Black Tea Syrup

6 bags black tea
2 cups water
2 cups sugar

Brew 4 bags of black tea (or 4 servings if you choose to use loose tea and an infuser) to 2 cups of water.  Once the tea has been steeped combine the black tea with two cups of sugar in a pot, over medium heat until sugar dissolves (to make a tea based simple syrup).  Reduce liquid on simmer until the syrup thickens a little and coats the back of a spoon.  Remember that the syrup will thicken further as it cools.

Cover and refrigerate.

Rose Panna Cotta

I will just start out by saying I love black tea.  I'm a little bit obsessed.  Not in the traditional sense where I drink a lot of it, but I love the smell.

Red Rose Panna Cotta with Black Tea Syrup
(Makes 4 servings)

2 cups milk
1/2 cup  heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
6 drops vanilla extract
2 packets gelatin
3 tbsp water
tiny pinch of salt
three red roses*

To remove petals from roses easily you can grasp the head of the rose and gently twist.  The rose petals should come free.  Wash the rose petals in a bowl of cool to luke-warm water, but be careful it's not too hot or the oils from the rose will release into the water. 

*A note on the roses.  You should use the most pungent red roses you can find.  You're free to use any color rose you prefer but the stronger the scent the more that scent will come across in the finished product and that's what makes this dessert special.  You should also always be careful to use organic roses.  Buying roses from a garden store or a food mart it's impossible to know what they've been sprayed with.  No one wants to eat pesticides.  By buying organic you're ensuring no chemical pesticides have been used on the roses, and thus will avoid ingesting them.  The same goes for picking roses.  Always avoid anything that might have been sprayed.

Prepare four ramekins by using a paper towel, napkin, or oil mister to grease the inside of the glass.  This will help make the finished Panna Cottas easier to remove.  I use almond oil for this, because it's not a strong flavor and contributes to the dessert rather than overwhelms it.  That's why olive oil isn't a good choice for this, but you can also use another light oil like safflower.

Combine the petals and the milk in a blender and liquefy.  If you're making this with red roses (as you totally should be) it will turn a deep purple-pink color.  Blend on puree or liquefy until the bits of rose are very tiny.  Combine the rose milk with the heavy cream and put in a pot over medium heat.  Heating the rose-milk-cream mixture to lukewarm will help bring out more of the roses' scent, especially into the cream.

In a wide bottomed bowl (or I like to use my large quart sized measuring cup) put 3 tablespoons of water.  Sprinkle in 2 and a half teaspoons of gelatin over the water.  This is approximately a packet and a fourth of a second packet.  It's best to measure this out, as the texture of a good Panna Cotta is tricky.  If it's too firm it will taste mealy and ruin the texture.  Too little and, well, you'll have rose-flavored slime.  No one wants to eat slime, no matter how good it tastes or smells.

Okay, I'm sure some little kids out there would love it.

Back to the point.  You may find you prefer another ratio, this is just the one I like for my Panna Cotta.

If there's a lot of gelatin left that doesn't look wet you can lightly dampen your fingers under the faucet and fleck water drops on top to dampen the still-dry gelatin powder.  If you haven't worked with gelatin before I'll warn you now not to stir it at this point.  The gelatin will just clump and become a nightmare to dissolve.  Just leave it to sit and absorb the water.

You should be careful of the cream-milk mixture, you want it hot but not boiling.  Once it's somewhere between like warm and hot add the sugar until it dissolves.  Be sure to stir it while it's cooking so the milk and cream at the bottom don't scald.  Once it's hot pour it through a small-mesh-strainer into the bowl with the gelatin and stir until the gelatin has dissolved.  If you really want you can leave the bits of rose petal in the Panna Cotta, but removing them will give you a silkier end result.

Pour the finished mixture back through the same strainer into the prepared ramekins.

Store in the fridge at least 4 hours.

When serving drizzle with the black tea syrup, and feel free to garnish with extra rose petals either plain or dipped in syrup and then sugar.  Most rose petals have a mild crab-apple like taste, slightly bitter, but are delicious with the syrup. (see Black Tea syrup recipe)

Honeysuckle Panna Cotta

(Makes 4 servings)

2 - 3 cups of honeysuckle
2 cups milk
1/2 cups of heavy (whipping) cream
1/4 cup of sugar (and an extra pinch or two)
small pinch of cinnamon*
2 gelatin (packets)
3 tablespoons water

The first step is to pick honeysuckle.  You'll want 2-3 cups.

