Hazan Family Favorites – by Giuliano Hazan – Cookbook Review

From the moment you open the pages of  Hazan Family Favorites, it invites you into their home, lending stories and history to their favorite dishes.   This cookbook has a nice homey feel to it, and will have you running for the kitchen to recreate some of their family favorites to share with your loved ones.  Recipes that you’ll use every day. Easy to prepare, with ingredients that are easy to find and probably already in your pantry.   This book certainly has a place on my favorites book shelf.  Simplicity, fresh and just honest good food.

Beautifully photographed, you will find pictures of the finished dish in most cases along with some pictures of the Hazan family, past and present.  What I like about the book is the simpleness of the recipes.  Beginner cooks will have no problem cooking their way through this book  with ease of preparation and outcome.   The recipes are well-organized and setup with the cook in mind, not only in the setup of the pages, but also in listing the time from start to finish. You’ll know at a glance, how long the recipe is going to take, helping in planning of a meal.  Sharing eighty-five delicious recipes, from the Hazan family traditions, passed down by this mother and extended family, these are the dishes Hazan cooks for this own family today.

For my recipe, I chose the Strawberry Gelato.  I love Gelato, finding it more intense and flavorful than ice cream. Don’t get me wrong, I love ice cream too, but give me a choice and I’ll go with the gelato. This recipe does not disappoint.

Strawberry Gelato

Strawberry Gelato

From: Hazan Family Favorites

By: Giuliano Hazan

My mother used to teach strawberry ice cream at my parent’s cooking school in Bologna.  I remember they would always serve it along with Recioto, a wonderful dessert wine from Valpolicella made with dried grapes.  It was fantastic and unexpected pairing, and I always looked forward to it.  Ironically, my wife and I now run a cooking school in Valpolicella in collaboration with one of our top producers of Recioto, Marilisa Allergrini.  As I was trying out recipes for my previous books, I made several variations of that ice cream – with cantaloupe, with peaches, and with pineapple. But I hadn’t made the strawberry ice cream in quite a long time, until we recently took our two girls strawberry picking at a local farm.  In no time at all, we had accumulated seventeen pounds of strawberries.  When we got home and had finally filled our bellies with the luscious, sweet berries, I froze the remaining ones. (The best way to freeze them, by the way, is to lay them out in a single layer on cookie trays so they don’t touch.  Once they are frozen, you can store them in ziploc bags.)  So what to do with all of our frozen strawberries?  Ice cream, of course! I tweaked my mother’s recipe a little bit, adding a bit of lemon juice, which I have found really brightens the fruit flavor.  After making a few batches of ice cream, I decided to try something different and came up with the peach-and-strawberry semifreddo in the recipe that follows. – Giuliano Hazan

3/4 pound Fresh Strawberries

3/4 Cup Sugar

3/4 Cup Water

2 Tbsp. Freshly squeezed Lemon Juice

1/3 Cup Heavy Cream

Strawberry Gelato, churning in the ice cream maker

1.  Remove the green tops of the strawberries and rinse them in cold water.

2.  Place the berries and the sugar in a food processor and blend until pureed.  Add to water and lemon juice and continue blending until all ingredients are mixed together thoroughly.

3.  Whip the cream with a whisk until it begins to thicken and acquires the consistency of yogurt.  Add the pureed strawberries and mix thoroughly.

4  Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacture’s directions.  Serve right away or store, tightly covered, in the freezer.  It should keep for several days before ice crystals begin to form.

Results:  Delicious Gelato!   This Gelato did not last long at my house.  My 10-year-old Granddaughter Alexis, really, really liked this.  She’s already planning the next batch.

 

Full Disclosure: I was given this book in exchange for a review.  However, the contents of my review are my honest opinion of reviewed product.  I will always give my honest opinion of any product reviewed.

Baked Alaska for my Birthday!

Thankfully, my birthday only comes once a year! Even then, it seems a little much! Isn’t it funny how we start out wishing and even adding time to our birthday? (She’s 15 months old, he’s 2 1/2, or the little girl who’s wanting to be older, I’m almost 9!) Gone are those days for me!  However, the tradition of getting to pick what you want for your birthday, and even looking forward to it, NEVER seems to go away! (Thank Goodness!!) And, if you can’t make up your mind what you want for your birthday, just make both! Your family will love you for it!!

(Luscious NY Style Cheesecake with a Delicious Strawberry Sauce, Recipe coming soon! I couldn’t make up my mind which I wanted. So I made Both!!)

