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Good and Lovely Christmas Ice Cream

Last night I had the great fortune of not only seeing The Good Lovelies in concert during their Christmas tour , but making dessert for the band. I wanted to make something holiday-ish to fit with the theme of the night and came up with this. The word is that the band loved the ice cream, hence the name. The method for the ice cream is from Homemade Vegan Pantry , and the method for sugaring the chestnuts comes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World . The recipe works best with a high powered blender like a Vitamix. If you don't have one, just make sure your cashews are nice and soft before blending INGREDENTS Ice Cream - 1 cup whole raw cashews - boiling water - 1.5 cups non-dairy milk of your choosing - 1/2 cup packed brown sugar - 1 tsp cinnamon - large pinch of salt - 1 can coconut milk (light, or regular) - 2 tsp vanilla Sugared Roasted Chestnuts - 1 cup chopped roasted chestnuts (about 3/4 lb whole chestnuts) - 1/3 cup sugar - 3 tbsp maple syrup - pinch of salt METHOD Ice C
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Bison Rib Roast

For a big celebratory meal, a rib roast is very impressive, especially with the bones in. While beef might be a common choice, bison is also available in a rib roast. I’ve shared my experience cooking several different cuts of bison and how much I enjoy it. I like the texture and flavor but also really appreciate how environmentally sustainable and how healthy it is, particularly when compared to beef. It's lighter and less fatty so I find I'm able to enjoy it more. When Durham Ranch offered me the opportunity to try one of their products I decided to go with a rib roast. Durham Bison Ranch is one of largest bison operations in the US, with a 55,000 acre ranch in Eastern Wyoming with around 3,000 bison. Unlike some producers, the bison from Durham is not completely 100% pasture raised. It’s finished on a feed lot where it is fed mostly grass based silage and very little grain, since it is not part of their natural diet. Why are their animals finished this way? Drought condition
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Moringa Chia Pudding with Raspberry Recipe

A current food trend is the emergence of exotic superfood ingredients such as elderberry, aronia, haskap and moringa. Moringa is a plant native to South Asia and grown throughout the tropics. It's considered a superfood because the powdered leaves provide protein, calcium, iron, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Peace Corps volunteer Lisa Curtis discovered it when she was living in West Africa and suffering from malnutrition. Now back in the US, she is the founder of  Kuli Kuli Foods , a company that sells moringa based product in the US and helps to improve the lives of women like the ones she worked with, in Africa. When I met Lisa I was inspired by her story and also curious to try experimenting with moringa, which comes in a powdered form, looking a bit like matcha but tasting more herbal with a slight bitter but not unpleasant edge. Aside from adding it to smoothies or using it bars, I thought it might be good in a chia pudding.  Lots of chia pudding recipes use coconut or almond milk
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2012 Food & Dining Trends

In no particular order, here are my predictions with a tiny sprinkling of wishful thinking... Yes, please! More transparency and labeling in the food system Have you been to a supermarket lately? All the seafood is now labeled so you know where it comes from and whether or not it is farmed and if color is added. That is amazing considering that not long ago seafood had barely any labeling at all, but it's just the beginning. I believe consumers will demand labels on produce and meat too. Food contamination and security issues are only a few of the issues driving this trend. Foraging, hunting and wild food Wild and foraged ingredients are showing up on more and more menus and there are classes and books to help you learn about this return to a more primal way of eating. The poster boy for this trend is Hank Shaw. The poster Girl? Georgia Pellegrini! Local culture on the plate Rene Redzepi the chef at NOMA , (the world's number one restaurant according to one survey) has inspir
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Unusual Cookbooks of 2015

Looking for something different? These are some of the more unusual cookbooks I came across this year.  The Food of Oman  is one of the most exciting cookbooks I saw this year, because I am so unfamiliar with the cuisine and the influences are so varied. The book includes Bedouin meat and rice dishes, South Asian curries, East African vegetable dishes and Indian style tandoori seafood as well. There are recipes for quickly made flatbreads, Sweet Vermicelli with Salty Egg, Yemeni Style Roasted Chicken and Saffron Rice, Swahili Coconut Shrimp Curry, some hot tea-like beverages, and plenty of snack foods like Chile-Lime Chickpeas and Chili Spiced Potato Chips. For the cook who seems jaded and world weary this is the perfect book to inspire.  Who’s it for? Anyone looking to cook something different, but expecially fans for Southeast Asian and African food. Do you need a book about what to serve on toast? No. But  Better on Toast  is a really fun book loaded with cool ideas for snacks, ap
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NOMA: My Perfect Storm movie review

