Caramelized Honeycomb Ice Cream

My friend Christine and I took our annual gorgefest stuffing of the faces eat all the things road trip up to Portland, ME on Labor Day and hit all our usual spots.  First was The Holy Donut for their Maine potato donuts.  Here we have the sweet potato ginger glazed, sea salt chocolate, pomegranate, maple bacon, fresh lemon, and triple berry flavors.  I think my favorite was the maple bacon.

Then on to Eventide Oysters for their brown butter lobster rolls (which I've tried to recreate).  We also tried the salmon poke this time, which I thought was prettier than it tasted.

Since it was such a beautiful day, and we had some time before dinner, we took the ferry over to Peaks Island to see if there was anything interesting there.  There wasn't.  But Christine did find this awesome piece of sea glass there!

After dinner at Duck Fat, we decided to grab some dessert from The Honey Paw, a new fusion restaurant next door to Eventide.  We tried the caramelized honeycomb soft serve with magic shell and honeycomb candy.

It might have been the best thing we ate that day and is definitely going on our to-eat list for future trips!

I tried to recreate it at home using one of Jeni's recipes as a guide, but I wasn't able to get that pure honey flavor that was the reason I loved the original version.  But then I realized it reminded me of Toscanini's burnt caramel ice cream, which is a very, very good thing.  I also liked how the honeycomb candy--also made with one of Jeni's recipes--added a unique texture when layered in with the ice cream.

Caramelized Honeycomb Ice Cream (adapted from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home)
makes about 1 quart

For the honeycomb candy:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup corn syrup
1 tablespoon baking soda

Bring the sugar, water, honey, and corn syrup to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  When it reaches 300°F, remove from heat and stir in the baking soda.  Pour into a parchment-lined baking sheet and let cool.  Break into small pieces.  You'll only need about half the amount that this recipe makes for the ice cream, but it's great eaten on its own or coated with chocolate.  Store in an airtight container.

For the ice cream:
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup honey
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Make a slurry with the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of the milk and set aside.  Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.

Caramelize the honey in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Stir in about 1/4 of the cream to loosen it up and then stir in the rest of the cream.  Add the remaining milk and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Boil for 4 minutes, then whisk in the cornstarch slurry.  Bring the mixture back to a boil and cook until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.

Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth.  Chill the mixture in an ice bath or in the refrigerator until cold.

Churn according to your ice cream maker's instructions.  Pack the ice cream into a storage container, mixing in the honeycomb candy as you go.  Freeze in your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

Next:  Soy Garlic Glazed Korean Fried Cauliflower
Previously:  Macau-Style Portuguese Chicken Rice
Two Years Ago:  Ginger Scallion Lobster Buns
Three Years Ago:  Ramen Lobster Rolls

Mini Homemade Pretzel Dogs

My church held their second annual Highrocktoberfest last week and asked me if I could provide some snacks again.  Last year there was a competition for best cornbread, which I won with my Elote-Style Cornbread Waffles.  This year there was no such competition; I was just told to make something that would go well with beer.  Since I'm not a big beer drinker I wasn't really sure what that would be, but then I took inspiration from the fact that this was a riff on the German Oktoberfest. What could be more German than sausage and pretzel?

I pretty much followed Alton Brown's soft pretzel recipe but decided to skip the salt in the pretzel dough since the sausage would provide enough salt.  I also threw in some diastatic malt powder since I had a lot left over from making croissants.  You can use cocktail weiners for this, but I was able to find mini kielbasa sausages at my grocery store so I went with those.  And instead of buying pretzel salt, I just used a flaky sea salt.  I wouldn't suggest using regular table salt for the topping, and even regular kosher salt might be too fine.

Mini Homemade Pretzel Dogs
makes about 48 dogs

2 1/4 cups warm water (about 110-115°F)
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3 3/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
33 oz. (about 6 3/4 cups) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon diastatic malt powder (optional)
3 oz. butter, melted
48 cocktail weiners or mini sausages
2/3 cups baking soda
1 large egg
Pretzel or flaky sea salt

Mix the water and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, then sprinkle on the yeast.  Let sit for about 5 minutes until foamy.

Add the flour, malt powder (if using), and melted butter and mix to combine on low using the dough hook.  Once the dough comes together, adjust the speed to medium and knead for 5 minutes.  Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot until doubled, about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Divide the dough in half, then each half in half, each quarter in half, and each eighth in half.  You'll end up with 16 pieces of dough.  Divide each of these pieces into thirds so you end up with 48 pieces of dough.  One at a time, roll the dough into a long snake about 9" long.  Starting at one end, wrap the dough around a weiner until it is completely encapsulated, sealing the ends.  If you have leftover dough, just pinch it off and reserve*.

In a large pot, mix the baking soda with 10 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Working in batches, add the pretzel dogs to the boiling water and cook for 30 seconds.  Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a parchment or Silpat-lined baking sheet, 1" apart from each other.

Beat the egg with a tablespoon of water.  Brush each of the pretzel dogs with the egg wash and sprinkle with the salt.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, until dark golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack.  Serve with honey mustard dip (recipe below).

*If you have enough extra dough, you can try making some traditional pretzels!

Honey Mustard Dip
makes 1 1/2 cups

1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup mustard (I used a mix of yellow mustard and whole grain mustard)
1/4 cup honey

Mix together and serve with the pretzel dogs.

I made this dip to go with the pretzel dogs, but after all those were gone, they put out hard pretzels to snack on and it went really well with those too!

Next:  Pad Thai
Previously:  Pasta con le Sarde
Last Year:  Mochi Donuts and Pon de Rings
Two Years Ago:  Bahian Style Moqueca (Brazilian Fish Stew)
Three Years Ago:  Magical Cold Brew Coffee