I made my baked Alaska in my 13 inch Pain de Mie Pullman Bread pan. (By the way, I love this website, take a look around!)  Here’s how I made my Baked Alaska.  Bake your favorite cake in a (1/2 sheet pan) Cookie sheet. ( Bake until cake springs back when lightly touched, approximately, 15-20 minutes.  Remove from oven, let cool for 10 minutes, then invert cake onto a clean kitchen towel to cool completely.  Spray the inside of the pan you’re gonna use to make your baked Alaska, and put plastic wrap inside your pan, allowing extra to hang over on the sides. (This will aid in removing the baked Alaska from the pan.)  Measure your pullman bread pan. Mine on the inside was 4 inches, so I cut my cake at 3 3/4 inches,  cutting a total of 4 cake layers.  Lay a strip of cake in the bottom of your pan, and then a layer of slightly softened ice cream over the cake layer. Freeze for an hour.  Lay another strip of cake and slightly softened ice cream over the first layers. Freeze for about an hour.  Lay a strip of cake and your final slightly softened ice cream over the previous layers, and stack the final strip of cake over the ice cream.  Fold the plastic wrap over the cake and ice cream layers (Your pan should be full now) and freeze for several hours or overnight.  To release your cake and ice cream from the pan, use a blow torch and heat the outside of the pan, until it slips out, or dip in hot water until the cake is loosened from the pan. Release the cake unto a covered board, and place back in the freezer for approximately 1 hour.  Make your meringue. (Remove plastic wrap).  Frost the cake with the meringue, spreading the meringue all the way to the bottom of the sides of the cake, and lightly toast your meringue with a mini chef’s blow torch, or bake briefly in a very hot oven, till lightly toasted.  Freeze cake until ready to serve.

Sadly, my blow torch was out of fuel and we just ate it the way it was, without toasting it. It still taste good just the way it was.

 

Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

I ran across this dessert in a Taste of Home magazine a few years back. It’s so good and easy and delicious. You’ll need a couple of hours for your dessert to set up, which will make your layers more defined, however my husband is not patient! Mine never got the chance to set.  You can also, double-decker this!

1 box Ice Cream Sandwiches (12 count box) (or 2 if you’d like to make double decker)

1 jar (Your favorite brand or make your own) Hot Fudge Sauce

Cool Whip (Large Container) or make your own Whipped Cream (I made my own, using 2 Cups of heavy whipping cream, 1/3 cup Powdered Sugar and 1 tsp. Vanilla Bean Paste – Yum)

1 9X13 inch pan.

In a 9X13 inch pan, lay ice cream sandwiches in the bottom, cutting to fit if needed.   Smear Hot fudge Sauce over the top of the ice cream sandwiches. Top with cool whip or your own whipped topping. Garnish with chopped peanuts or pecans if desired.  Freeze for a couple of hours to set.

This is GREAT!! My family loves it and it’s so easy, it can be made in minutes for an emergency dessert!

Mini Wild Blackberry Tarts

We have several Blackberry bushes in our backyard, and the berries are beginning to taking shape.  I created this  dish last year to enjoy the bounty. This is delicious! (Even if I do say so myself, and Oh so worth the efforts of your labor).

Pie Crust:

1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour

1/4 tsp. Salt

1 Tbsp. Sugar

1/2 Cup Butter, Chilled & Cut in Pieces

1/4 Cup Ice Water

In the bowl of a food processor, fitted with the steel blade, combine flour, salt and sugar. Pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add ice water and process just until it starts to come together. (Do not over mix!!)  Scoop dough together with your hands to form a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.  Roll dough out to desired size. Bake at 375 degrees, 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. (I like to use a 10 inch tart pan for this pie or individuals).

Pastry Cream:

from: Joy of Baking

1 1/4 Cups Milk

1/2 Vanilla Bean, split

3 Large Egg Yolks

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/8 Cup Flour

3 Scant Tbsp. Cornstarch

3/4 Tbsp. Liqueur (Grand Marnier, Brandy or Kirsch) (Optional)

Pastry Cream Directions:

In a medium sized stainless steel bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks together with a wooden spoon. (Do not let mixture sit too long, or you will get pieces of egg forming). Sift the flour and cornstarch together and add to the egg mixture, mixing until you get a paste. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a sauce pan heat the milk and split vanilla bean on medium heat until boiling. (The milk will foam to the top of the pan when done, so watch carefully). Remove from heat and add slowly to the egg mixture whisking constantly to prevent curdling. (if you get a few pieces of egg (curdling) in the mixture, pour through a strainer). Remove vanilla bean and scrape out seeds and add to the egg mixture.  Place the egg mixture back into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until  boiling, whisking constantly. When mixture comes to a boil, whisking constantly, for another 30-60 seconds, until it becomes very thick and hard to stir. Remove from heat and immediately whisk in liqueur (if using). Pour into a clean bowl and immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming. Cool. If not using right away, refrigerate until needed, up to 3 days. Beat before using to get rid of any lumps that may have formed.

