Tag Archives: homemade

Recreating…

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I’ve been a little homesick lately. Now don’t get me wrong–I LOVE my new city. I first publicly declared it here. But that doesn’t mean I don’t miss my old home. Oakland was my residence for over 4 years. Perhaps not a long time for some, but for me, (the type of person who can’t sit still in one place for too long) Oakland was the closest thing I had to a permanent home in my adult years.

When I decided to move out of the Bay Area, I left behind a group of friends I like to call my second family. The faces I met at the various jobs I worked, the classmates I met in culinary school, and the friends I was lucky to reconnect with from high school. Those people are my family. I hold them so dearly to heart, I miss them every day.

Another big part of Oakland that I miss is the food. The Bay Area has a plethora of amazing restaurants. I was lucky enough to work in a few of them, as well as befriend some folks who did as well. One of the best restaurants in Oakland (in my humble opinion) is Ramen Shop. The restaurant hosts some of the best ramen I’ve had in the States. But one of the menu items I still can’t get out of my head is their dessert. Particularly, their Black Sesame Ice Cream Sandwich (with brown sugar cookies).

It’s a delicious pairing–like a vanilla-hued, silk-blend Stella McCartney pantsuit with nude strappy leather Céline heels. It’s a delicate match of toasted and creamy.

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I’ve made a few attempts at recreating this recipe, and the one I’m sharing with you tastes as close to the original that I could construct. If you ever find yourself in the East Bay, you’ve got to try out Ramen Shop. And for those of you (us) that aren’t, test out my recipe below to hold you over until then.

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sammich
Black Sesame Ice Cream Sandwiches
Yields 6 sandwiches

INGREDIENTS
Black Sesame Seed Ice Cream
Brown Butter Sugar Cookies

METHOD
Turn 12 cookies face up onto the countertop. Using an ice cream scoop, take 1/2 cup of ice cream and place each scoop onto 6 of the cookies. Using an offset spatula, spread evenly to the edges. Top the ice cream with a second cookie and press down to adhere. Freeze until solid, about an hour.

Must Be a Full Moon

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Let’s take a few minutes to watch this before we continue.

Got it? Good. ‘Cause I’d totally eat the moon if it was made of these chewy cookies. (And heck, I’d have seconds. And thirds.) Although they’re perfect on their own, I strongly suggest you make the Black Sesame Ice Cream to go with. They are so good together. Kinda like Will Ferrell and Jeff Goldblum in that SNL skit.

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Brown Butter Sugar Cookies
Recipe adapted from Food Network
Yields 12 cookies

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
6 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Line a sheet tray with parchment paper or a Silpat mat.

Melt the butter into a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until the butter is a deep golden brown. Remove from the heat and place the butter into a large bowl to cool.

Once the butter is cooled down, add the brown sugar and 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar and stir until smooth. Stir in the egg and vanilla extract, mixing until well combined.

In another medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ground ginger, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture and stir until well incorporated and smooth, about a minute.

Add the rest of the granulated sugar to a plate. Divide the dough into 12 equal-sized balls and roll them in the sugar. Arrange the dough on the parchment paper lined sheet tray at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Cool the cookies on the sheet tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack for another 10 minutes.

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We Belong Together

maltedlead

These ice cream sandwiches are unreal. Instead of going on and on about how crazy delicious they are, I’ll just get on with it and let the photos do the talking.

INGREDIENTS
Malted Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (recipe here)
Whopper Cookies (recipe here)

ASSEMBLY
Scoop your Malted Chocolate Chip Ice Cream into nice rounds and place on a plate or small tray and into the freezer. You want your scoops to be as frozen as possible to avoid a messy assembly later on.

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Once the scoops are fully frozen (for at least an hour), have your Whopper cookies paired up and placed with the flat side facing you on a cutting board or platter.

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With a pallet knife or small spatula, place the scoop of ice cream onto one of the cookies and top with its matching cookie. Lightly press onto the top cookie, making sure the ice cream scoop is now flattened and evenly distributed onto the surface of the cookies.

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Allow to freeze for another hour to solidify before consumption. I wrapped the sandwiches in parchment paper and ribbon to avoid a messy situation! (But it’s gonna get messy, anyway. And that’s OK!)

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Blue Gene, Baby

Posted
Filed under Dining In, How-to
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Avoid those harmful chemicals with store-bought food dyes and make your own!

 

Once upon a time, I used to buy store-bought food coloring. SMH. Not the proudest moment in my life. But I really had no idea what harmful chemicals were used in these dyes. After educating myself, I did a little research and found that you could make your own food dye. At home. And it’s super simple. Here’s how:

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Homemade (and all-natural!) Blue Food Coloring
Recipe adapted from Whole New Mom
Yields about 1 cup

INGREDIENTS
Half head of red cabbage
Water to cover
1 tablespoon baking soda

METHOD
Rinse the cabbage and cut out the core.

Chop into large dice. (Chopping them into relatively the same sizes will cook them evenly.)

Place the chopped cabbage into a small- to medium-sized pot and add water just to cover the cabbage.

Turn heat to medium-high and simmer for about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat after fully cooked down and then let sit for another 5 minutes.

Once slightly cooled, drain cabbage “juice” into a bowl. The resulting juice will be deep purple in color–that’s what you want!

Once drained, your drained red cabbage juice will look like this.

Once drained, your red cabbage juice will look like this.

In the bowl, add the baking soda and stir. Your purple “juice” is now blue!

After adding the baking soda, it'll now look like this!

After adding the baking soda, it’ll now look like this!

(Cook’s note: If you’re using this food coloring into something that you’ll be eating, be cautious of how much baking soda you’re adding, as it is the alkaline agent that actually changes the color of the liquid to blue.)

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