Rosemary-Infused Blueberry Sorbet

What happens when you combine this:

With this:

You get this!

I have been trying to make this since June. Yup, you read that correctly, June. It’s now August. In fairness, I made this in July, I just didnt get a chance to post it until now. Life has been rather hectic as of late and it seems that time somehow got away from me.

Anyhow, better late than never, right?

So, why this particular recipe? Well you see there was another #baketogether organized on Twitter by Abby Dodge which I had fully intended to participate in and the subject was sorbet. I tossed a few flavor ideas around in my head and came up with rosemary and blueberry.

I enjoy combining sweet and savory flavors; remarkable things often happen when you do. I thought this one was a bit unusual, at least I’ve not encountered it before. Of course I had no idea if what I imagined this would taste like would actually pan out but I figured I’d give it a try. And you know what, it worked!

So how did I come up with this combination? Well, my husband absolutely loves blueberry and I wanted to do something that he would really enjoy. As for rosemary, I happen to like the earthy, piney (is that a word?), floral tones. I find the scent of rosemary soothing and enticing at the same time and thought it would work well with the also earthy, sometimes grassy but sweet flavor of blueberries. It did.

I added something else which you may or may not find unusual, a pinch of black pepper. I learned this little trick a number of years ago when looking for a blueberry pie recipe. If I remember correctly it was a Martha Stewart recommendation and you know what? She was right. I don’t know what it is but it works. It’s kind of like salt and tomatoes, it’s just that something-something that enhances and enlivens the flavor of blueberries. Seriously, give it a try.

So, even though we are on to the next bake together (which I WILL be participating in and have already worked the recipe out in my head) I wanted to do this, I needed to do this so here you go: Rosemary-Infused Blueberry Sorbet.

The following recipe is adapted from one provided by Abby Dodge
NOTE: Ingredients in italics are my changes to the original recipe.

Ingredients
3/4 cup water

3/4 cup sugar

About half of a 3/4 oz package of rosemary

2 pints blueberries, rinsed and well dried

1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Pinch table salt

Pinch black pepper

Instructions
1. Have an ice cream maker ready. (I use an electric Cuisinart with a 1 quart canister, probably the same style as Abby’s. If you use this type of model, make sure the canister has been in the freezer for several hours or over night.) I put a 2qt glass container in the freezer as well so that it would be cold when I added the sorbet.

2. Put the sugar and water into a medium saucepan. Cook, stirring gently over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the head and add the rosemary sprigs. Set aside and allow to steep a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. I left mine overnight. You can refrigerate this syrup up to 4 days before continuing but be sure to remove the rosemary if it will sit longer than 24 hours.

3. Put the berries into a food processor and process until smooth, about 1 minute (you’ll have approximately 2 cups). Add the fruit puree to the sugar syrup along with the lemon zest, salt and pepper. Stir until blended. Set aside to cool completely and refrigerate until chilled or up to 1 day. For faster cooling, set the pan over a bowl filled with ice, stirring occasionally, until well chilled.

4. Pour the chilled mixture into the ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s instructions. Serve immediately (it will be soft) or scrape into the chilled dish, cover and freeze until firm or up to 2 days.

Abby’s suggestion if you don’t have an ice cream maker, make a granita!

Here’s how you do it:
In place of ice cream machine, switch-in the following:
 Arrange a 9×13 inch baking dish or 9 1/2 cup rectangular plastic container (Ziploc) in the freezer making sure it is level and secure. (Other sizes and shapes work too but you’ll need to adjust your stirring and scraping times accordingly.) Follow the directions for making the mixture. Pour the chilled mixture into the baking dish and freeze about 2 hours until frozen around the edges.  Every 30 minutes, stir and scrape the mixture with a table fork. Freeze and scrape until the ice crystals are loose and frozen.

Read Full Post »

Bake Together: Chocolate-Cherry Truffle Tart

When you start a blog of your own, you suddenly start to see the blogosphere in a different light; it opens your eyes. I’ve been using blogs as a source for answers to questions both in my professional and personal lives for years now and it wasn’t until I started my own that I realized that bloggers are a community of people. They help and encourage each other, they support each other; they are a cyber family of sorts. They also do things together. I had no idea this was happening until I started my own blog and began following other bloggers with similar interests on Twitter. What an eye opener this all has been!

Recently one of the uber talented people I follow on twitter and who’s blog I read, Abby Dodge proposed a cooperative project called bake together. The idea is to bake her recipe for a Chocolate Truffle Tart from Fine Cooking but to change it up, putting your own spin on it. I took one look at this recipe and knew I HAD to do this! And I new exactly WHAT I was going to do TO it!

I chose a take on a group of flavors I found some time ago, I don’t remember where, for an anti-inflammatory drink. The drink itself also includes pineapple but its the sour cherry and ginger aspect of the drink that I felt would work well in the tart. i substituted ginger snaps for the graham crackers and kirsch for the rum. I also added a bit of instant espresso powder to the chocolate and topped the tart with a homemade cherry compote (recipe coming soon) and crystalized ginger.

I made it on Saturday and brought it to a makeup party my daughter-in-law was having that evening…untested! I know, I’m crazy. My family are often guinea pigs for my culinary creations but this time there would be people I didn’t know in attendance. I’m EXTRA crazy.

Thankfully the tart came out great, nobody choked and everyone loved it! Whew, what a relieve!

Enjoy!

Chocolate-Cherry Truffle Tart (Adapted from Abby Dodge)

For the Crust
5 ounces finely crushed ginger snap cookies
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling
1 cup  half and half
½ tablespoon instant espresso powder
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 tablespoon kirsch
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch table salt

For the Topping
1 package (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons of the cherry compote liquid or 1 tsp kirsch (unless you want it really boozy, then use the 2 teaspoons)
Finely chopped crystallized ginger
Sour Cherry Compote

To Make the Crust
1. Pre-heat the oven to 375°F and have ready a 9-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the cookie crumbs, ground ginger and sugar until well blended.
3. Drizzle the melted butter over the crumbs mixing until well blended and evenly moist.
4. Dump the mixture into the tart pan and press evenly onto the bottom and sides of the pan. I used the bottom of the measuring cup to press the crust down into the pan.
5. Bake until fragrant and slightly darker brown, 10 to 12 minutes and set on a rack to cool.

To Make the Filling
1. Dissolve the instant espresso power in the half and half. (Note: The brand I use is so finely ground that all I need to do is stir to dissolve)
2. In a heatproof medium bowl, melt the chocolate, half and half mixture and butter over simmering water (alternatively you can melt the chocolate in the microwave). Remove from the heat and add the kirsch, vanilla and salt, whisking until well blended. Set aside, whisking occasionally, until room temperature and slightly thickened, about 1 hour. (For faster cooling, refrigerate the filling until thickened to a pudding consistency, about 30 minutes, whisking and scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula every 5 minutes.)
3. With a rubber spatula, scrape the mixture into the crust and spread evenly. Let cool completely, cover, and refrigerate until the filling is set, about 4 hours and up to 1 day before proceeding with the recipe.

To Make the Topping
1. In a medium bowl, combine the mascarpone, heavy cream and sugar.
2. Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment beat on low speed until smooth.
3. Add the compote liquid or kirsch and increase speed to medium high and beat until cream is thick and holds firm peaks.

To Assemble/Decorate theTart
1. Put cream into a piping bag fitted with a large tip of your choice and decorate as desired, leaving a space in the center for the cherry compote.
2. Add compote to center of tart and sprinkle with crystallized ginger.
3. Cover loosely and refrigerate up to 8 hours.

Read Full Post »