Blackberries:

2 (10 oz.) Frozen Blackberries (or use fresh if available)

3/4 Cup Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

3 – 4 Tbsp. Cornstarch

1/3 Cup Cold Water

1 pkg. Fresh Blackberries

Blackberries Direction:

In a medium sauce pan combine blackberries with the sugar and cook on medium heat until boiling. Turn heat down and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain blackberries, reserving juice and process the blackberries left in the pan in a food processor. Combine the blackberry puree with the reserved juice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Mix the cornstarch with the cold water mixing thoroughly. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the berries, stirring constantly until it thickens into a smooth puree sauce. Cool mixture completely; set aside.

Assemble Tart. Garnish with fresh Blackberries.  Serves: 8-10

For this one, we added a little more pastry cream and just spooned the thickened puree over the tart and added some blackberry ice cream!! YUM!!

Blackberry Ice Cream

2 10 oz. pkgs. Blackberries

3/4 Cup Sugar

In a medium saucepan combine the blackberries and the sugar, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes or until nice and syrupy. Strain the berries, reserving the liquid putting the solids in a food processor and processing until you have a puree. Combine the liquid and the puree in a bowl and set aside.

In a saucepan, heat:

1 1/2 Cups Half & Half

1 Vanilla bean, split

1 Cup of sugar

Cook on medium heat until milk is hot. Meanwhile in a 2 cup glass measuring cup, place

6 Egg yolks

Beat with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes, until light and slightly thickened.

Take 1 cup of the half and half mixture, and stirring constantly, slowly add to the egg yolks.  Add the egg yolk mixture back into the sauce pan, and continue cooking, stirring constantly until just about boiling. The mixture should just coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and cool. (Remove the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the cream mixture). Add 1 1/2 Cups of heavy whipping cream and the blackberry puree mixture.  Stir well and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.  Pour the mixture into your ice cream container, and follow manufactures directions.  Yield: 2 quarts.

Apple Crisp & Cinnamon Ice Cream

I thought a good Cinnamon Ice Cream and the crisp would go quite nice with each other. Apple Crisp is Soooooo Easy. Really, 10 minutes and your house will be smelling like Autumn Comfort!!! uh, even if  it’s spring. Who can resist the smell?   If your making the Ice Cream with it, Consider doing the Ice Cream the night before, and  finishing it up in the morning.

Cinnamon Ice Cream

1 1/2 Cups Half & Half
1 Cup Sugar
Mix together in a sauce pan on medium heat, until steaming.
In the meantime, in a 2 cup measuring cup, place 5 egg yolks, and beat for about 2 minutes until light and lemony colored. Scoop 1 Cup of the milk mixture and whisking constantly, add the milk to the egg yolks. Pour the yolk mixture back into the pan and cook the mixture until slightly thick and coats the back of a spoon.  Add 1 1/2 cups of Heavy Cream, 2 tsp. Cinnamon, and 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract. Stir well. Cool completely and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or overnight.  Pour the mixture into your ice cream container, (stir in a cup of Hershey’s Cinnamon chips here too, they’re wonderful in this) and mix according to manufactures direction. Serve with Apple Crisp.

Apple Crisp

Here’s how I make my Apple Crisp. It’s easy, fast and yummy!!
Take 4 large apples, peel, core and cut into desired slices. Take 1 Tbsp. Lemon juice and coat the apples with the lemon juice, stirring till well mixed. Spray an 8X8 pan with cooking spray, pour in the apples. Sprinkle apples with a 1/2 cup of raisins, if desired.   In a Medium bowl, combine 3/4 cup Brown sugar, 1/2 Cup All purpose Flour, 1/2 Cup Oats (or use Granola if you’de like, I did, it’s extra yummy) 1 tsp. Cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg and 1/3 cup of softened butter. Mix well, until mixture resembles small peas. (I use my hands, and just work the mixture with my finger tips.) Sprinkle over apples and Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until crisp is browned and apples are tender. Serve Apple Crisp warm with Cinnamon Ice Cream. Doesn’t get much better than this!!