Beat the heat with Cannoli Ice Cream

"Again with the variations on cannoli?" You say. Well, you might say, I suppose, but those of you who are like me and can't get enough of anything even vaguely related to these particular pastries will really enjoy this one, I'm sure.

Ever since acquiring an ice cream maker last winter, I have been experimenting with a variety of different ice cream flavors: strawberry-basil, peaches and cream, fresh mint chocolate chip, etc. Last weekend, though, I found myself with extra ricotta cheese and an idea: if Ben and Jerry's can do it, why can't I?

I scoured the internet in search of recipes, but none seemed to both fit my ice cream maker and appropriately approximate what I personally felt was the right taste for cannoli. I ended up blending a few together and came up with a lovely mixture.

It doesn't taste like cannoli filling, which is what I was going for, but it became something else entirely, something of its own. It tastes rather sweet, but not too sweet. There's a hint of spiciness that I think that comes from the addition of cinnamon and nutmeg. Why not try it for yourself?

Cannoli Ice Cream

[What you need]
2 cups whole milk
15 oz ricotta cheese
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 T vanilla
1 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
To taste: chocolate chips, chopped pistachios, and/or dried apricots*
pinch salt

[What to do]

1. Whisk milk, salt, and granulated sugar together until slightly frothy.
2. Add cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and spices
3. Put in refrigerator for at least an hour, but it's best overnight
4. Follow your ice cream maker's instructions or! use this method.

*My ice cream maker instructs you to add "mix-ins" chocolate, nuts, fruit, etc at the last 5 minutes of the process, but your method may vary.

Ricotta Pie -or- Salvaging a Cassata fail

[I know, I've been so bad about posting lately. It's no excuse, but it's been a busy month and I haven't gotten much decent cooking done. I'll hopefully be better in the coming year.]

My plan was to use up extra ricotta from the lasagna to make cassata. As you can see, that did not work out for several reasons.

The other layer and filling were already done though! What's a girl to do, stuck with all this filling and only one layer of sponge cake?

The resourceful girl "invents" Ricotta Pie.

Ricotta Pie

by Amy (inspired by Bisnonna's Cassata recipe, which, hopefully, I'll eventually make correctly)

[What you need]

1 sponge cake (I used this recipe pretty much exactly, my madre's trick; however, is to buy one. If I had done that, I might actually have a Cassata to show you, so...tread carefully.)

1 lb ricotta

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped almonds and/or pistachios

1/2 tsp cinnamon

[What to do]

1. Bake or acquire sponge cake. Carefully (look at my disaster above to see not carefully) place in a pie dish.

2. Mix the rest of the ingredients together, spread carefully over the cake in a pie like fashion and everything will work out in the end.

Prozia Celi's Chocolate Chip Cookies [The Cookbook]

For many a year, I have been on a mission to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe and for many a year, I have failed miserably. My mother's suggestion to "Just use the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag" only yielded cookies so flat that they might have been good substitutes for hamster frisbees.

I've heard countless suggestions:

• Use bread flour
• Use double the amount of flour
• Use only brown sugar
• Use only cane sugar
• Stir the dough as little as possible
• Use applesauce

The list goes on and on. I still have yet to produce chocolate chips that rival the Toll House ready-bake ones (and I am -seriously- ashamed of this) or my mother's, both of which taste chewy and lovely like they were made by an actually competent baker.

So, of course, when I discovered a chocolate chip recipe in The Cookbook, I simply had to try it. If anyone could solve my chocolate chip cookie dilemma, it had to be Bisnonna.

In some ways she did. These cookies definitely did not turn out flat. They were nice puffy little balls of tasty. They are a little denser and more cake-like that other chocolate chip cookies that I have made in the past, however. I am definitely going to keep this recipe in my arsenal, but the search goes on.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

via The Cookbook (attributed to Prozia Celi)

1 c. crisco, 3/4 c. brown sugar, 3/4 c. white sugar, 1t vanilla, 2 eggs, 3 c. flour, 1 t baking soda, 1/2 t salt, 1 6oz package chocolate chips, 1 c. nuts

Bake 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes

Madre adds: If you want the other recipe for the chocolate chip cookies that Grandma made, look on a bag of chocolate chips. When she didn't use this recipe, she used the original Toll House recipe. 

[Apparently I'm just incapable of recreating the bag of chips recipe.]