Blackberry Sorbet

Remember that nationwide heat wave last weekend? I do. I'm still sweating, and Omaha's about to get another one next week. To me, that means exclusively eating frozen foods. I'm also in the middle of wrapping up my internship, so I'm totally up for eating ice cream straight from the pint while sneaking in an episode or two of Parks and Rec on Netflix between practice runs of my presentation. Unfortunately, I'm an adult now, so I can't live on ice cream alone; I have to get my fruit in somehow. My solution? Lots and lots of sorbet. This blackberry sorbet uses tons of fresh seasonal berries with a touch (ok a pretty big amount) of sugar, and it's accidentally fat-free (basically the best surprise ever).

Before you get too excited let me warn you that you do need an ice cream maker for this bad boy. You're not going to get a smooth, perfectly aerated sorbet unless you have something to simultaneously freeze and stir it. Unless you want to wedge yourself in your freezer with a bowl of this stuff and stir it for a while, I'd recommend buying a cheap ice cream maker to have on hand for emergencies like this. I think I got mine for around $25 at Costco a few years ago and there are plenty of similarly cheap ones that will get the job done.

What makes this sorbet so good is that it's perfectly smooth. I'm big on texture, so I throw the berries in a food processor with some water to loosen them and puree them until completely smooth. The seeds will never blend in and I don't want them getting stuck in my teeth while I eat the whole thing of sorbet, so I make sure to get a fine strainer and sift them all out. The pure berry puree gets mixed with sugar, lemon juice, and a splash of alcohol.

I recommend adding about a cup of sugar, but it depends on how sweet your berries are. I'd start with less and then keep adding as necessary. The lemon juice balances all that added sugar out, but you can swap it out for any other citrus. Blackberry-lime is always a good combination, and blackberry-orange is seriously underrated. The alcohol is a little trick to keep the sorbet from getting too hard in the freezer. Since alcohol has a lower freezing point than the rest of the sorbet, it keeps the mixture soft and scoopable without being melty. It's certainly not enough to get you drunk or even be noticeable flavor-wise, but it helps the texture immensely. I go for a flavorless vodka or a berry liquor, but feel free to experiment in that regard. You can also play around with different berry or fruit combinations since I know blackberries are only available for another few weeks. I know as soon as I get home next week my family will make me make a few batches of this before the berries are all gone.

3 Cups Fresh Berries
1 Cup Sugar (To Taste)
1 T Lemon Juice
1 T Vodka or Berry Liqueur

Puree the berries with ½ cup cold water. Strain to remove seeds. Add the sugar, lemon juice, and alcohol. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, then chill until cold.

Churn in ice cream machine until frozen.

Recipe Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Garlicky Shrimp Pomodoro

Despite spending 4 months traveling through Italy, I never got sick of Italian food. In fact, I probably make it even more now since I learned how to make pasta properly and keep recipes authentic. However, I have Americanized dishes a bit since returning home, usually to fit my tight schedule and adapt to the generally disappointing lack of rustic European farmers' markets. This recipe solves my weeknight dinner time crunch (I'm usually starving by the time I get home from my internship) and also takes advantage of the gorgeous fresh tomatoes at the local Omaha farmers' market. It's a win-win situation with an extra triple win since it's actually pretty healthy.

Pomodoro is just the Italian word for tomatoes but it sounds much fancier than just telling people you're having tomato sauce on pasta for dinner. It also helps when you throw in a handful of fresh herbs and top it with shrimp with a punch of garlic. I also have a slightly bad habit of drowning everything in cheese whenever possible, though this is probably the only time you'll catch me putting cheese on seafood. Parmesan and shrimp can be good together if you know what you're doing (and if you follow this recipe you will).

This sauce differs from my regular tomato sauce in that it uses a blend of fresh tomatoes and crushed tomatoes with a splash of chicken broth. The rainbow cherry tomatoes I found were just too pretty to pass up, but if they are hard to find or expensive you can easily substitute fresh diced tomatoes. Canned diced tomatoes will work in a pinch as well. I also use a can of crushed tomatoes so that there is more of a sauce as opposed to cooked tomatoes piled on top of pasta.

The shrimp couldn't be simpler. I load up a pan with some garlic, add the shrimp, and cook until they're done. It only takes a few minutes, so as soon as they turn opaque take them out of the pan. Overcooked shrimp will get rubbery, so if you want leftovers it's probably a good idea to make the shrimp the day you plan on serving it. It's easy to freeze the sauce or just keep it in your fridge for a couple of days if you make more than what you need, but freshly cooked shrimp will always be better.

You could also adapt this dish using other proteins. Scallops or swordfish would make wonderful seafood alternatives, and bites of chicken would be delicious as well. If you really feel like making things fancy, you can try making your own pasta, too. I'll publish a recipe on that at some point soon. For now, stick to long pastas whether they're homemade or store-bought. Italians are serious about matching their pastas to their sauces, and long noodles are better coated in thinner sauces. They also wrap around the larger pieces of tomatoes and shrimp. I could go on about egg pastas versus semolina pastas and all their shapes, but I'm about to go make my own dinner so comment if you have questions or tasty results!

1 1/4 lbs Shrimp, Peeled & Deveined
6 Cloves Garlic, Minced
3 Cups Cherry Tomatoes
1 10.5oz Can Crushed Tomatoes
1 Cup Chicken or Vegetable Broth
1 Sprig Rosemary
3 Sprigs Thyme
1/4 Cup Julienned Basil
12oz Spaghetti
Parmesan Cheese

Heat some oil in a large pot. Add 4 cloves of garlic and cook until fragrant about 1 minute. Stir in the fresh tomatoes and cook for an additional minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, broth, and herbs and simmer for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, heat a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to package directions until al dente.

Heat some oil in a large skillet. Add the remaining garlic and shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the shrimp are opaque, stirring and turning occasionally.

Toss the pasta with the sauce and the shrimp and sprinkle with the Parmesan.

Serves 4
Recipe Adapted from Pinch of Yum