Put these in a fine mesh strainer or in a bowl and rinse under cool or warm water.  If you've followed the guide and avoided bugs, pesticides and poison ivy this should be clean.  You don't want the water too hot, or it will draw more of the flavor out and we want all that to go into the cream. (Same advice as the Honeysuckle Ice Cream recipe.)

You may want to reserve a few of the flowers for garnish.   Put the rest of the honeysuckle in a large, clean bowl and pour the cream over it.  A pinch or two of sugar sprinkled over should help draw out the flavor, much like with strawberry.  Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate until infused.  I like to leave it overnight for the best results. Stir it several times and don't worry about being too rough with the flowers, you can stir it thoroughly. (Also the same as the Honeysuckle Ice Cream.)

Lightly coat 4 - 6 small bowls, cups or ramekins with oil.  For Panna Cotta I like to use almond oil because it's light and the flavor of the oil wont conflict.  If you plan on serving these in the cups without unmolding them you can skip this step.  (Mini glass Pyrex bowls work beautifully for this and are sold in most supermarkets, you can also use mini tart pans as I did in the batch used for my picture.)

Sprinkle in small pinch of cinnamon and heat the cream on medium heat until it's lukewarm.  This will help draw the last of the oils in the flower out, but if you get it too hot the flowers will begin to decay in the heat and release too much oil, detracting from the taste.  When it is lukewarm remove from heat, strain, make sure there are no flowers left in the pot and return cream to the pot.  Then resume heating.

Cook, stirring, until it's almost hot.  Be careful heating cream or cream combinations because they are less inclined to boil like thinner liquid due to the fat content.  Instead they will scorch and burn on the bottom so be sure to keep stirring and check the temperature frequently.  It just needs to be hot enough to melt the gelatin.

Meanwhile sprinkle 2 and a half teaspoons (about one whole packet and a fourth of a second packet) of gelatin lightly over 3 - 4 tablespoons of water in a large, shallow bowl.  Try to spread it evenly and not in large clumps, so it will dissolve more easily once you pour the cream over it.  Let stand for one to five minutes, basically from the time you put the cream on until whenever it's hot enough to use.

Pour the warm-hot honeysuckle cream over the gelatin and mix until dissolved.  Try to incorporate it the best you can, but if you're left with a few gelatin bits fish them out with a spoon or strainer.

Pour the gelatin mixture into your prepared, oiled bowls and refrigerate for several hours.  3-5 is your safest bet, you don’t want to risk your hard work going to waste if they haven't fully set before serving time.

To unmold put hot water in a bowl and dip each of the ramekins (or whatever you have chosen to use) in the water to loosen the bottom (which will be the top when you flip it over) from the glass.  Run a butter knife carefully around the outside of the Panna Cotta to separate it from the glass (the oil helps make this process easier since it's less inclined to stick).  Again, if you’re serving it in the dish just skip this step.

Wipe off excess water, hold small plate or serving dish against bowl and carefully flip over.  It should slide right out.

Drizzle with syrup and serve (see Black Tea syrup recipe).

If serving with fruit put any garnishes or berries on the side, as you will risk breaking or cracking the Panna Cotta.

*The idea to include cinnamon was taken from NPR's recipe for honeysuckle sorbet.  I wanted to make mine as ice cream, but when I first looked up the concept to see if anyone else had the idea I couldn't find much.  The only good thing was NPR's reproduction of someone's sorbet recipe and I find the dash of cinnamon really does help bring out the flavor of the honeysuckle.

[Feel free to enjoy my recipes, but please don't repost on other sites (such as Allrecipes) or take without credit.]

Honeysuckle Ice Cream

(Makes about two and a quarter pints)

1 3/4 cups whole milk (I like to use organic because I like the flavor and creaminess better)
1 1/4 cup of heavy (whipping) cream
3 - 4 cups honeysuckle
3/4 cup sugar and one tablespoon extra (or a teaspoon and half a teaspoon of Black Tea Syrup)
Pinch of cinnamon*
Tiny pinch of salt

The first step is to pick honeysuckle.  You'll want 3 to 4 cups.

