You probably ate a lot of food this Fourth of July. We're not judging. We did the same thing. But while you were gorging yourself on hot dogs and that questionably warm potato salad, we made a dessert that's sort of nutritious, but more important, guaranteed to make the youngest members at the next family barbecue squeal. Plus, it'll freak out our crazy aunt.
One of the Observer advertising reps came over to the dark side of the editorial department last week with a batch of homemade ice cream for us to sample, but we were a little nervous when he told us the flavor: Peach and calamari.
Even though squid ice cream is a big thing in Japan, we're not big fans of combining sea creatures and desserts, but we tasted it and actually agreed it was pretty good. Some of us agreed the calamari could have been saltier, but the overall taste was good. If you added a dash of salt before throwing the mixture in an ice cream maker, that would punch up the salt-to-sugar ratio. The rep shared the recipe with us, so learn how to make peach and calamari ice cream after the jump.
Peach and Calamari Ice Cream Adapted from The Neelys Homemade Peach Ice Cream recipe on foodnetwork.com.
Ingredients 2 16-ounce cans of peaches in heavy syrup, chopped 1 cup coarsely chopped calamari 1 cup sugar 4 ounces sour cream 1 pint of heavy cream 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Tools You May Need To Buy At Target Ice Cream Maker Immersion Blender (substitute with food processor if you have one of those)
Directions Note: Make sure to put the insert for the ice cream maker in the freezer a few hours before making ice cream, unless you have a commercial ice cream maker or one of those fancy ones that doesn't have an insert.
Place chopped calamari in a pot of boiling water and let boil for 10 minutes. While the calamari's cooking, chop the canned peaches and put into a saucepan (with syrup). Cook the peaches over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until tender.
When the peaches are cooked, drain them and place in a large bowl. Drain the calamari when cooked and place in the same bowl. Then add the cup of sugar and wait for the mixture to cool to room temperature. Take a cigarette break and watch Sandra Lee make her effing giant Red, White and Blue trifle. Smile with the knowledge that your ice cream is much more American.
After your break, it's time to add the sour cream, heavy cream, lemon juice and vanilla extract, so do that. Now. Get your immersion blender ready because it's time to blend that calamari-peachy goodness up. Just get all the ingredients mixed well, but remember you're not making soup.
Get the insert for the ice cream maker out of the freezer, and get that machine plugged in. Pour in the creamy concoction and follow the instructions on your ice cream maker to churn out delicious, sweet seafood goodness. Freeze the ice cream and bring it to your family picnic, wedding or bar mitzvah.
