I’ve been trying to make pineapple jam.  I’m not even sure it’s possible.  I think pineapple might have an enzyme that prevents you from making any type of candy like jam.  Anyways project for another day.  It was suggested to me to blend fresh pineapple as the starter for jam.  Since it’s November I can get cranberries in Texas.  Pretty much the only time of the year it’s possible.  Anyways I took the blending idea and made my own version of cranberry sauce, which led to ice cream.

Ingredients:

Cranberry sauce:

• 1/2 small lime
• 6 oz fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup water

Ice cream:

• 1 1/3 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 2/3 cups skim milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup raw almonds
• 1 1/4 tsp almond extract

Instructions:

1. Remove stem from lime
2. Blend lime, cranberries, and water until pureed.
3. Place puree and sugar in 2-3 qt saucepan.
4. Heat on medium heat decreasing as volume decreases until you can see trails on the bottom of the pan as you stir.
5. Leave on heat stirring for 5 to 10 more minutes depending on how jelled you want your sauce.
6. Blanche raw almonds, then place in ice water, then blanche again, finishing with an ice water bath.  This will allow you to remove the skins on the almonds.
7. After the skins have been removed place on cookie sheet in 200 degree oven to toast.  You can let this take an hour if you desire.  They are probably toasted in about 30 minutes.
8. Chop toasted almonds.  Add to jelled cranberries.
9. Mix almond extract, sugar for ice cream, cream, and skim milk.
10. Make ice cream according to manufacturer’s instructions.
11. Stir in nuts and cranberries with a spatula.
12. Portion and serve or store.

 

Growing up I was not a fan of butter pecan ice cream.  I don’t really know what it was I didn’t like about it.  Call it the craziness of childhood but it seemed like you just had a bad impression.  Some foods like liver and onions I remember feeling like I was nauseous just smelling, but some I just decided they just weren’t great so I wasn’t going to like them.  I wasn’t extremely picky, but something in me decided if there weren’t things I didn’t like then I was just eating, or masticating followed by swallowing.  Anyway my adult self that basically is a fan of all the ingredients of this ice cream on their own doesn’t see why as a group they’re bad.  They’re not rocky road or a dark chocolate, but I guess we need more categories than ‘like’ and ‘not like’.  On to the recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
• 1 1/3 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 2/3 cups skim milk
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp molasses
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp butter

Instructions:

1. In frying pan over medium heat melt butter and salt mixing well until butter becomes brown butter or the milk solids have separated from the fat and become brown, not black in color.
2. Add pecans to frying pan.  Pecans will absorb most of the butter.  Cook pecans until toasted, but not burnt.
3. Remove one cup of buttered pecans from pan.  Save for later.
4. Add milk, brown sugar, molasses, and vanilla to pan.  Turn heat to medium low.
5. When sugar is dissolved and everything but the nuts is incorporated remove from heat and allow to cool.
6. Transfer to blender bowl and blend until homogeneous.
7. Mix in heavy whipping cream and place in refrigerator until no warmer than room temperature.
8. Prepare in ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions.
9. With spatula mix in buttered pecans, which were saved for later, which has become now.
10. Either serve immediately as soft serve or place in freezer to become hard serve.