Thanksgiving Terrine

The very best thing about my 6am Friday spin class, besides being a nice excuse why I can't do the annual Friday after Thanksgiving shopping trip, is that on Fridays I don't feel nearly as guilty about indulging in ice cream. Ice cream and I have a long and passionate love affair. I even tried the new Haagen Dazs flavor, Caramelized Pear and Toasted Pecan; interestingly pear ice cream is good even though frozen pears still fall into that very large category of fruit I don't really appreciate.

So one of the reasons I started this blog was because this food blogging culture has these food events where everyone posts recipes on the same theme, sort of. And I wanted to try it out. Anyway, Running with Tweezers is sponsoring Hay Hay it's Donna Day -Terrines this month. I thumbed through as many cookbooks as I could get my hands on and although things looked tasty, I couldn't get passed the ultimate looming question: "If the Brain doesn't eat the leftovers, would I want to eat this for a week?" Unfortunately for most of the jellied vegetable terrines the idea didn't really thrill me. And fruit, really I don't think I could do a week of it. I definitely could do a week of a terrine of pate, but then I'd probably have to go to the gym like 3 times a day. Then laying awake in bed trying to think of things I could eat for a week, it came to me. Ice cream.

I just happen to have The Ultimate Ice Cream Book: Over 500 Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, Drinks and More by Bruce Weinstein, and it happens to have a recipe for pumpkin ice cream. I love pumpkin ice cream. The first time I tried it I had just moved to Lenexa, Kansas (suburb of Kansas City) for a job and was spending Thanksgiving very much alone for the first time. For some reason Baskin Robbins 31 flavors was open and I decided on pumpkin ice cream instead of baking myself an entire pumpkin pie.

My favorite store bought member of the ice cream food group is Ciao Bella Blackberry Cabernet sorbet. Wow. Yummy. Seriously. There was no way I was leaving this out. I mean the rules called for layers, so why not fill it full of favorites?

The final layer was the hardest to decide on. I wanted to keep the texture of the terrine on a whole the same, but what went with pumpkin and blackberry? Something subtle, something fallish and good around Thanksgiving. So laying awake on yet another night, I toyed with the idea of a brown sugar ice cream. I consulted with the Brain and he seemed indifferent. Then I thumbed through the ice cream book again and casually mentioned maple. The Brain was far more enthusiastic on that one, so the decision was made.




Interestingly if you look up the word terrine in the dictionary you will also find the definition as a casserole dish made of earthenware. Even more interestingly, I have a terrine. I'm sure you're shocked. I'm shocked anyway. So instead of layering this terrine in a loaf pan or some loaf shaped container that would hold a lot more. I decided to make this terrine in my terrine. HA! (I'm such an overachiever sometimes.) Also this is good because now there are leftovers and on days I don't have Spin class or I'm too lazy to drag myself to the gym I can pull out my melonballer and have a "diet" sized portion of each.


Thanksgiving Ice Cream Terrine
1 cup pumpkin ice cream (can be purchased in fall or recipe follows)
1/2 cup Cia Bella Blackberry Caberney Sorbet
1 cup maple ice cream (recipe follows)

Remove pumpkin ice cream from the freezer and soften. Line terrine with plastic wrap. Place 1 cup pumpkin ice cream in bottom of terrine. Cover terrine and place in the freezer. Once pumkin layer is frozen hard, spread blackberry sorbet over the top of it. Cover terrine and return to freezer. After blackberry layer is as solid as it's going to get, remove maple ice cream from the freezer and soften. Spread 1 cup maple ice cream over the top of the terrine. Cover terrine and place in the freezer until solid. (I did each layer on a different day.)

To unmold: invert terrine onto a plate. Alternate rubbing hands on sides and bottom of terrine and pulling on the plastic wrap. Be gentle and be patient and with a little coaxing the terrine should pop free. Quickly slice and serve.

Pumpkin Ice Cream
The Ultimate Ice Cream Book

1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
5 large egg yolks
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 cup half and half
15oz can solid pack pumpkin
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the brown sugar and corn syrup in the egg yolks until thickened and pale yellow. Beat in the cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Set aside.

Bring the half and half to a simmer in a large, hevy saucepan. Slowly beat the hot half and half into the eggs and sugar. Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and place over low heat. Stir constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon until the custard thickens slightly. Be careful not to let the mixture boil. Remove from the heat and beat in the canned pumpkin. Pour the hot custard through a strainer into a large, clean bowl. Allow the custard to cool slightly, then stir in the cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate until cold or overnight.

Stir the chilled custard, then freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. When finished, the ice cream will be soft and ready to spread in terrine.


Maple Ice Cream
The Ultimate Ice Cream Book

6 large eggs
1 cup pure maple syrup
2 tsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup half and half
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks with the maple syrup, flour and salt. Set aside.

Bring the half and half to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan. Slowly beat the hot half and half into the eggs and maple syrup. Pour the entire mixture back into the pand and place over low heat. Stir constantly with a whisk or wooder spoon until the custard thickens slightly. Be careful not to let the mixture boil. Remove from the heat and pour the hot maple custard through a strainer into a large, clean bowl. Allow the custard to cool slightly, then stir in the cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate until cold or overnight.

Stir the chilled custard, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. When finished the ice cream will be soft and ready to spread in the terrine.