Tag Archives: Holiday

Get Your Heart On

Posted on February 14, 2012 | 2 comments

Valentine’s Day is all about the nostalgia for me.  It’s represented by handmade cards, usually made from doilies and construction paper, and conversation hearts.  You know what I’m talking about.  Those little heart shaped, pastel colored candies with adorable sayings written on them?  You know the ones that didn’t taste all that great but you ate them anyway? Yea, those things.  Ever wonder how such a mediocre candy became the sugary symbol of a whole holiday? Well, I do.  And since I couldn’t figure it out, I decided to give them a makeover.

Thinking outside the box, of candy that is, I decided these pasty pastel pieces need a serious upgrade.   Everyone loves cake and most certainly everyone loves chocolate, and it’s a known fact that everything on a stick tastes better.  So cake pops seemed like an obvious choice.

The best part? Other than the taste of course…By making your own conversation hearts you control the conversation.  Have something to say? Write it in edible ink.   Cause nothing says I love you like..well, a heart shaped dessert that says I love you.

And if you don’t want to say I love you…you can always go in another direction…

Conversation Heart Cake Pops (makes about 26)

Ingredients
1 box of yellow cake mix
Eggs
Butter
16 ounces of container ready-made frosting, vanilla
16 ounces of yellow candy coating
16 ounces of pink candy coating
16 ounces of green candy coating
Metal heart-shaped cookie cutter, 1 1/2 inches wide
26 paper lollipop sticks
Styrofoam block
Red Edible Ink Pen

Directions
Bake the cake as directed on the box, using a 9×13 in cake pan.  Let cool completely.  Once the cake is cooled, get organized and set aside a few hours to crumble, roll and dip the cake pops.

Crumble the cooled cake into a large mixing bowl.  This is the fun part, because you get to use your hands to crumble!  Make sure the cake is really crumble, no large pieces of cake please! Add 3/4 of the container of frosting to the bowl of crumbled cake and mix until incorporated.  You can use your hands (the fun way) or the back of a metal spoon.  *Don’t add the entire container of frosting.  If you do, the cake balls will be too moist.

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Press the cake mixture into the pan in an even layer.  Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and then place into the freezer for 15 minutes, or in the refrigerator for a few hours.  Once thoroughly cooled, remove and get ready to cut!  Prepare another baking sheet with a layer of parchment paper.  Grab your heart shaped cookie cutter and get cutting! Cut out hearts.  Make sure the heart are thick enough to hold a lollipop stick.  They should be about 1 1/2 inches thick.   If you need to add more cake mixture to the heart, now is the time! Once the heart is cut out, place it on the second baking tray.  Continue until your finish the cake mixture.  If the mixture becomes sticky, place back into the freezer for a few minutes and then continue.

Once all the hearts are cut out, place into the freezer for 15 minutes to firm them up again before dipping.  Once they are firm, transfer them to the refrigerator.  Remove a few at a time for dipping, keeping the rest chilled.

Melt one color of candy at a time in a microwave safe plastic bowl, following the instructions on the packages.  The coating should be about 3 inches deep for easy dipping.  One at a time, dip about 1 1/2 inches of the lollipop stick into the melted candy coating, and insert the stick straight into the bottom of a heart shaped cake, pushing it no more than halfway through.  Dip the cake into the melted coating and tap off an excess coating.

Let the pops dry on the styrofoam block.  When they are completely dry, use a red edible ink pen to write notes on one side of each cake pop.

Serve and Enjoy!

P.S.  If you have extra chocolate, grabs some Oreos and pretzels and get dipping!

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It’s Crunch Time…

Posted on February 10, 2012 | 1 comment
photo credit: http://www.petitekitchenesse.com/2012/01/22/egg-in-the-basket/

So, its crunch time, and I’m not referring to the Captain, although I wish I was.   I mean it’s almost V-Day.  4 Days and counting.  Whether you have a new love, old love, or last minute love, you need to plan something.   Unless of course you are unattached this holiday, and in that case, you can stop reading now.

If you are looking to impress your Valentine, or at least not piss them off, I have a few suggestions for you.  Nothing says “I want to spend time with you like dinner.”  Hey, there’s a reason most people go for drinks on a first date.  But dinner isn’t just dinner on Valentine’s Day. So make sure to pick a restaurant that shows you put a little thought into this.

