BLACKBERRY ICE CREAM AND MORE!

Our son, Michael, was recently here for a visit. I made him, among many other treats, a big batch of luscious Blackberry ice cream. 

Jerry, JoJo and Michael enjoying some ice cream!

This is a Ree Drummond recipe and the only problem I had making it was my ice cream maker was not quite large enough to hold the ice cream. Ice cream expands as you churn it. I ended up with ice cream all over the counter, which my husband, Jerry rushed to literally lick up! It was hilarious and if I wasn't laughing so hard would have taken a video. Here's "The Pioneer Woman's" recipe.

Ingredients:

2 pints (4 cups) fresh blackberries

1 1/4 cups sugar, divided

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 1/2 cups half and half

5 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

4 ounces (1/2 cup) good quality semi-sweet chocolate. I used Ghiradeli chips.

Preparation:

Combine the blackberries, 1/4 cup of the sugar and the lemon juice in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until the blackberries are broken down and syrupy, about 20 minutes.

Push the mixture into a bowl through a fine mesh strainer. Using the back of a spoon, push the berries through the sieve capturing the seeds and pulps to give your ice cream a smooth and creamy texture. This is a tedious, but important step; otherwise lots of seeds in your ice cream. Set aside to cool. Ree suggests discarding the pulpy seeds, but at the price of blackberries I could not do it so placed in a covered container in the fridge knowing I would find another purpose for them.

Heat the half and half and remaining 1 cup of sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Using a whisk, beat the egg yolks until pale and thick. Temper the eggs by carefully splashing a small amount of warm cream into the yolks, whisking constantly. Slowly pour the tempered yolks into the saucepan, stirring gently. Cook over medium-low heat until thick, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. You may check the temperature to see that it has risen to 170 degrees. 

Pour the heavy cream into the bowl with the strained berries, and then pour in the custard and stir to combine. Refrigerate the mixture for a few hours or overnight.

Freeze according to manufacturers instructions. It took about 20-25 minutes and the consistency will thicken as it sits in the freezer. Toward the end of the freezing, drop in the chocolate bits. Transfer to an ice cream safe container and allow it to harden for several hours or overnight. I was very pleased with both the texture and taste!

The Blackberry ice cream was also yummy with super fudgy brownies my good friend, Dorita Pina made!

AND THIS IS WHAT I DID WITH THE BLACKBERRY PULP....

BACON WRAPPED BLACKBERRY 

CHICKEN FLORENTINE

NO RECIPE NECESSARY FOR THIS DISH...

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts to about 1/4 inch. Liberally salt both sides. Spread about 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise on each breast. This, along with the blackberries, keeps the chicken very moist.

Spoon about 1/4 cup of the blackberry pulp on each chicken breast. Next, cover with grated parmesan cheese and top with fresh spinach leaves. 

Using thick-cut bacon (My favorite brand is Wrightson.) gently stretch a piece of bacon so it will easily wrap around the breast. It's amazing how elastic a strip of bacon is!

Roll the breast along the long edge. Use your fingers to tuck in any stray spinach leaves. Wrap the bacon tightly around each piece of chicken. The bacon holds the rolled chicken in place so you don't need to secure with toothpicks.

Place in a foil-lined, lightly oiled, 9x13 pan and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake another 15 minutes. Check doneness with a meat thermometer. Internal temp should be around 160 degrees. The chicken will continue cooking a bit after you remove from the oven. USDA recommends 165 degrees. Some of the blackberry oozed out of the chicken and I just placed on top. I've searched the internet and not found this recipe anywhere so think I have finally come up with something original!

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PORK LOIN STUFFED WITH DRIED CHERRIES MARINATED IN RED WINE!

UNTIL THEN...KEEP ON COOKING!

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