Kulfi with Pistachios and Lavender

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Food for Sharing: Kulfi with Pistachios and Lavender Buds! Kulfi is a type of homemade ice cream popular in Southeast Asia and India. This “instant” version can be made in your very own kitchen without the cost or hassle of an ice cream maker. Flavored with pistachio nuts and a hint of lavender make it a delectable frozen dessert worth crowing about.

KULFI WITH PISTACHIOS AND LAVENDER BUDS

Ingredients:

10 ounces evaporated milk

1 cup heavy cream

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons cardamom

1/2 cup pistachios, chopped

1 teaspoon lavender buds, crushed

1 teaspoon lavender extract

Instructions:

Combine evaporated milk, heavy cream, and sweetened condensed milk. Blend until smooth. Add cardamom, pistachios, lavender buds, and lavender extract. Stir. Pour into bouchon molds, fluted pan, or popsicle molds. Freeze overnight. Before serving, dip the molds in warm water. Invert kulfi onto a dessert plate. Garnish with crushed pistachios.

German Chocolate Brownies

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Food for Sharing: German Chocolate Brownies! Take a journey to the Land of Chocolate. It’s a place where milkshakes are thick and creamy and go down easy. You can nibble on chocolate chip cookies for breakfast, candy bars for lunch, and dark chocolate cake as a bedtime snack. No calories exist because chocolate is good for you! Wouldn’t that be lovely? It would be Paradise, in my opinion. Today’s recipe requires a little more self-control than that. You can do this!

GERMAN CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

Ingredients for Crust:

1 box devil’s food chocolate cake mix

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 egg

Ingredients for Filling:

14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 egg

1 cup pecans, chopped

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9″x13″ pan with foil. Lightly spray with nonstick oil. Mix together chocolate cake mix, melted butter, and egg. Press into the bottom of the pan. Bake 7 minutes. Remove from oven. For the filling, combine sweetened condensed milk, almond extract, egg, pecans, and coconut. Mix well. Pour over chocolate crust, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips. Bake 25 minutes or until top is golden brown. Remove from oven; cool. Cut into brownie squares.

Vietnamese Iced Coffee

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Be Our Guest: Vietnamese Iced Coffee! It isn’t often I feature a beverage, but I realized from time to time you may have the desire to try something different there as well. Years ago my friend, Yen, shared her family recipe for incredible Vietnamese iced coffee. She went one step further and supplied me with everything I would need to make it, including the single serving Vietnamese coffee filter set. The results were glorious!

VIETNAMESE ICED COFFEE

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons dark roast ground coffee (preferably Trung Nguyen Premium Blend and Café Du Monde Coffee with Chicory*)

1 cup boiling water

2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

Instructions:

Bring the water to a boil. Remove the top screen from filter. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons Vietnamese coffee grounds plus 1/2 tablespoon coffee with chicory. Screw on top screen. Place filter over a heatproof glass measuring cup. Begin with a splash of boiling water into the filter. Coffee grounds will bloom. As the coffee begins to drip through, fill boiling water to top of filter. Place lid on filter and let coffee drip for 4 minutes. If the dripping stops, gently loosen screw to relieve pressure. Stir in sweetened condensed milk. Pour over ice and serve.

* I receive no recompense for mentioning Trung Nguyen Premium Blend and Café Du Monde Coffee with Chicory.