5.18.2008

White Russian Sorbet

We graduate today. I should probably be packing my room right now, but I think I'm trying to evade the reality of leaving Penn by sitting on my couch, playing on my computer. It's my default mode. Of course, I'm excited! It's just that moving and saying goodbye can be so overwhelming! To relax, I've decided to blog the most smoothly calming dish that we made for our brunch (I promised there would be more to come): White Russian Sorbet.

Sorbet (!?) -- you might be thinking. How did they make sorbet without an ice cream machine? Well, we didn't! We got one! Well, Alex got one as a graduation present. And though we haven't fawned over it on the blog, it doesn't mean that we aren't extremely happy -- it's just been a bit busy around here. I'm slightly ashamed to confess that while this is the first ice-cream machine-made dish we are posting, it is not first dish we tried to make with it. On our first day with the machine, we attempted to make a lemon sorbet, but neglected to realize that you have to freeze the machine's container before making ice cream. We ended up with some very sweet and delicious slushies.

Once we figured out how to use it, however, we were pumped to try out this White Russian Sorbet recipe from Epicurious. The recipe called just enough alcohol to give the dessert a great kick, but not enough to be too noticeable. I feel like it may have just been beginner's luck, but it turned out incredibly well -- smooth, creamy, and calming like you'd eat some out of a martini glass on the beach. I'm not sure if you can really call it a sorbet since there's a bit of cream involved, but honestly, I'm not too concerned about technicalities when the taste is this good.

Happy graduation to all of our wonderful friends here! Please come eat our food in New York.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
3 1/2 tsp instant coffe
1 tbsp dark corn syrup
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup vodka
1/4 cup Kahlúa

Instructions:
Stir water and sugar in medium sauce pan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring to boil. Remove from heat. Add coffee powder and stir to dissolve. Pour into medium bowl. Mix in corn syrup, then whipping cream, vodka and Kahlúa. Refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours. Transfer sorbet mixture to ice cream maker; process according to machine's instructions. Transfer sorbet to container; cover and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.