Here are a couple Bite- Sized Valentine’s Day picks…

Bobo.  This French restaurant in the West Village is the perfect quaint and quiet backdrop for a romantic night.  The food will impress.  Just make sure you will too.

In Vino.  This Italian restaurant in the East Village is warm and cozy.  A nice bottle of vino at In Vino is sure to set the mood.

Marc Forgione.  This rustic American bistro in Tribecca is known for their exceptional food and killer cocktails.  What more could you ask for?

Going out to dinner on Valentine’s Day can be uber-annoying, especially if there is a pre-fixe involved.  Pre-fixe has me predisposed to think overrated.  Pre-fixe? More like please fix this ASAP, and get me a real menu.   So, if the kitchen is more your scene than Kittichai, then you know what you have to do.  Love is in the air, literally, if you cook at home.  You’re entire apartment can smell like love, or short ribs, which is the same thing really.

Valentine’s day is a Tuesday this year, and it’s hard to prepare a whole meal after work.  So, my suggestion, start early.  Make things this weekend you can refrigerate, or freeze, until you are ready to serve them.  Like soup, click here, here and here to see a few soup recipes.  Another recipe you can make in advance? Gnocchi!  Make the dough this weekend, precut the gnocchi and freeze them.  On Tuesday, take them out of the freezer right before you want to cook them. They will just need a few minutes in the boiling water, and voila! You will have a meal sure to impress!!

Craving a little more spontaneity? How about breakfast? This oh so important meal can be a totally unexpected Valentine’s surprise.  Start your morning with pancake hearts or a heart shaped egg in a hole.

Looking to heat things up, but not in the kitchen?  Check out Shag Brooklyn.  This unique adult store, art gallery, event space hybrid is hosting a Valentine’s event for the books.  Aphrodisiacs and Amor is a blindfolded tasting meant to tease, tantalize and tickle your taste buds.  Their words, not mine.

If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen sex store, and head to Nitehawk Cinemas.  This movie theater takes the idea of dinner and a movie to a whole new level.  The theater has a full restaurant that delivers your food to your seats during the show!

Great, dinner down, but one gift to go…Check out Tasting Table’s Valentine’s Shop.   Of course, this will only work if your Valentine is a foodie.  Otherwise, best of luck to you!

What are you planning this Valentine’s Day?

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One Hell of a Chanukah Party

Posted on December 24, 2011 | 2 comments

Last night, I had one hell of a Chanukah party.  The champagne was flowing, the caviar was chilled, the latkes were piled high.  It was a great night with great friends and family.  So great, in fact, that I dreamt about it.  So, when I awoke, I was still thinking about latkes.  But isn’t that truly the test of deliciousness? When you dream about your food.  Sure is.

Leftover latkes are incredible.  If you have a lot, you can pop them in the freezer and defrost at your leisure.  Or, if you are like me, and eat 15 at a time, you probably won’t have any latkes for the freezer.  I never do, because I eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.   Breakfast Latkes are some of my favorites.  The latke is like a hash brown, but better, because it’s a latke.  So, it’s an egg-cellent base  for eggs.  Get it? Happy Chanukah!

 

 

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Menorah Blahnik

Posted on December 24, 2011 | 7 comments

So, last night was the night, the big night. And by big night, I mean my big Chanukah party.  I’d prepped all week.  After you saw my Thanksgiving prep, did you really expect anything else? Right. So after a week of prep work, I was finally ready.  While there was lots of yummy stuff on the menu, there was clearly one leading lady and that leading lady was the Latke. 

Although I celebrate Chanukah with the 3 C’s, champagne, caviar and chocolate, none of these means of celebration would exist at my party without the latkes.  My latkes, like many of my other recipes are easy.  Well, easy with a food processor. If you are grating potatoes by hand, and make it through 10 lbs. without fainting, well that’s really a Chanukah miracle in itself. 

Latkes (10 servings)
Ingredients
5 lbs.of baking potatoes
5 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
15 tablespoons flour
2 tbsp. kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable Oil
Butter

Directions
Wash and then peel the potatoes.  Grate them lengthwise. Place the potatoes in a colander or kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. (Potatoes hold a lot of liquid!)

Combine the potatoes in a bowl with the egg, flour, salt, and pepper. Mix well.  I recommend using your hands.  It’s fun, it’s messy and it’s really the best way to get all the ingredients incorporated.  

