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Wednesday, October 16

Crostini neri

Active: 15 minutes; Total: 30 minutes; Yield: 8 servings

Carrot, minced

1 medium

Celery, minced

1 stalk

Onion, red, minced

1 small

Olive oil, extra virgin

2 tablespoons

Salt

Pinch

Bay leaf

1

Chicken livers, cleaned, chopped

1 pound

Capers, rinsed

2 tablespoons

Anchovy paste

30 grams

Butter, unsalted

60 grams

  1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil, and then add the vegetables with a pinch of salt; sauté for 10 minutes. 
  2. Add the livers with the bay leaf; stir with a wooden spoon until browned nicely. 
  3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
  4. Stir in the capers, anchovy paste, and butter; remove and discard the bay leaf. 
  5. Transfer the mixture to a food processor, and pulse until smooth. 
  6. Serve with toasted bread. 
Recipe from VisitTuscany.com.

Tuesday, October 8

Watermelon-basil sorbet

Active: 15 minutes; Total: 4 hours 20 minutes; Yield: 1 quart

Watermelon, ripe, diced in 1-inch cubes 

7 cups (3 to 4 pounds)

Sugar, granulated

¾ cup

Basil, fresh, torn +
minced

1 cup packed +
2 tablespoons 

Lime juice, freshly squeezed

3 tablespoons

Chambord

1 tablespoon

Vodka

1 tablespoon

Salt

Pinch

  1. Puree the watermelon in a food processor or blender. 
  2. Place a fine mesh sieve over a mixing bowl, and transfer the watermelon to the strain off the juice; discard the pulp. 
  3. Reserve ¾-cup of the juice, and place in a small saucepan with the sugar; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. 
  4. Add 1-cup of torn basil leaves, cover, and allow to steep for 15 minutes. 
  5. Strain the simple syrup into the bowl with the rest of the watermelon juice; whisk to incorporate. 
  6.  Whisk in the lime juice, Chambord, vodka, and salt. 
  7. Cover, and chill for 4 to 24 hours in the refrigerator. 
  8. Prior to churning, stir in 2-tablespoons minced basil. 
  9. Churn in your ice cream maker for 15 to 20 minutes; it will look slushy but will get firmer in the freezer. 
  10. Freeze for 24 to 48 hours to cure the sorbet before serving, if possible to wait that long. 

Honeydew sorbet

Active: 15 minutes; Total: 4 hours and 45 minutes; Yield: 1 quart

Honeydew melon, diced

1 pound

Lemon juice

3 tablespoons

Vodka

3 tablespoons

Sugar, granulated

1 ¼ cups

  1. Puree the melon in a food processor or blender until smooth. 
  2. Add the lemon juice, vodka, and sugar; process for another 30 seconds. 
  3. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for 1 hour. 
  4. Churn in an ice cream maker until slushy. 
  5. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for 24 to 48 hours to cure. 
Notes: James wasn’t thrilled with this one: too sweet. Next time, reduce the sugar by half, and liquify it over heat with the melon juice before churning. Also, reduce the vodka by half so the sorbet freezes better. 
Recipe from Alton Brown.

Peach ice cream

Active: 30 minutes; Total: 4 hours 30 minutes; Yield: 1 quart

Peaches, peeled, sliced

2 cups

Sugar, granulated

½ cup +
½ cup +
¼ cup

Lemon juice

½ teaspoon

Salt

¼ teaspoon

Egg yolks

5 large

Cream, heavy

1 ½ cups

Milk, whole

1 ½ cups

Vanilla extract

1 teaspoon

  1. In a large bowl, toss the peaches with ½-cup sugar and lemon juice; let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour, until the peaches are soft and have released their juices. 
  2. Mash the peaches with a fork or potato masher until very small chunks remain. 
  3. Strain the juice into a separate bowl, reserving both the liquid and the pulp, refrigerating until ready to use. 
  4. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together the cream, milk, ½-cup sugar, and salt; heat until hot but not bubbling. 
  5. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and ¼-cup sugar until light in color, about 2 minutes. 
  6. While whisking, ladle in ½-cup of the hot cream mixture to temper the eggs, then add another ½-cup. 
  7. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan with the rest of the custard base, stirring gently until the temperature is between 170-175°F, and the mixture is thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon. 
  8. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. 
  9. Strain the custard base through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl, then stir in the liquid from the mashed peaches; refrigerate for 4 hours, until thoroughly chilled. 
  10. Pour the custard base into the ice cream maker, and churn until it looks like soft-serve ice cream, about 25 to 30 minutes. 
  11. Add the reserved peach pulp during the last 30 seconds of the churning process; transfer to an airtight container, and freeze at least 24 to 48 hours to cure. 
Recipe from House of Nash Eats.

Tuna salad

Active: 10 minutes; Total: 10 minutes; Yield: 3 cups

Tuna packed in water; drained

20 ounces

Mayonnaise

1 cup

Celery, finely chopped

1/3 cup

Onion, red, minced

2 tablespoons

Pickle relish, sweet

2 tablespoons

Lemon juice

1 tablespoon

Garlic, minced

1 clove

Salt


Pepper, freshly ground


  1. In a medium bowl, combine the tuna, mayonnaise, celery, onion, relish, juice, and garlic. 
  2. Season to taste; serve immediately or chill until serving.