Cool summer memories and a simple delicious sorbet

When I was little, my mom had a real gourmet ice cream maker. It hadits own refrigerating element, so no cranking or rolling or salted needed! This was back in the dark ages when NO ONE had an ice cream maker that froze on its own. There was no Williams Sonoms at the mall where you could conveniently find any kitchen gadget you wanted. the internet did not yet exist. 

This thing was a hideous shade of yellow and weighed 1000 pounds. My father would complain every summer when he lugged it from its winter spot in the basement to the cleared off spot on the counter that would be its summer home.

Little me called my mom a gourmet, making things that no other mother would attempt. Weird concoctions that no one had ever heard of made a regular appearance in our kitchen. She often had strange mushrooms soaking on the counter that I would poke at, a disgusted look on my face. My favorite "gourmet" treat of my mothers was the most coveted treat of summer... Grapefruit sorbet. This sweet, tart, and overall delightful dessert was a favorite of the whole family including all of the grandparents. Like so many other things that were a family favorite, my mom would always make a big deal about it, enlisting me to squeeze the pink juicy grapefruits, and letting me drink the extra juice. When she turned the ice cream maker on we would all flee from the horrible racket. She was fond of telling us  "That thing could wake the dead." It was so loud that it would often drive my father and I out of the house; him for chores, me for pool time or playing in the yard. When the sorbet was ready, it was scooped out slowly and with reverence into one of our seldom used Tupperware containers. We each got a spoonful but had to wait for a bowl until it had solidified (cleverly on my moms part that was often after dinner). My mom seldom wasted her homemade sorbet on  burgers or porkchops. So, sorbet often accompanied what my mom would call a "summer outside meal." Which translated to something too messy to eat in her pristine kitchen. In our world that meant tacos or lobster. The delight of the special dinner was heightened by the anticipation of the sorbet cooling in the freezer. The first bite is like a burst of flavor hitting your tongue. To this day I'm always shocked at how good this simple recipe is. It is by far my favorite frozen treat. 

Grapefruit sorbet

2 cups fresh squeezed grapefruit juice

1 cup simple syrup 

For the simple syrup, combine 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water in a sauce pan. Heat on low until the sugar has dissolved. 

Cool the simple syrup in the fridge for several hours or overnight. 

If you don't start with refrigerated grapefruit squeeze the grapefruit and let cool in fridge for several hours or overnight. 

Combine the simple syrup and grapefruit juice in the container of a  self freezing ice cream maker. Set for approx 40 minutes (though they're all different so check on it periodically and add more time if needed)

Scoop sorbet into container and let set in freezer for 2 hours. That is the sweet spot and the perfect time to eat it. It will keep in the freezer for a few weeks but when you're finished with it take a piece of wax paper and push it down on the top of the sorbet. This will help keep it from freezer burning. 

And we're back. with Potato Salad

I admit, I was a little off my game in May. The only posts I really managed to get through were my posts for the Bostonist. But this is a new month and I am going to blog if it kills me.
So, to start off what should be summer ( its around 62 here in Boston) I made my favorite type of summer treat. Potato Salad. Now some people don't like potato salad, maybe its the eggs, maybe its the mayonnaise, maybe its the onions, but I love it! And I've spent some serious time taking my mom's potato salad and jazzing it up with innovations from friends and cookbooks until I have a potato salad recipe that is solely my own. So without further adieu, here's my potato salad.

Red Potato and egg salad (serves 6)

12 small red potatoes
1 small red onion
a small bunch of fresh chives or scallions
5 eggs
4 stalks of celery
mustard
mayonnaise
red wine vinegar
celery salt
salt
pepper
sugar

Finely dice the celery and onion and set aside.Prep the potatoes by peeling off any eyes or unappealing looking skin. You can leave the rest of the skin on for texture. Slice the potatoes into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces and boil them until they are just soft enough for a fork to pierce them. Don't let them get too soft or you will have mashed potato salad.Then transfer them to a collander
While the potatoes are boiling, hard boil the eggs (around 12 minutes after the water is boiling). Peel the eggs and transfer them to a small bowl. Smush the eggs into tiny pieces with a fork ( as if you were making egg salad). Then add mayo, mustard, celery salt, and red wine vinegar until you have achieved a kind of watery but very intensly flavored egg salad. If you think you have enough mustard, add a little more.

Next pour the egg mixture over the still slightly warm potatoes and mix thoroughly, then add the onions and celery. And finally, using scissors cut small pieces off of the chives and mix them in until they are relatively uniform throughout. Then season to taste with salt, pepper, mustard sugar and red wine.

I do appologize for not having specific measurements for the different flavorings but I swear it is different every time. If I come up with something consistant I'll update it here.

Garnishing Tip: If you get the chives out of your garden, you can use the flowers as a garnish!