Cranberry Pineapple Sorbet

This one is a bit of a life hack for parties and get-togethers.

Do you have an ice cream maker?  If you do, go out and buy cranberry juice cocktail and pineapple juice.
Got that?  Follow the instructions below and enjoy!

My husband and I were lucky enough to get an ice cream machine and Jeni Britton Bauer's ice cream cookbook, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home, from his brother and our wonderful sister-in-law.  Ever since then I've been experimenting with ice cream and sorbets.  While this recipe does not come from Jeni's cookbook, I still highly recommend picking it up if you enjoy making ice cream.

This sorbet is so simple, and completely delicious.  I had originally tried a much more complicated sorbet, with fresh cranberries, but to be honest with you, I just didn't like it.  It was bitter, had a ton of sugar in it, and took way longer than this alternative.  Everyone loved this one.  My next plan is to do the exact same thing but with apple cider instead of cranberry and pineapple.

Cranberry Pineapple Sorbet

Ingredients:

2 cups cranberry juice cocktail

1/4 cup pineapple juice

Juice from one lemon

1. Freeze the ice cream canister from the ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions
2. Mix together the cranberry juice cocktail, the pineapple juice, and lemon juice
3. Turn on the ice cream maker, and slowly pour the juice into the frozen canister
4. Allow to churn until the juice has turned into a slushy mixture
5. Pour the semi-frozen sorbet into a container with an air-tight lid to freeze
6. Allow the sorbet to freeze for at least 4 hours in the coldest part of your freezer

Vanilla Bean "Avenger" Marshmallows

In the spirit of Halloween and the coming of cooler nights, I thought I would make something sweet that pairs perfectly with a nice, warm cup of hot chocolate.  I expected marshmallows to be far more difficult than they were.  The only real challenge is getting the cured marshmallows out of the mixing bowl!  I found that the trick is to keep your hands wet with cold water.  The treat... well, here's the recipe.

Vanilla Bean "Avenger" Marshmallows

(Because you don't 'make' marshmallows, you 'assemble' them... right Mikey?)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cold water

3 packets of flavorless gelatin (1/4 oz packets)

2 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 vanilla bean, split (or 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract)

Cooking spray

Powdered sugar for dusting (or use cocoa powder, or any other tasty dusting mix you can think of!)

1. Bloom the gelatin by sprinkling the gelatin over 1/4 cup of the water in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer; let stand for 5 minutes
2. Combine the sugar, corn syrup, sea salt, and vanilla bean with the remaining water in a saucepan
3. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar
4. Insert a candy thermometer in the pan and cook without stirring until the temperature reaches about 235°F
5. With the whisk attachment, turn the mixer on to a low speed to break up the gelatin
6. With the mixer running, slowly pour the sugar mixture into the bowl, being careful not to hit the spinning whisk
7. Turn the mixer speed up to high for about 10 minutes, until the marshmallow mix is cool, opaque, and thick
8. Grease a baking sheet or pan with the cooking spray, and line it with well greased parchment paper
9. Turn the marshmallow mixture out onto the greased parchment paper
10. Wet your hands to prevent the marshmallow from sticking, and smooth out the mixture to even it out in the pan
11. Cover with greased plastic wrap, and let stand at least 6-12 hours
12. Cut the marshmallows into whatever size you want and dust with powdered sugar