the processor run for 1 minute. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap or a towel and lest rest for 1 hour. Punch down dough and divide into eight equal balls. Fatten to 3 1/2 in discs, brush with olive oil and sprinkle on some fresh herbs. Sprinkle some cornmeal on a platter or sheet pan. Place the rolls on the pan, and let sit while the grill heats. Put a pizza stone on the grill as it heats up with all burners on high. Once heated, turn burners to *medium. Sprinkle the stone with more cornmeal and transfer the rolls to the stone. Put the lid down and cook for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden.

Cooks Note: The grill has hot spots, I moved the rolls around halfway through. After about 12 minutes, mine weren't quite brown enough, so I checked the bottoms to make sure they weren't scorched and left them in till they were golden.

I've also baked these in the oven on a pizza stone, 450ºF for about the same time.

*Grills vary... I have one with a thermometer, and with all burners on medium, it stayed at a pretty consistant 475ºF.

Food on TV

Actually, I think PBS was the first food network.  Years ago I thought it a real luxury to spend an hour or two on the weekends watching a few of the cooking programs they broadcast.  Of course, there was Julia, both her original show and her later ones with master chefs. Jacques Pepin, Natalie Dupree, Marianne Esposito, Jeff Smith/The Frugal Gourmet, Graham Kerr/The Galloping Gourmet are among some of the others I remember. A commonality these shows had was that they'd share a little more about the dish than just the ingredients that went into it.  They'd tell heart felt stories of the region the dish was from and the ingredients available in that area, or reminisce about making it with their mothers and grandmothers when they were very young. It seems these are a little of what makes a food show host successful as they were key points they drilled into participants of  The Next Food Network Star, share a little about yourself as well as the food. Congratulations to Aaron McCargo Jr. (I picked him early on as the winner). I toast to you with this cocktail from The Neelys, though I made one change. I used white rum instead of vodka, and think it has a really nice flavour.

Frozen Ginger Lemon Drops

adapted from The Neelys recipe

makes 4

• 1 cup ginger/mint simple syrup, recipe follows
• 1 cup white rum
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• 4 cups ice
• Lemon wedges and/or mint sprigs for garnish

Add simple syrup to a blender. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and garnish with lemon and mint.

Ginger Simple Syrup:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 (4-inch) piece of ginger, sliced
• a big handful of mint

Bring water to a low simmer and stir until sugar dissolves.

Add ginger and mint and allow to steep for 20 minutes. Strain and chill.

Squash, Squash, Squash...

It's that time of year when the garden is overflowing with squash. We happen to love it and will have it everyday while it's available, but it becomes a challenge finding new ways to serve it. Today I mixed together this cool, refreshing salad.

Summer Squash Salad

• 2 medium yellow squash, chopped or sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 red or green jalapeno chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sweet marjoram
  

Dressing~

• 3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 clove garlic pressed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a medium bowl, mix together the squash, peppers, onions, celery and herbs.
Mix together the dressing ingredients and pour over the vegetables. Toss to combine and chill.

Cooks note: I love sweet marjoram and have an abundance of it in my garden. If you can't find it, oregano is a great substitute, or really any herb that you happen to like.
I find it so easy to make my dressings in a mason jar. One with a screw top and the measurements on the side. Add all the ingredients and shake it up to blend.