Toasted Almond Gelato

After making the Hazelnut Baci, I was eager to discover what other great recipes were in Gina De Palma's Dolce Italiano.  I've never had an almond gelato, and this recipe sounded easy and the preparation intrigued me.  Almonds are toasted to bring out their full flavor, and then steeped in the milk and cream.  The toasty almonds definitely infuse the gelato and give it nice flavor, and the amaretto liqueur helps it stay creamy.

But I've got to be honest -- there was nothing wrong with the gelato, and yet it failed to knock my socks off.  It was nice to try something different, though.  I also don't recommend the melted chocolate drizzle, since the chocolate overpowers the delicate almond flavor.

Wondering about the candle?  I realized that I missed a milestone last month, when my blog entered its fifth year!  A huge thanks for stopping by, and I hope you keep visiting.  Happy Friday!

Chocolate Gelato, and Hold the Extras

I'm mostly an ice cream purist -- hold the nuts, chocolate chips, candy, and other bits.  Pure chocolate is my undisputed favorite, though maple ice cream is also up there.  With only four ingredients, this gelato has a deep and intense chocolate flavor.  That's owed in large part to the high quality of cocoa I used, Guittard.  I had my doubts because the unfrozen gelato tasted an awful lot like pudding, but once it was frozen and set up it was like rich chocolate ice cream.  Is it my favorite recipe?  No, that distinction still belongs to Ben & Jerry's, but this is still excellent and easier.

Like most gelato recipes, this one uses milk and not cream.  That's a plus in the health department, but it usually means a dessert that's icier and not satisfyingly rich, like the strawberry gelato I tried a couple months ago.  That wasn't a problem here.  Try this one when your next chocolate craving hits.

Strawberry Gelato

This recipe from The New York Times is actually called Winter Strawberry Gelato becauses it uses frozen strawberries when the fruits aren't in season.  I made it earlier this spring with fresh, fragrant strawberries, but I'm only getting around to posting it close to summer.  Call it the busiest May ever.  I got asked recently when I would be getting back to my blog, but I suffered from ugly photos or dishes that were eaten by guests before I got a chance to grab my camera.  This one looked all right.  And June is the month for strawberries.

Problem was, the taste wasn't that impressive.  It was OK, refreshing even, but it reminded me of diet ice cream.  The texture was more icy than creamy.  That shouldn't have surprised me since it came from the Recipes for Health column.  One rule I have in life: Eat ice cream right, or not at all.  Meaning none of that diet stuff; make it the real deal.  This version uses milk, but it could have benefited from the usual addition of some cream and/or eggs.  It wasn't awful, not by a long shot, but I wouldn't recommend it.

And because I've been so absent, I'll share an "ugly" photo.  This recipe was David Lebovitz's Coconut Ice Cream with Saffron.  This was all I had left after serving the ice cream at a dinner for four.  The recipe was interesting because of the use of saffron, and because it called for palm sugar instead of cane sugar.  I liked it OK, though it wasn't what I expected.  I thought the flavor would be light, but it was kind of warm and rich (if that makes sense).

Stay tuned, because I'm looking to discover more flavors of ice cream and sorbet this summer!

Mascarpone Gelato

I had been looking forward to trying this gelato, and Sis had been nagging me to make it.  Would I make it again?  Probably not, because of how much it cost!  The recipe calls for two tubs of mascarpone, and I was shocked they cost $4.99 each.  That means you're making a $10+ quart of gelato!  So I wasn't even upset when Joe returned from the grocery store with just one tub, and I halved the recipe.

The gelato recipe also didn't get a thumbs-up.  I thought it was all right, but both Joe and Sis complained the lemon flavor was too aggressive, and lemon aside, it just failed to wow them.  I found that funny, since I used only the zest of one lemon.  And I left the pine nuts out, since no one wanted them.  The Mascarpone Gelato recipe is on this page.  If you know of a better one -- and if it doesn't cost over $10 to make -- let me know!  I've got another ice cream post on the way, a winner that I make over and over again.  Stay tuned!

And some gratuitous photos of a tomato tart with roasted garlic and fontina I made, just because the colors look cool.

The colors got very muted after baking.  Plus, I didn't have time to snap a photo before it got eaten at a potluck.

Gianduja (Chocolate-Hazelnut) Gelato

I've been planning to make this for two years, and having tasted it I wonder what the holdup was.  I think it's technically an ice cream instead of gelato, since someone once told me that gelato has less air beaten into it and needs to be made specifically in a gelato machine.  But who needs technicalities?

Gianduja is a chocolate containing hazelnut paste.  If you're a fan of Nutella or just the combination of chocolate and hazelnut, you need to try this.  The nuts also lend an almost sandy texture to the ice cream.  I like my ice cream smooth, so I might run it through some cheesecloth next time.  I'd also sub in some bittersweet chocolate for the milk chocolate for a deeper flavor.