Banana and Toffee Ice Cream Pie

prep: 1 hour
cook: 30 minutes
bake: 10 minutes
freeze: 4-5 hours

makes one 9-inch pie

for the ice cream you’ll need…
3 ripe bananas
2 cups whole milk, divided
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon conrnstarch
3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
⅛ teaspoon sea salt
1¼ cups heavy cream
⅔ cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces chopped English toffee, divided

for the pie crust you’ll need…
1¼ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch slices
1/4 cup cold solid vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
2 tablespoons cold vodka
2 tablespoons cold water

let’s get to it…
Puree the bananas in a food processor or blender until smooth; set aside.
Whisk 2 tablespoons milk and the cornstarch in small bowl; set aside. In medium bowl, whisk the cream cheese and salt until smooth; set aside. Fill a large bowl ice and water.
Boil the remaining milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup and vanilla in a large saucepan on medium high heat for 4-minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the milk and cornstarch mixture. Return to heat and boil for 1 minute until slightly thickened. Remove from heat.
Whisk the hot mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Whisk in the pureed bananas. Pour mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and seal tightly. Submerge into the ice and water and chill 30 minutes to 45 minutes.
Pour the chilled mixture into a frozen ice cream canister or machine and spin until thick and creamy. When thick and creamy, stir in half of the chopped English toffee. Spoon ice cream into a storage container, press a piece of parchment paper directly on the ice cream and freeze for at least 4 hours.
Mix half the flour and salt in a food processor for 2-seconds. Add the butter and shortening and pulse about 10 to 15 times or until dough looks like cottage cheese and there is no loose flour; scrape bowl. Add remaining flour and pulse 5 or 6 times.
Remove dough from food processor and place in a medium bowl. Sprinkle vodka and water over dough and fold until dough sticks together and all liquid is absorbed. Flatten dough into a 4-inch disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. (You’ll still be able to see little pieces of butter in the dough).
Move oven rack to the second lowest position. Heat oven to 450°F.
Dust rolling pin and work surface with flour. Remove dough disk from refrigerator. Roll dough in a circle to a uniform thickness (about ⅛-to-¼-inch thick), about 1-inch larger than an upside down 9-inch pie pan (or individual pie plates if using). Place rolled-out dough into pan and press gently into form of plate. Use excess dough to mend any sports or holes in dough. Prick the bottom and sides of the dough so you can “blind bake” the crust.*
Bake for 1o minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes.
Spoon ice cream onto cooled pie crust. Top with remaining chopped English Toffee. Return to freezer for 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

*Blind baking, also called pre-baking, is baking a crust without the filling. You do this when the filling has a shorter bake time than the crust. Also helps the crust from becoming soggy. You can prick the bottom and sides of the crust so it keeps its shape during baking. A better idea is to line the unbaked pie crust with foil or parchment paper and fill with pie-weights. Dried beans or lentils work well, too.

Raspberry Whipped Cream Puffs 

prep: 45 minutes
cook: 45 minutes

makes 8 to 10 4-inch puffs

for the Puffs you’ll need:
1 cup water
8 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs
¼ cup powdered sugar

for the Raspberry Cream you’ll need…
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons raspberry jam
2 pints fresh raspberries

let’s get to it…
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with anti-stick spray; set aside. Move oven racks oven center. Heat oven to 400°F.
Heat the water, butter and salt in a medium saucepan on medium-high heat until the butter melts; remove from heat. Add the flour all at once. Return to low heat and stir until the dough forms a ball. Remove from heat and let the dough cool for 5 minutes.
Stir the eggs into the dough one at a time until the mixture is glossy and smooth (I used an electric stand mixer to make the tough job go faster). Spoon the dough into large, rounded mounds, 2-inches apart. I used a ½ cup measuring cup so they would all be the same size.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the puffs are golden brown (they will sound hollow when tapped). Prick each with a skewer to let steam escape. Cool completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle evenly with powdered sugar. Slice off the tops and remove the centers; set aside.
Whip cream on medium high for 1-minute. Add raspberry jam and beat on high speed for 1 minute. Taste the whipped cream. Add more raspberry jam if desired. Continue beating whipped cream until stiff peaks form.
Spoon whipped cream evenly onto bottom of halved cream puffs. Top with 3 or 4 fresh raspberries. Replace tops and serve immediately.

Cook’s Tip: Wait to fill the puffs just before serving so they don’t get soggy!

Make it Fancy: Place a star tip on the end of pastry bag and fill with the Raspberry Whipped Cream. Fill the bottom half of the cream puffs and proceed as directed above.

Gorgonzola and Fig Mac and Cheese

prep: 10 minutes
cook: 15 minutes
bake: 10 minutes

you’ll need…
4 tablespoons butter, divided
¾ cup panko crumbs
¼ cup flour
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream or half-and-half
1 egg, beaten
4 ounces Gorgonzola cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
6 cups cooked rigatoni, penne or cellentani pasta
4 ounces fresh figs, cut into eighths and cut in half (reserve a few chopped figs for the topping)

let’s get to it…
Move oven rack to the center of oven. Spray a 2 quart casserole container or 6 oven-safe paper baking cups 6 oven-safe paper baking cups with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. Heat oven to 400°F.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add panko and stir for 1 to 2 minutes or until panko begins to brown; remove from heat and set aside.
Melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat in a large saucepan (big enough to hold the cooked pasta).
Stir in flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the flour loses its uncooked taste. Reduce heat to medium low and whisk in the milk, cream/half-and-half and beaten egg.
Whisk in gorgonzola and Parmesan cheeses. Remove sauce from heat and add cooked pasta, stirring gently with a large spoon or rubber spatula to coat the pasta. Gently fold in the cut figs.
Pour mixture into a 2-quart container and top with panko crumbs. If using baking cups, divide mixture and bread crumbs evenly between cups.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until hot and bubbly and the panko is golden brown. Remove from oven and top with the reserved chopped figs. Serve immediately.