kitchen rap

• in the spotlight... Ice Cream
• new to the kitchen
• Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh's Chill Out
• from Kathleen's recipe box... Banana Tartlette Tatin with Caramel & Cream
• from Kathleen's recipe box... Warm Summer Berries with Sour Cream Ice
• from Kathleen's recipe box... Grand Marnier Grilled Oranges
• publishing and subscription information

Ice Cream

Nothing tastes better on a hot summer day than a cool treat like ice cream or sorbet. Although there are plenty of store-bought options available - and it's always a treat to visit the local ice cream parlour - homemade ice creams and sorbets allow you to combine your favourite flavours or use garden-fresh fruit. A variety of ice cream makers are available which allow you to prepare homemade ice cream in as little as 30 minutes. After preparation, place the ice cream in the freezer to harden it further, or pull out a spoon and start eating!

All ice cream makers operate on the same basic principle: stirring the ice cream mixture while it freezes to aerate the mixture and keep it smooth. Where they differ is in how the stirring and freezing are accomplished. The oldest ice cream makers used ice and rock salt to cool the ice cream mixture, and manual effort to continually stir the mixture as it cooled. Most ice cream makers today use a coolant-filled canister which is frozen overnight; some ice cream makers have a built-in compressor unit (just like your refrigerator or freezer) to freeze the ice cream mixture. A dasher (a vertical paddle placed in the centre of the canister, operated either manually or eletrically-powered) stirs the ice cream mixture base as it cools.

The Wilton Incredible Ice Cream Machine uses a 1½ quart capacity freezer canister and a manually operated dasher. After pre-freezing the canister, the canister is placed inside a colourful red presentation bowl, the dasher and ice cream mixture are inserted, and a transparent lid and handle are placed on top. You then turn the handle every 2 minutes to aerate the mixture. Nuts and fruit can be added during the freezing process through the ingredient window.

Cuisinart's Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker is available with either a 1½ quart or 2 quart capacity freezer canister. After pre-freezing the canister, the canister is placed inside the base of the unit, the dasher and ice cream mixture are inserted, and a transparent lid is placed on top. A motor turns the dasher continuously to prepare the ice cream. Nuts and fruit can be added during the freezing process through the ingredient spout. The 1½ quart model is available with either a white or red base (shown at right); the 2 quart model (shown at left) has a brushed stainless steel finish. Additional freezer bowls are available for the 1½ quart models, allowing you to prepare multiple batches of ice cream in quick succession.

If you already own a KitchenAid stand mixer, you can make use of the stand mixer's motor to operate the dasher while preparing ice cream with KitchenAid's Ice Cream Freezer attachment. After pre-freezing the 2 quart capacity freezer canister, the canister is placed on the stand mixer (it can be used with either tilt-head or bowl-lift models) and the mixer is turned on, using the mixer's own paddle to continuously aerate the ice cream mixture.

The Cuisinart Supreme Ice Cream Maker has a built-in compressor which eliminates the need to pre-freeze a freezer canister, allowing you to prepare ice cream whenever you want. Fill the 1½ quart removable bowl with your ice cream mixture, insert the dasher, and cover with the transparent lid. Set the timer and the motor turns the dasher continuously while freezing the mixture. Nuts and fruit can be added during the freezing process through the ingredient spout.

Ice Cream Scoops

scoop $12.50 each info	non-stick scoop $16.25 each info	anti-freeze $7.25 each info	pastel colours $13.00 each info	bright colours $10.00 each info
trigger $16.25 each info	push-button $15.25 each info	Baskin Robbins $15.50 each info	spade $8.00 each info	non-stick spade $16.25 each info

Ice Cream Dishes

Hold an ice cream sundae party with your freshly made or store-bought ice creams and these fun ice cream dishes and accessories. Sundaes will look great in a colourful porcelain ice cream cone dish, an unbreakable plastic sundae cup or waffle cone, or procelain waffle bowl. The porcelain boat dish is perfect for banana splits. And the unbreakable plastic ice cream topping canisters hold sprinkles, cherries, whipping cream, and chocolate or caramel sauces (you can even heat the sauces in the microwave right in the canister!). Plastic or aluminum ice cream containers will keep pints of ice cream cold on the table while serving.

Ice Cream Flavourings

Turn plain vanilla recipes into tasty treats with LorAnn's Flavor Fountain sugar-free flavourings for ice cream, shakes, and smoothies. For ice cream, prepare your favourite vanilla ice cream recipe and add 1 tablespoon flavouring per quart just before freezing. For shakes and smoothies, add 1 teaspoon per pint (16 ounce) serving. Also excellent blended into diet drinks, meal replacements and nutritional supplements (e.g., Ensure), and yogurt. Each 50 millilitre/1.7 ounce bottle contains enough to flavour and colour 3 quarts of ice cream or 10 shakes. Available in 12 delicious flavours:

• banana coconut
• black raspberry
• bubble gum
• butter pecan
• caramel delight
• chocolate fudge
• cinnamon spice
• mango
• mint chocolate
• mocha
• orange cream
• strawberry

Epicurean Cutting Boards

Epicurean cutting boards are a premium grade commercial cutting surface for the home. They are ideal for food preparation, as well as for serving and food presentation, or as a trivet. The cutting boards are made from an environmentally friendly natural wood fibre composite laminate. For more than 40 years this material has been a surface preferred by chefs in restaurants and commercial kitchens worldwide. The cutting surfaces won't dull knives and are extremely durable; they are dishwasher safe and heat resistant to 350°F. As well, the non-porous surface prevents the growth of bacteria and unwanted food odours.