Even after reading the NOMA:Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine cookbook and going to see chef Rene Redzepi speak , I am still curious about the restaurant and the chef. Short of flying off to Copenhagen and dining at the restaurant (it’s on my bucket list!) I really enjoy reading anything I can about this restaurant that has been chosen “ #1 in the world ” four times. The latest attempt to dig deeper into the Noma phenomenon and psyche of chef Rene Redzepi is the feature length documentary, Noma: My Perfect Storm. Towards the beginning it’s easy to fall under the spell of the chef and his concept for the restaurant. It’s a concept which has had and will continue to have a ripple effect. Because really, this is more than just about one chef or one restaurant, it’s about a philosophy that is changing food, cooking and how we approach it everywhere. It's about creating a cuisine that reflects time and place in the most authentic way possible. Not surprisingly, it’s also about the proc
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New Dessert Cookbooks Winter 2015

This holiday season there are several new dessert cookbooks, here are some of my top picks. Home Baked isn't strictly a dessert book, it also contains savory baked goods, but the vast majority of the recipes are for sweets with just one section dedicated to breads (and a few recipes for dog biscuits). This book is mammoth! It has over 150 recipes for everything from Viennoiserie to cakes, cookies, pies and patisserie.  What sets the book apart is that the instructions are incredibly clear and well written and for the most part feel very easy to accomplish. The photographs are appealing as are the creative flavor combinations like Zaatar, Carrot Banana Cake, Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Grapefruit, Peach and Berry Tarts with Buttermilk Custard and Fig, Apricot, Stilton and Goat Cheese Tart. Who's it for? Any baking enthusiast or as the author says, "domestic adventurer."  Marie Asselin the author of  Sweet Spot : Modern Better-for-You Dessert Recipes, with Clever Tips
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Jewish Cookbooks 2015

Are you suffering from an overload of everything Christmas? Shabbat Shalom! Here are a few books worth taking a look at, whether you are Jewish or not. The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen   is the book that could make anyone fall in love with Jewish food. Amelia Saltsman  has Iraqi and Romanian heritage and manages to take the best from both of those cuisines along with her own wonderfully creative ideas and California sensibility to craft a cookbook full of “keeper” recipes. The photography is fresh and modern.  The crazy good recipes in this book make me think I could actually give up my beloved pork and go kosher! I mean we’re talking about things like Lamb Kebabs with Parsley, Mint and Tahini Sauce, Yemenite Pumpkin and Carrot Soup, Curried Roasted Cauliflower, Freekeh with Kale, Butternut Squash and Smoked Salt. Recipes like Tunisian Lemon Rind Salad condiment and the Blood Orange and Olive Oil Polenta Upside Down Cake are reason enough to treasure this book.  Food, Family and Tradition
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French 75 Cocktail Recipe

Whether you are saying goodbye to the previous year or hello to the new one, Champagne or anything bubbly is traditional for New Year’s Eve. It’s light, refreshing and pairs well with many kinds of festive meals from briny oysters and caviar to rich and creamy cheeses and just about anything fried. Should you happen to have a splash of Champagne leftover or better yet, a bottle, consider a Champagne cocktail for brunch the following day. While the classic mimosa is fine, I am a big fan of the French 75. The French 75 dates back to World War I and is named for the French 75mm field gun, the “Soixante Quinze” thanks to it’s kick from gin. It’s as simple as can be, just gin, lemon juice, sugar or simple syrup and Champagne or another sparkling brut wiine. There are some other versions of the drink and some prefer cognac or brandy, but I think gin is really the way to go. The gin you use is important. I am particulary fond of London dry gin, and Plymouth in particular although you are wel
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Artisanal Italian Pasta

If you go to most grocery stores or supermarkets you can find dried pasta for as little as about $1 per package. At the same time there is “artisanal” dried pasta which costs at least twice as much, and often much more. Is it worth it? Yes, it is and here’s why. Recently I was at an event where there was an in depth discussion about pasta. Big producers like Barilla make in 2 days what a smaller artisanal company like Rustichella d’Abruzzo produces in an entire year. But it’s not just about volume, it’s also about how the pasta is made. One big difference is how the pasta is extruded. Artisanal producers use bronze dies, these create a rougher surface texture which allows the pasta to better absorb sauces or condiments. While sauces are important, so are the noodles! They should really taste good. Extruding the pasta through these dies is a slower process than using the teflon dies that industrial producers use. Bronze dies don’t last as long and are much more expensive. The drying ti
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Interview with Marcus Samuelsson

