Lemon Ice Cream Sandwiches with Blueberry Swirl

I seem to have a problem. I can't stop buying cooking magazines! I see them in stores, and just have to buy one. This recipe was on the cover of Gourmet magazine this month, and looked too tasty.
I made these for a group of friends that came over, and they got eaten up pretty quickly! They are a bit of work, but not too bad. You use already made vanilla ice cream. A great way to use ripe local, blueberries.
For lemon ice cream:
2 pt all natural vanilla ice cream (I used Breyers)
1 Tbsp grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Transfer ice cream to a microwave safe bowl and microwave at 30 percent power in 10 second intervals, stirring until softened.
Stir in lemon juice and zest. Spread ice cream thinly in a 13-by-9 baking dish and freeze while making compote and sandwich layers.

For blueberry compote:
2 cups blueberries (10 oz)
1/4 cup sugar
2 (3-by 2 1/2-inch) strips lemon zest
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp cornstarch

Cook blueberries, sugar, and zest in a skillet over medium high heat, thoroughly crushing blueberries with a potato masher, until juices are released and sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes.
Stir together lemon juice and cornstarch, then stir into blueberry mixture. Boil, stirring, 1 minute. (Mixture will thicken.)
Transfer to a bowl and chill until cold, about 1 hour. Discard lemon zest.

Sandwich layers (Make while blueberry compote chills)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp caking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Equipment: 2 (8 inch) square baking pans (2 inches deep), a small off-set spatula)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F with rack in the middle. Butter baking pans and line with foil, leaving a 1-inch overhand on each side, then butter foil.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Beat together butter and brown sugar in another bowl with an electric mixer a medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla. At low speed, add flour mixture in 2 batches, mixing until just combined.

Divide batter between baking pans and spread into thin, even layers with offset spatula. Bake until golden brown but still tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely in pans, about 30 minutes.

Dollop tablespoons of blueberry compote all over ice cream, then swirl with a spoon. Spoon all of the ice cream over 1 sandwich layer (in pan) and spread evenly using clean offset spatula. Invert second sandwich layer over ice cream, pressing gently to form an even sandwich. Wrap baking pan in plastic wrap and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.
Transfer sandwich to a cutting board using overhang. Cut into 8 pieces.

Barefoot Bloggers: Meringues Chantilly

Thanks to BMK of Reservations not Required for this lovely and elegant dessert pick. Ina Garten's Meringues Chantilly.
I was excited to try this recipe. I have never made meringues before and it sounded like a good, challenging recipe to learn.
I halved this recipe, since there are just two of us. First I put three egg whites in my mixing bowl.

Mix on medium speed until it is frothy, like this.

Add 1/2 cup of sugar.
Then beat on high speed in your mixing bowl until very stiff peaks form. When I pulled the whisk up, it stood up straight. If the peaks fall over, keep whipping. Then fold in 1/4 cup of sugar.
Then I filled my pastry bag with the egg whites. If you fold down the top, it makes it less messy.
I piped the mixture into a circular disk, then piped another layer around the outside.
The recipe says to bake at 200 degrees for 2 hours, without browning them. I think my oven runs a little hot, because after less than an hour they started to get brown. So I turned it down. Then I left the tray in the oven over night. I made a few little extra ones also.
I threw in some frozen blueberries and raspberriees, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup of sugar (I used raw cane sugar...it's so pretty!)
Cook the berries for about 8-10 minutes. (I forgot to take a pictures of the done berry sauce.)
Then I used my mixer again with the whisk attachment, and whipped up 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon of sugar and a little Grand Marnier. I put the whipped cream in the middle of the shell and topped it with the berry sauce.

The original recipe can be found here

Barefoot Bloggers: Easy Sticky Buns

Melissa of Made by Melissa picked this super fast recipe for this week. I don't think they are in the same league as my version of a Cinnabon I made this Christmas (I'll have to post that sometime) but they are really fast and tasty, perfect for a non-holiday time.
My one issue is that frozen puff pastry it is not all natural. So I think normally I'll stick to bread dough buns, but I have to admit these were goooood. My husband tried one, and then ate another one right away!
The only modification I made was to leave out the raisins, since we are not big fans. Instead, I threw a few more pecans inside the roll.

Easy Sticky Buns by the Barefoot Contessa
Makes 12 (I halved this recipe)

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces
1 package (17.3 ounces/2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted for the filling
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar.

I decided to make this recipe even easier by not dragging out my mixer. I just softened the butter in the microwave, and mixed in the brown sugar with a fork!

Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold one sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with half of the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the raisins.

Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down.

Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2 inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide.

Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.

Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon), and cool completely.

Cupcakes, potatoes and pasta: Blog about blogs

I have been reading more food blogs all the time now. I just made these cupcakes
They are blackberry cupcakes with blackberry cream cheese icing from Coconut and Lime. I made her recipe using mini cupcake pans I just got at Apron Strings, a cute cooking store in Lancaster City. One person who tasted these cupcakes said they were the best thing she's ever tasted! An exaggeration? I don't know but they were great. A good blackberry flavor. And cream cheese icing with fresh blackberry juice? You should probably make these soon.

One of my favorite blogs is Pioneer Woman. I found this blog by using Stumbleupon, and it "stumbled" onto a recipe, complete with gorgeous photos, for Crash Hot Potatoes. They looked so darn good I made a meal to go with these potatoes (Chicken legs marinated in spicy Jamaican Jerk sauce and corn on the cob, fyi.) My potatoes didn't get smashed a neatly and separate though. It was a tray full of potato bits and skins and hunks. But despite appearances, it was really good! I think I am in love with potatoes. Seriously. So check out that link if you want some tasty potatoes tonight. I also made her Farfalle with Zuchinni and oh boy, what a tasty pasta dish. I used some zuchinni, and some yellow summer squash. I actually liked the yellow squash better in it. The wine and cream sauce and fresh herbs make this a delicious dish.