Pistachio Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups shelled pistachio nuts
¾ cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cup whole milk
Pinch of salt
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
¾ cup pistachios, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Grind the 1 cups of pistachios in a food processor until finely ground, but not to a paste. Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, and salt, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Stir in the ground nuts. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep for at least 30 minutes.

3. Strain the warm nut mixture, pressing on the nuts to extract as much liquid as possible, and discard the solids. Return the milk and cream mixture to the saucepan. Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

4. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and add the cream once cooled. Add the vanilla extract and almond extract and stir until combined.

5. Refrigerate until cold. Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. Once finished churning, fold in the ¾ cup pistachios with a rubber spatula.

Banana Crepes & Cinnamon Coconut Sauce

Crepe Ingredients:

• ½ c milk, 3 eggs, ½ c flour, 2 T oil

Note: I always triple this recipe, because you can never have too many crepes.

Crepe Directions:

Beat eggs, add flour - beat. Add milk & oil last. Beat batter until smooth. Pour 3 tablespoons into a non greased pan, swirl pan until batter is thinly distributed, cook until golden brown.

Cinnamon Coconut Sauce Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup milk

• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk

• 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, or to taste (I used a lot more)

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed in 3 tablespoons coconut milk

Cinnamon Coconut Sauce Directions:

Bring the coconut cream and coconut milk to a boil. Stir in the cinnamon and sugar. Give the cornstarch and coconut milk mixture a quick re-stir. Add to the saucepan, stirring quickly to thicken.

Roll sliced bananas inside crepes. Warm in the oven for 10 minutes before serving. Pour sauce over and serve.

Chocolate Creme Pie

Ingredients (for two pies):

- 3 small packages of chocolate pudding (non-instant)

- 6 cups of whole milk

- 1 pt of heavy whipping cream

- 2 pie shells (shortbread or graham cracker)

- 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Total cook time - 30 minutes. Cooling time - 3-4 hrs

Directions-
First prepare the chocolate pudding. Follow the recipe on the box for pie filling (~25 minutes) - use the 6 cups of milk. After 5 minutes of cooling, pour into the pie shells. Fill until about 1/4 inch of shell remains. Let stand until cool to the touch (about 45 minutes). Cover with saran wrap by placing it right on top of the pudding to avoid condensation and an unappetizing skin forming on the pie. Replace plastic pie shell top and put in fridge for 3 hours. About 20 minutes before serving, pour the pint of heavy whipping cream into a large mixing bowl. Add 2-3 teaspoons of sugar (if unsure, start with 2 and taste when almost done). Add the vanilla extract and mix on high with a hand mixer until the cream is almost whipped completely. Taste and add more sugar if necessary. If not, whip until the correct consistency. Divide the cream over the two pies, serve, and enjoy!