Ice Cream

Less Stress Holidays

December 19, 2015

Less Stress Holidays

Holiday time is a wonderful time of year, but let’s face it, there is plenty of stress that comes with it. During the holidays, it’s better to keep things as simple as possible.

Appetizers & Hors D’Oeuvres: Keep it simple. Serve a simple, but beautiful cheese platter. Add bowls of dried fruit and nuts, as they’re always very festive. I like to set up a small snack table set with bowls of olives, savory popcorn, and Marcona almonds. I also like to serve a crudité platter for guests who may not want to eat rich foods or are perhaps trying to eat a bit healthier around the holidays.

Plan Your Menu: If you’re having a sit-down dinner, try to make a menu that can be prepared somewhat in advance. Some great options might be a beef Bourguignon, braised short ribs, coq au vin or any other main dish that can be made the day before. I am a big proponent of choosing things to cook that can be prepped ahead of time. I like to start off a dinner party with a nice salad that incorporates some seasonal ingredients like pomegranates, pears, citrus or candied nuts. A winter squash soup is also a nice way to begin a meal. Dessert can be a simple winter fruit crisp or a spice cake served with ice cream.

Get A Head Count: When it comes to a holiday meal, any time of year, depending on the number of guests, a simple yet broad menu works best. For buffet holiday parties with over a dozen people, you might want to offer a couple of different entrees. Add a vegetable and perhaps roasted potatoes or roasted root vegetables. Offering a nice crisp green salad always rounds out the menu as well. Add some delicious small rolls or a sliced baguette and you’re good to go.

Serving A Nice Beverage: Then there are the beverages. Having a festive specialty drink is always welcomed by your guests. If you’re mixing the drinks yourself, keep it simple. Please don’t spend all of your time being a bartender at your own party. That’s no fun! You could mix a nice holiday punch bowl with an adult kick ahead of time. A splash of pomegranate liqueur or elderflower liqueur is a nice addition to prosecco or champagne. A white Christmas cosmo (made with white cranberry juice) is a holiday favorite. Make it in advance and when you’re ready to serve just shake with ice and serve.

Make In Advance: Many things can be done days before the party. Shopping for non-perishable foods like spices, flour, sugar can all be purchased many days before your party. You can also make your holiday cookie dough or pie crusts in advance. All you need to do is to make sure you freeze them until you’re ready to use them.

Keep Calm & Have Fun: The most important thing is to keep calm and have fun. A holiday party of any kind should be a time of joy for everyone, even the host. If you find yourself working way too hard to throw and plan a party then ask friends or family members for help. Perhaps a few good friends could bring a dish or two to help ease the stress on your kitchen. The goal is to have a good time with family and friends.

Happy Holidays From Tiny New York Kitchen!

“Work With What You Got!”

© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen © 2015 All Rights Reserved

Boots & Ice Cream

October 19, 2015

The New England weather has turned. This weekend I had to put away my beloved sandals and search out my colder weather boots. Yesterday it even snowed a bit and it’s not even Halloween! The creamery closes October 30th, which prompted me to get my last licks in this weekend.

“Work With What You Got!”

© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen © 2015 All Rights Reserved

Ice Cream Stop

September 18, 2015

This afternoon I stopped for ice cream in Vineyard Haven. This delicious flavor is Almond Joy! Mouth Heaven!

Good Advice

August 27, 2015

Never Ask A Woman Who’s Eating Ice Cream Straight From The Carton How She’s Doing!

Making Coffee Ice Cream

July 19, 2015

For those of you who prefer an electric model ice cream machine, there are machines that can be had for under $50 that make a quart. The drum will need to be frozen before starting a batch. Larger machines range from $125 to $300. Cuisinart makes a model that produces two quarts in about 30 minutes, which is the ice cream maker that I used in this video.

Stores such as Williams-Sonoma sell ice cream starters that require a few simple added ingredients put into the machine to create ice cream. Personally, I don’t think that you need these starters.

There are endless combinations of ingredients that can be added to a batch of your homemade ice cream. Have fun experimenting with different flavors and add-ins. Enjoy summer with homemade ice cream that fits your personality.

“Work With What You Got!”

© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen © 2015 All Rights Reserved

Ice Cream Stop In Newtown, Connecticut

June 20, 2015

Often on the weekends I stop for ice cream at Ferris Acres Creamery in Newtown, Connecticut. The drive from my house to the creamery is breathtaking between the countryside and beautiful historic homes. When arriving to the creamery the parking lot is typically full, but somehow everyone finds a place to park. The line is typically long, but moves fairly quickly. It’s wonderful to see families of all sorts deciding on flavors and chatting about this and that. Getting ice cream at Ferris Acres is always about happiness. Last night I ordered a scoop of “Paradise Found” which is coconut ice cream, chocolate swirls, toasted coconut, and toasted almonds. Think mounds bar in the form of ice cream. While I ate my treat I was able to watch the cows on the hillside who’s milk was used for ice cream making. Life is good and I have so much to be grateful for.

Gotta Love NYC Ice Cream Trucks!

June 12, 2015

One of the great things about summertime in New York City is spotting all of the ice cream trucks around the city. It seems like there’s one on every corner!

Constitution Week – Foods of Our Forefathers Part III

September 19, 2013

MayflowerConstitution Week – Foods of Our Forefathers Part III

The abundance of meat in America was a major change in the diet of the early settlers.  Rabbits and squirrels were available year-round nearly everywhere, plus deer and other large game in many regions.  As settlers moved west, buffalo gained importance in the diet.  Fish, shellfish and wild fowl became common food, and they were all essentially “free.”  The existence of these various forms of game was a literal life saver in times of uncertain crops and unbroken land.  The game gradually diminished, of course, as the population expanded and settlers pushed west, but it provided a large share of the diet in early and frontier days. 

Ham, of course, appeared on almost every settler’s table, rich or poor.  It might be the only meat served at a meal or it might appear in company with more exotic roasts and fowl, but it was always there – breakfast, dinner and supper. 

Corn was also a staple of the colonists, either fresh in summer, or as hominy or corn meal all year.  Corn was also put to another use by an early Virginian, Captain George Thorpe, who may have been the first food technologist in America as he invented Bourbon whiskey shortly before he was massacred by the Indians in 1622.

Meal patterns for working people in rural early America were very different from those common today.  Breakfast was usually early and light which consisted of bread, hominy grits, and sometimes fruit in season.  Coffee, which was a new beverage at the time, was popular that is if it was available.  A drink made from caramelized grain was sometimes substituted.  Chicory was popular in the South, either alone or used to stretch the coffee.  Tea was often made from local leaves such as sage, raspberry or dittany.  Alcohol in some form was often served. 

Breakfast in more elegant homes or large plantations might be later in the morning, and include thinly sliced roast and ham. 

Dinner was served somewhere between midday and midafternoon, depending on the family’s circumstances, and was the big meal of the day.  There was almost always ham, as well as greens (called sallat), cabbage and other vegetables.  In the proper season, special dainties would appear – fresh fruits and berries, or fresh meat at appropriate butchering times. 

Desserts could be simple such as a scooped out pumpkin, baked until done and then filled with milk, to be eaten right out of the shell.  Or dessert could be more complex such as ice cream or other fruit flavored frozen pudding or a blanc mange.  Blanc mange was prepared from milk and loaf sugar, flavored with a tablespoon or two of rosewater, thickened with a solution of isinglass (derived from fish bladder, soaked overnight in boiling water).  This mixture was boiled for 15 to 20 minutes, then poured into molds to set. 

If isinglass was not available (most was imported from England), homemade calves foot jelly could be substituted, but eh dessert was not as fine. 

Various alcoholic beverages, including wines, applejack, “perry” (hard cider made from pears), or beer were commonly consumed. 

In winter, peaches and other fruit disappeared from the dinner table, to be replaced by dishes made from stored apples and dried fruit of various sorts.  Soups or broths also took their place.  Milk grew scarce as cows “dried up” in the short days.  Vegetables gradually decreased in variety as stored crops wilted. 

Apples quickly became a staple in early America.  Orchards were easy to start, required a minimum of care, and apples stored well.  Housewives devised a multitude of “receipts,” including sauces and butters for off-season, as well as many using dried apples. 

Supper was late and a light bread and butter, some of the left-over roast from dinner, fruit (fresh if in season, pickled and spiced otherwise), and coffee or tea.  

To Be Continued…

 

Labor Day Weekend Picnic

August 31, 2013

Picnic 3Labor Day Weekend Picnic

Labor Day Weekend is the perfect weekend for a picnic.  To celebrate the end of summer I’ve organized a feast of some of America’s favorites – from fried chicken to chocolate cake, cheeseburgers to homemade strawberry ice cream. 