Add oil and a little butter to a skillet over medium to high heat. Drop a heaping tablespoon of the potato mixture into the sizzling butter and oil.  I like big, thick latkes while my Dad likes them to be thin and crispy.  So I change up the amount of potato mixture I add the pan to create different size latkes. Feel free to play around! 

Flatten the latke with a spatula and cook for approximately, 2 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown. Flip the latke and then flatten again. Cook for approximately another 2 minutes, until crisp on the outside and golden brown.

Remove from the pan and set aside on a paper towel absorb some of the excess oil.  Serve with apple sauce, or the Bite-Sized way, with a dollop of sour cream and a touch of caviar!

Happy Chanukah!

Recipe inspired by Ina Garten
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/potato-pancakes-with-caviar-recipe2/index.html

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Dreidles to Play With and Latkes to Eat

Posted on December 21, 2011 | 3 comments

Chanukah is my favorite holiday, well really second favorite.  Obviously because Halloween is my first.  But I guess if we are only talking holidays in terms of religion, Chanukah is my number 1.  Wait, who am I kidding? Candy is a religion. Halloween is still my number 1.  But I really do love Chanukah.  Now, I know what you are thinking; Chanukah is my favorite because I get eight presents.  Well both my parents can attest to the fact that that’s just not true anymore.  So what makes this holiday so special? Everything, that’s what.  But, if I had to narrow it down I could choose 3 choice words to describe this holiday: champagne, caviar and chocolate.

I bet that’s not what you were expecting me to say.  But since when is this Bite-Sized Blonde predictable? While predictable I’m not, I am traditional.  And I mean that in the sense that I create traditions and then follow them.  So, for me, Chanukah tradition is all about the three C’s.

Champagne is somewhat obvious.  I told you once, a party just ain’t a party without a little of the bubbly stuff.  And Chanukah is one hell of a party.  You certainly cannot celebrate, especially a miracle, without champagne.  I think that’s considered sacrilegious.

Caviar – also a celebratory food, but that’s not the reason you’ll find it at my Chanukah table.  Caviar is salty, which offsets the greasy latkes perfectly.  With just a hint of sour cream, it’s really the perfect pairing.  If this tasty treat sounds awfully familiar, it’s because it’s kind of like a blini, but better.  And in case it didn’t sound familiar at all, and know you’re wondering what a blini is, I’ll tell you.  A blini is a pancake typically topped with crème fraiche and caviar.  What makes my Chanukah blinis great, is a great latke as a base.

Now chocolate.  Chocolate is as much a part of Chanukah as dreidles.  Hello…gelt.  But, if you’re anything like this Bite-Sized Chocoholic, gelt isn’t enough to calm your cravings.  So, we end our Chanukah celebration with even more chocolate.

I hope your mouth is watering.  I know mine is.  But what I really also hope is that you have a wonderful Chanukah!

Stay tuned this week for recipes, and of course, a photo recap!

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Foto Friday

Posted on November 25, 2011 | 6 comments

Ughh, that’s the only sound I can make right now.  Probably because I am still so full.  Oh, the beauty of stuffing your face for 3 straight hours.  Well, one more thing I’m thankful for this year, is that this feast only happens but once a year.

I have been promising you photos all week, and boy do I have a lot of them! I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving as much as  I did.  And if you are still hungry for more, I have serious leftovers.

Thanksgiving Photo Recap…it’s right about now I wish this was a slideshow…

Baked Brie 

Autumnal Salad

Turkey Breast 

Drunken Cranberry Sauce

Coconut Ginger Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Apple Pie

Brownie S’mores Pie

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Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on November 24, 2011 | 7 comments

Happy Thanksgiving!! Or in Turkey speak…Gobble Gobble! Ironic that we gobble up the one thing that says gobble gobble? Not to get all existential on you or anything.  But today is the time to reflect, and say thanks for all the things we are grateful for.  Here’s a brief list of the things I am especially thankful for this year:

Family – and the fact that I got to spend this week with the people I love most
Friends – I am a lucky girl to have such great friends
The health and happiness of my family and friends
Cookies
My grandma
- 86 and still the smartest person I know
Glitter
- especially the edible kind
My new niece – I miss you already Arli Dylan
Puppies – all of them everywhere
My Bite-Sized readers – my love for you is anything but Bite-Sized

