SOUR CHERRY SORBET: A LABOR OF LOVE

Posted in Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM!

Far away in Brazil, today she celebrates her 91st Birthday!
We are not there for the occasion, but I share a photo taken one year ago.

See you in November…. countdown started!

On my last In My Kitchen post, I mentioned we got to pick sour cherries from a friend’s tree. It was a first time for me, and I admit that it surprised me how much work was involved. Of course, picking the fruit requires that you climb up a ladder carrying a basket, and spend quite some time in a daze-inducing repetitive activity. Nothing wrong with that, except that all that Zen might make one less careful. It is tempting to stretch the body just a little more to reach that great looking cherry winking at you, maybe a tad too far. Thankfully, it all had a happy ending, no falls, no broken bones. We went home with a load of fruit ready for the next step: sorting. The basic goal is to get rid of the cherries that have worms inside. That information was not conveyed to me BEFORE we picked the fruit. I wasn’t thrilled, and made sure my beloved husband got the message loud and clear during our drive home. The thought that I had my hands on stuff potentially hiding slimy creatures was unbearable. Unfortunately, it was too late, I had already been exposed to danger. So how do you sort the cherries? You dump them all in a container with water. The ones that float very likely have worms. The ones that sink to the bottom better be worm-free because next comes pitting. Finding a worm together with the pit would be extremely no bueno. No bueno as the end of me.

(on the left, Apricot-Passion Fruit Sorbet; on the right, Sour Cherry)

SOUR CHERRY SORBET
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

4 cups worm-free, pitted sour cherries
1 ripe banana
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar (you can add more)
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons vodka

Add the cherries, and the banana to the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth, cleaning the sides of the bowl a couple of times. Add the lemon juice, the sugar, and the water, and process everything together until fully smooth. Taste and adjust the sugar level, adding more if you like. Add the vodka, give it a final mix.

Keep the base in the fridge overnight or for at least 4 hours to cool completely.

Place the mixture in your ice cream maker and churn it according to the instructions of the manufacturer.

Scoop into a freezer-safe container.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

PittingAdventure

Comments: All credit for the sorbets featured in the blog in the past couple of years should go to Phil, even if he fooled me into handling worm-containing fruit. He comes up with all sorts of flavors, each and every one of his concoctions turns out great! The only fruit he cooks down before churning is apricot, all others go in fresh. He always includes a ripe banana, and in his latest versions a tablespoon or so of some type of alcohol, usually vodka or rum. They give the sorbet a creamier consistency when frozen, and you will not taste any alcohol.

Once more I should add that we like our sorbets with very little sugar, you might find that our versions are too tart for your taste. Adjust accordingly, tasting the base before you churn it.

As you can see, it often takes me a little time to go from making a recipe to blogging about it, but better late than never, I wanted to get this post out before summer is over. Summer and over is never a good combination. Oh, the pain, the incredible cruelty of what lays ahead for me… Autumn first, then misery.

ONE YEAR AGO: In My Kitchen – September 2013

TWO YEARS AGO: Raspberry Sorbet at Summer’s End

THREE YEARS AGO: When three is better than two

FOUR YEARS AGO: Grating Tomatoes (and loving it!)

FIVE YEARS AGO: A Peachy Salad for a Sunny Day

12Oct2013

APRICOT-RASPBERRY SORBET: A FAREWELL TO SUMMER

Posted in Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

Every year I must prepare myself mentally for a cruel fate ahead: the end of the summer. Goodbye shorts and t-shirts, goodbye laying in the sun, goodbye golf (well, that could be a good thing for my fellow players). This year summer took too long to arrive and never got hot enough for my taste. I can only hope that winter will be equally wimpy. But, back to what matters, a recipe to put our ice cream maker to good use before storing it away. Another production of my beloved husband, this sorbet was quite likely my favorite.

APRICOT-RASPBERRY SORBET
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

1 lb. fresh apricots
1 lb. fresh raspberries
1 cup water
3/4 cups sugar
1 ripe banana, cut in pieces

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Split the apricots in half, remove the pits, and cut each half into chunks. Combine the apricot and water in a saucepan and cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Heat until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar. Let the mixture cool to room temperature.
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Place the cooked apricots to the bowl of a food processor, add the raspberries and the banana, then puree the mixture until completely smooth. Taste and adjust the amount of sugar if necessary. Cover and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.
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Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker.
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ENJOY!
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to print the recipe, click here

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Comments: I shall hereby nominate my beloved husband the Master Sorbet Maker in our home. He comes up with one great recipe after another, never afraid to improvise.

You’d think that a kitchen renovation could prevent him from coming up with this type of concoction, but far from that. If you paid attention to my last In My Kitchen post, you may have noticed the ice cream machine sitting at the counter during our chaotic hellnovation. 😉

A final note: this is a very special blog post for me, as tomorrow we will be flying back home to our new kitchen! Looking back, I can hardly believe I kept the Bewitching Kitchen going through it all… It was a bit of a challenge, but here I am, almost crossing the finish line.

