Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've made a slight change to the dessert menu for Super Bowl Sunday. Rather than serve sundaes, I've decided to make ice cream sandwiches using dulce de leche ice cream and chocolate wafer cookies. I think they'll make for easier clean-up and might actually be a better fit for our extremely casual menu. This is, hands down, one of the easiest and best ice creams I've ever made. It uses no sugar or eggs, and its sweetness comes from dulce de leche, a thick, caramel flavored sauce that is popular in Latin America. The canned sauce can be found in most large grocery stores, but it can also be made quite easily at home. Homemade versions of the sauce are the only available option for folks living in areas where dulce de leche is not available or is too expensive for them to purchase. The classic sauce is a mix of milk and sugar that is cooked and stirred for hours on end. The sauce that I use is much easier and can be made in one of two ways. Both begin with cans of sweetened condensed milk that are stripped of their paper labels. To make the stovetop version, you'll need to poke two small holes in the lid of a condensed milk can and place it, upright, in a heavy bottomed pot that's been filled with water that comes about a quarter of an inch below the top of the can. The milk is simmered in the can for 3 hours and during that time the water level is kept constant. The method I use is simpler still. I place the cans on their sides in a 5 quart crock-pot, cover them with hot water by at least an inch and cook them, covered, on HIGH power for eight hours. Whichever method you use, be careful when removing the cans from water. They are screeching hot and can cause severe burns. When the cans come to room temperature the sauce, which will be quite thick, is ready to use. It is dissolved in a mixture of milk and heavy cream and quick-chilled before being poured into an ice cream maker. I think you'll like this ice cream. It is delicious and nearly effortless to make. The recipe was originally developed by Mariana Crespo for Gourmet magazine. Here's how the ice cream is made.

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of Mariana Crespo

Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1-2/3 cups dulce de leche (store bought or homemade)
1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped pecans (2 1/2 to 3 oz), toasted

Directions:
1) Bring milk and cream just to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, then remove from heat and whisk in dulce de leche until dissolved. Whisk in vanilla and transfer to a metal bowl. Quick-chill by putting bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stirring occasionally until cold, 15 to 20 minutes.
2) Freeze mixture in ice cream maker until almost firm, then fold in pecans.
3) Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 1 hour. Yield: 1-1/2 quarts.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Dulce de Leche - David Lebovitz
Dulce de Leche - Cooking for Engineers
Mexican Chocolate Brownies - One Perfect Bite
Mexican Wedding Cookies - Stylish Cuisine
Mexican Hot Chocolate - Elana's Pantry
Dulce de Leche Liqueur Bundt Cake - The Daily Dish
Mexican Milk Chocolate Cake - Sugar Plum
Mexican Chocolate Cake - Bless Us O Lord
Simply Amazing Fried Ice Cream - $The Thrifty Couple in the Kitchen

Arroz con Pollo

Only serendipity can explain how this treasure made it from Latin America to my permanent recipe roster. About a decade ago I was asked to participate in a cooking demonstration for folks receiving food stamps. The dish, obviously, had to be inexpensive and easy to prepare, but I also wanted to come up with something that fell outside the pale of the usual "101 Ways to Cook" recipes. I was thumbing through an unfamiliar magazine looking for inspiration when I stumbled on this recipe by Sarah Jay. It is a no longer buried treasure, and that unfamiliar magazine went on to become a must read --- Fine Cooking. I've served this dish to friends and family for years now, and chances are if you've eaten at my table you've had this at least once. One caution - be sure to remove the skin from the chicken. While the bones help define the shape of chicken pieces, exposure to steam and stock will cause the skin to become limp and unappealing. Arroz con Pollo stole the show at the demonstration and it has remained a favorite of mine. All the ingredients are readily available and it is still inexpensive to prepare. I know you'll like this one. It's great family fare.

Arroz con Pollo

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil; more as needed
6 - 8 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs, liberally seasoned with salt and
pepper, then lightly dredged in flour
1/2 to 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, cut in 2-inch pieces
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium green or red bell pepper, cut in 1/2-inch dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon sweet smoked Spanish paprika(optional)
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 cup peeled, fresh or canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine or beer (optional)
1 bay leaf
2 cups medium-grain rice
2-1/4 cups chicken stock or water

Directions:
1) Saute chicken in a large (12-inch) skillet until golden on all sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a platter.
2) Saute sausage until browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer sausage to platter. Pour off and discard excess oil, leaving about 1 tablespoon in pan.
3) Saute onion, pepper, and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes. Return chicken and sausage to pan; add cumin, paprika (if using), chili powder, and turmeric, and cook for 1 minute, stirring to distribute spices. Add tomatoes, wine (if using), and bay leaf and cook for another 2 minutes.
4) Add rice and water. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the rice is done and liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Lightly toss mixture; let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.