Cool Treats News Letter  Thu, 26 Aug 2004, at 8:32 p.m.
 

This news letter is from an AOL food chat and is printed here at Recipes From Friends with permission of host Judee.

Tonight was a nice chat. Especially nice when ol' timmers show up. We hope to see more people next week when we will share recipes for some fantastic Fresh Fruit Pies. Tonight's recipe are perfect for hot summer days.

Judee

**This is a permanent mailing list. If you want your name removed just e-mail me.

Welcome back Around Our Kitchen Table. We're continuing to cool off with some sorbet and gelato recipes for you tonight. Often, even without an ice cream maker, these can be made by putting your base in a large bowl or pan and stirring every hour until frozen through. Enjoy your cool treats tonight!

sorbet
[sor-BAY]
The French word for "sherbet," which Italians call sorbetto . Sorbet is sometimes distinguished from sherbet by the fact that it never contains milk. It's also often a softer consistency than sherbet. Savory or lightly sweetened sorbets are customarily served either as a palate refresher between courses or as dessert. They're sometimes also referred to as ICES or GRANITAS, though both of these mixtures are generally more granular in texture than a sorbet. See also SHERBET.

gelato
[jeh-LAH-toh]
The Italian word for "ice cream," gelato doesn't contain as much air as its American counterpart and therefore has a denser texture. An Italian ice cream parlor is called a gelateria .

Key Lime Rum Sherbet

If you don't like alcohol, leave out the rum.

2 cups sugar
2 cups water
4 teaspoons gelatin soaked in 1/2 cup cold water
2/3 cup Key lime or Persian lime juice, strained
1 cup white rum
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 egg whites

Boil the sugar and water for 10 minutes. Add softened gelatin and when it has dissolved, remove from heat. Add the lime juice and rum. Freeze for 1 hour in 2 ice trays.

Remove to a chilled bowl and beat with an electric mixer until frothy. Add the salt to the egg whites. Beat until stiff and fold into the other mixture. Return to ice trays and freeze until firm.

Serves: 8 to 10
***End of Recipe***

Burkecing sent me this recipe and thought it would be nice to share it with you.

Tangerine-Basil:

2 cups tangerine juice
2 cups simple syrup, recipe follows
1/4 cup packed basil leaves
3 tablespoons lemon juice

In a 2-quart saucepan set over medium-high heat, add the tangerine juice and simple syrup. Bring the pan to a boil and add the basil leaves to the pan. Remove from the heat, and allow the basil to steep in the sorbet base for 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice to the sorbet base, strain the base and chill completely. Churn the sorbet in an ice cream maker according to the manufacture's suggested procedure. Once the sorbet is frozen, transfer to 1-quart container and store tightly sealed in the freezer

2 c sugar
2 c water
Combine and bring to a boil and remove from heat, cool.
***End of Recipe***

Italian Wine Sherbet
(Vin Santo Sorbet)

Vin Santo is a sweet Italian dessert wine.

3/4 cup sugar
2-1/2 cups Vin Santo
1 egg white, beaten

Combine the sugar and 1 cup of water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Stir in the wine and remove from the heat. Cool.

Pour the mixture into an electric ice cream maker. When part way done, add the beaten egg white.

They scoop out a half watermelon and serve it in that for a fancy presentation, but you could just make the sorbet and serve it in glass bowls.
***End of Recipe***

Peach and Champagne Sorbet

1-1/2 pounds peaches
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
3/4 cup Champagne
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Put the peaches in a large saucepan and cover them with boiling water. Cook for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. Peel the peaches; halve them and remove the pits. Transfer the peaches to a food processor and coarsely puree. Pour into a medium bowl. In a medium nonreactive saucepan bring the sugar and 1/2 cup of water to a boil over moderately high heat. Add 2 teaspoons of the lemon zest and let simmer about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set the syrup aside for about 10 minutes. Strain the syrup into the peach puree and blend well. Add the Champagne, the lemon juice and the remaining 1 teaspoon lemon zest. Stir Well. Refrigerate until chilled. Transfer to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Yield: about 1 quart
***End of Recipe***

Blueberry Sorbet

4 cups fresh or thawed, frozen blueberries
1 can (6 ounces) frozen apple juice concentrate

In the container of a food processor or blender, combine blueberries and apple juice concentrate; whirl until liquefied. Pour into an 11 x 7-inch baking pan. Cover and freeze until firm around the edges, about 2 hours. With a heavy spoon, break frozen mixture into pieces. Place mixture in a processor or blender container; whirl until smooth but not completely melted. Spoon into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan; cover and freeze until firm. Serve within a few days.

Yield: 6 portions, 4 cups
***End of Recipe***

Tuaca Soaked Berries with Coconut Sorbet and Shaved Chocolate

Makes about 1 quart

4 cups coconut milk
1 ¾ cups sugar
¼ cup heavy whipping cream

Place the coconut milk and sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Boil for about 3 minutes, or until the sugar has dissolved, then remove the pan from the heat. Add the cream and mix well. Refrigerate until it cools to at least 40°, about 2 hours.

To freeze the sorbet, follow the manufacturer's directions for your ice cream maker. Transfer the sorbet to a covered container and place in the freezer until completely frozen.

