FREEZE!

Orange Ice Cream topped with surinam cherry.

Last week we FINALLY broke down and bought a KitchenAid Mixer with ice cream making bowl attachment. Macy's had a super sale so how could we resist? The colors stocked were not what we hoped, so we settled on the Architect Series which only comes in a stainless steel color. Of course we would have loved the Persimmon or Tangerine, but it works out to be the best color as it matches the other appliances and pretty much disappears on the counter.

(p.s. - while searching out the link on KitchenAid.com, I discovered a special promotion and looks like we will now be the proud owners of a Roto Slicer / Shredder. I never knew that you could go online and get rebates and offers even if you bought at Macy's.)

I made this delicious orange ice cream with oranges from our tree and I might go so far as to say it's knocking my socks off. The process to make ice cream is not quite as simple as one would think. It's pretty easy, but he bowl attachment must be frozen for at least 15 hours to start with. Then you need to make the batter and chill that for up to 4 hours before pouring into the bowl and stirring away. Once in the bowl and the machine is on, you only need to allow it to stir for 20 minutes until it reaches a sort of soft serve consistency. Once that is done you pour it into containers and freeze for at least four hours to finish the process. So much for instant gratification. But it was money well spent considering we can spend $9 on a gallon of Roselani... in our opinion the best ice cream on the planet... well the best in the islands anyway. We will still buy Roselani because it's so freakin' good and we do want to support local business.

The recipe I made up is based on 3 different recipes:

1 1/4 cups fresh orange juice  
(concentrate or packaged would work just as well, but you need the zest anyway, so go with fresh.)
Zest of 4 medium oranges
1 cup sugar
2 cups sour cream
1 cup whole milk
1/3 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 inch chunk of fresh or frozen ginger sliced 1/8 inch thick or grated.

After zesting the oranges with a microplane I like to give it a few passes with a mezzaluna to really release the oils.

I placed the ginger and zest in tea strainers and simmer with the orange juice, honey and sugar. While that simmers on low, prepare your sour cream, milk and vanilla. Our favorite cooking honey is by Royal Hawaiian Honey. The one we have right now is the Organic Christmas Berry. It's really smooth and does not burn your throat like some honey can. We are looking forward to trying the Lehua and Mac Nut Blossom soon.

Remove zest and ginger from the orange juice. Allow juice to cool to room temperature. Slowly add to sour cream, milk and vanilla. Whisk vigorously to make sure the sour cream is smooth. Chill the batter for 4 hours.

Turn on the mixer and slowly add the batter to the bowl. Allow to stir for 20 minutes.

Detail of texture when ready.

Pour ice cream into containers suitable for freezing and allow to set for at least 4 hours. When the center is solid, your ice cream is ready. Enjoy.