kitchen gadgets for secret agents

A Christmas List for George Smiley: 5 Food Gadgets for Secret Agents is a post about secret agents and the neighbors who suspect them and want to give them kitchen gadgets for Christmas. I'm considering adapting it into a full-length how-to on shopping for secret agents.

                                via createityourway, etsy

you know what sucks about a tower of gifts?

that it's not a cheeseburger.

Dear Reader,

MAKE THIS HAPPEN!

via Gift Couture:

Gift Couture is a start-up creative and innovative wrapping paper company that offers high-quality wrapping paper sets. We will produce unique papers that coordinate together into conceptualized themes and sets. This is exemplified in the Cheeseburger set that we chose to use as the initial project. This includes 5 different wrapping paper designs; a bun, hamburger, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes, all of the components of a Cheeseburger! Right now we are working to get pre-order funding to get the project off the ground. This will also encourage and enable us to release additional coordinated sets, which will be available online and through retail partners.

salted caramel frozen custard

This recipe from an old issue of Gourmet, courtesy Epicurious.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
2 1/4 cups heavy cream, divided
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
3 large eggs

Heat 1 cup sugar in a dry 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring with a fork to heat sugar evenly, until it starts to melt, then stop stirring and cook, swirling skillet occasionally so sugar melts evenly, until it is dark amber. 

Add 1 1/4 cups cream and cook, stirring, until all of caramel has dissolved. (Ed note: If this step is not scary, and your mixture doesn't bubble up into something monstrous and horrible, you've done it wrong. Go back and try again.) Transfer to a bowl and stir in sea salt and vanilla. Cool to room temperature. 

Meanwhile, bring milk, remaining cup cream, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally. 

Lightly whisk eggs in a medium bowl, then add half of hot milk mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Pour back into saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard coats back of spoon. DO NOT LET BOIL!

Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, then stir in cooled caramel. 

Chill custard, stirring occasionally, until very cold, 3 to 6 hours. 

Freeze custard in ice cream maker (it will still be quite soft), then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to firm up.

NOTES: The recipe really captures the caramel flavor, the texture too -- velvety -- the salt not so much. Next time try a different kind of salt maybe? Or more of it? And maybe add some on top, right at the end. Lots of salt options.

The other problem is... I don't quite know how to put it. Temperature? It didn't feel cold to the taste. Again, maybe it was the salt maybe the number of eggs, but it was cool, not cold.

Amanda the baker, now in blog form!

Amanda, the wise and lovely, has started her own blog. The aptly titled amanda the baker has a charming voice like the lady herself. An occasional depository for her thoughts on eating and buying locally, the baker's greatest strengths lie in saucy musings on niche topics like making your own wedding cake, and what's a girl to do with leftover croissant dough. Her apple tasting notes are sweet too. 

I hope the stream of traffic this post is sure to direct to her blog convinces her that the people want what she's got. Amanda the baker, America wants more posts!

mint chip ice cream

I've been doing this thing where I eat food when it's hot instead of taking pictures of it. It's incredible. But selfish. So I apologize that there aren't pictures of my first ever POT ROAST(!), nor the sandwiches we made with it, topped with just enough horseradish sauce to ignite a flash fire at the top of your sinus--spectacularly delicious. I'll post the recipe soon.

I do, however, have photos of this mint chip ice cream I made for our housewarming party last week, which is why it looks a bit icy. It's still super delicious though, and if you want to avoid that iciness you can add a couple egg yolks to the mix. Eggs add richness, but also egginess. And even though the Salmonella in uncooked eggs is relatively small, it's life-threatening to infants and pregos and I don't want that on my conscience. I generally try to go it without the eggs.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
a handful of fresh mint leaves
3/4 cups sugar
dash of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 oz dark chocolate bar

RECIPE:
Combine milk, cream and mint leaves in a heavy medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Heat until little bubbles form around the edges. DO NOT BOIL!

Remove from heat, cover and let steep for ten minutes.

Uncover and pour through a colander into a medium bowl to strain the mint leaves from the milk. Toss the leaves.

Combine sugar and salt in a new bowl. Whisk milk mixture into the sugar, just a bit at a time.

Pour back into the pan and cook over medium-low heat for two minutes, stirring constantly.

Pour mixture into a bowl. Stir in vanilla extract.

Transfer bowl into the refrigerator to allow mixture to cool completely.

While mixture is cooling, shave your chocolate with a vegetable peeler. It should give you pretty little chocolate ribbons. If your vegetable peeler sucks, as they so often do, just use a sharp knife to chop tiny uneven pieces. If the pieces are too large they'll feel like weird sharp plastic.  
Pour mixture into ice cream maker.

Stir chocolate shavings into ice cream before transferring into the freezer to firm.

Otherwise known by the title, "Feminism's pretty sweet," here is Oreo Cameos by Judith Klausner: Cookie Art with a Message

I couldn't really find the right category for Back to the Roots so tagged it under culinary ephemera, but that doesn't give the company the credit it deserves. You can read the post if you want to know more, or watch the time lapse. In either case, you can count on receiving a kit for your next birthday/gift-giving holiday. You can count on that.