crusty bread + good butter + sliced radishes + salt
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ilfornox5
Is it hot there? It's hot here. Hotter for the fact that we have yet to haul out our air conditioning units that weigh as much as a 12-year old. Maybe we're too lazy, maybe we're taking the Pope's encyclical to heart and doing our part to forestall the swift march of climate change, and its relentless ravaging of our sister, Mother Earth? But really, we are very lazy.
Luckily, there are lots of ways to cool down that require little in the way of heavy-lifting OR advanced planning! An added bonus? The chance to unnecessarily carb-load smack-dab in the middle of swimsuit season! Have I got your attention yet? Good.
This recipe is a combination of some of my very favorite things (ice cream, bread, butter, sweetened condensed milk), and also there are bananas in it. It's an ice cream sandwich, but not the fluff-filled cardboard ice cream sandwiches of our youth*, NAY! These are exponentially more delicious, more fancy, AND more sandwichy. They're ice cream sandwiches you show off to your friends, bring home to mom, and then? You marry the crap out of 'em. Why? Because they're unique, and perfect, and make you look good and smart (though, also fat).
Before I get to the nuts and bolts of the treat that will sweeten your sweaty state, a couple of notes. First, some lesser souls might be a bit apprehensive about putting ice cream on bread. Don't be that fool. And secondly, be very, VERY careful when making your dulce de leche. If you're not, the cans of sweetened condensed milk will explode, and your chest hair might never grow back...**
Banoffee Ice Cream Sandwiches
1 can sweetened condensed milk or pre-made dulce de leche
2 brioche rolls
1 banana, sliced
1 pint vanilla ice cream
butter
coarse salt
Make your dulce de leche. I use this method , but there are other ways if you're feeling ambitious or scared. Slice your buns in half and butter like no one's looking. Toast the buns on a hot skillet until golden, top with generous amounts of dulce de leche, bananas and ice cream. Sprinkle with salt. Add the lid. Enjoy!
*which, if I'm being perfectly honest, I sometimes really enjoy in all their yuckiness.
**just ask Shiloh.
***this post was done in collaboration with our friends at Il Forno Bakery in the Bronx. Their breads are impeccable, and if you're near them, do yourself a favor an make a few friends by picking up one (or five) of their superior loaves.
The perfect, crusty loaf of bread. In a restaurant, in bakeries, in the kitchen or in the bedroom,* it can be an elusive creature.
I remember my first: It was a Michelin starred restaurant. A waiter approached, placing a basket in front of us. The cloth was warm. Always a good sign, I thought to myself, disrobing the loaf until notes of toasted nuts and malt beckoned my nose closer. The bread's construction was enough to make Paul Hollywood genuflect in approval. The bubbly lattice of white met my butter knife with a pillowy resistance. This was not your average loaf. Twisting off a piece, the crust let off a pleasing snap. Cradling the morsel between two fingers, I lifted it towards my lips. Alternately soft, chewy, tart, nutty and crunchy in all of the right places and ways. I ate five pieces. I wished I'd skipped on the rest of the meal completely. The other food was fine, but this was transcendent. All I could think about was how I could bribe our server to send me home with a few extra loaves.
"Do you make your own bread?" I asked
"We get it from a bakery," she said
"Can I buy some from you?" I continued
"We don't have enough, but you can buy it from them. It's Il Forno Bakery," she replied.
Leaving the restaurant, I scanned my phone. Next time we went up to New Haven, Yoni and I stopped in the Bronx to pick up a few loaves. It's become a pilgrimage of sorts and my dress size has never been the same.**
Last fall while I was living in New York, I visited Il Forno to pick up some bread. The bakery is a family affair, and while I was chatting with Jenny Eduardo about baking and business, we hatched an idea to do a series of delicious collaborations. So look forward to a high-carb diet of recipes, videos, pictures, and who knows what else in the coming months. Heaven knows we are!
Have you had a transcendent bread experience? We want to hear all about it!
*An unnamed seven-year-old TD sister (who may or may not have been me) was once found with an entire loaf of bread hidden under her pillow. What can I say? I love bread.
**The sourdough starter makes their breads probiotic, which aids digestion. That doesn't *quite* compensate for finishing an entire loaf alone, but it's nice to know nonetheless.