And now, the moment you have all been waiting for…drumroll please…

Turkey Breast
Ingredients
1 bone-in turkey breast
4 Bay leaves
1/8 cup of Black Peppercorns
½ head of garlic, smashed
¾ cup of sugar
¾ cup of Kosher salt
Sage
Rosemary
1 Apple (preferably reddish and sweet)
Butter, and lots of it, at room temperature
1 bag of large carrots, cut into big pieces
3 onions, quartered
2 parsnips

Directions
The first thing you have to do to ensure a tasty turkey is brine, brine, brine! To make your brine, add 8 cups of water to a stockpot.  Then add ½ head of garlic, 1/8 of a cup of black peppercorns and 4 bay leaves.  Bring this toa boil.  Once the mixtures boils, turn off the heat and add ¾ cup of kosher salt and ¾ cup of sugar.  Remove from the heat and let cool completely.  Add your turkey breast to a brining bag and place the bag in a baking dish.  This will prevent any bring leaking in your refrigerator.  Once the brine has completely cooled, add it to the brining bag with the turkey.  Make sure the entire breast is submerged and then tie to seal.  Place in the refrigerator overnight.

When you are ready to cook your bird, preheat the oven to 380 degrees.  Remove the turkey from the brine and pat completely dry.  Place the sage and rosemary under the skin, stems removed, just leaves.

Place the carrots, turnips and onions in the bottom of your baking dish and place the bird on top of the vegetables.  Place the apple in the cavity and then cover the turkey in a very generous amount of butter.  Think Paula Deen.  Add the leftover herbs to the turkey breast as well.

Place the bird in the oven uncovered for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes, remove the baking dish from the over and cover with foil.  Return to the oven and cook for about an hour or until the bird is 160 degrees.  This may vary depending on the size of your bird.  Once it reaches 160 degrees, remove the foil and let the bird cook until it is golden brown.  Remove from the oven and let sit for about 20 minutes before carving.

While the turkey is resting, it’s time to make the gravy.  Remove the veggies from the baking dish and place on the tray you will use to serve the turkey, making sure to preserve the drippings in the pan.  In a small saucepan, make a roux.  A roux is a combination of flour and fat, which will help to thicken the gravy.  Combine 2 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons of butter in the small saucepan over medium heat.  Cook for a minute or two until the flour has been completely incorporated into the butter.  Once the roux is finished, pour in the drippings from the turkey pan.  Whisk until the mixture is smooth and warm.  Serve with your turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving!!  And remember, there will be pictures tomorrow!!

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As Feast Week Continues…

Posted on November 23, 2011 | 10 comments

Twas the night before Thanksgiving, and all through the house,  were scents of sweet dishes that were sure to arouse…Seriously though, my apartment smells fantastic!! Today was my first official day of cooking and baking in preparation of the feast, excluding the ice cream making I did last week.  And man, am I ready for tomorrow or what.  I mean mentally ready, cause damn I’m tired.  But I still have a few more dishes to finish off tomorrow.

In the meantime, here are a few more recipes to get your juices flowing…

Cranberry sauce is a staple at the Thanksgiving table.  But, it can be kind of boring.  So, I put a Bite-Sized spin on this classic dish and added alcohol.   Now the dish is delish and has it’s own catch phrase: “Cranberry sauce you can get sauced from.”  Okay, I’ll work on the catch phrase, but this cranberry sauce really is spectacular.

Drunken Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
1 12 ounce bag of fresh or frozen cranberries
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
¾ cup of orange juice
¼ cup of water
1 shot of orange liquor (Grand Marnier)
1 orange

Directions
Place all of the ingredients, except the orange, in a sauce pan and cook on medium – high heat for about 15 to 20 minutes or until most of the liquid has reduced, stirring occasionally. You will hear the cranberries pop, which is a good thing! Once most of the liquid has been reduced, remove from the heat and let cool.  While the cranberry sauce is cooling, segment 1 orange.   To segment the orange, slice off the top and bottom of the orange.   This will give you an even surface for cutting.  Cut off the peel, including the white pith.  Try not to remove too much of the orange along the way! Cut the orange between the membranes and remove the fruit.  Then, cut into quarters and add to the now cool sauce.  Cool the sauce in the refrigerator until it’s time to serve.

