Experimenting with flavors – Blueberry, corn and cinnamon candied pecan Gelato

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In my never-ending quest to challenge my taste buds, I am trying new combinations for gelato’s. As blueberries and corn are in season, I thought, well, why not? Pecans work well with blueberries, let’s add some! Low and behold, it was delicious! I also tried something new, adding 1/4 cup alcohol to have a softer serve on the ice cream and it really works! The only mistake I made was using rum, too pungent for delicate berries and sweet corn. I’m thinking something like a dessert wine might work really well. You don’t have to add the alcohol, you will then need to remove ice cream from freezer 10 minutes before serving. Happy experimenting!

Recipe

2 cups blueberries, well rinsed

2 ears corn, steamed and grains cut from stalk

1/2 cup pecans

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon maple syrup

3/4 cups cream

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Dash salt

Instructions

Make simple syrup: bring to a boil sugar & water and allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Place in the fridge to chill. Cook ears of corn in boiling water for 10-15 minutes, allow to cool before cutting corn off the cob. Place corn nibblets in fridge to cool completely. Heat a small cast iron pan on medium heat, add butter and when sizzling, add pecans and cinnamon, stir to combine and allow pecans to caramelize. Add maple syrup, stirring occasionally until sticky. Remove from heat and scoop onto parchment paper and allow to cool completely before roughly chopping, set aside. Place blueberries and corn in blender with simple syrup, pulse to combine but not too much, you want small bits of fruit throughout. Add cream and blend to combine. If mixture is cold, continue to freezing in ice cream machine or place in fridge to chill thoroughly before adding to ice cream machine. When ice cream is almost completely solid, add candied pecans and alcohol if using. Remove ice cream and store in container in the freezer. Makes 6-8 portions. Keeps in the freezer up to a month. Enjoy!

 

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Clam chowder for a blistery winter Sunday

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It’s snowing… I can’t complain so much about the snow, we haven’t gotten that much this winter. But the cold… The cat’s have cabin fever, they regularly pull out new toys from their basket or they mope around. I’m not an emotional eater, however when I’m bored, I suddenly have all sorts of cravings! So I’m constantly searching for dishes that satisfy me deeply and that way I can steer away from the bad stuff!

I have great childhood memories from spending summer vacation in Maine. The ocean, the sun, friends, watching the 4th of July fireworks on the beach, surfing and eating all sorts of stuff we weren’t allowed the rest of the year, i.e. chips, sugary cereals, soda… A rainy day was an excuse to go for day trips to Ogunquit or Kennebunk Port, buy fudge and candy at the candyhouse or go buy some christmas decorations at the christmas shop! And there was always one day we’d walk on the beach to go eat lobster rolls, clam chowder and fried clams from a shack by the beach. Funny how the simplest things make us so happy and give us our most cherished memories 🙂 This chowder is super quick to make and super satisfying, a perfect pairing would be these biscuits, it’s not exactly what I ate as a child, but I love it!

scn_0047Clam chowder

Ingredients

1 can clams

1 large potato, diced and blanched

1 cup corn kernels

2 large slices bacon, diced

1 small shallot, thinly sliced

1 cup coconut milk

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

Minced chives for garnish

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Instructions

Cook bacon in skillet until browned, add shallot and toss until translucent. Add corn, paprika and toss then add clams in their juice. Transfer into a pan add potatoes and coconut milk. Simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes. Serve and garnish with chives. Enjoy!

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