Cherry Ice Cream with Chocolate Chips Recipe

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups pitted ripe sweet cherries (from about 3/4 lb cherries)
3/4 cup milk
1 3/4 cups cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 Tbsp crème de cassis, kirsch, cherry liqueur, or rum (optional)
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine, keep in freezer until used

Method

1 Put cherries, milk, one cup of the cream, sugar, and salt into a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat until the mixture is steamy, then lower the heat to warm and just let sit for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Pour mixture into a blender, or use an immersion blender, and carefully purée. (Careful because you are dealing with a hot liquid. Make sure you hold the cap down on the top of the blender while puréeing.)

2 Put mixture into a large bowl. Stir in the remaining 3/4 cup of cream. Chill for several hours in the refrigerator until completely cold. (Can also place bowl over an ice bath, to speed up the cooling process.)

3 Before putting the mixture into your ice cream maker, stir in the lemon juice and the crème de cassis or other liqueur (or rum) if you are using. Note that you can skip the alcohol if you want, but the addition of it will help the ice cream from getting too icy, and the flavored liqueurs such as kirsch or crème de cassis can add a nice flavor boost to the ice cream. Churn the ice cream in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

4 Once the ice cream has completed churning, the ice cream should be pretty soft. Gently fold in the finely chopped chocolate. Put in an airtight container and place in the freezer for at least an hour, preferably several hours.
Makes about one quart.

You can also try making this ice cream with yogurt instead of cream. Heat the cherries, sugar, salt, and milk first. Then let cool. Add 1 3/4 cup of full-fat yogurt and purée. Everything else is the same except no need to add lemon juice.

Berry Tart Recipe

Ingredients
Tart Crust1 cup all-purpose flour1/4 cup ground almonds or almond flour (can substitute regular flour)1 1/2 teaspoons sugar1/4 teaspoon salt1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes1/4 teaspoon almond extract4-6 Tbsp ice cold water
Filling1 cup (8 oz) mascarpone cheese1/3 cup cold heavy cream1/4 cup sugar1 1/3 cup raspberries1 1/3 cup blueberries1 1/3 cup strawberries - stems removed and quartered2 Tbsp orange marmalade2 Tbsp berry liqueur such as creme de cassis
Equipment needed: Food processor, a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom

Method
Pre-bake the Crust

1 In a food processor, combine flour, ground almonds, salt and sugar, pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse 6 to 8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add almond extract to 4 Tbsp of ice water, then add the almond water to the flour and pulse a few times to incorporate. Add ice water, one tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, until the dough begins to clump together. Remove the dough from the food processor and form into a ball onto a lightly floured surface. Shape the dough into a disc, 5-inches wide. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour.

2 Remove the dough disc from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle some flour on top of the disk. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12 inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, use a metal spatula to check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. Add a few sprinkles of flour if necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Carefully place dough into a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Gently press dough into pan; have the dough come up 1 1/2 inches up the sides of the tart pan. Put tart pan in the freezer for 30 minutes.

3 Preheat oven to 375°F. Take tart pan out of freezer and poke the bottom in several places with a fork. Line with aluminum foil, with enough extra foil off the two of the sides to use for lifting. Fill with pie weights - beans, ceramic or stainless pie weights. Place a shallow baking pan on the bottom rung of the oven to catch drippings. Put the tart pan in the oven on the middle rack. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and remove the pie weights. (I lift the hot beans out by holding on to the aluminum foil and place the foil and beans into a large bowl to cool before storing.) Return the tart pan to the oven for 10-15 more minutes - bake until lightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Assemble the tart
4 In a medium bowl, using a hand electric mixer or stand mixer, beat together the mascarpone, cream, and sugar at high speed until stiff peaks form, about 1 minute. Scoop mixture into tart crust, and spread so that it is level.

5 Combine marmalade and liqueur into a small saucepan and heat on medium heat until well mixed. If you are using a liqueur that is not sweet, you might want to add a teaspoon of sugar. Cook down to 3 Tbsp. Put berries into a bowl and pour the marmalade mixture over the berries. Use a large rubber spatula to gently mix the berries so they are all well coated with the marmalade mixture. Use a slotted spoon to lift up the berries from their bowl and place on the mascarpone cream.
Remove the rim of the tart pan before serving. (You may need to use a knife to gently separate the edges of the tart from the pan.)
Serves 8.

Note: The marmalade and liqueur mixture brings added sweetness, berry flavor, and citrus acidity to the tart. The acid from the citrus sharpens the flavor of the berries. If you don't have marmalade on hand, and don't want to buy some just for this recipe, you might try making a berry coating with sugar, water, and a little lemon juice and lemon zest.

Spicy Chicken Nuggets (Chicharrones de Pollo) Recipe

Ingredients
1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
Vegetable oil (canola oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil or other high smoke point oil)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika (hot or sweet)
Lime wedges
Hot sauce

Method

1 Prepare marinade, stirring together lime juice, rum, soy sauce, and sugar in a bowl until sugar has dissolved. Add the chicken to the marinade and let marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature (can marinate longer chilled, but allow to come to room temp for 30 minutes before cooking).

2 Pour enough oil in a skillet so that it comes up the sides at least a half an inch. Heat oil on medium high until it is shimmering, and a little pinch of flour sizzles when you drop it in the pan.

3 While the oil is heating, whisk together the flour, paprika, and salt in a bowl. Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture and transfer to a plate.

4 Fry the chicken in batches (about 3), about 3 minutes on each side, until deep golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. (If the chicken is browning too quickly, reduce the heat a bit). Remove to a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the excess oil.