[SS01] Assault and Pepper (27 page)
GINGER ICE CREAM
Ginger ice cream is fabulous by itself, or with Salty Oat Cookies. This recipe makes a quart, using a Donvier ice cream maker. You may need to adjust amounts and method for your own ice cream maker. Crystallized ginger may be found packaged or in bulk at your natural grocer’s, with other dried fruits or in the herb and spice section.
2 eggs
2
⁄
3
cup sugar
1
3
⁄
4
cups milk
2 cups cream
1
⁄
2
teaspoon vanilla
1
⁄
4
cup (roughly) fresh gingerroot, finely grated, plus any liquid left by grating
1
⁄
2
cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped
Beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until thick and cream-colored. Add the milk, cream, vanilla, and fresh ginger, along with any liquid left by the grating. Mix well. If your grated ginger has any stringy fibers, pour the mixture through a strainer at this stage. Stir in the crystallized ginger.
Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s directions. As with many homemade ice creams, it will be soft at first, but will harden if stored in an airtight container in the freezer. Keeps about 1 week.
SPICED GLAZED NUTS AND PRETZEL MIX
2 cups mixed raw nuts: any combination of cashews, whole almonds, Spanish peanuts, pecan halves, or hazelnuts
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1
⁄
2
teaspoon ground cinnamon
3
⁄
4
teaspoon cayenne pepper
1
1
⁄
2
tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt, kosher salt, or other coarse salt
2 cups mini pretzel twists; if you can’t find mini twists, break up larger twists or sticks
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the nuts in a large bowl. Spread on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 minutes, stirring once. Leave the oven on after you remove the nuts.
Melt the butter, either on the stove top or in the microwave, and pour into the large bowl. Stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, cayenne, and maple syrup.
Add the toasted nuts, still warm, to the bowl and stir until coated. Mix in the salt and pretzels, and stir until the nuts and pretzels are completely coated. (Adding the salt after the nuts and sugar mixture is stirred keeps the salt from dissolving.)
Spread the mixture on the baking sheet and toast in the oven for 15 to 18 minutes, stirring twice during cooking. Remove from the oven and cool completely. The mixture can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
Makes about 4 cups.
When the mixture first comes out of the oven, you may taste a sharpness and fear that you overdid the cayenne. Remember Pepper’s advice on giving blends time for the edges to wear off—these flavors mellow beautifully in just a few hours.
Save Room for Coffee but Not Sure About Dessert? Two in One!
MEXICAN COFFEE
FOR EACH DRINK:
1
⁄
2
ounce tequila
1
⁄
2
ounce Kahlúa
1 cup hot, strong brewed coffee
1
⁄
4
to
1
⁄
3
cup vanilla ice cream
dash of cinnamon, optional
Make the coffee. Use clear glass serving cups if you can, for presentation.
Set out the ice cream. You want it partially melted.
Combine the tequila and Kahlúa in the serving cup. Pour in the coffee, add the ice cream, and add a dash of cinnamon. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
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