 

Parsley Potato Salad

Mushroom Artichoke Salad

Chile-Spiced Bean Salad

Crusty Parmesan Chicken Breasts

Deviled Eggs

Pickled Beets

Barbecued Cheeseburgers

Tomatoes

Radishes

Lettuce

Red Onions

Pickles

Olives

Chocolate Buttercream Cake

Strawberry Ice Cream

Strawberries

Beer

Lemonade

Coffee

Packing the picnic:  The salads can be prepared a day in advance.  It’s probably not necessary to double the recipes unless you have a large crowd to feed.  Be sure to include a serving spoon for each salad.  The Crusty Parmesan Chicken Breasts can be served either cold or warm.  Either bake it a day ahead, refrigerate it, and carry it in a cooler; or pop it in the oven about an hour before you leave and transport it hot.  The deviled eggs can be made from your favorite recipes or one from Tiny New York Kitchen.  They will need several hours to chill and must be packed in a cooler, along with the assortment of vegetables (each in a plastic container).  Take along a basket or platter for the chicken, a tray for the eggs, and serving forks. 

All of the barbecue equipment can travel in a sturdy cardboard box, if there’s room, lay the buns and cheese on top so they don’t get squished.  The hamburgers and condiments should be packed in a cooler. 

You can bake the cake and prepare the frosting well in advance; both can be stored in the freezer.  After thawing, the frosting should be beaten for a few minutes with an electric mixer.  A round plastic serving plate with a high, tight-fitting cover is ideal for transporting the cake; remember to carry along a knife and a cake server. 

In a cooler, pack the ice cream custard, berry mixture, and ice, each in its own container.  Take a hammer and large, heavy dishtowel for crushing the ice cubes, and rock salt for the ice cream freezer (which would be a non-electric one).  Pack the fragile ice cream cones and berries for garnish last. 

Keep the beer in the cooler.  For the lemonade and coffee, you will need a couple of thermoses.  Preheat the one for the coffee; don’t forget to take cream (kept cold) and sugar.  Pre-chill the other thermos and fill it with cold lemonade. 

At the site: Assemble the ice cream freezer and begin hand-cranking, taking turns so that everyone can participate.  If the ice cream is ready before it’s time for dessert, remove the dasher, cover the container, and let it stay in the freezer to ripen; don’t forget to dump out the salty water and pack the freezer with fresh ice. 

Fire up the barbecue about 30 minutes before you want to begin cooking.  Grill the cheeseburgers when the coals are gray.  Arrange the chicken in a basket, set out the rest of the food, and dig in.  

 

Mitchmallows

July 9, 2013

Mitchmallows 3Mitchmallows

Last week I attended New York City’s Fancy Food Show at the Javits Center.  It was a very rainy and muggy day, but I decided to walk there from the East Side anyway.  Naturally the place was packed with vendors and attendees which was exciting to see.  I walked through isle after isle looking at and sampling many food items, but to be honest much of it was the same old jarred salsa, jams and ice cream.  I probably spent a good 2 1/2 hours looking at everything and was getting ready to leave when I realized I had missed a “new products” isle.  I forced myself to give the isle a quick run through even though I had a long walk back in the rain.  I have to say that I was truly happy that I did because I ran into a new product called Mitchmallows.  Typically, I am not a huge fan of marshmallows, but the bow-tie wearing guy behind the booth (Mitch) was super nice and invited me to try the different flavors that he had out for sampling.  I couldn’t believe how good these marshmallows were and tried several different flavors just to make sure.  There were trays of colorful marshmallows like Watermelon, Creamsicle, Pretzels & Beer, Ginger Wasabi, Banana Split, Pink Lemonade, Churros and Maple Syrup Pancake.  My favorites were the Watermelon and Churros flavors.

Most of you know that I don’t write a review of a restaurant or a product unless I really like it.  I am extremely happy that I ran into Mitch and his Mitchmallows.  What a great idea and what a unique food product.  If you’re a fan of marshmallows or even if you’re not into marshmallows you just may want to give these puppies a try.  This was by far the best thing that I found at the Fancy Food Show and the added bonus was meeting the owner who was completely flip over his product.  I’m not sure if Mitchmallows are sold in stores yet, but you can order them from the website.  I saw the packaging and they come in cute little tins.  Go to the website and check it out at http://www.mitchmallows.com/ and tell them that Tiny New York Kitchen sent ya.

Mitchmallows 2Mitchmallows

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