Truth or Dairy?

Recipes for burnt toast ice cream, fresh ricotta ice cream

It sure is hot outside as I write this column. I remember as a child those sweltering days when the Good Humor man rang his bell on the bicyclepowered cart, and I would run outside at 3 p.m. (his usual time of arrival) to buy an ice cream on a stick; usually strawberry shortcake, toasted almond or chocolate fudge cake with the candy center. Remember those?

No matter your age, ice cream is a treat, especially on a hot summer day. Some don’t stray from the basic chocolate, vanilla or strawberry, yet others, me included, are curious to try newfangled flavors like sweet potato maple walnut, sweet corn or caramel popcorn. For those that like a bit of heat, what about horseradish, Sriracha or white chocolate habanero ice cream?

Spoonuniversity.com published an article titled “The Weirdest Ice Cream Flavor in Every State in America.” Milford’s Walnut Beach Creamery’s “Sandy Annie” made the list; blue vanilla, chocolate-covered pretzel Goldfish and graham cracker sand. What about New York’s listing, the Coolhaus truck’s fried chicken and waffles (brown butter maple ice cream with maple-candied chicken skins and caramelized waffles)? For the other 48 states’ listing, visit bit. ly/2rwu0Fu. You too will be amazed.

As strange as it seems, Max & Mina’s Ice Cream in Flushing, New York, has in its repertoire lox ice cream (vanilla ice cream with bits of the smoky fish). I guess the sky is the limit in innovative flavors!

Whatever flavors please your palate, few things say fun like ice cream, but too many cookbooks make ice cream serious and difficult. Not “Ice Cream & Friends: 60 Recipes and Riffs,” by the editors of Food52 (© 2017, Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, $22.99). The book is packed with exciting creations, several of which I will be making.

Think cinnamon roll ice cream, coffee frozen custard, and grilled watermelon cremolada, and spins on favorites such as spiced fudgesicles, cherrymint snow cones, and a chocolate-hazelnut baked Alaska. There are Saltinebrownie ice cream sandwiches, boozy floats, and something called “spoom.” And check out the innovative recipes below for burnt toast ice cream and fresh ricotta ice cream.

I liked the tricks for making the desserts without an ice cream maker and spiffing up the storebought stuff, and the Hail Marys for when things go wrong, like when, whoops, the ice cream melts. After going through the book, you too will realize making frozen desserts doesn’t need to be a special-occasion endeavor; many of the recipes are easier to whip up than most cakes. Even if you have never made frozen treats before, you’re in good hands with this no-fuss, all-fun book, just in time to celebrate National Ice Cream month in July.

As the editors say, “consider it your permission to play (and eat a ton of really good ice cream).”

The editors write: “If burning toast is something you’ve been avoiding since the first time you used a toaster, think about how much you like toast and butter. Then consider that “burning” is pretty much the same thing as caramelizing, which is a really good flavor to have in an ice cream. Now take our word when we tell you that putting burnt toast bits in an ice cream makes it — there’s no better word for it — toasty. It’s the slightest bit savory, buttery from the cream, and flecked with fine toast crumbs or ‘dust,’ as Cristina Sciarra calls it. Plus, think of how devilish you’ll feel burning the heck out of toast on purpose.”

BURNT TOAST ICE CREAM

2¼-inch slices countrystyle white bread 1¾ cups heavy cream 1¼ cups whole milk ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided ½ cup skim milk powder 4 egg yolks

Toast the bread long enough to develop a deep brown color, even black in spots. Blitz the toast to dust in a food processor.

In a pot, whisk together the cream, milk, ½ cup of the sugar, and the milk powder. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, then remove from the heat.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar for 1 minute. Gradually whisk the milk mixture into the yolks. Pour the milk-yolk mixture back into the pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the base thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add ¼ cup of the burnt toast dust to the ice cream base (use any extra for garnish).

Let the warm base steep for 30 minutes, then pass it through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Chill the base completely in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, but ideally overnight.

Pour the chilled base into an ice cream maker and churn it according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Makes about 1¼ quarts.

The headnote says: “When Pat Aresty tasted ricotta gelato for the first time in Florence, she experienced ‘gelato nirvana,’ then promptly took it upon herself to re-create the dessert. She used a ricotta ice cream in Gourmet magazine as her launchpad, throwing in candied citrus peel, chopped pistachios, and chocolate to mimic the filling of another classic Italian dessert: cannoli. With a homemade sugar cone wafer to stand in for the cannoli shell, you might as well be in a piazza in Palermo.”

Both homemade and purchased whole milk ricotta are fine — as is sheep’s milk. But if your ricotta is grainy, your final ice cream will be, too.

FRESH RICOTTA ICE CREAM

1 2⁄3 cups fresh whole milk ricotta 3 ounces cream cheese 1 cup whole milk 1 cup sugar 2 tablespoons dark rum 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 1⁄8 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup heavy cream 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped candied citrus peel (such as orange, lemon or citron) 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped pistachios 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped bittersweet chocolate

Blend both cheeses, the milk, sugar, rum, lemon zest, vanilla and salt until smooth. Add the heavy cream and blend until the base is just combined.

Pour the base into an ice cream maker and churn it according to the manufacturer’s instructions. During the last minute of churning, add the candied citrus peel, pistachios and chocolate. Makes a scant 1 quart.

For the recipe for rhubarb-gin sorbet with rose cream, visit bit. ly/2tv8zG2.

Send us your requests

Which restaurant recipes or other recipes would you like to have? Which food products are you having difficulty finding? Do you have cooking questions? Send them to me. Contact Stephen Fries, professor and coordinator of the Hospitality Management Programs at Gateway Community College, at gw-stephen. fries@gwcc.commnet.edu or Dept. FC, Gateway Community College, 20 Church St., New Haven 06510. Include your full name, address and phone number. Due to volume, I might not be able to publish every request. For more, go to stephenfries. com.