Ice Cream Sandwiches for Everyone

Just in time for the warm weather weekend, my story on homemade ice cream sandwiches is up on Zester. I made them with coffee ice cream from Bay Burger. Coincidentally, and happily for those of you who would rather not make your own ice cream sandwiches, Bay Burger has just this week started selling their own house-made sandwiches.

Opening Night

After a quiet few months here in Sag Harbor, there is all of a sudden almost too much to do.
Bay Burger opened last night after a Winter break. We barely had time to play with their trademark Wikki Stixs before our food arrived and we devoured it. Then, it was on to the Watermill Center (no photography allowed, sorry!) to see what some of the artists in residence had been working on this Winter and were ready to perform for the community: A Butoh-inspired piece combining story and images from Little Red Riding Hood and The Red Shoes.

Liberry Ice Cream

I hope some of you had a chance to enjoy the Community Band, the cake from the IGA, and a special Bay Burger ice cream flavor, Liberry (strawberry ice cream with blackberry swirls), at John Jermain's 100th birthday celebration on the Custom House lawn today.

IGA Item of the Week

There's no excuse to put off training for Bay Burger's Labor Day event--the First Annual Lobster Roll Eating Contest--since the IGA has stocked their lobster tank for Memorial Day weekend.

Happy Day

Months ago my daughter imagined her ideal burger (bacon, sauteed onions, cheese), and yesterday it became a reality when Bay Burger opened for the season.

IGA Item of the Week

Bay Burger isn't the only place in town that grinds its own beef. Our IGA does it, too. I remember a nursery school field trip to the market, when one of the butchers took the whole class into the walk-in to show the children how it was done. Surprisingly, this demonstration did not give my child nightmares or turn her into a vegetarian.

I went out in the rain this weekend buy a few pounds of freshly ground beef, and made a big pot of chili.

Ground Beef and Bean Chili
Serves 8 to 10

Go ahead and make a full recipe. Leftovers freeze well in an airtight container for the next windy, rainy day.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cups finely chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 canned chipotle chili in adobo (or more to taste), finely chopped
6 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt
3 pounds ground round or ground sirloin
Two 24-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 cups water plus more if necessary
Three 15-ounce cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in th chipotle chili, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and 1 teaspoon salt.
2. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking up the beef with a wooden spoon, until it loses its pink color, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat, partially cover, and simmer until the chili is thickened, 1 to 2 hours, adding more water if it looks like it's drying out.
4. Stir in the beans, heat through, and serve.

New on my John Jermain Library list

This new book makes me want to run to the Variety Store (45 Main Street, 631-725-9706) to buy yarn for Milk Pail apples, ice cream from Bay Burger, sushi from Sen, and the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I just ate while watching Gossip Girl.

Typical Sunday

It was a typical Sunday here in Sag Harbor, full of small triumphs and disappointments. I woke up early to make a loaf of buttery white sandwich bread, and while the mixer was kneading my dough I received an e-mail from my brother-in-law in Vermont, with a photo of a Shelburne farm stand where crowds flock to buy cider doughnuts. Those doughnuts must be good, because I'm sure there hasn't been a crowd that big in Vermont since the Jonas Brothers played the Champlain Valley Exposition last summer. Hoping against hope that someone had opened up a cider doughnut stand on Main Street overnight, I headed out. Since the Hamptons International Film Festival has been going on all weekend, I was betting on seeing Sharon Stone (who was due to appear at the Bay Street Theater at 1:30) eating a doughnut. But I was disappointed. No doughnuts and the only movie star I've seen this weekend is Alec Baldwin. No offense Alec Baldwin, I think you are hilarious! But I've seen you so many times before on Main Street that I wonder if you are following me! I'm afraid the closest I got to a cider doughnut was a gallon of Milk Pail cider from Falkowski's (Scuttlehole Road and Millstone in Bridgehampton). It was almost 2:00 when I walked into the tasting room at Channing Daughters and felt my luck turn. They had not yet sold out of their newest release, a coppery-colored wine called Ramato that I knew would be perfect with my Thanksgiving turkey if only I could get my hands on some of it. On the way home, I saw that Bay Burger had some new Fall ice cream flavors, so I stopped to pick up a pint of pumpkin. When I sit down tonight to enjoy my bread and ice cream, secure in the knowledge that I'll have plenty of wine to drink on Thanksgiving day, I'll only feel a little bit sad that I never got my doughnut.

Tonight's Dessert

I’m having some friends over tonight for dinner, and look what I just pulled out of the oven for dessert: A peach tart with a super-simple cream cheese dough crust. I’ll serve it with small scoops of pistachio ice cream that I picked up at Bay Burger this morning. Here’s the recipe:

Peach Tart
Serves 6 to 8

For the crust:
½ cup (4 ounces) chilled cream cheese, cut into pieces
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into pieces
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

For the fruit:
3 medium peaches, peeled, pitted, and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
¼ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon ground ginger

1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons apricot preserves

1. Make the crust: Combine the cream cheese, butter, flour, ½ cup sugar, and salt in the workbowl of a food processor and process until the dough just comes together in a ball.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll the dough into an 11-inch round on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Use a 10-inch cake pan as a guide to trim it into a neat circle. Fold a ½-inch of the edge of the dough circle toward the center to create a rim to catch the peach juices. Slide the dough, still on the parchment, onto a baking sheet and freeze for at least 30 minutes or cover the baking sheet in plastic and freeze for up to 2 days.
3. Combine the peaches, lemon juice, ¼ cup sugar, and ginger in a bowl and let stand, stirring occasionally, to dissolve the sugar, about 10 minutes.
4. Arrange the peaches in 2 concentric circles on top of the dough. Brush the edge of the dough with the egg yolk. Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the crust is deep golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
5. Slide the tart, still on the parchment, onto a wire rack. Brush the peaches with the preserves. Let stand 15 minutes and serve warm, or cool completely and serve at room temperature.

IGA Item of the Week

Because I can't go to Bay Burger for Joe and Liza's Ice Cream every day of the summer, I keep a box of these delicious and reasonably sized Horizon certified organic ice cream bars from the IGA in my freezer.

Mayoral Candidates Unanimously Favor Ice Cream

Last night, Bay Burger (1742 Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike) hosted a Meet the Mayoral Candidates event. Jim Henry, Michael Bromberg, and Brian Gilbride clarified their positions on Havens Beach, the Bulova project, and more. There was no need to debate the excellent quality of Joe and Liza’s ice cream ("It's from the Hamptons, so you know it's rich"). My impatient children prevented me from sticking around to ask the speakers about their favorite flavor. Perhaps I’ll get my chance on June 7th at 3:30, when CONPOSH and the Sag Harbor Express sponsor another meeting at the Old Whaler’s Church.