Monday, September 03, 2007

It's All David Lebovitz's Fault

Pear-Caramel Ice Cream

picture photograph image Pear Caramel Ice Cream from The Perfect Sccop by David Lebovitz 2007 copyright of sam breach http://becksposhnosh.blogspot.com/

Yonks and yonks ago, my friend David Lebovitz asked me for my mailing address - because he wanted to send me a copy of his book. I had forgotten all about that conversation when several months later a copy of The Perfect Scoop arrived from 10-Speed Press.

So I wrote to him and said "Just got a copy of your book! Sneaky 10 speed - they know I don't even accept freebies. So I am just going to pretend it is a present from you which is why I am writing to say thank you."

"Silly girl, you're drunk on too much HP sauce!" is how he responded. Apparently I had already agreed to accept the book as a gift from him as a friend. There you have it. Or there I have it - One copy of an Ice cream book in a household that doesn't eat ice cream.

For several more months the icy cool cover of The Perfect Scoop would flutter its eyelashes cover flaps at me from its position on the overcrowded cook-book shelf. Several times I took it down from it's perch to look at the delightful pictures or marvel at the sound of the flavour combinations. But what could I do? I had no way to make ice cream. When I was a teenager I used to make an abomination of ice cream sometimes, by removing the chilling dairy mixture (Cadbury's flake, rum and evaporated milk) out of the freezer ever 20 minutes as it hardened and beating it furiously by hand. I am pretty certain that the results of that method which may have marvelled me as a child, wouldn't cut it with my more sophisticated adult standards.

So eventually I caved in and agreed to accept an ice cream maker as a belated birthday gift from my mUm. (I was belated in telling her what I wanted, so please don't accuse her of any tardiness.) It arrived last week. What should I make first?

It was a no-brainer. My fridge is full of pears, gift of a certain person in Marin whose tree was rather generous. So I used David's recipe for Pear and Caramel Ice Cream to christen my shiny new ice cream making device. It was easy to make and I loved the result of my first grown-up ice cream making experience. I loved the itsy bitsy pear texture contrasting against the smooth creaminess of the dairy. I loved the salty caramel taste too - although next time I might try and cook the caramel a little bit longer for more of a burnt caramel experience. This time I think I was a little bit of a wimp. For the record, Fred thought it was disgusting. What do the French know anyway?

This September marks yet another Eat Local challenge. Ever since I joined in the first Eat Local Challenge back in 2005, inspired largely by Jen Maiser of Life Begins at 30, eating fresh, local produce has become a way of life for me. So what more can I do? I have found my Eating Local level of comfort and that is where I am sticking with it. I am not going to ever be 100% hardcore - from now on - I just push myself in small ways, here and there.

Because the September 2007 Eat Local Challenge emphasis is on canning and preserving the bounty of September for the winter months, this is the perfect opportunity to try some new things out. What better way to preserve some delicious fruits a while beyond their prime moment than in an ice cream? For those of you who might be put off by boiling jars of tomatoes in large vats of water as a way of preserving but who want to have a go at making the tastes of late summer last a little while longer, then chilling out in the kitchen with an ice cream maker could be your answer. Just don't blame me if the results of your labour are so delicious that they don't last much longer than a couple of months, weeks, days hours...



PS - I am grateful to David's The Perfect Scoop for guiding me in the way of ice cream making principles. I find his book very easy to follow. I am going to try a few more of his tested combinations and look forward to experimenting more in the future once I have grasped the techniques. I have already made a second recipe from his book - can anyone guess which flavour I chose to make next? Answer soon.

Local Resources
Cream from Straus
Lemon from Will's Avocados/Brokaw
Pears from Cookiecrumb

Eat Local Month September 2007

Archives
2006 | The opening of local favourite, organic Petit Patisserie
2004 | David Coffaro

© 2007 Sam Breach
It's All David Lebovitz's Fault

27 Comments:

  • At 3/9/07 09:28, Blogger Dagny said…

    Sounds absolutely delicious to me. One of my fave gelato flavors at Naia is the pear. I guess the next gadget I ask for is an ice cream maker. I used to have one somewhere.

     
  • At 3/9/07 10:02, Blogger ChrisB said…

    I'm not going to pretend that doesn't look delicious but there was absolutely nothing wrong with th eicecream you made as a teenager. I'm looking forward to trying some when I visit!

     
  • At 3/9/07 10:03, Blogger Catherine said…

    My jam-making friend has also been making ice cream from David's book, including this one and an incredible plum ice cream. She said the pear caramel was amazing.

    Guess I need to get an ice cream maker too!

     
  • At 3/9/07 11:36, Blogger Casey said…

    I keep reading raves about David's books all over Blogland, but this pear caramel ice cream tease has sent me straight to Amazon.
    And I love the idea of ice cream making as a form of preserving.

     
  • At 3/9/07 11:49, Blogger Beccy said…

    I agree with mum, I loved your ice cream as a child but that ice cream looks pretty good too.

     
  • At 3/9/07 12:47, Blogger Marc said…

    In my short time as an ice cream maker, using a machine that required rock salt and ice, pear caramel was my absolute favorite.

    Next flavor: s'mores?

     
  • At 3/9/07 13:29, Blogger Chez Us said…

    You will love this book! We use it all the time! We made the fig ice cream last week - YUMMY! In fact, I think I will go make some vanilla right now!

