HOLIDAY TREATS! ONE SWEET...ONE SAVORY!

Let's start with dessert. Once again, I thought I had come up with an original...wrong! But I did find a bunch of different recipes online and put my own twist on this creamy ice cream. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, this would make an excellent addition to your dessert table. It tastes exactly like apple pie!

APPLE PIE ICE CREAM

Ingredients:

FOR THE APPLES-

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 medium Granny Smith apples; peeled, cored and cut into 1 inch chunks

1 rounded tsp. ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

Preparation:

Combine brown sugar and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the butter is melted and bubbly, add the apples and cinnamon. Cook, stirring frequently until the apples are softened and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool. Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use. Since the custard has to cool overnight I made the apple mixture the day before churning the ice cream.

FOR THE ICE CREAM-

Ingredients:

5 egg yolks

1/3 cup white sugar

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 cups half and half

1/4 tsp. salt

1 rounded tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. vanilla

Preparation:

In a medium bowl whisk together the egg yolks, then whisk in 2 1/2 Tbsp. sugar. Set aside. 

In a medium saucepan, stir together the two creams, salt and remaining sugar over medium-high heat. When the mixture approaches a simmer, reduce heat to medium. Do not boil. Ladle some of the hot cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Repeat once more. By gently heating the egg yolks you will not end up with scrambled eggs once all is added to the cream mixture. Once the eggs have warmed up a bit, very slowly stir in the rest of the eggs to the cream mixture. Add the vanilla and spices.

Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly until it is thickened. Temperature should be about 170 degrees. Remove from the heat and strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve. Using the back of a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula press the custard through the sieve. You may see little pieces of cooked egg in the sieve. That is why this step is so important. Once strained, set the bowl in a larger bowl of ice water, stirring occasionally until cooled. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to churn add the custard and apple mixture alternately to your ice cream maker. Refer to manufacturers instructions for churning time. I use a Cuisinart and this ice cream took about 23 minutes to churn. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze. Take out of freezer about 10 minutes before serving. 

My good friend Debby Vis made a spectacular apple pie. Her recipe uses cream cheese in the filling so it is super rich and creamy. We topped the pie with the Apple Pie Ice Cream and an Apple Cider reduction. This photo is a bit of a mess, but it sure was, as Mary Berry would say, SCRUMMY!

TO REDUCE THE CIDER-

8 cups apple cider

Measure 1 1/4 cups of cider and pour into a larger heavy-bottomed stock pot. Reduce by half and then add all the cider and boil over medium-high heat until it is reduced to about 1 1/4 cups syrup Watch it towards the end as it may 'catch'. This sauce is surprisingly tart, which was a lovely contrast to the sweet pie and ice cream. This sauce would be excellent on either pork or chicken.

AND NOW FOR THE SAVORY-

I've been on an old fashioned hors d'oeuvres kick. This cheeseball would be a great starter to Thanksgiving dinner, but is good any time. So easy to put together and can be made a day in advance. I served with assorted crackers and slices of Granny Smith apple.

MAJOR GREY'S CHUTNEY CHEESEBALL

Ingredients:

8 oz. softened cream cheese

1/2 cup Colby cheese, grated

1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated

1 scallion, mainly white part

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup Major Grey's Chutney

Salt/Pepper to taste

1/2 cup chopped pecans for coating

Preparation:

Mix cream cheese together with the chutney, scallion, garlic, salt and pepper. Fold in the two cheeses. Form the mixture into either one large ball or make two cheeseballs. Place the chopped pecans on a piece of plastic wrap and drop the cheese onto the nuts. 

Bring the four corners of the plastic wrap together ensuring that nuts are evenly coating the entire ball. Using your hands pat the cheese so it is fairly even and then twist and tighten the plastic wrap to complete the cheeseball. Place in the fridge for a few hours to firm up the cheese or make a day ahead.

THAT'S IT FOR TODAY...

THANKSGIVING IS NEXT WEEK!

WISHING YOU ALL A BEAUTIFUL HOLIDAY!

www.cookwithcindy.com