Tiramisu Crunch No Churn Ice Cream

Good evening friends!  Can you believe it is AUGUST?  Where did the summer go?  WHOOSH, gone.  I wanted to get you another no churn ice cream creation because sadly, and unfortunately for the world, some people think ice cream is only for summer.  (Insert dramatic gasp here)  It is true.

Tiramisu is my favorite dessert.  HOWEVER, there is one thing that makes me nuts.  I hate the dark cocoa on top. A lot.  In my world, it should be topped with crushed amaretti cookies.  Are you pickin' up what I am throwin' down friends?  Uh huh, my fantasy and reality collided, and made ice cream.  That was so cheesy.....teetering on sounding like an 80's love song.

You will notice some odd ingredients.  Trust me on this one.  I wanted to still have different textures, and all the "mouth feelings" of tiramisu.  Now, if you want to omit the amaretti cookies, and crush a different kind of cookie on top, don't let me stop you.  But don't skimp on the espresso sprinkled on top and please love this as much as I do!!

1 pkg vanilla pudding
2 1/2 tsp. espresso powder
1 cup milk

Add all ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until completely combined, set aside.

Then you will need:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup coarsely crushed amaretti cookies

In the bowl of your stand mixer OR just a bowl and a hand mixer, whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks.  Add in vanilla extract and whisk a couple of more seconds.  Now, fold in the sweetened condensed milk.  When the mixture is completely combined, add spoonfuls of the pudding mixture on top.

Carefully use your spatula to swirl the pudding mixture through the whipped cream mixture.  You don't want it to mix all the way in, just swirl it.

Slowly pour mixture into a container suitable for freezing.

Take your cookie crumbs and cover the top.  Sprinkle a little espresso powder on top and freeze for at least 5 hours.

Enjoy my version of the perfect tiramisu, in ice cream form!  Make sure to tag me on Instagram, Twitter or post a photo on Facebook!  I love seeing how you recreate my food!

If you like this recipe you might also like:
http://www.foodthoughtsofachefwannabe.com/2012/10/amaretti-cookies.html 
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream with Peanut Butter Sauce
Butter Pecan Ice Cream
Extreme Sundae Pie

Bananas Foster Calzones

Doesn't this sound amazing?  I know!  It IS amazing! 

My daughter in law loves all things banana, caramel, strawberry, etc.  I decided to make these for her, and let her help.  Or rather, let her eat the leftover filling! HA!  We are enjoying spending time together, in the kitchen and out.  I had contemplated a dessert calzone for some time, but when I mentioned it to her she said, "OMG can you put bananas foster INSIDE of it"?  Well of COURSE I can dear Kayla!

There is one thing I would suggest.  Unless you have a tried and true pizza dough you can buy, MAKE YOUR OWN!  Try my recipe, because it is BOMB! (pizza crust)  

Now, out of one recipe of pizza dough you will get 3-4 calzones.  When you make the filling keep in mind, depending on the size of your calzones, and amount of filling you use, you may have a bit leftover.  Oh darn it.  I guess you could put it on ice cream.  Oh darn it.  Or eat it right out of  the bowl.  Oh DARN it.

Ok, we know this is going to be amazing, and easy, but there are a few steps, so let's get started.

You will need:
2 balls of pizza dough
1 cup caramel sauce, divided (I used ice cream topping)
6 bananas, sliced
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. butter
pinch of salt
1 egg
powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

In a bowl, combine, sliced bananas, 1/4 cup caramel sauce, salt and brown sugar.  Just gently mix to combine and set aside.  Divide each dough ball into however many calzones you want from each.  Roll out one calzone at a time, place the filling on one side of the circle and fold the other over.  Press to seal, and then use a fork to ensure they are sealed.  Do this with each calzone and then place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Whisk one egg and a tablespoon of water together and using a pastry brush, egg wash the top and sides to help it brown beautifully!   Preheat the oven to  350 and bake 14-20 minutes depending on the size.  You will know when yours are done, they will be golden brown!

