Coffee chip ice cream

 



 

 

Besides the many fond memories and the result of some shopping sprees that we brought back from our vacation, there is another very tangible reminder of our trip to the US: my kids' English. As much as I love to see my kids flipping through childrens' classics and looking at their impossibly cute new Converse, the thing that really makes my heart soar is hearing them speaking to me in English.

 

It is strange and sometimes hard to watch my own flesh and blood speaking (and gesticulating) in a language that is not my mothertongue; when the music and songs of their childhood are not the ones I grew up with; when their passport is another color than mine, when they say "Mommy, your flag" whenever they see an American flag.

 



 

 

Naturally, I have been reading to them in English since they were babies and every time I go to the States I expand our collection of American and English classics. I taught them the songs of my childhood and showed how to make an itsy bitsy spider with their hands. We have fun, if very muted versions of Halloween and Thanksgiving at home and they are learning that it is important to Mommy that the American flag is "our" flag and not just mine. But I realize, as much as I try to teach them about my American (and German) heritage, that they are ultimately Italian kids. That now that they are in school, they share songs and stories with their friends and are forgetting the words to The Wheels on the Bus. That my daughter is learning to read, write, add and subtract in Italian and that she will automatically count in Italian for the rest of her life, even if she becomes fluent in English, just as I still count in English, even now that my Italian has probably surpassed my mothertongue.

 

I know from experience this is a good thing, even if it may not sound like it reading this, because it is not always fun being the odd-one-out wherever you are. It is good to feel like you belong, that you are just like everyone else, especially when you are a child. But I can't help feeling a little pang when they call me mamma.

 

Since we have gotten back, however, when we sit around our kitchen table, I am no longer the only one speaking English. I love the sound of it, I love every mistake and mispronunciation, when my son says "Kepach" instead of ketchup and my daughter says "don't can" instead of can't. Yesterday my little boy said "Mommy, I want to go into the pool con you" and I was in so fast even he couldn't believe it. On Saturday morning I heard giggles and shouts of "one for the money, two for the show" (where the heck did that come from by the way???) from the living room and I smiled while I was making ice cream. For now F is Daddy instead of me being mamma. I know it won't last, but I will enjoy every minute of it until it does. And in the end, it will all turn out all right. I am sure my kids will be a wonderful mix of all the good things our two countries have to offer because they are lucky enough to have the best of both worlds.

 

 

Oh, about the ice cream I mentioned...

Of course the first thing I had to do as soon as I got back was pull out my latest favorite cooking gadget, my ice cream machine. I had been dreaming about making coffee ice cream studded with tiny nuggets of chocolate. Not too sweet, not too strong.

 

I found the recipe I wanted on Foodgawker. I had to make a variation because I did not have instant espresso and used two cups (espresso-sized cups) of espresso instead. The result was perfect flavorwise but less creamy than I was hoping. I am thinking that half a cup of coffee may be a little too much if you want to keep the base really creamy. Next time I will try using only 1 espresso cup plus the indicated amount of instant espresso. The custard in itself is actually very creamy: I used the same base to make an ice cream for the kids (that I will be telling you about soon) and it was perfectly creamy.

 

Ingredients (1 quart)

1½ cups heavy cream

1½ cups whole milk
3 egg yolks
2 eggs
½ cup sugar
2 cups (espresso-sized cups!) espresso* 

1 tsp instant espresso
5 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped finely

Make the espresso and dissolve the instant espresso into it. 

In a mixing stand, whisk together eggs, yolks and sugar until pale yellow. In a heavy-based saucepan, heat the milk and cream until almost boiling and turn off heat. With the mixer running on medium speed drizzle in ½ of the hot milk/cream into the egg mixture to temper it. Then pour mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk/cream.

On medium low heat, stir constantly until the consistency is thick enough to coat the back of a spatula/spoon. Take off heat, mix in the espresso and let cool until you can put it into the fridge. When the custard has completely chilled in the fridge, pour into the bowl of your ice cream machine and churn following instructions. In the meantime, finely chop the chocolate. When the ice cream is ready, after about 15-20 minutes, mix in the chocolate chips and pour into a freezer container to continue the freezing process.

 

*If you are only reading the recipe, see paragraph above ingredients for possible variations.