Buttermilk Ice Cream (and Cherry Buttermilk Ice Cream with Cherry Sauce)

I like everything about this creamy, tangy and rich buttermilk ice cream. It's like buttah (buttah-milk, that is). It's fantastic on top of warm fruit crisp or pie (and believe me, it's no slouch in a bowl all by itself). I added homemade maraschino cherries to half the batch to make cherry ice cream. And it was really good, but the flavor of the cherries overpowered the tang from the buttermilk and crème fraîche, so it tasted more like plain old vanilla. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But next time I would save the splurge on crème fraîche and just go ahead and make vanilla to start with. I also used the cherry liqueur from the maraschinos to make a beautiful cherry sauce (the jar of liquid just looked so sad, alone with no cherries bobbing up and down in it). It tasted kind of like a liquid lollipop.

 

BUTTERMILK ICE CREAM

Yield: approx. 2 quarts

2 cups heavy whipping cream

8 large egg yolks

1 cup sugar

2 cups buttermilk

1 cup crème fraîche

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1.      Bring cream to simmer in heavy medium saucepan.

2.      Whisk egg yolks and sugar in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk hot cream into yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan and stir constantly over medium-low heat until custard is thick enough to coat back of spoon, about 3 minutes (do not boil).

3.      Pour custard through fine strainer into clean bowl. Cool to room temperature (otherwise it will curdle when you add the buttermilk).

4.      Whisk in buttermilk, creme fraiche, lemon juice, and salt. Chill custard until cold.

5.      Process custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer ice cream to containers; cover and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours. Ice cream can be made 3 days ahead. Keep frozen. Let soften slightly at room temperature before serving.

from Bon Appétit, March 2008 by Scott Peacock

egg yolks and sugar

whisking hot cream into the egg yolks and sugar

mixed

custard thickened

straining custard

whisking buttermilk/creme fraiche
mixture into the cooled custard

buttermilk custard before churning

churned

buttermilk ice cream

homemade maraschino cherries (straining)

adding halved cherries to buttermilk ice cream

cherry buttermilk ice cream

Add some chocolate chunks if you
want to make homemade Cherry Garcia.

reducing the cherry liqueur from the maraschino cherries

To make the cherry sauce, I used about 2 cups liquid +
1 tablespoon arrowroot (you can substitute cornstarch)
and simmered for about 10 minutes (it thickens
more as it sits, so try not to over reduce - although
you can always loosen it back up with more liquid).

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Maraschino Cherries

Here's the thing about these homemade maraschino cherries...you can feel good about them because they're not neon red (and therefore, not full of whatever unholy chemicals usually make them neon red). And they taste great (adding a little booze never hurts). But they do lose something in the looks department. For starters, I couldn't figure out how to pit them without taking the stems off. Then they got kind of dull and wrinkly after I cooked them. So they're not very sexy poised on top of an ice cream sundae. It was then I realized maybe I shouldn't have bothered making them because honestly, the only reason anyone reaches for a maraschino cherry is to garnish their cocktail and/or sundae (ooh, cocktails and sundaes - now that's a party). But the good news is that these should last a while since their sort of pickled in their cherry liqueur, so I have a little time to figure out what the hell to do with them. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: check out the buttermilk cherry ice cream with cherry sauce I made using these cherries.

MARASCHINO CHERRIES

1 1/4 cups 100% pomegranate juice (I recommend Pom Wonderful brand)

1/4 cup brandy (or another 1/4 cup pomegranate juice)

1 cup sugar

3 ½ oz. fresh lemon juice (from approx. 3 lemons)

pinch of salt

3 whole pieces star anise

8 whole cloves

1 lb. sweet cherries, pitted

1 teaspoon almond extract

1.      In a nonreactive saucepan, add juice, brandy, sugar, lemon juice, salt, cloves and star anise. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the mixture until the sugar has dissolved.

2.      Add the cherries and almond extract. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes or until the cherries have exuded some of their juice and the syrup has taken on a distinctly cherry flavor. Be careful not to overcook. The point is not to actually cook the cherries, but to heat them in the syrup just long enough to bring out their essence.

