Ice Cream for Dinner

This past week, Sam has been up in Camas, learning to be Reliable.  I normally go to these training with him, but this time around I needed to stay at the Mill to work on a high priority project, so the cat and I were flying solo.  We both ate our feelings this week, I suspect, although since Hunter does not have thumbs, I was his overeating enabler. 

Since Sam was gone, I haven't really been doing well on my resolution of cooking something from a cookbook.  I have to admit I just kind of winged things all week, except for trying a balsamic-glazed pearl onions recipe from Everyday Food, which didn't live up to it's expectation whatsoever.  Instead I had ice cream.  Sorbet, if you will, home made.  I had promised Sam that I would make him bourbon vanilla ice cream if he bought me an ice cream maker attachment for Ned, my Kitchen Aid mixer. 

Here's Ned with his mixer attachment bling.  

After I made Sam the promised ice cream, I tried my hand at sorbet, and I don't think I'll ever buy sorbet from a store again.  It's so easy (assuming you have an ice cream mixer, of course)!  Making sorbet is also a great way to use up any fruit you've been hoarding in your freezer, and I had extra strawberries, so it made great sense to me.  

Strawberry Sorbet

    From Martha Stewart's Cooking School 

   

5 c. chopped strawberries (1 2/3 lbs.) (I used frozen, and went by weight)

0.25 c. + 2 tbs. water

1.75 c. simple syrup (recipe follows)

• Puree fruit and water in a food processor.  Press through a sieve to remove remaining solids. Make sure to press on the pulp with a rubber spatula to extract all the juice you can.  Toss any solids that remain in the sieve after pressing. 
• Transfer strained puree to a tall bowl or tupperware.  Add 1.5 c. of the simple syrup into the puree.  Take an egg, wash it and dry it, and drop it whole into the fruit mixture (trust me on this one).  Make sure the egg is completely submerged.  If an area of the egg about the size of a quarter is not showing/floatin, add more simple syrup until it does.. This will help keep you from over-simple syruping the sorbet! 
• Cover container and chill for at least one hour, or over night.
• Make sorbet according to manufacturer's instructions.

Simple Syrup 
           Great for cocktails and well, sorbets!
3 c. sugar
3 c. water

• In a large saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil over meduim-high heat.  Cool, sitirring occasionally until sugar has completely dissolved, about 10 minutes.  Let cook.  Either use immediately, or transfer to a container to refridgerate.  Keeps for thereabouts of 3 months.