Vanilla Custard Icecream

Last year, for Christmas we got an ice-cream machine. I have been wanting to get one for sometime, but knowing me I probably wouldn't have bought it myself so I was quite happy. I have made tons of decent ice-cream and frozen yogurt in it. But this simple ice-cream was something that I really liked. The original recipe can be found here. Since I am new to the world of ice-cream making, I have not really experimented too much. So it is pretty much the same recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Method

In a large saucepan, heat milk to 175°(I even used a thermometer); Add in the sugar and salt. Whisk a small amount of hot mixture into the eggs. Add this mixture to the pan, whisking constantly. I always get nervous with this step. You see its easy to cook the eggs into some pacha mass while adding it to hot liquids. The key is to whisk constantly and add a little at a time. I also turned off the heat. One well mixed, turn heat back on low and stir continuously until mixture reaches at least 160°. The mixture is supposed to coat the back of a metal spoon but I was so intent on using my thermometer that I forgot to check. (PS I use my thermometer to make yogurt too. I feel like a chemist and I like it :D ).

Once it reaches 160° remove from the heat and place it in a ice bath to cool quickly. Stir in whipping cream and vanilla. To prevent a cream layer on top press cling film/seran wrap/wax paper onto surface of custard. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Use this mixture to make ice-cream in your machine according to the machine directions. Transfer to a freezer container and freeze for 2-4 hours before serving.

Here is an extra. I had some brownies from the store. I heated those up. Put in a spoon of ice-cream over it and had it. Just plain delicious! Now I can't wait to make some green tea ice cream as well.

Salsa Love

I love salsa. No further explanation. Just a plain fact. I love Salsa. Not the dance form…though I don't mind that too. But Salsa as in the thing we eat with our chips. Especially during Superbowl. We have a very crude version of Salsa back home which usually passes off as Salad. It involves diced tomatoes, chopped onion, chillies, lemon juice, coriander and interestingly, radish. Its delicious. Especially with rice and black dal. I had the Latino/American salsa when I first came to the US.  After I got over that fact that the restaurants served free chips before meals, I remember that my attention was caught by the seemingly innocent looking salsa. But boy I was surprised as the flavors exploded in my mouth. Yep…thats how I think of that moment when I had that first salsa. Tangy, salty, and super hot/spicy with a hint of sweetness. Chunks of tomato and onion and cilantro fighting to make an impression inside my mouth in the middle of all those flavors. Clearly, you see salsa love makes me poetic. Since then I have always judged a Mexican restaurant by the quality of its salsa. So imagine my excitement when I got an opportunity to go to New Mexico this year. What a better way to experience salsa the way it was meant to be. And New Mexico did not disappoint. I tasted every form of salsa. Mild to super hot…full of tomatoes to full of chillies. It was salsa heaven. However, in New Mexico I also learnt that I prefer my Salsa smoother than chunkier, tangier than spicier. Since coming back home I have tried different types of Salsa. But my mind kept comparing it to the New Mexican one and I was disappointed every time. Whether it was store bought salsa, served in restaurants or made (multiple attempts) at home, it was never good enough. Until today.

I have always looked online for my recipes. And when I looked for salsa one of the first hits was always Pioneer Woman's salsa. And I always read the recipe and ignored it. "This seems so simple. Surely a good salsa requires more hard work!" And I always ignored it…while I hunted on. But today I needed Salsa in a hurry. I had 1/2 an hour to SuperBowl and I needed Salsa to go with chips. Also I was in a store and did not have time to surf through all the other recipes. So I went ahead and bought the stuff that I needed. And went ahead to make one of the best salsa I have ever had, if I may say so myself. 

So here is what I used.

• 1 large can  Diced Tomatoes With Juice. The original recipe called for whole tomatoes, but I did not find it. So I went ahead and used what I had.
• 1 can diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies
• 1/2 Onion.
• 3 cloves Garlic.
• 1 whole Jalapeño. 
• 1/4 teaspoon Sugar
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder.
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice.

Now the recipe called for coriander leaves and I intended to use that. But in my hurry I forgot to use it. And the salsa turned out good. When I remake this I will use coriander and then write about it.

Put the onion, garlic and jalapeños in the food processor. (No chopping etc for me. Why work unnecessarily). Pulse it about 3 times (the number is for consistency purposes), and then add the rest of the ingredients. Pulse it about 6 times more (or adjust according to the desired consistency). Chill for about an hour before serving. 

That's all. Best Salsa ever. Now I really need to go to Mexico!