Chef Marcus Samuelsson is one of the guests coming from out of town for SF Chefs. He'll be here with illy cafe. And I'll be one of the illy cafe social media correspondents, sharing details of SF Chefs on Saturday night and all day Sunday. Follow me on Twitter and check out my posts on Instagram (@cookingwithamy)

Coffee and coffee culture is so important in both Ethiopia and Sweden, where you were born and where you were raised, respectively. Can you share what significance it has for you personally?  
Coffee culture in Ethiopia and Sweden couldn’t be farther apart in the actual rituals but for me I always associate it with family memories and the bringing together of friends and loved ones. Obviously as coffee is grown in Ethiopia it so much part of everyone’s life and diet. How you drink your coffee can vary depending on which tribe you’re from some have it with butter, or with salt or with barley they all celebrate it differently.

What memories do you have drinking coffee in Sweden?  
I always remember my Grandmother getting out her finest coffee cups for afternoon coffee and serving coffee with 7 different types of cookies which is a big Scandinavian tradition. My Grandfather was old school and loved drinking it from a saucer which used to annoy my grandmother so much but brings back very happy, vivid memories for me!

I'm excited to attend the sold out Ethiopian coffee ceremony at SF Chefs this Sunday. When did you first experience it? What was it like?  
I remember them preparing it in the pots and roasting the green beans and that wonderful aroma

How did the relationship between you and illy begin?
I am a coffee lover and a longstanding fan of illy. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee and mine too. The creation of illy’s first ever single origin coffee presented the deal opportunity to partner with illy. The unparalleled commitment to sustainability and quality shown by illy is something I look forward to becoming a part of over the upcoming year.

What are you looking forward to the most about coming to San Francisco? Will you have any time to hang out with favorite chefs or at restaurants?
I love the farmer’s markets especially the Ferry Building and in general SF always inspires or teaches me something new – I know people always say there’s a rivalry between SF and NY chefs but I am so excited to go there – the palette of the SF people is very high so its a very inspiring place to be and eat

I'm sorry to be missing your illy Explorigins MonoArabica cooking demo with Chris Cosentino on Saturday at SF Chefs. Can you tell us what you will be cooking as the main course?
I will be cooking a coffee-cured duck salad with peach vinaigrette using illy’s Ethiopian MonoArabica Single Origin*.

Any tips for cooking with coffee? Using it as an ingredient? 
I love to add a little espresso with the sauce to accompany Gravlax – its very big in Sweden. Also freshly ground beans can be incorporated into a rub especially great with steak like a good rib eye. Obviously its great with the Tiramisu and Pana Cotta. I love making a white coffee drink which is a little coffee mixed with Coconut milk and cinnamon – delicious

*Ethiopian MonoArabica Single Origin is part of illy's introduction of the first single origin coffees, representing the best of their original famous illy blend. MonoArabica features the highest-quality examples of 100% sustainably grown Arabica coffee from three countries – Brazil (intense and full bodied), Guatemala (complex and medium bodied) and Ethiopia (delicate and aromatic)  You can sample MonoArabica at espressamente illy, 123 Battery Street. San Francisco.

You can see Marcus Samuelsson at SF Chefs this weekend

Saturday August 4
 - Tickets are still available for illy Explorigins: MonoArabica Coffee Cooking with Chefs Marcus Samuelsson (Red Rooster Harlem) and Chris Cosentino (Incanto)  10:00–11:30 am at the Westin St. Francis

Sunday August 5 (in the Tasting Tent)

 - Chef interviews by Marcus Samuelsson from 12:30-1:30 pm in the illy Lounge

 - Giorgio Milos, illy's Master Barista and Marcus Samuelsson will do a cooking demo at 2:10 at the Dacor demo stage

 - Marcus Samuelsson will be signing copies of his new book, Yes, Chef and offering tastes of MonoArabica with illy's Master Barista Giorgio Milos from 3-4 pm in the illy Lounge.

Please note: This is not a sponsored post!  I am being compensated in my role as social media correspondent, but I am NOT compensated to post about illy or any other brand. If I do so, it is only because I sincerely find it interesting and of value. I hope you do too.
shamila
writer and blogger, founder of The kitchen table .

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