PB & J

One of the best combinations ever has to be PB & J. I'm sure there are many more out there, but growing up a peanut butter and jelly sandwich rocked my socks! In the summer after hours upon hours of swimming, Grams would coax us kids out of the pool to refuel with peanut butter jelly sandwiches. I remember sitting on the back deck, wrapped in a beach towel eating a scrumptious sandwich made on fresh bakery bread and washing it down with a big glass of milk. Those were the days. No worries and all the PB & J sandwiches I could eat.

No even though I still love a peanut butter jelly sandwich, I also like to but a more 'grown up' spin on these humble ingredients. So as a treat for R. this week I made his some chocolate peanut butter ice cream. Although I'm not a huge chocolate person, he absolutely loved it! Said it tastes like Reese Peanut Butter cups melted down and froze. He's eaten half the tub already and that's a compliment in itself. This week as a treat for me, R. took me cherry picking. We picked the largest basket full of cherries they had and I ran all the way home to make my first batch of cherry jam. So as it's cooling on the counter and I can hear the 'ting' of the jars sealing themselves, I feel that I was able to create my own little adult version of a peanut butter and jelly combo. Although they don't quite go together on bread, they are still quite delicious on there own.

For my jam I used a 'non'-recipe from over at David Lebovitz's blog found here. Just look under recipes and then under 'Extras' close to the bottom of the page. It's a great guide to follow, especially the advice of wearing dark colours and not to eat the scalding hot cherries. I shoulda listened . . . .

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

625 ml 10% cream
312.5 ml 35% cream
1 tbsp vanilla
312.5 g granulated sugar
4 oz milk chocolate (or dark if you prefer)
8 yolks
219 g smooth peanut butter

Warm both creams and vanilla in a sauce pot over medium heat. Once warm add in the sugar and stir to dissolve. Once the sugar is dissolved, ladle a bit into a bowl with the chocolate and stir to melt. Once it's all incorporated, pour back into pot. Temper yolks with hot cream mix, pour all back into pot and put back on stove. Stirring constantly cook until mix reaches 78F or until slightly thickened. Strain into a large bowl and allow mix to cool slightly before whisking in peanut butter. Churn and enjoy!!