summer to savor
Don’t cook much in the summer? Sure you do. Those delicious, memory-making “Can I get that recipe?” dishes for picnics, backyard barbecues and swim team potlucks aren’t going to cook themselves. These five cookbooks, which debut from now through September, hold the secrets to all the new tacos, burgers, ice creams, salads and pastas you’ll want to make — not just this summer but all year long. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
‘Easy No-churn Ice Cream’
No ice cream maker? No problem.
Baking blogger Heather Templeton got rid of hers years ago.
Now, she makes creamy, cold treats — from classic vanilla to chunky rocky road and peach crumble — using a strategic ratio of condensed milk, heavy cream and half-and-half. To that base, she adds simple ingredients, like strawberries and sugar or, say, Biscoff cookies. Pour the mixture into a loaf pan and freeze for three to five hours or overnight. That’s it.
Debuting June 21, “Easy No- Churn Ice Cream” (Page Street, $23) is easy to follow, requires only a whisk and bowl and offers 50 indulgent recipes, including ice cream bars and sandwiches, like summer- defining cookie dough ice cream sandwiches.
‘Between the Buns’
If Sam Zien, aka Sam the Cooking Guy, calls a burger a sandwich, just go with it.
In his new cookbook, “Between the Buns” (Countryman, $30), the San Diego restaurateur and YouTube cooking sensation — he has 3.3 million subscribers — unleashes his “big in taste, small in effort” ethos on handheld foods, including sandwiches, burgers, burritos, brats and tacos. Yes, tacos, including classic San Diego fish tacos.
The cookbook, his fifth, is perfect for summer cookout season, with 100 drippy, toasty, always-better-with-a-fried- egg recipes, from a Buffalo chicken burger to a garlic bread steak sandwich.
It’s a stuffed, protein-heavy ode to comfort food a la bread — whether that’s a homemade tortilla or French toast — plus the sauces and sides to make it sing.
‘The Cook You Want to Be’
Berkeley native Andy Baraghani’s highly anticipated debut cookbook is a peek into the rising food personality’s love of cooking, including but not limited to the dishes of his Persian heritage.
Who could forget the former Bon Appetit senior editor’s viral recipe video for kuku sabzi?
That fluffy kuku is one of 110 gotta-make recipes in “The Cook You Want to Be: Everyday Recipes to Impress” (Lorena Jones, $35). Chapters include Salad for Days (hello, persimmons with torn burrata and fresh lemon) and Meaty Things (shawarma-spiced lamb chops with pickle salad) as well as thoughtful personal essays on salting fruit, working at Chez Panisse at age 15 and his almost spiritual relationship with rice, whether studded with nori or crusted with tahdig.
‘Dinner in One’
Bestselling author Melissa Clark on one-vessel cooking? Yes, please. Our worn copy of Clark’s “Dinner in an Instant” has more stains on it than a preschooler. If you buy one cookbook this summer, make it “Dinner in One” (Clarkson Potter, $30), which debuts Sept. 6 and delivers straightforward, flavorpacked, home-run recipes for busy people who don’t like washing dishes.
The New York Times food writer covers it all, from sheet pan dinners (crispy lemon chicken with potatoes, oregano and capers) and one-bowl cakes (ricotta olive oil pound cake) to one-pot pastas (gingery coconut noodles with shrimp and greens). She even makes a beets and greens phyllo pie in a skillet.
All 100 recipes offer vegetarian or vegan alternatives or ingredient substitutions, so you can use the asparagus you have instead of running to the store for snap peas (or vice versa). Thanks, Melissa. You get us.
Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwiches
Makes 12 to 14 ice cream sandwiches
INGREDIENTS
For the edible cookie dough:
½ cup salted butter, softened ¼ cup granulated sugar
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar 2 tablespoon heavy cream 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract ½ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups all-purpose flour (see note below)
¾ cup mini chocolate chips
For the ice cream:
1 can sweetened condensed milk 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract ½ cup half-and-half
1½ cups heavy cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS
In a small to medium-sized bowl, begin to make the cookie dough squares by creaming the butter and both sugars together with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add in the heavy cream, vanilla extract and salt. Blend the mixture until everything is incorporated.
Add the flour and mix well, finally folding the mini chocolate chips into the batter.
Roll the edible cookie dough out between two sheets of parchment paper. You will want the cookie dough to be about ½ inch thick. Using a square (or round) cookie cutter, cut the cookie dough squares out and place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Put the cookie sheet in the freezer for an hour to allow the cookie dough squares to harden.
In a medium-sized bowl, make the ice cream by whisking together the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and half-and-half, until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.
With a standing or hand mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form, 60 to 90 seconds. Gently fold the sweetened condensed milk mixture into the whipped cream. You will want this to be as smooth as possible and lump free.
Prepare two 8-inch round or square pans by lining them with parchment paper. Ensure that the parchment has a bit of overhang so you can remove the ice cream as a whole unit once it is fully frozen.
Separate the ice cream into your two parchment-lined pans. Using a spatula, spread the ice cream evenly throughout the pans. You will want the ice cream to be ½ to ¾-inch thick for an optimum ratio when sandwiched between the cookies. Freeze the ice cream pans uncovered for 3 to 5 hours or overnight, until firm.
It is best to work in batches so that both the ice cream and the cookies remain fully frozen. Remove half the cookie dough squares and one pan of ice cream at a time. Using the same cookie dough cutter that you used to cut out the cookie dough, cut squares (or circles) of ice cream and place between two frozen cookie dough pieces. Gently press down and refreeze the cookie sandwiches. Repeat this process with the second pan of ice cream and the remaining cookies. You may want to refreeze the ice cream for a short time if you find that it is becoming soft as you assemble the sandwiches.
Melt the semisweet chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl for 60 seconds or until the chocolate can be whisked smoothly. With a spoon or a piping bag, drizzle a little bit of chocolate onto half of each edible cookie sandwich. Refrigerate for 10 minutes then serve. Store any leftover cookies in a covered container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
Note: Consuming raw flour is said to carry a small risk of E. coli. If this concerns you, microwave your flour for 1 minute 15 seconds, or until it reaches 160 degrees. Allow the flour to cool completely, then proceed with the recipe.
— “Easy No-churn Ice Cream” by Heather Templeton (Page Street Publishing, $23)