The recipe for this ice cream was designed to go into my Cuisinart ice cream maker, and so I used a modified version of their standard vanilla recipe.  I don't like to use the vanilla in this because I like the taste of the honeysuckle to shine through.  Normally the recipe calls for 2 cups of cream to one of milk, but I never use these ratios for my ice creams because I find it to be too creamy and sometimes if it gets even slightly over churned it will leave a waxy texture on the palate.  Feel free to go with your own preferences though.

Put these in a fine mesh strainer or in a bowl and rinse under cool or warm water.  If you've followed the guide and avoided bugs, pesticides and poison ivy this should be clean.  You don't want the water too hot, or it will draw more of the flavor out and we want all that to go into the cream.

You may want to reserve a few of the flowers for garnish.   Put the rest of the honeysuckle in a large, clean bowl and pour the cream over it.  A pinch or two of sugar sprinkled over should help draw out the flavor, much like with strawberry.  Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate until infused.  I like to leave it overnight for the best results. Stir it several times and don't worry about being too rough with the flowers, you can stir it thoroughly.

The next day you will use the strainer to remove the honeysuckle flowers from the cream.

Combine the Honeysuckle cream, 3/4 cup sugar and the extra tablespoon (or a teaspoon and a half a teaspoon of Black Tea Syrup), a pinch of cinnamon and tiny pinch of salt (more like half a pinch).  Mix and either return to fridge to continue chilling or put directly into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions.

If you don't have an ice cream maker but still want to enjoy making home made ice cream there are several websites you can find through Google that have various methods and I encourage you to look into them.  I know that Jules Clancy also offers classes and advice, check out her blog StoneSoup.

For Honeysuckle whipped cream simply let the honeysuckle infuse into the heavy cream (about 1.5 cups to 1 cup cream), then once infused whip cream as you would normally.

*The idea to include cinnamon was taken from NPR's recipe for honeysuckle sorbet.  I like to make mine as ice cream, but when I first looked up the concept to see if anyone else had the idea I couldn't find much.  The only good thing was NPR's reproduction of someone's sorbet recipe and I find the dash of cinnamon really does help bring out the flavor of the honeysuckle.

Honeysuckle Harvesting Guide

Some warnings about harvesting.

First, be aware of pesticides.  If an area looks too manicured use your best judgment to determine if the property has been sprayed with pesticide or insect repellant, since you really don't want to eat that (even after having washed it).  The same holds true for any time you pick any wild edibles or herbs.

Secondly, bees.  Bees love honeysuckle and if you're gathering you'll likely see some.  Please do your best not to hurt or disturb them.  They shouldn't sting you if you're careful (avoid wearing perfumes or floral scents when harvesting).  Without bees we wouldn't have lovely full crops of honeysuckle and honey.

Poison ivy is another thing to be very careful of.  Honeysuckle and poison ivy seem to love co-habitation, so always pay attention when you're harvesting honeysuckle.  Remember, three leaves bad!  Be wary of shiny looking leaves with reddish and russet colors growing amidst the honeysuckle.  Always wash with brown soap (or comet) on your hands and arms after picking.  Better to be safe than sorry.

Ticks.  Always check for them after being in tall grass.

Spiders like to make their webs in the honeysuckle so be careful of those as well.

If a property has a lot of honeysuckle growing free and no one seems to be using it, but the land is posted you should knock on the owner's door and ask to use some of their honeysuckle.  It's a good way to meet new people (I always offer to bring a little something I've made with whatever I take).  Everyone loves free treats and if you're lucky you'll meet someone nice who will offer you repeated use of their bush in return for small portions of goodies.

In the North East Honeysuckle starts in the late spring when it gets warm but not too hot, then will grow intermittently through the fall depending on the weather.  It doesn't like when conditions get too hot or too cold so your best bets are late spring and early fall.  (The greatest thing to do is make a large batch of ice cream so you can enjoy a little bit of summer any time you want.)