Tuaca Soaked Berries
Serves 6

1 pint marionberries
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup Tuaca

Macerate the berries for a couple of hours. Serve in bottom of dessert glasses, with coconut sorbet on top. Shave chocolate and top with curls.
***End of Recipe***

CHERRY AND ALMOND GELATO

Makes 2 pints

For the custard
3½ cups whole milk
½ vanilla bean - split in half
½ cup organic sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch
For the cherries
1½ cups Bing cherries - pitted
2 tablespoons organic sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons pure almond extract
mint leaves for garnish

The custard
Put 3 cups of milk and the vanilla bean into a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to boiling point. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk the
remaining ½ cup of milk, sugar and corn starch until well combined. Add
the corn starch mixture to the hot milk and return saucepan to heat. As
soon as the mixture reaches boiling point, reduce heat and simmer for 5 to
6 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture slightly thickens.

Transfer to a bowl to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, cover and
refrigerate overnight.

The cherries
In the bowl of a food processor, add the cherries, sugar, vanilla and
almond extract. Process to a coarse purée. Transfer to a bowl and
refrigerate for 1 hour.

To complete
Scoop the cherry gelato into tall glasses. Garnish with a mint leaf and
serve immediately.
***End of Recipe***

Gelato di crema

An Italian recipe made with cream rather than milk. It makes a large quantity so it recommends to divide it into thirds and add a different flavoring to each division, then churn separately.

1 part heavy or light cream
5 egg yolks
1 1/4 cups sugar

Pour cream in heavy saucepan and gently heat.

Put the egg yolks and sugar into a large mixing bowl and beat until pale and creamy. Beat 2 tablespoons of the hot cream into the egg mixture to warm the yolks. Then beat in remaining cream little by little. Pour into the top of a double boiler. Cook over gentle heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not let boil, or the mixture will curdle. Let cool, then put into refrigerator until very cold.

If you wish to add juice or flavorings add just before churning. Add juice or flavoring of choice.(fruit juice as pineapple, orange, cranberry, peach, mandarin, raspberry, blackberry, etc. or flavorings such as 1/4 cup liquor...Gran Marnier, Strega, Sweet Marsala wine or light or dark rum). Transfer to an ice cream machine and churn.
***End of Recipe***

Lemon Gelato

Nothing seems more authentic than a good lemon gelato! Enjoy!

4 cups milk
Zest from 8 lemons, preferably organic
1/2 vanilla bean
1and 1/2 cups sugar
10 egg yolks
Pinch salt

Heat the milk in a saucepan to a simmer. Put the lemon zest and vanilla bean in a bowl, and add the hot milk. When cool, cover and allow to infuse for about 8 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Strain the milk into a saucepan, add half the sugar, and bring to a simmer. Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until combined. Gradually dribble the hot milk into the egg yolks, half a cup at a time, whisking, to heat the yolks without cooking them. When all the milk has been added, cook the sauce over medium heat, stirring continuously, for about 4 to 5 minutes or until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and leave a trail when a finger is run over the spoon. (Don't overcook the eggs; doing so will change the flavor of the gelato.) Stir in a pinch of salt, and strain into a heatproof bowl set over ice. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. Transfer to an ice-cream machine, and process according to directions. Transfer ice cream to a container, and return to the freezer for about 2 hours. Serve in chilled glasses.
***End of Recipe***

Espresso Gelato

5 large egg yolks
2 cups whole milk
3/4 cups sugar
1 cup whipping cream
5 tbsp instant espresso powder

Combine egg yolks and sugar in bowl of electric mixer. Beat at medium-high speed until very thick and pale yellow, 3 to 5 minutes. Meanwhile bring milk to a simmer. Add half the milk to egg-yolk mixture and whisk until blended. Stir into remaining milk and cook over low heat until mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and immediately stir in cream. Strain into a medium mixing bowl set in an ice bath until chilled. Stir in instant espresso. Makes about 1Qt/.9L.
***End of Recipe***

Chocolate Gelato

2 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups whipping cream

In a saucepan combine cocoa and sugar. Stir until well mixed. Gradually add milk, making a paste. Whisk in eggs. Place over medium heat and cook stirring constantly until steaming, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in cream. Chill thoroughly. Makes about 1Qt/.9L.
***End of Recipe***

Kiwi sorbet recipes

An exotic fruit dessert, try this kiwi fruit sorbet recipe. Sort of like ice cream this item tastes much better and a low calorie count, too!

12 kiwi fruits
)3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg white, slightly beaten

Peel the kiwis and slice them coarsely. Place in a food processor along with the sugar and puree finely. Be sure there are no lumps. There should be about 3 cups of puree. Transfer the mixture to an ice-cream freezer and follow the manufacturer's directions. Beat the egg white with 2 or 3 strokes of a whisk. When the mixture is half-frozen, pour the egg white into it and resume freezing until done. The sorbet can be garnished with thinly sliced strawberries and mangoes arranged in a pattern around the outside of the plate. Yield: About 1 quart.
***End of Recipe***

Peach Sherbert

A lovely tasting peach sherbert recipe, amazingly low-calorie and easy to make at home. Perfect for those hot summer nights.

Peach Sherbert

3-1/2 pounds ripe peaches
1-1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

Bring 1 quart of water to boil in a saucepan and add the peaches. Bring the water back to a boil and remove the peaches. Let them cool and then peel them and remove the pits. Place the peaches in a food processor along with the sugar and lemon juice. Puree the peaches until fine and transfer the mixture to an ice-cream freezer and follow the manufacturer's instructions. Yield: 10 servings
***End of Recipe***