Thursday, August 5, 2010

Orange Milk Sherbet

I only recently discovered my fondness for Orange Sherbet. I recall throughout my lifetime hearing others exclaim their love for the treat and disregarding them almost instantly. It was a chance encounter with a grocery store Orange Sherbet ice cream cake, something that I would normally overlook without a second thought. Soon, a small slice turned into a second and a third...an accompaniment to my breakfast cereal, an after school snack...until one day, it was gone. There was something undeniably nostalgic about the flavor that I just couldn't place. And then suddenly, I had it. I even called my sister from across the house to have a taste and confirm my suspicion. Orange Sherbet tasted oddly like...Fruity Pebbles. Yes, Fruity Pebbles: a childhood favorite from my pre-gourmet days. A flavor-memory that I still find hard to resist when it crosses my path. Definitely a guilty pleasure of mine.

Behold, my hand-churned orange sherbet. Now before you start thinking that you ought to be impressed...my decision to hand-churn the ice cream was based more on desperation than inspiration. I had prepared and chilled my rather impromptu sherbet mixture and was starting to assemble the ice cream maker attachment on my KitchenAid stand mixer when I realized that the adapter was missing. What ensued first was panic, then frustration, and finally...insanity.

My freezer bowl was already out and starting to condensate. I had to act quick. I grabbed the chilled mixture and poured it into the bowl. I hastily set the microwave timer to twenty minutes, grabbed the plastic churner and began to spin the bowl with my left hand, while my right hand clenched tightly onto the top of the churner. I tried my best to keep my knuckles away from the freezing mixture. The end result was light and slightly creamy, with the tiny ice crystals characteristic of a sherbet. Thanks to my unwavering will and endurance, the consistency is exactly what I expected to achieve if I had used the ice cream maker.


This orange sherbet is not so much the result of a recipe, but the outcome of trial and error. I'm so embarrassed by my method that I won't even attempt to post a recipe or instructions. I simply took a few scoops of vanilla ice cream (cheating? perhaps, but I told you this was very impromptu), a teaspoon and a half of vanilla, a splash of milk perhaps (I used soy), and enough orange juice concentrate to achieve the flavor you want.

Not really faithful to a real Sherbet at all I suppose, but it satisfied my (Fruity Pebble) craving.

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Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Vanilla & Orange Bavarian Custard

Ate at Va de Vi in Walnut Creek a few nights ago with my mom. The tapas style dishes were to die for, but it was the dessert sampler that truly made my nigh: miniature versions of the vanilla and orange bavarian custard, the huckleberry bread pudding, the profiteroles, and the Guittard chocolate souffle. Of course, due to the fact that the lighting in most restaurants is too dim for pictures decent enough for sharing, the only picture I have to offer is of the dessert we brought home for my sister to enjoy: a full size vanilla orange bavarian custard with caramelized bananas and brown butter cake.

Time is short, so today I regretfully leave you with little more than this picture.

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