Rosie Makes Homesick Texan's Mexican Coffee Ice Cream Pie.

Every now and then,

I see a recipe I MUST recreate.

Such was the case when I read Homesick Texan's

recipe for Mexican Coffee Ice Cream Pie.
I HAD to make this.

I can't think of enough superlatives to describe this.

 It is, quite simply, To.Die.For.

There are three glorious layers.

The crust is a buttery chocolate and graham cracker confection.

There's coffee ice cream in the center,

accented with cinnamon and orange zest.

The topping is whipped cream
 with dark chocolate gratings over top.

Many thanks to Lisa Fain,
 of Homesick Texan,

for the recipe.

Chocolate and Graham Cracker Crust

1 package graham crackers, crushed

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1 stick butter, melted

Heat oven to 350°.

Grease a 9-inch pie pan.

Mix the crushed crackers, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Stir in melted butter.

Pat evenly into prepared pan.

Bake 7 minutes and cool for 30 minutes.

Next, I made the Mexican Coffee Ice Cream.

Mexican Coffee Ice Cream

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, room temperature

1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup brewed strong coffee (espresso or dark roast)

1 tsp freshly grated orange zest

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients in a blender.

Pour into cooled crust.  

Cover and freeze overnight, or at least 8 hours.

You like Mr. Hawthorne's new blinky toy?

I left my pie in the freezer overnight,

since I didn't start this until afternoon.

For the topping, I'm making whipped cream.

Whipped Cream Topping

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla 

2 tsp sugar

pinch of cinnamon

dark chocolate, shaved or grated

Whenever I whip cream,

I always place the bowl and beaters in the freezer

for about 30 minutes.

Also, I used 3 TB sugar.

And probably 2 tsps vanilla, because I like it.

Whipped cream is ready to plop on pie.
Use an offset spatula to smooth out ice cream.

I realized at the last minute ...

 well, actually a few seconds after the last minute, 

that I was grating unsweetened chocolate over the top.

  I'd pulled the wrong bar out. 

 I switched to a dark chocolate midnight reverie.

This was nothing short of amazing.

Another trust Rosie moment.

Here's the recipe so you can cut and paste and make this, which I certainly urge you to do.

Mexican Coffee Ice Cream Pie

Chocolate and Graham Cracker Crust

1 package graham crackers, crushed

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1 stick butter, melted

Heat oven to 350°.

Grease a 9-inch pie pan.

Mix the crushed crackers, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Stir in melted butter.

Pat evenly into prepared pan.

Bake 7 minutes and cool for 30 minutes.

Mexican Coffee Ice Cream

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, room temperature

1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup brewed strong coffee (espresso or dark roast)

1 tsp freshly grated orange zest

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients in a blender.

Pour into cooled crust.  

Cover and freeze overnight, or at least 8 hours.

Whipped Cream Topping

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla 

2 tsp sugar

pinch of cinnamon

dark chocolate, shaved or grated

Whenever I whip cream,

I always place the bowl and beaters in the freezer

for about 30 minutes.

Also, I used 3-4 TB sugar.

And probably 2 tsp vanilla, because I like it.

Rosie Is Published!

Please check out my October column

in the Outer Banks Voice.

Rosie Brings Some Pretty Inside.

I love my fall roses.

I had to bring the pretty inside.

Please enjoy Rosie's roses.

Rosie Makes Cannoli.

Not long ago, I made my version of a "comfort food."

It was pasta shells stuffed with ricotta,  grated mozzarella and Parmesan,  parsley, and basil.

I'd bought a 2-pound container of ricotta and still had 1 pound left.

What to make?


Of course, my brain went straight to cannoli.
Last time I made cannoli, I went with a coffee/mocha filling with chocolate and hazelnuts.
I wanted something a little different this time, so I'm going with maraschino cherries, toasted almonds,
and homemade candied orange peel.

Rosie Tip:  Allow the ricotta to drain, covered and refrigerated, in a cheesecloth-lined sieve overnight, to remove excess moisture. Press down occasionally or put a weight on top.

Candied Orange Peel

3 oranges

1 cup sugar

Remove the skin off your oranges, being careful not to get any of the pith.

Place in a sauce pan and cover with cold water.

Set on high heat and bring to a boil.

Drain.

Repeat two more times with fresh water.

Pour sugar into a clean saucepan with 1 1/2 cups water.

Stir to combine.

Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved.

Add orange strips to the boiling syrup, reduce heat to low, and simmer until strips are translucent,

about 12 minutes.

Remove from heat and let strips cool in syrup.

Chop up the peel.

What you don't use on your cannoli will be quite good on your breakfast toast.

Chop the cherries.

 
 Now, let's make the cannoli shells.
 

 Makes about 2 dozen.
For the dough:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp kosher salt
4 TB unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
5 TB red wine
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 egg white, lightly beaten
Oil, for frying (I used peanut oil.)

Whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.  Rub in butter with fingers until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.  Add in wine and 2 eggs and mix until a dough forms.  Transfer dough to lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 10 minutes.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for one hour.


Divide dough into quarters and, working with one quarter at a time, pass it through the widest setting on your pasta maker.  Run it through again at that setting starting with the opposite end of the dough. Decrease the setting by one level and repeat until about 1/16" thick.  Using a 4-inch round cutter, cut circles out and transfer to parchment paper.  Repeat with remaining dough.


Wrap a dough circle around each cannoli tube and brush edges with egg white to seal.


Pour oil in a large pan and heat over medium high until 350°.  Working in batches, so as not to lower the temperature of the oil, fry the cannoli until light brown and crisp, 60-90 seconds.  Drain on paper towels.  While still hot, carefully remove the cannoli tube and let cool before wrapping the next dough circle around it.  Let cannoli shells cool completely before filling.

Now for the filling.

 For the filling:
1 lb. ricotta, drained overnight in a cheesecloth-lined strainer
3/4 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp orange zest
Maraschino cherries, chopped,
Candied orange peel strips, chopped
Toasted almonds, chopped

Combine ricotta, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and orange zest.  Whisk until smooth.  Pipe mixture into cannoli shells from each end to fill. Garnish each end with chopped cherries, chopped candied orange, and toasted almonds.

Marinated And Grilled Chicken Thighs For Lunch.

 Mr. Hawthorne and I went to Foodlion the other day

and came home with on-sale boneless chicken thighs.

I buy no meat that is not on sale.

Call it aged, if you will.

I made a marinade for the thighs
and Youngest Hawthorne had the grilling honors.

Rosie's Marinade

2 shallots

1 garlic clove

Juice and zest of one lime

1 TB soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup sriracha sauce

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup oil

Purée shallots and garlic.

Add in rest of ingredients and mix well.

Pour into a large storage bag and add in chicken.

Refrigerate for at least an hour,

massaging occasionally and turning the meat.

I let the thighs bathe for 4 hours.

I was busy doing other stuff.

Zippy marinade.

Into a baggie in a bowl.

Can never be too careful.

Youngest Hawthorne expertly grilled these.
There's just something about grilled meat.
Love that flavor!

Serve with chopped peanuts and cilantro.
Delightful!

Excellent meal.

Meat was moist and flavorful.

Marinade went throughout meat.

Loved the peanuts and cilantro.

Use parsley if you're in the anti-cilantro camp.