While they are cooling, combine, butter and the rest (3/4 cup) of the caramel sauce in a small saucepan.  Heat until the butter is melted and the sauce is smooth.  Serve calzones with ice cream and drizzle this sauce over the top and hit it with some powdered sugar!   See where I didn't seal mine in the photo?  I decided it was the perfect one to show you, since you can see the bananas and sauce inside!

Oh-la-la!

Wet Nuts (Walnuts)

Teehee.  You read it right, "Wet Nuts"!   They still make me giggle like a teenager.  Either because I am just that immature, or I just let my sense of humor roll most of the time. 

When I moved to New Jersey, my first trip to the boardwalk is where I was introduced to the ole "wet nut".  Oh my gosh, I just keep laughing.  Anyway, we got ice cream and my husband (then boyfriend) orders wet nuts on his.  I was like, "WHAT is THAT"?  I mean, let's just be honest, if you haven't ever heard of them, I know you are chuckling, and I, who tends to be a bit more dramatic at times, almost lost my marbles.  I could tell he was mortified, but did it stop me?  No.  For days afterward, I still giggled.

So what ARE wet nuts?  They are toasted walnuts, in a syrup flavored or made from maple syrup.  Now there are as many versions of this as there are people who make it.  Where I live maple syrup is pretty pricey.  When I tell you what I used, you might die.  I used regular pancake syrup.  Now for a special occasion or for guests I would use maple syrup, but for just us at home, I went with a more budget friendly choice.

Oh NO, I forgot to say, this is NOT healthy.  Wet nuts are NOT good for you.  Hold on, I need to gather myself. 

Anyway, these are an Atlantic City Boardwalk tradition and I hope you enjoy them too!  I think you could even put this on top of cinnamon rolls, apple pie, etc.  Oh yes!  Wet nuts galore!

I store these in a small jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

12 ounces walnut pieces (toast in a 350 degree oven for 10 min)
3/4 cup maple syrup or regular pancake syrup
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla or maple flavoring or both!

After walnuts are toasted combine all ingredients until well mixed.  Place in a container or jar with a lid and keep refrigerated.  Mine keep up to 2 weeks this way!  Top ice cream, or anything else you can think of.  Let me know what you use yours for!!

ENJOY!

Butter Pecan Ice Cream

Is winter an odd time to be writing and posting recipes for ice cream?  Oh well.  I had a reader tell me that more ice cream is consumed in the winter than the summer.  I don't need proof, I am going to believe it because it is convenient for me. HA!

 

Remember Bess, my lunch buddy at our favorite Chinese restaurant?  Well, we have another lunch friend in our posse as well, her name is Dee!  She is one of those ladies, you just love being around, she is happy, positive, loving, caring, kind...I could go on and on.  She has a beautiful family and we all love our lunch visits!  On my birthday Dee brought me the cutest ice cream serving dishes shaped like cones!  I decided I had to do a recipe for her favorite ice cream which she informed me was Butter Pecan.  (I always used to think Butter Pecan was for the over 80 crowd) I am obviously wrong! HAHA!  I wanted to use this darling set for a photo as soon as I could because I LOVE it!  Thanks Dee, for your friendship, your kindness and pure goodness you bring to our lives!

Note: The ice cream cones, had to take a background position due to photographing the ice cream on an almost 70 degree day in FEB, and it melting REPEATEDLY on me.  Nothing more can be said.  Grrrr!

This is an easy recipe.  It is so rich, but oh so delightful.  This recipe will make exactly 1 quart of ice cream. 

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1 14ounce can, sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup melted butter

In a bowl, whip your heavy cream to stiff peaks.  Set aside.  In another bowl combine, condensed milk, brown sugar, pecans and cooled melted butter.  Using a hand mixer combine thoroughly.  Using a spatula cold the heavy cream into the sweetened condensed milk mixture.  When all is combine, put into a plastic container with a lid and freeze for at least 6 hours.  Overnight would make it even better. 

