Spicy chocolate ice cream

When BJ and I went to New York earlier this year, we made a special trip to the Chelsea Market specifically to try Jacques Torres Wicked Hot Chocolate. BJ has always loved hot chocolate. More in the past few years since my mom bought him a hot chocolate maker. This things is amazing! It's like a blender with a heating mechanism at the bottom, and a slow stirrer instead of blades. After about 6 minutes everything is blended with a frothy top, making the first few sips bearable. I ALWAYS burn my tongue on a hot drink. Which is the biggest reason I don't drink coffee. No patience.

When it got cold last week we busted the hot chocolate maker out, and I attempted to replicate that wicked mix. It was pretty close. Definitely a great substitute. I have a feeling Jacques included a stick of butter in his, which might be the real reason for the "wicked", not the cayenne pepper. Since Houston is delightfully unpredictable when it comes to temperature, this week it's hot again. So I made turned the hot chocolate into ice cream!*

*That's not actually the reason, I just love ice cream.

Spicy chocolate ice cream
!!!WARNING!!! This is the chocolatiest thing I've ever made!!!!!

2 cup heavy cream
4 heaping tbsp good cocoa (I use Ghirardelli)
6 1/2 ounces good dark chocolate 62% or more
1 cup milk
5 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 heaping tsp cayenne (less if you're a wimp!)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

TIP: Chocolate quality matters here. Get the best dark chocolate you can get your hands on and make sure it's something you actually like to eat on its own.

In a medium pot heat 1 cup of heavy cream with cocoa; whisk well to ensure the cocoa gets integrated properly. When cream is bubbling at the edges, remove from heat and add dark chocolate. Wait 30 seconds then give it a good stir until it's all incorporated.

Add remaining cup of cream to pot, stir to combine, then pour the contents into a medium sized non-metal bowl, scraping out the pot as well as you can, and place a strainer over the bowl. Place the pot back on the stove, and add the cup of milk, 1/2 cup of sugar, salt, and the rest of the spices.

Heat the milk and sugar gently on the stove while you get your egg yolks ready. Whisk the egg yolks together and then grab the pot from the stove. SLOWLY drizzle warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking the entire time (this is called tempering) until everything's all combined. Then dump the liquid back into the pot. Stir constantly (so you don't cook the eggs) with a wooden or other heat-safe spoon or spatula over medium heat until the eggs thicken a bit, into a custard.

Pour custard through the strainer into the bowl. Add vanilla extract and stir to combine the chocolatey goodness. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the bowl, literally touching the entire surface of the ice cream base. (This means you won't get any nasty "skin" on top of the liquid.)

Refrigerate for at least 6 hours then prepare according to your ice cream maker's instructions.

Once you've got it into your final container, freeze again for at least 6 hours - trust me this stuff tastes WAY better cold, cold, cold. Remove from the freezer 10-15 minutes before eating so it has time to soften a bit before serving.

Makes many small servings - like fine truffles, this ice cream works best in small doses.

Chewy Nutella granola bars

Working at home has actually made me lazier with my cooking. I used to make sure I had a balanced breakfast and a healthy snack with me on my way out the door. Now if I eat anything before noon I feel accomplished, even if it's just a granola bar. It's so easy to loose track of time or not realize how hungry I am. I think it's because I always feel like I'm doing something worth my time. Working 40 hours a week can sometimes mean having ___ hours of design work, ___ hours of production work, and ___ hours of [drawing blank]???? Or at least that's what my brain would say. "Hey, maybe the closet needs organizing. Nope, did that last week. What about the cutting mat? Do I need to get rid of the paper trimmings? Nope. Oooo! I know! Stretch my legs by doing a lap around the office, maybe even to the deli! Hmmm... no cash." Well, you probably get it. And then I would start to think about food. "When's lunch? If I leave at ___ that means I'll only have ___ hours until I leave. Which then means I'll be hungry at ___ time. Which will give me ___ hours before dinner." I'm pretty sure I can take medication for these in-head conversations. Nowadays I need quick snacks because there's no time to ponder the hunger. Those extra hours I'm not designing, I do what I want. Like poke Cora, she loves it. There's no waiting around until clock-out time doing ___. If you work at Smart and are reading, yes, this did happen to me.

BJ and I have been into granola bars lately. But since they can be a little pricey at $3-4 for a box of 6, I decided to try making them and compare costs. Also, since I'm a picky eater I can put exactly what I want in them. They turned out really good, and were extremely simple.

Chewy Nutella granola bars



3 cups of rolled oats (not instant)
4 cups of assorted mix-ins*
1 can sweetend condesed milk
1/8 cup of molasses**
1/2 cup of Nutella, warmed in microwave

*I used 2 cups dry roasted almonds, and a mixture of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, unsweetened coconut. Some other suggestions are crushed flax seeds, wheat germ, dried fruits, some other nut, pumpkin, cereal, marshmallows...
**Honey would also work. I actually used a little of both.

Combine everything in a bowl. Press into a greased pan and bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is lightly browned. I used non-stick foil with cooking spray and it slid off pretty easy. Drizzle on Nutella. Cool on a rack and cut after about 10-15 minutes.

They are delicious, and definitely a cost-cutter!