I Can't Believe It's Real Butter!

A lot of boggers have been writing about being able to churn butter in their own kitchen using a mixer. I read some of their recommended sites and thought the steps are simple and easy enough for anyone who knows how to operate a Kitchen Aid mixer. It was a success on my first try and the butter is sweet and I think tastes better than the store's, or I might just be biased, heheh. The procedure is here for anybody who would like to try. I used 4 cups of heavy cream which yielded 14.5 ounces of delicious butter. I filled a ramekin then halved the remainder which I put in individual bags and kept in the freezer. I also kept the 1 ½ cups buttermilk in a jar in the refrigerator for later use in baking. Next time I will culture the cream before churning for that Australian or French stronger butter flavor.

the butter and the buttermilk

the butter after the 4th washing


the lump weighing almost a pound at 14.5 ounces

Update July 24

I was very happy with the result of homemade butter and cultured another 4 cups of heavy cream by mixing in 1/3 cup of plain organic whole milk yogurt. I let the mixture, covered with plastic wrap, sit on the kitchen counter for 18 hours. I incorporated just a tiny bit of air and added salt to the finished butter. The yellow color is deeper and the taste is superb and comparable to French butter. Making butter at home is a very easy and fun project to do and children can join in the fun by helping knead the butter when washing out the buttermilk.
Total yield this time: 15 ounces butter and 16 fluid ounces buttermilk which by the way is equally delicious!

Zabaglione Gelato

David Lebovitz' Zabaglione Gelato is super creamy and super delicious, I already had 2 servings today, mmmm. He suggests you spoon lots of sugared strawberries at the bottom of a wine goblet, then top with a scoop of the gelato. I didn't have any strawberries but I do have cherries in syrup and fresh blueberries which are also good with the gelato.

Zabaglione Gelato
from THE PERFECT SCOOP by David Lebovitz

1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
big pinch of salt
1 lemon
1½ cups heavy cream
6 large egg yolks
½ cup dry Marsala wine

• Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Zest half of the lemon directly into the warm milk.
• Pour the cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.
• In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm lemon-infused milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolk back into the saucepan. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.
• Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Add the Marsala and stir until cool over an ice bath.
• Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

Mini Cucumbers & Feta Salad

These seedless mini cucumbers that have been appearing recently in groceries and Costco are so cute and they're easier to eat because they are tiny. I got the recipe for the dressing from the back of its package. The vinegar in the recipe is balsamic but I used white vinegar because I prefer the clean green and white color of the salad. This very simple yet refreshing minty crunchy salad is perfect during these hot hot summer days.

Mini Cucumbers & Feta Salad
3 tiny cucumbers, well scrubbed and sliced
1 tablespoon white coconut vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)
2 tablespoons very good extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
2 teaspoons crispy fried or fresh shallots
1 tablespoon torn fresh mint leaves
crumbled feta cheese

• Combine cucumbers, vinegar, olive oil, and salt. Add shallots and mint leaves. Chill for 1 - 2 hours. Sprinkle feta cheese just before serving.

Tiramisu

I saw on the Food Network a chef, can't remember his name, making an unrecognizable tiramisu, this Italian dessert that has been around for over 20 years. Recently I sampled a similar awful tiramisu, they both had a very rich chocolate cake instead of lady fingers, chocolate ganache, and no mascarpone cheese. The one I tasted did not have a hint of coffee flavor.

Last Wednesday the Washington Post Food section had a 3 pages long but entertaining article about the dessert and the Italian man who claims he invented it. You can read the article and his recipe here. I have always made tiramisu with brandy and after reading the article I added marsala and I like it very much. I have loved this dessert, either store bought or homemade, both the rich and the lighter recipes.

The recipe below is a lighter version of TIRAMISU, adapted from my cookbook THE ESSENTIAL DESSERT COOKBOOOK

3 tablespoons custard powder
1 cup skim milk
2 tablespoons sugar
8 oz mascarpone cheese (or crème fraîche and mascarpone)
2 egg whites (powdered)
2 tablespoons sugar
1½ cups strong espresso coffee, chilled
4 tablespoons Marsala wine
ladyfinger cookies
1 tablespoon unsweetened dark cocoa powder

• Stir the custard powder in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of the skim milk until dissolved. Add the remaining milk with 2 tablespoons sugar and stir over medium heat until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap and cool at room temperature.
• Beat together the cooled custard and mascarpone for 2 minutes. Cover and cool in the refrigerator while preparing the egg whites. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, add 2 tablespoons sugar and beat for 1 minute. Fold egg whites into the custard. Set aside.
• Pour coffee into a dish, stir in the wine. Using half of the lady fingers, quickly dip each cookie in the coffee mixture and arrange in a single layer on a serving dish.
• Using half of the custard mixture, smooth it evenly over the cookies. Repeat layers of dipped ladyfingers and custard. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 hours to allow the flavors to develop.
• Lightly dust top of cake with cocoa powder before serving.