As you can see by my photo, I couldn't wait any longer.  And with the heat on, it got a little melty, but you know what???  Ice cream is supposed to drip, right?! teehee

Enjoy this, maybe even on a piece of PIE! OOHHH!!

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream with Peanut Butter Sauce

Heaven, pure heaven.  Now I don't know how YOU feel about peanut butter, but let me tell you, we LOVE it.  My husband has been making this peanut butter sauce for years, and he and our son add it to shakes, dip fruit in it, etc. 

As for the vanilla ice cream.  Creamy, sweet, and decadent!  My husband said, "OMG, do you remember when Breyers was GOOD?  That is what this tastes like".  I guess that was a compliment.  I like knowing what is IN my ice cream and I enjoy the whole process of creating different flavors.   There is just little, in my opinion, that compares to homemade ice cream.  As a kid we would almost always make it on the 4th of July.  That was about the only time we did.  My dad would borrow someones ice cream freezer, we would continuously feed it rock salt and ice, we might get a crank one, that we had to crank or sometimes an electric one to plug in.  Granted, you can make a lot more ice cream with one of those full sizers, but my counter top version is perfect for me.  This is the one I have and I LOVE it.

IF you do not have an ice cream freezer, this can be made without it.  Put it into a container with a lid and freeze.  When it has been in the freezer for 1 hour, remove and stir it.  Do this again after the second hour.  Let freeze until it is at the desired consistency you want! I don't like sharing recipes that require specialized equipment.  It goes against my idea of sharing food that is accessible to real people, EVERYWHERE and without having to buy hundreds of dollars worth of specialized equipment.  I made 2, maybe 4, batches (lol), made half with my machine and half without, there is zero difference so I was very excited!

You will need to follow your machines directions on preparation of the equipment.  My freezer bowl has to be in the freezer 12-24 hours before using, so make sure to check that out!!

Here we go!!

Vanilla Ice Cream
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1-2 tsps vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Whisk until smooth and creamy. 

Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.  Carry on with your ice cream makers' directions on freezing.  Mine took about 15 minutes, at which time it was like soft serve ice cream.  Since I wanted it harder, I put it into a container, covered, and put into the freezer for at least 2 hours, it can stay as long as overnight.  Proceed with the manufacturers directions on your ice cream maker

Peanut Butter Sauce
1 cup creamy peanut butter (you could use crunchy if you like)
3 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk (any milk)

Combine in a small saucepan and heat until sugar is dissolved and peanut butter is melted.  Mixture should be smooth!  Remove from heat, serve over your ice cream warm or let it cool and use it cold, the choice is yours.  Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

(When you go to reheat this, you might need to splash it with a little milk to get it smooth and creamy again.)

ENJOY!!!

P.S  Did I tell you how I acquired this ice cream maker?  Flea market, a husband whose wife had an affair on their honeymoon, so he took all of their wedding gifts to the flea market, I got this baby for 5.00! 

Your "I scream you scream we all scream for HOMEMADE ice cream" Chefwannabe

Niece Invasion of the Extreme Sundae Pie- Take 1! By: Jamie and Katie

 For a long time now we have been trying to plan to come and make some yummy dishes with our Aunt Chris!  My summer has been busy doing softball, babysitting, and hanging out at my grandmas lake, and Jamie's summer has been busy at volleyball camps, and preparing for 8th grade. We finally made some dates and came down to cook!  The first thing we had to do was go to the grocery store and obviously buy the ingredients. Then, we finally got to the house and prepared what we needed to make!  We made a dessert what we call "The Extreme Sundae Pie." We wanted to make an ice-cream dessert to cool down these 110 degree days!

 

If you want to cool down these extremly hot summer days too, please keep reading and follow these directions!

You will need...                 
9 in. springform pan                  
1 -1.5 qts. of Cookies and Cream ice-cream
3 pkgs. of fun size Kit Kats
2 tsp. vanilla
2 -12.8 hot fudge jars (melted a little bit just enough to spread)               
2 cups graham crackers
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 pkg chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreo)
              
***remember to let the ice-cream soften slightly before you begin to assemble this dessert***

We put 2 cups of graham crackers into the food processor and zapped it.  Add in melted butter and zap some more.  Press it into the bottom of the spring form pan. 
Put the cookies and cream ice cream in a mixer or use a bowl and spoon. 