ONE YEAR AGO: Marcela’s Salpicon

TWO YEARS AGO: Pork Kebabs

THREE YEARS AGO: Fondant au Chocolat

FOUR YEARS AGO: Got Spinach? Have a salad!

3Sep2012

RASPBERRY SORBET AT SUMMER’S END

Posted in Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

Last week a colleague from our new department in KSU stopped by my office and asked if I liked raspberries. No need to think much about the answer! It turns out that he is an amazing gardener, and a very active member of the Manhattan Community Garden, a project that started in 1974 and never stopped growing. Small plots of land are rented to whoever wants to grow fruits or vegetables. The city provides the water, tools, and a lot of advice. You can read more about it here. Maybe one day Phil and I can join and become better gardeners… 😉

Back to berries. A few hours later, our colleague comes back with a big box of raspberries, still warm from the sun! I know, I know, everyone should be so lucky! I wanted to put them to good use, so I made a delicious raspberry sorbet. Phil and I bravely fought over the last spoonful a few evenings later. 😉

RASPBERRY SORBET
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

4 to 5 cups raspberries
1 cup fresh blueberries (optional, see comments)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Make a simple syrup by heating the sugar with the water in a saucepan (or microwave) until the sugar is fully dissolved. Allow it to cool, no need to refrigerate.

Place the raspberries in the bowl of a food processor and process until very smooth, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice. Pour the puree through a fine-mesh strainer and strain the mixture, pressing down and scraping the inside of the strainer with a silicone spatula. You will need a little more than 2 cups of smooth puree. If you don’t have enough, you can use blueberries to bring the volume up.

Whisk the simple syrup and the lemon juice into the raspberry purée. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 3 hours. Pour the mixture in your ice cream maker and process it according to the instructions of your machine. Once the sorbet is ready, place it in a container and freeze for a few hours before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Making the puree of raspberries is very easy using a food processor, but I went through three sizes of strainers to find the one that allowed me to separate the seeds from the pulp without too much grievance. It is not a pleasant job, but it ensures a smooth sorbet, so Keep Calm and Carry On. I added a little bit of blueberries (simply processed, no need to strain them), to make a volume of puree that would work in my ice cream maker, but if you have enough raspberry pulp, you can get by without any other fruit. Add 3/4 of the simple syrup to begin with, once you have the base all ready, taste it and decide if you need more. Raspberries have different degrees of tartness, and if you add other berries (strawberries could work well too) you will need less sugar. I cannot think of a better way to close the season…

ONE YEAR AGO: When three is better than two

TWO YEARS AGO: Grating Tomatoes (and loving it!)

THREE YEARS AGO: A Peachy Salad for a Sunny Day

20Aug2011

WATERMELON SORBET

Posted in Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

A few weeks ago I inaugurated my Cuisinart ice cream maker by making chocolate sorbet. Not my best performance, the texture was off, a bit grainy. I guess I didn’t melt the chocolate well enough before chilling the base. I must try another recipe, as it is Phil’s favorite flavor, but in the meantime I picked his second favorite flavor and went to work. Watermelon sorbet was a lot more forgiving, refreshing and light, perhaps a tad too sweet. Next time I’ll up the lemon juice and reduce the sugar slightly.

WATERMELON SORBET
(from Culinary Philosopher)

1 + 1/4 cup sugar
1+ 1/4 cup water
1 quart cubed watermelon (seedless)
4 Tbs fresh lemon juice

In a medium saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer without stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved.. Place in a bowl to cool to room temperature.

Put the watermelon chunks and the lime into a blender or food processor. Pulse about 20 times to chop the melon, then process until the watermelon is completely pureed. Press the watermelon through a mesh strainer, and combine with the cooled sugar syrup. Chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Pour the mixture into the frozen bowl of your ice cream maker and mix it for 25 to 30 minutes, or according to the instructions on your machine. The sorbet will have soft serve texture. You can enjoy right away or put the sorbet into an airtight container and place in the freezer until firm for about 2 hours to firm it up.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I am in love with our Cuisinart ice cream maker! The watermelon mixture seemed VERY liquid to start with, I wasn’t sure it would ever turn into a sorbet, but the machine kept churning, the crystals started forming, and in a little less than 30 minutes I had a delightful batch of watermelon goodness! A little liquid stayed at the bottom of the machine, I am not sure if one should open it midway through the churning and scrape the bottom, but it did not compromise the results.

Watermelon is by nature very sweet, so next time I’ll use 3/4 of the amount of sugar, perhaps even half, and see how it goes.

If you are over the fence about getting an ice cream maker, don’t debate with yourself for 3 years as I did. Get one while Summer is still smiling at you! 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Under the Spell of Lemongrass

TWO YEARS AGO: Greens + Grapefruit + Shrimp = Great Salad