Fall Flavor of the Week: Caramel Coconut Pie

 

   So, the leaves haven't deepened to their rustic hues and the temperature still has not dipped to those crisper, I-love-this-weather-so-all-my-windows-are-open-kind-of-days yet. But here at Shireshack, we like to think it has, and Fall it gloriously lingering just over the hills.
   When this season annually arrives, an array of desserts appears that we just don't see in any other part of the year. What I anticipate so eagerly are the pies. OH, the Pies! And the Thighs!
   Pies can be done so many different ways, and are truly inspiring. I am a firm believer in the nostalgic and believe we, as humans, are always trying to return to our childhoods. So, I use things from my earlier years, things that brought me joy and fond memories at the table with my family, as inspiration for my ice creams.
   My mother used to make this ice cream pie for my brother's birthdays; it was his favorite. We were not versed in the art of ice cream making then, so she simply used store-bought vanilla ice cream, let it soften, mixed it with cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk; topped it with coconut and caramel. It was a pie. It was childhood. It was ridiculous. It was good.
   Thus, with the colloquialism of the Shirey Brothers, we resurrected a childhood favorite, and froze it; and Caramel Coconut Pie ice cream was born.

Caramel Coconut Pie - perfectly toasted coconut ice cream ribboned with caramel and cinnamon-graham cracker crust and studded with fudge covered pecans

   I recently purchased a book. A magical book. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home. Slap me on the butt and call me, Charlie! Jeni knows what she's doing. And what she's doing is right.
   So, Jeni does not use eggs in her ice cream like I do. At first I eyed her with skepticism. But that quickly changed when I began to read about why she did what she did, and completely shattered when I tried her method for myself.
   Jeni uses science to make her ice cream perfect. And perfect it is (though I haven't exactly tried it yet, only tried her method). By brother in NYC has tried the real thing, and said it was fantastic. See, in NYC they have all the latest trends. Here in Tuscaloosa we have last year's trends.
   So, this new method uses milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup, cream cheese, and corn starch. Jeni had my same views of Today's ice creams being too sweet, so she reduces the sugar amount. The corn syrup is a way to sweeten the ice cream with less sugary strength. I thought the cream cheese was crazy because it would give the ice cream a cheesecake flavor. But the amount is minimal, and instead it acts as a major emulsifier. The hero is the cornstarch. Corn starch acts as a water shepherd. When it is added it forces any stray water in the mixture to bind with itself, and therefore eliminates all chances for that water to turn into icy particles. How neat is that?
   That's pretty neat.


 

   The process began by toasting coconut in the oven until it golden tipped and its fragrant aroma filled my apartment. That's the best air freshener. I then steeped the coconut into the hot milk and cream for thirty minutes. This allowed the milk to wick out the flavor of the toasted coconut, leaving me with a slightly tan, coconut milk-cream. I could have stopped there and I know everyone would have still been satisfied with the taste.
   But I didn't.
   I strained most of the coconut out before I put it into the ice cream maker. I wasn't successful in straining all of it out, but I thought that the sparsely populated strands would be little flavorful presents for those lucky enough to find them in their pint.
   My new experimental way of making the ice cream turned out far better than I ever expected. If Jeni uses it in her ice creams, then I knew it was good enough for me. The texture and consistency was perfect, better than any store-bought or scoop shop ice cream I've had. It was creamy and smooth and no trace of ice could be found.

   It seems as though I have finally got my foot on my arch-nemesis, Isie. But that does not mean I will let up. I must press on to other flavors, unknown, and untested. Happy Eating and Happy Fall.

 
-Reese O'Shirey, Esquire

Flavor review: Ben&Jerry's Dulce Delish

   My quest for gourmet ice creams brought me once again to the doorstep of Ben&Jerry's wide world of flavors. I have come to terms with the fact that B&J use caramel in every other flavor they produce, you should too because it is really good caramel.

Dulce Delish - Rich Caramel Ice Cream with Dark Caramel Swirls.

   The base: Dulce Delish is a play on words for dulce de leche, a typical move made by B&J to spice up the experience. The caramel base that paved the backdrop for this flavor was deep, rich, dark, and mysterious. It was like a curtain blocking the view of the whole picture. I kept trying to pull it back, but it obstinately refused to move. Thus, I was left with a caramel base that tasted burnt, bordering the precarious line between tasty caramel and creme brulee. I am no advocate of burnt caramel (I've burned caramel, and it ruins the flavor). This turned me off a bit. It was not bad overall, but if it had been a normally cooked caramel base, then the flavor would have been luscious instead of "rich".
   However, a major plus to counteract the sub-par flavor was its extreme creaminess. Caramel, because of how thick and syrupy it becomes when cooked, creates a thicker ice cream than other variations of flavor.

   The swirl: the swirl was better than the ice cream. Though described as "dark" in the description, it did not taste as burnt as the base did. It had dark color, and huge flavor. It tasted tantamount to those chewy, square caramel candies found in individually wrapped plastics in those gold bags in Walmart candy isles.  I've always liked those candies, and this ice cream brought me back to those days of scoffing them down by the handful.

   Not my favorite B&J flavor, but it was not bad. I would have tweaked the taste a bit. When I venture upon Haagen Dazs' version of Dulce de Leche, then I will consume it, and compare the two. Thanks for reading. I will press on with my quest for gourmet ice creams, testing out the flavors of your local market so that you can boldly approach the ice cream isle, and confidently choose an approved flavor.




-Reese O'Shirey Esq.