Wine Sunday!

Weekends feel even shorter now that it's that time of year again: Busy Season. I worked my first Saturday of the season yesterday, so I feel slightly robbed of my weekend.

But the beauty of Sunday is that it's a Wine Sunday. What's that you ask? Well my friend, let me tell you my motto.

"If there's work on Monday, there's wine on Sunday."

Catchy isn't it. Made that up all by myself.

So here's how it works. Sunday night, the resident taste tester and I make some dinner, break open a bottle of wine, and just relax for the night. It usually also involves Desperate Housewives. I know, it's a guilty little pleasure.

So tonight's menu is vegetarian since I believe Allie's coming over for dinner. I'm making double mushroom pizza and a spring salad with dried cranberries and pine nuts. But I'm really excited about the desert that is currently churning away as I type.

New York Cheesecake Ice Cream! Kudos go out to my mom for the kitchen aid mixer and to the resident taste tester for the ice cream maker attachment and ice cream recipe book. Without the little people, there would be no ice cream tonight.

The batter for this is incredibly delicious. I'm not going to lie, I licked the heck out of everything, from the bowl to the spoons to the churning paddle. Thankfully no one was here to watch me drip it down my shirt.

New York Cheesecake Ice Cream
from 500 Ice Creams, Sorbets, & Gelatos

1 8-oz package cream cheese
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon (I used only half the juice)
1/3 cup superfine sugar
2 egg yolks
1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

Beat together all ingredients, except butter and graham cracker crumbs, until smooth. Taste and add more sugar if preferred.

Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's freezing directions. Churn the ice cream for about 30 minutes, or until nearly firm.

Mix the melted butter and crumbs together. Cool.

When ice cream is nearly firm, tip into freezer container, add the crumbs, and stir just once or twice. Freeze until firm or ready to service.

Let the Blogging Begin

I thought long and hard about what to make for my first blog. It had to be something special, something to look back at years from now, when I'm a famous food blogger and have millions of followers. What could I make to launch a career like this?

I know your mind is racing through all the possibilities. Obviously it has to be a baked good, since my cooking skills are somewhat lacking currently. But would it be cookies or pie? Cake or bread? Maybe a specialty ice cream?

So what did I make?

Coco-Nana Bread.

That's right folks. For my introduction to blogging, I give you my old, rotting, browning bananas. Those things on the counter that everyone avoids and hopes will just go away so you don't have to deal with the guilt of letting good food go bad.

I adapted the recipe from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours, page 46. I have to say "adapted" because I realized within about 2 minutes that I didn't have a whole lot of supplies to work with. A half a cup of the flour required is whole wheat flour because I ran out of flour. And the cocoa powder is a little less than called for because I ran out of cocoa powder. And I never have buttermilk on hand, so I made my own substitute by using a teaspoon of vinegar and filling the cup the rest of the way with milk. Hey, it's what I had.

In my ongoing warfare with my oven, I still haven't been able to produce a full loaf of anything, be it bread or cake. So I did a dozen regular sized muffins and 2 dozen mini muffins.

For all my substitutions and a crotchety oven, I think they turned out pretty tasty. I'll know better when my roommate/resident taste tester comes home tonight and tries them. The rest will go to the office with me, and maybe some to my hairdresser when I get my haircut tomorrow.