Use only the open flowers, not the closed buds (they wont give as much flavor, it's best to use them later once they've bloomed and then you can get several of the best tasting batches).  Also avoid the wilted dark orange flowers with too much brown on them as these are past their prime.  A little brown wont hurt though.  Remove any stems and leaves.  I like to leave the tiny green ends on the honeysuckle when I can.  It's okay if they break but I like to try and keep the nectar inside the flower when I pick it to give the fullest flavor to the creams.

 

[Feel free to enjoy my recipes, but please don't repost on other sites (such as Allrecipes) or take without credit.]

Honeysuckle

Due to the name I chose for my blog I thought it would be appropriate to kick off my posting with two of my most special and name appropriate recipes: Honeysuckle Ice Cream and Honeysuckle Panna Cotta.

As I passed a honeysuckle bush growing near my house I stopped and pickled one, eagerly pulling off the end to draw out that tiny bead of honey-sweet nectar and wished there was a reasonable and economical way to bottle it.

This was late spring, and I had been playing with a lot of herbal infusions at the time.  I wondered -- if honeysuckle could be made into sorbet with water why not infuse heavy cream and milk with it, both of which are infinitely better to draw flavors into due to their fat content.

I couldn’t find any recipes for this, so I used the standard ratios for vanilla ice cream and played around.  The results were beautiful, and it was an experiment I was proud of.  Good enough to warrant the effort the harvesting takes (so says my mother, who was so in love with the ice cream that she was deeply disappointed when she ran out and somewhat impatiently had to wait for the next crop.  The late spring honeysuckle season was over by then and the next wasn’t until the early fall.  Each week I got to hear “when are you making more!  Is it time yet?”  I can’t complain though, it’s nice to have fans and she’s my biggest cheerleader.)

I loved the ice cream, but I kept feeling it needed something until I spotted the box of black tea sitting in my cupboard.  The idea of the light, sunny creaminess with the slightly bitter, dark flavor juxtaposing it appealed to me and I decided to try the second batch of honeysuckle as a Panna Cotta with a black tea syrup, and boy was I glad I had.  Definitely my favorite of my kitchen experiments to date.

This recipe brought to mind, at a later date, CB I hate perfume’s Tea/Rose perfume.  Since I love the scent of both perfume roses and black tea (as well as the flavors) I thought this was a great inspiration for a second Panna Cotta.  It’s also incredibly difficult to find rose water in my area, so more experimentation ensued.  So here I am, kicking off my blog with 4 recipes (five if you count the whipped cream).  As a free gift there’s also a guide to help you pick honeysuckle.

Honeysuckle Harvesting Guide

Honeysuckle Ice Cream

Honeysuckle Panna Cotta

Rose Panna Cotta

Black Tea Syrup

[Feel free to enjoy my recipes, but please don't repost on other sites (such as Allrecipes) or take without credit.]

Introduction

This is a blog for my culinary experiments.

Most of these recipes were inspired by whims, things I've seen or tasted that have given me ideas.

I'll always give credit to those I've borrowed from and to those who inspire me.

Please give me credit for my recipes and I ask that you not reprint them (especially on other websites, such as Allrecipes).

I hope you enjoy them.  Please feel free to give me feed back on those you've tried, or point out typos and suggestions.

I guess if I share a little about me it's that I like unique sounding and tasting things.  If a dessert menu lists standard flavors I'm less likely to try something.  Which isn't to say that I don't love something traditional when it's made well, but if I hear something outlandish I go "oh, I have to try that, when am I going to get a chance to taste that flavor combination again!"  These recipes are things I've gotten ideas for that I'd like to eat (and I do like to eat them, I consider my best successes the things I can't stop eating).

I love baking and cooking, but almost exclusively desserts.  I like making other things as well, but there's something about desserts that just inspire me.  I am not sure where the inspiration comes from, just that it's there.

I guess I'll cover more as I go along.

I hope you don't get bored and I hope that I can inspire you too.

I work a lot of crazy hours, so although I have far too many idea written down I will only post them as I finish them.  I like to try everything before I post it, to make sure it's good in reality and not just in the land of my imagination.  I wont be posting on a regular basis, but check back since whenever I have a few spare minutes off work I end up in my kitchen.

:)