The cutting boards are available in three product series. Each series is designed for a variety of food preparation while keeping different cutting styles in mind. Available in multiple surface sizes, the Kitchen and Gourmet series are designed to be lightweight, movable, and easily stored. The Kitchen series cutting boards are 1/4" thick, while those in the Gourmet series are 3/8" thick and have a juice groove on one side, making them ideal for carving roasts and poultry. For the serious home chef, the Chef series cutting board is 1/2" thick and offers the biggest surface area for large food preparation.

They say it must have been a brave soul who first tasted an oyster -- doubtless that's true. Imagine what it must have been like to have been the first person to taste ice cream, the icy, creamy, luxurious tasting substance that, perhaps more than any other food, singlehandedly defines summer.

The original ices were thought to have been snow flavoured with fruit juices and by the fourth century B.C.E. the Romans -- those arbiters of good taste -- were eating fruit-infused ices at their many banquets. This was no small feat as one can imagine the difficulty in keeping snow frozen without the refrigeration units we all own now.

Thanks to Ben & Jerry, Baskin Robbins, and any number of other quality producers, we have a great selection of ready-made ice creams from which to choose when the urge for the treat hits.

As good as they are, nothing beats homemade, a fact I recently discovered after making a batch of rich vanilla ice cream with my grandson. He had his portion covered with rainbow sprinkles and chocolate sauce while I enjoyed a scoop au naturel. I don't think you can beat a good vanilla ice cream, in fact statistics show that one out of four ice cream orders are for plain old vanilla -- the classic.

So, if you don't already own an ice cream maker, make this the summer season you invest in one. Then, check out these three recipes that are tailor-made to be partnered with your homemade best.

Until next time, cook and eat with love,

Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh

Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh is a Toronto-born food writer whose work has appeared in major Canadian newspapers and magazines. She it the author of seven cookbooks: Rustic Italian Cooking, The Global Grill, The Sticks & Stones Cookbook (with Ted Reader), The Wine Lover Cooks (with Tony Aspler), Great Potatoes: A Cook's Guide to Over 150 Delicious Recipes, A Year in Niagara: The People and Food of Wine Country, and New Celtic Cooking (with Ted McIntosh)

Banana Tartlette Tatin with Caramel & Cream

These lovely little tarts are just made to be served with your best vanilla ice cream. Use individual tartlette pans (about 4"/10 cm in diameter). Frozen puff pastry is available in supermarkets and is a great boon to the busy. Just thaw one of the packages, roll out and use your tartlette pan to determine the size of the round of dough you need.

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray the interior of 4 4"/10 cm round tart pans with a little nonstick cooking spray. Arrange the tart pans on the baking sheet and set aside.
2. Combine the brown sugar, lemon zest and juice, and whisky in a medium-sized, heavy sauce pan and set over low heat. Stir constantly until the sugar melts and completely dissolves. Increase the heat to medium and bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and let simmer for about 30 seconds. Now, whisk in the butter, bit by bit, whisking well after each addition, with the pan still on the heat. After the last bit of butter has been added, whisk for another 30 seconds and remove the sauce pan from the heat.
3. Slice the bananas about 1/2"/1.2 cm thick. Return the caramel sauce to the heat and carefully add the banana slices. Use a wooden spoon to gently move the slices around in the sauce to coat them well. Then, use tongs to carefully transfer the slices of coated banana to the tart pans, arranging them to cover the bottom of each pan. Distribute the pecans among the four pans and then pour more of the caramel sauce over the bananas and nuts in each pan (you may not use it all; if you have any left over, use it to drizzle over the ice cream when serving.)
4. Cover each with a round of puff pastry, tucking it in around the edges to enclose the filling.
5. Place the tray in the oven for 15 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden brown. Carefully remove from the oven, let sit for a minute or two, then place a dessert plate upside down over each one and invert the tarts out onto the plate, being careful of the hot caramel.
6. Place a scoop of good vanilla ice cream on each one and serve, drizzled with more caramel sauce.

Makes 4 servings

Warm Summer Berries with Sour Cream Ice

Make the sour cream ice first and then concentrate on making the berry mixture closer to the time of serving. This is a lovely combination of warm and sauced berries served over a not-too-sweet creamy ice. As you can see, this is a dessert to make at the height of berry season. You can also vary the berries according to what you can easily obtain. The berry sauce makes quite a bit, but it will keep for a few days, in a plastic container and refrigerated.

Makes 4 - 6 servings

Grand Marnier Grilled Oranges

This is one of those 'wow!' desserts, incredibly easy and incredibly good. As good as this is with classic vanilla, it also works well with butterscotch or rich chocolate ice cream. Experiment!

1. Place orange slices in a shallow dish. Cover with Grand Marnier. Turn slices over once or twice. Cover with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat grill or barbecue to medium-high. Grill orange slices, brushing carefully with reserved marinade, for 2 - 4 minutes per side or until caramelized. Serve hot with ice cream.

Makes 4 - 6 servings