Presentation is 9/10ths of the law, the law of eating that is.  So to make this sauce look even better, I brulee a couple orange slices to add to it.   First, thinly slice half an orange.  Lay out a few slices on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle liberally with sugar.  Using your kitchen torch, brulee those babies and add them to your sauce as a garnish!

Another Thanksgiving staple, that is totally one of my favorites, is Sweet Potatoes.  But like I told you before, I’m not adding any marshmallows to this dish.  Instead, I’m making Coconut Ginger Mashed Sweet Potatoes.  Sounds a little funky, but I promise this dish will be huge hit around the dinner table.  Trust me, and if you don’t trust me, then trust Heidi Swanson, author of www.101cookbooks.com, where I found this intriguing recipe.

Coconut Ginger Mashed Sweet Potatoes (serves 6)
Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds orange-fleshed sweet potatoes
1/3 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/3 cup raw, unsweetened grated coconut
2 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter
1/3 cup toasted macadamia nuts, chopped

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350F degrees. Pierce each sweet potato numerous times with the tines of a fork and wrap in foil.  Place in the oven for somewhere between an hour and an hour and a half, until each is baked through. Times vary greatly depending on the size of your sweet potatoes – in the end you should be able to cut through the center flesh as if it were soft butter. Remove the potatoes from the oven, let them cool for a few minutes, and cut each sweet potato in half. Scrape the flesh into a medium mixing bowl. You should have about three cups of sweet potatoes. In a large bowl mash the sweet potatoes with the coconut milk. Stir in the ginger, maple syrup and salt. Let it sit for a few minutes, stir again and taste – adjust the seasoning if you need to.

Spoon the sweet potato mixture into a large baking dish, sprinkle with coconut, drizzle with olive oil and bake uncovered until warm and the coconut golden roughly 30 – 40 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with the toasted macadamia nuts.

To see the recipe by www.101cookbooks.com, click here:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/nikkis-sweet-potatoes-recipe.html

Still waiting on that Turkey recipe, huh? Well, guess what? You are going to have to wait one more day! Tomorrow wouldn’t be Turkey day without a Turkey, now would it?

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Feast Week – Day 2

Posted on November 22, 2011 | 15 comments

As feast week continues, I bet you’re wondering what Bite-Sized recipes are headed your way today.   You know I love to keep you on your toes, so I’m switching up the order of things.  Watch out now!  Yesterday we did dessert, today we are starting back at the beginning.

The beginning for me is when my guests first arrive.  And since the football starts before the feast, I can’t expect my guests to be anything but early.  Good thing for this Bite-Sized Blonde, and my family, that basketball isn’t normally on Thanksgiving day.  Otherwise, we would all be eating Chinese takeout, lockout aside.

So, the eating starts early on Thursday and you betta believe I have something up my sleeve for an appetizer,  something that’s not lackluster like crudités, or too filling like devils on horseback.  While delicious, these little guys pack a deadly, and by deadly I mean filling punch from the combination of a little protein and fiber.  So, what’s left to serve?  Baked brie and crackers.  This sweet, salty and savory treat will leave my guests satisfied but not full, which is a very important, and thin line to be aware of on Thanksgiving.

Baked Brie is another one of those dishes that is impossibly easy.  There’s just so much to do on T-day, so much cooking, so much baking, so much eating, why make any more work for yourself than you already have?  I know I make a good point, which is why I make a good Baked Brie.

Ingredients
1 wheel of Brie (2 lbs)
1 cup of peach apricot preserves

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the cheese on the parchment paper and cover with the preserves.   Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until the cheese looks like it’s softening.   Remove from the heat and let cool.  Once cool enough to handle, place the cheese on a plate and serve with crackers, veggies or nuts!

How easy was that? I know, totally awesomely easy.  Now, onto the next step, salad.   I know you are probably not expecting fireworks here.  Wait, who am I kidding?  I know you are expecting fireworks here, and here you have them.  This Autumnal Salad is a recipe inspired by a recipe by Chef April Bloomfield for New York Magazine.  One look at this salad, and I knew this is what I had to serve at Thanksgiving.  The colors scream fall and the flavors and textures will have your feathers flustered.