     
  • At 3/9/07 13:35, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    ...er, Sam...that was an engagement present!

    So I'm going to take this as a 'yes'...

     
  • At 3/9/07 13:40, Blogger Tea said…

    Ha, I've been planning a post for a month or two that I was going to use the exact same title for! Yes, that darned David. All his fault--the fact that I have at this very moment, a peach ice cream and a peach sorbet in my freezer. This flavor looks very tempting as well.

     
  • At 3/9/07 13:51, Blogger Katya said…

    how funny.
    I had been dreaming about that ice cream recipe and just finally made it on Tuesday of this week...i would agree about burning the caramel more, but it was great. Rich and complex.

     
  • At 3/9/07 15:51, Blogger Kevin Kossowan said…

    I've made some solid stuff with my machine, but pistachio gelato was been one my proudest moments. That is, if you like pistachio gelato. http://kevinkossowan.blogspot.com/2007/08/gelato-al-pistachio.html

     
  • At 3/9/07 15:52, Blogger Kevin Kossowan said…

    Plus, I'm a moron with grammar, apparently. How embarrassing. Also, the link seems to be missing the 'pistachio.html' part. Sorry!

     
  • At 3/9/07 15:58, Blogger cookiecrumb said…

    "itsy bitsy pear texture"
    perfect.
    Eeee!
    xxx

     
  • At 4/9/07 07:42, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I too used to enjoy your icecream concoctions and that blackcurrant drink you made, and now I can't try yours cos it will have sugar in it.
    With regard to screensavers I will get a picture of you on mine and then Beccy can be jealous!! Love

     
  • At 4/9/07 08:58, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I've been loving the perfect scoop as well. Try the frozen yogurt!

     
  • At 4/9/07 08:59, Blogger nicole said…

    This looks ... amazing! I made his recipe for salted butter caramel last month and it was seriously the best ice cream recipe I've ever tried. As for your next ice cream ... did you make something with peaches?

     
  • At 4/9/07 10:59, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    This looks awesome! I love David Lebovitz too.

     
  • At 4/9/07 11:29, Blogger Marco said…

    September's absolutely a great month for preserving ... just took a delivery of a 20 pound box of tomatoes from Mariquita Farms and spent the weekend making pureed tomato sauces to freeze. Did this last year and did not need to buy a single can of plum tomatoes last winter, for anything. Used the stuff on pasta, of course, but also for pizza, chicken cacciatore, various more complicated tomato sauces ... This year I'll end up taking another delivery before the end of the month, to spread the wealth amnong friends.

    Ice Cream with fruit truly is another great idea ... I'll have to try that too. Kinda chews up your weekends, but a lot of fun if you like to cook anyway.

     
  • At 4/9/07 11:34, Blogger Sam said…

    Marco - i did the exact same thing (were you at Piccino last Thursday)- but I actually canned mine this year because I found last year they took up too much space in my freezer.

    I am going to do another batch with Dirty girls and also make the same tomato chutney I made last year.

     
  • At 4/9/07 12:23, Blogger Mary Ellen Hunt said…

    What a delicious picture. A copy of the book is winging its way toward me now. Maybe I'll have to try the pear caramel first...

     
  • At 4/9/07 13:08, Blogger Cate said…

    The combination of pear and caramel sounds simply sublime.

     
  • At 4/9/07 17:50, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Hey there! It was really great meeting you and hanging out at Bar Crudo the other night. (Always a pleasure to dine with an eminent food blogger such as yourself). Thanks so much for the card as well, very thoughful.

    Tom Christopher

     
  • At 5/9/07 11:55, Blogger Marco said…

    Yeah, I was at Piccino, ran back from fancy meeting at work like an idiot on 101 to get there on time - lucky it's just down the hill.

    I recycled Cowgirl's small plastic containers from ricotta, panir, olives and so on, since they can't take 'em back, and they stack quite nicely. 20 pounds of tomatoes equal to only 13 of them, since I really cook the hell out of the tomato mix, essentially until it sticks, so it is not so bad, and of course we consumed a fair amount of the stuff over the weekend.

    Then there's the pesto to get around to, and I could cream sauteed peppers and onions ....... and my father's egging me on to make fig jam.

    But the whole "getting ready for the winter" thing is actually quite cool.

     
  • At 5/9/07 12:00, Blogger Sam said…

    Marco - i think you must be my brother - i save up all those little plastic containers too!!!! I use them for all sorts of things including freezers.

    I came off the train near Piccino and then had to get picked up since I couldn't carry the tomatoes the 3 blocks home!

     
  • At 6/9/07 07:01, Blogger b said…

    this is a lovely ice cream! i have made it a couple of times now with local pears and local milk. :) it's a crowd pleaser... one of the more popular ice creams of the many i've made since upgrading to the no-need-to-prefreeze the canister model. i have strained the pulp and not/left it chunky -- both are good, but if the pear is a particularly fibery type, it's not as good.

     
  • At 8/9/07 14:37, Blogger Parisbreakfasts said…

    Pear + caramel = what a divinely irresistable flavor to make at first go! BRAVO

     
  • At 14/9/07 08:52, Blogger Kitt said…

    This book just landed in my lap yesterday, and I knew to say 'yes' to it because of your post. Thanks!

     

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