May 6th, 2010
I’m going to take you on a short tour of some of the delvious treats I’ve enjoyed around the Mission in San Francisco. Sit back, enjoy, and don’t forget wipe the drool off your chin at the end of the post.
Dynamo Donuts
As you walk down 24th Street, it’s easy to get distracted by colorful produce markets and burrito shops. If you can keep your blinders on long enough to make it to the brown awning at 2760 24th, you will be rewarded with the perfect snack. Dynamo Donuts offers a handful of their flavors each day, ranging from delvious Lemon Thyme and Saffron Chocolate to unusual yet mouthwatering flavors like Banana de Leche and Caramel de Sel.
Fortunately, I knew which donut I would be ordering before I was faced with the daily menu: the Maple Glazed Bacon Apple. My friend chose a Coconut, and we walked back to a small park to enjoy the sunshine. Texturewise, my Maple Bacon was light and soft with the crunch of the glaze and the bacon. Tastewise, it was salty sweet perfection as with my peanut butter bacon cookies.
Humphry Slocombe
Next on my “to-eat” list was a cone from Humphry Slocombe, conveniently a few blocks away from Dynamo. We got in long line, knowing the wait would be worthwhile.
Once we finally made it to the front of the line and got a clear look at the day’s flavors (click here for a full list of their flavors), the staff generously tolerated my sample requests:
- Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee – I started with this non-delvious flavor because I cannot resist Vietnamese coffee and Blue Bottle makes darn good coffee. Incredibly tasty.
- McEvoy Olive Oil - I’ve heard good things about olive oil gelato so I’ve been curious to give it a try. Its smooth and fruity flavor was addicting enough that a scoop nearly ended up in my bowl.
- Salt and Pepper – Since I was here for delvious reasons, I obviously had to get a taste of the peppercorn-flecked white ice cream. The salt hit me pretty hard at first, but the flavor mellowed out to a subtly spicy sweetness that was quite pleasant. While it was infinitely better than I could have imagined, I couldn’t have polished off a whole scoop.
I was hoping to try the famous Boccalone Prosciutto ice cream to keep with the bacon theme, but it wasn’t an option that day. The Boccalone Lard Caramels were in stock so I picked one of those up instead.
After a few agonizing moments of decision-making, I decided on two of Humphry Slocombe’s most well-known flavors – Secret Breakfast (bourbon with cornflakes) and Jesus Juice (red wine and coke sorbet). The bourbon in the Secret Breakfast was potent but creamy, and my mouth waters when I think about the candied cornflakes embedded within it. It was getting to be a hot day, so the refreshing Jesus Juice hit the spot. Wine and coke are the ingredients in a popular Spanish drink called Kalimoxto, which really should be more common in the United States.
The Boccalone caramel was not as porky as I was expecting but the bacon-y flavor was definitely present in the soft buttery brown sugary candy.
I got to snag a few more tastes from my friends’ ice creams. I highly recommend the Balsamic Caramel and Peanut Butter Curry flavors as well.
Even though I was stuffed with sweets, I was sad to see the bottom of my bowl. I will be standing in that Humphry Slocombe line again soon. Very soon.
Does anyone have any great restaurant/cafe/bakery/etc suggestions for future Delvious reports?
4 Comments | In: Ice cream, Restaurants | tags: Bacon, donuts, dynamo donuts, Humphry Slocombe, Ice cream. | #
January 19th, 2010
I was very skeptical the first time I encountered black sesame in an Asian dessert. Sesame seeds belong on my bagels and possibly sprinkled on some orange chicken. But black sesame filled glutinous rice balls floating in a warm, almond-scented soup? For dessert?
My oh my, YES, for dessert. After tasting the toasty semi-sweet flavor oozing out of those rice balls, I was hooked on this truly delvious substance that is somewhat reminiscent of peanut butter. A few months later I went to get a crepe in San Francisco’s Japantown, only to learn that black sesame also comes in ice cream form. Replicating the glutinous rice balls myself seemed too daunting, but I felt like the ice cream could be attempted at home.
Recipe
The Internet provided me with only a handful of black sesame ice cream recipes to choose from. Some called for canned black sesame paste, others required toasting and grinding the seeds. Unable to find the pre-made paste, I conceded that freshly toasted seeds would taste better anyway. I decided to add extra seeds to my adaptation since I love the concentrated, intense flavor in the centers of those little rice balls.
Making ice cream at home will test your patience but is highly rewarding. Here are some tips:
- Temper the eggs carefully with the warmed cream before very slowly adding the tempered eggs into the saucepan. If you’re too hasty, you’ll get little bits of cooked egg.
- Strain the ice cream base no matter how careful you were. No one’s perfect, so chances are that some scrambled egg will show up regardless.
- Plan ahead so you can refrigerate the ice cream base overnight. The flavor will develop and a well-chilled base will result in more even freezing. Don’t forget to cover the liquid’s surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from developing and tampering with your otherwise perfectly textured ice cream.
- Toast the seeds to bring out their depth of flavor.
Black Sesame Ice Cream
Estimated time: 35 minutes, overnight prep required
Makes about 1.5 quarts
Ingredients
1 pint (2 cups) heavy whipping cream
1 pint (2 cups) half & half
3/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp black sesame seeds
Directions
1. Combine cream, half & half and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Stir often to prevent any scalding until mixture is warm, about 5 minutes.
2. Whisk egg yolks in a small bowl. Slowly add a ladle of the warm cream mixture to the egg to temper them. Repeat with one or two more ladles of cream.
3. Stirring continuously, slowly pour the tempered eggs into the saucepan with the rest of the cream. Increase the heat to medium. Continue stirring the mixture frequently until it has thickened and coats the back of the spoon (10-12 minutes).
4. Pour the ice cream base into airtight containers and cover the surface of the cream with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
5. The next day, pour the ice cream base into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer instructions. As the ice cream is churning, toast the black sesame seeds in a medium skillet over medium heat for 10-15 minutes until very fragrant, stirring often to prevent burning.
6. Reserve two tablespoons of the toasted seeds (to add texture), and process the rest in a food processor or spice grinder until it forms a paste.
7. Once the ice cream is nearly frozen, add the sesame paste and whole seeds. Continue churning until evenly incorporated.
8. The ice cream will be soft, so transfer into airtight containers and freeze until desired texture is reached.
A cooking mistake may not be the end of the world
I have a confession to make: I didn’t read the recipe very carefully and added 4 WHOLE eggs as opposed to 4 egg YOLKS. Oops. However, I did not realize this until I was typing up the recipe – I would have told you the ice cream came out perfectly. There are some cases where a mistake may be not be salvageable, but keep in mind that being flexible when you’re cooking might actually lead to something that is even more delicious than the original recipe. I will have to re-make this recipe with just yolks to see how it affects the texture and flavor.
Whether you use whole eggs or yolks, you MUST make this. With just five ingredients, it’s quite simple and deceivingly flavorful.
7 Comments | In: Dessert, Ice cream | tags: Asian dessert, black sesame, sesame seed. | #