Autumnal Salad
Ingredients
2 packages of organic baby lettuce mix
20 ounces of butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1 cup of pomegranate seeds
1 cup of shaved parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of pine nuts
2 garlic cloves
1 lemon
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and Pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Smash 2 garlic cloves with the flat side of your knife, then chop the garlic until it is very fine. Combine with olive oil and salt.  Place the butternut squash in the bowl and coat with the oil mixture. Put the butternut squash in a baking dish, drizzling any leftover oil over the squash and pop in the oven. Roast the squash until it is tender and slightly brown, about 30 minutes.  Allow to cool.

Lightly drizzle with 1 tbs. of olive oil and a splash of lemon, and place on platter. Put market greens in large bowl, and gently toss with salt, 2 tbs. of olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon. Sprinkle the greens in and around the butternut squash, and finish with a drizzle of balsamic, a hearty handful of pomegranate seeds, Parmesan shavings, and pine nuts.

This recipe was interpreted from a recipe by Chef April Bloomfield  which you can see by clicking HERE.

Also, there will be more recipes to relish at tomorrow, so come back and see me soon!

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Feast Week

Posted on November 21, 2011 | 9 comments

Today begins Feast Week, like Fleet Week – but think less sailors, more stuffing – face stuffing to be exact.  The eating doesn’t start today, but the preparation sure does.  And since it would be totally selfish to prep my feast and not help you prep yours, I’m going to share my Thanksgiving menu with you.

The Bite-Sized Thanksgiving Menu, which is anything but Bite-Sized includes… in serving order:
Baked Brie
Autumnal  Salad
 Turkey Breast
Drunken Cranberry Sauce
Coconut Ginger Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Apple Pie
Brownie S’mores Pie
Vanilla Gelato

I’ll start by sharing my dessert recipes, partly because I have already shared these recipes and partly because pies can be made in advanced…like the day before.  Any earlier and you risk having a stale pie – uncool, totally uncool.

Apple Pie is a classic Thanksgiving dessert, and the classics are classics for a reason.  This is the pie that the phrase easy as pie was born from.

Click here to see the recipe for Easy Apple Pie.

Brownie S’mores Pie is another dessert I’m serving for Thanksgiving this year for a couple reasons.  This pie was a big hit at last year’s Thanksgiving, and it’s a perfect use for marshmallows, since I’m not using them on the sweet potatoes.

Click here to see the recipe for Brownie S’mores Pie.

The only dessert recipe you haven’t seen from the Bite-Sized Blonde yet is Vanilla Gelato.  Sure, you’ve seen Ice Cream recipes, but we all know Ice Cream is not the same as Gelato the same way College Ball is not the same as the NBA.  So, without further ado, I give you…

Vanilla Gelato*
Ingredients
1 ¼ cup of whole milk
1 ¼ cup of heavy cream
6 egg yolks
1 vanilla bean
½ cup sugar

Directions
Whip the heavy cream until it becomes whipped cream.  Then, place in the refrigerator.  Add the milk and vanilla bean to a small sauce pan over medium heat.  Heat the mixture until it starts to bubble along the edges.  Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool down for approximately 10 minutes.  Once cool, remove the vanilla bean.  Cut the bean in half lengthwise and scrap out the black seeds using the back of a knife.  Add the seeds back into the milk mixture and discard the now empty vanilla bean shell.

Bring a pot of water to a boil.  You will be using this to heat the custard mixture you are about to make.  Make sure the water does not come up too high, because it cannot touch the bottom of the bowl.   In a large, heatproof bowl (typically glass), whisk the egg yolks and sugar until creamy.  Once the pot of water is boiling, place the bowl on top of the pot.  Add the now cool milk and vanilla mixture to this bowl and continue to whisk.  Once the mixture is incorporated, stop whisking and begin stirring with a wooden spoon.  Stir this mixture until it becomes a custard – which means that it should be thick enough to coat the back of your spoon.  Be careful with the heat as this custard should not simmer! Once the mixture is thick enough, remove from the heat and let cool.  Once cool, fold in the whipped cream.  Transfer to your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Still craving more dish on Bite-Sized Thanksgiving dishes? Check in each day of Feast Week for more recipes.

*Pictures will be displayed at the end of the week, so stay tuned my Bite-Sized readers…

Recipe by:
Alex Barker, 500 Ice Creams, Sorbets & Gelatos

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