Add 1 tsp vanilla and mix completely.  Unwrap all of the kit kat bars and leave them connected. 

Line the spring form pan after you have pressed in the crust .  You might have to hold them up with an extra set of hands until you get the ice cream layer poured in.  Pour the ice cream in the pan on top of the graham cracker crust and smooth it out. 

Put it in the freezer and let it set up for about 30 minutes.  Jamie can't really remember so just keep checking it.  It doesn't need to be solid, it just needs to be set a bit. 

Now, melt the  hot fudge just until it is soft enough to spread.  Spread on both jars and put back in the freezer for another 30 minutes.  Wait, Jamie can't remember again, so just until it is set. 

Now mix together your softened vanilla ice cream and 1 tsp vanilla.  Stir until combined.  Pour into pan OVER the hot fudge.  BE CAREFUL.  It will be a wee bit to much.  So, get yourself a little bowl and pour the excess into it.  Now let it sit in the freezer again. 

While it is in the freezer, crush 1/2 of a package of Oreos in a ziploc bag.  Now using any bashing instrument of your choice, beat those babies until they are Oreo DUST!  Next, sprinkle the crumbs on to the top of the pie.  Let it sit until ready to serve.  (probably at least 3 hours)

We hope you love our Extreme Sundae Pie.  It is fun to make and we had fun driving Aunt Chris insane.  We didn't even have to clean up cause our Aunt Chrissy did it all for us. 

Your "cra-cra nieces of chefwannabe"

Jamie and Katie
 

PS.  Thanks Jatie and Kamie (hehe), I had so much fun with you!  Food, makeup, writing, and laughing our buns off!  Hope you make this at home so you can actually EAT SOME! Sorry!  Love you guys!xoxo


             

The tales of a Desperate Grasshopper...

Hello, Hello, Hello! Hoping this finds you all cozy and warm, enjoying your evening however you enjoy your evenings!  I decided to recreate what I call a "fifi" drink that my husband and I made the night of our anniversary   

 

I had gone to my local Wallyworld to pick a couple of things up.  Meanwhile my husband sends his usual text saying, "lets make grasshoppers".  So I dash around looking for the alcohol I need and ice cream.  Well people, FYI, your local Wallyworld does not carry creme de menthe. Should it surprise me?  No.  So don't give me any guff!!  I decided to make due with what I could find.  I had a big bottle of creme de cacao at home and I figure if I used chocolate mint ice cream we could cover all flavor bases even if I didn't get the creme de menthe since I had no time to run somewhere with a real liquor store in it.  So since we had to come home and "make it work" so to speak, we called it our Desperate Grasshopper.  We were desperate and when you compare this recipe to a real one, you will understand why! By the way, some chocolate mint ice cream is WHITE.....what?!?!?!  So I used food coloring, I will be darned if this puppy isn't going to look AND taste like the real thing!

Desperate Grasshopper Ice Cream Drink *Alcoholic*
3 cups chocolate mint ice cream
1/4 milk
1/4 sugar
1/4 creme de cacao
1 tsp mint extract (optional)
4 drops of green food coloring

I did make this in my food processor, but use your blender since I am sure yours hasn't been melted in the dishwasher...
Put everything in the processor or blender and whiz until smooth.  You may want to add a bit more milk if you like yours thinner.  It is perfection, and worth every ounce of green food coloring you accidental drip on your new Philadelphia Eagles shirt too!!

Eat, DRINK and be merry my friends.  Sorry this is so short! The night we made this on our anniversary it was at midnight and we were laughing so hard we could hardly even speak, I don't even know why but just typing it makes me giggle again.  The flecks of chocolate collect at the bottom and you get it all at once!   So here is to hoping you make AND enjoy!

Your "CHEERS" chefwannabe

Chris