3.      Remove the pan from the heat, transfer the cherries and the syrup to a bowl a container with a tight-fitting lid, cover tightly, and refrigerate. The longer the cherries steep, the more flavorful they will become.

slightly adapted from myhawaiinhome.blogpost.com

cherries

pitted cherries

I used my awesome Oxo Good Grips cherry pitter.

lemons

star anise and cloves

pomegranate juice, brandy, lemon juice
and spices coming to a simmer

adding the cherries

cherries and almond extract added

simmered for 10 minutes

maraschino cherries in a jar

I'll bet the cherry liqueur makes a very refreshing
drink mixed with some seltzer. Or a nice cherry
lemonade (obviously when mixed with lemonade).

maraschino cherry on a mini ice cream sundae

See what I mean? No va va voom.

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Oxo Good Grips Cherry Pitter

Time for another "favorite things" post. I give you...the Oxo Good Grips Cherry Pitter (not literally, you'll have to buy your own). I realize this handy, dandy kitchen gadget will only interest you if you pit a lot of cherries. Or any cherries really. Because I think for only $12.95, even if you pit cherries only once or twice a year, it's worth it over your lifetime to own this elegant little tool. 

All I really have to say is, it works. And without hurting your hand or spraying cherry juice all over you. That's thanks to the little cone-of-silence splatter shield that contains the splat and keeps your kitchen counter from looking like a crime scene. And just in case you're not sold, it's great for pitting olives too. Which may be a relief to followers of self-proclaimed gastrophysicist, Alton Brown, who doesn't believe in owning single-purpose kitchen gadgets (or as he likes to call them, unitaskers).

sweet beautiful cherries

pitter loaded (remove the stem first)

squeezing

Boom, your done. It's just that easy.

My daughter likes to stick her little finger in there. Hi-larious.

pitted cherries

Ready to be a great summer snack or baked into a pie,
cobbler, crisp or whatever cherry delight you have planned.

Visit yesterday's post to see what I made with these cherries.

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Green Leaf, Chicken and Cherry Salad

This salad has so much going for it. The fresh dill vinaigrette, juicy chicken (and crispy chicken skin), sweet cherries, crunchy spicy radishes...but it's the outstanding toasty, chickeny croutons that blew me away. It made me wonder why I'd never made croutons with chicken fat before. In fact, it makes me wonder why I don't cook everything in chicken fat. Holy cow that's good! (Yes, I realize the irony.)

GREEN LEAF, CHICKEN AND CHERRY SALAD

Makes 4 main-course servings

chicken:

4 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 lb.)

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons canola or vegetable oil

dill vinaigrette:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

2 tablespoons honey

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4-5 thick slices rustic bread, torn or cut into 3/4" pieces

3/4 lb. fresh cherries, stemmed, pitted and lightly crushed (or halved or quartered)

1 head green leaf lettuce (or butter lettuce or baby spinach), torn into pieces

4 radishes, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon chopped chives

_______________________________________________________________________

1.      Preheat oven to 475° F. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12" cast-iron or heavy nonstick skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking. Nestle chicken in skillet, skin side down, and cook 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high; continue cooking skin side down, occasionally rearranging chicken thighs and rotating pan to evenly distribute heat, until fat renders and skin is golden brown, about 12 minutes.

2.      Transfer skillet to oven and cook 13 more minutes. Flip chicken; continue cooking until skin crisps and meat is cooked through, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to a plate to cool (be sure to leave the rendered fat in the pan). Can be made ahead and refrigerated (remember to save the pan drippings).

3.      Whisk lemon juice, mustard, dill, honey and garlic in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir; set aside.

4.      Remove crispy chicken skin; tear or cut into pieces. Pull chicken meat from bones and tear into pieces; discard bones (or save for making stock). Set aside skin and meat.

5.      Reheat chicken fat over medium heat. Add bread to skillet and toast, turning frequently, until golden and crisp, about 4-5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (If chicken skins are no longer crispy from being refrigerated, you can add to the croutons during the last 1-2 minutes to crisp up.) Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

6.      Place chicken meat in a large bowl. Add cherries, lettuce, radishes and chives; drizzle with vinaigrette and toss to coat.

7.      Divide salad among 4 plates and garnish with croutons and chicken skin.

adapted from Bon Appétit, June 2011

pan-seared chicken (the skins are getting nice and crispy)

fresh dill

dill vinaigrette

croutons getting toasty

radishes

gorgeous sweet summer cherries (before pitting)

chicken

crushed cherries on top

I think next time I might just slice the cherries
in half instead. It just doesn't seem worth the
gigantic mess to crush them.

lettuce, radishes and chives added

pouring on the vinaigrette

tossed

croutons and crispy chicken skins on top

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