Daughters and cooking

The last few days my husband and I have been able to spend some alone time with our two grown daughters, Alicia and Megan. This is a rare and wonderful treat for parents when their children leave home and have families of their own. We managed to do all the things that we love to do together as a family. We talked about our favorite books, went to a play and a movie, and remembered all the silly things that we have done over the years. We went thrift store shopping, found cool rocks at a lapidary store and even did a craft project. We made fun of our family idiosyncrasies, we laughed, talked, and we also spent time cooking great food. In the midst of the discussions, we decided to create a family recipe blog. Anyone related to me can add a recipe. You just need to contact me and get the details on how to get into the proper area.



So, here is the first recipe!

This is an ice cream recipe that I am dedicating to my two chocolate loving daughters-in-law Rachelle and Tobi. Rachelle is on a beach in Hawaii, and Tobi is the one who cute-a-fied this blog. I love them both.


All of my ice cream recipe's are for a counter top ice cream maker.
They are simple, great, and easy to use. No ice, no salt, and they make about one quart of ice cream. I have two of them and threw out my old Ice cream maker. The brand I use is a Cuisinart and you can buy a two bowel model at Costco.


We made this with two people, which turned out great since there are some things that either need to be done ahead, or done at the same time. If you want to make this successfully on your own, make sure to prepare everything beforehand otherwise you'll have burnt cocoa, scrambled eggs, and no good ice cream.


Chocolate Truffle Ice Cream

1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
6 ounces semi sweet chocolate chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a small mixing bowl beat the sugar into the eggs yolks until thickened and pale yellow. Set aside. This takes between 2 to 3 minutes with an electic mixer.

Bring the milk to a simmer in a heavy, medium size saucepan. Whisk in the cocoa and bring the milk back to a simmer. Simmer 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly beat the hot milk and cocoa into the eggs and sugar. Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and place over low heat. Stir constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon until the custard thickens slightly. Be careful not to let the mixture boil or the eggs will scramble. Remove from the heat and pour the hot chocolate custard through a strainer into a large, clean bowl. Set aside while you prepare the ganache.

Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Immediately remove from the heat and pour the cream over the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth (it takes a while). Combine the chocolate mixtures, then stir in the vanilla. Cover and refrigerate until cold, or overnight.

Stir the chilled custard, then freeze in your ice cream machine.

The easiest part to mess up is when adding the eggs to the milk. If it even boils for a second it will turn into a chocolate omelet. However, your efforts will not be in vain: this is the most beautiful, creamy dark chocolate ice cream ever. We ate it with a small scoop of coconut ice cream, which will be posted at a later date.

If you have any problems making the custard, don't give up! And be thinking of recipies you would like to add.


Sylvia