Newsletter: In the Kitchen: Your frozen, fried and campfired summer
Strawberry-balsamic gelato is easy to whip up with a blender.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times
Greetings, sun worshipers,
Now that summer has officially arrived in Southern California — weather-wise, if not strictly according to the calendar — I’ve been thinking a lot about hot-weather foods. And that, of course, means ice cream. And, because our diets are nothing if not well-rounded, fried chicken. I’m hungry already.
And be on the lookout for Saturday's Counter Intelligence newsletter, with stories about the dining scene and Jonathan Gold's restaurant reviews.
Cold enough for you?
Churning homemade ice cream is a time-honored summer ritual, and there's little better. But sometimes you’re not up for the whole production. In that case, may I suggest a pure fruit gelato that you can make in only minutes of work with no special equipment?
Or you could go the fruit granita route. Do you have a baking pan and a fork? Then you’re ready. Just add sweetened fruit juice and freeze. Every once in a while, give it a stir and a rake with the fork to get those icy shards the size you want them.
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times
Still too much for you? Then get yourself to a McConnell’s. This Santa Barbara-based family-owned company has been making terrific ice creams for more than 65 years, and always with the same fresh ingredients. Now they’re in downtown Los Angeles at the Grand Central Market and they’re opening soon in Studio City.
Oregon marionberries, cooked to a jammy perfection and folded into tart and tangy, Eureka lemon-infused California Central Coast, grass-fed milk & cream.
Tom Stanley
Fried and true
Frying is an art, and a beautiful piece of fried chicken is a masterpiece. But as with any art, there are some secrets that can help you progress from novice to master. Test Kitchen Director Noelle Carter spells them out for you.
And because what could be better for frying in the summertime, we’ve got eight fried chicken recipes from our archives, each of them perfect in their way.
Fried chicken is a beautiful thing.
Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times
The great outdoors
Maybe for you summertime cooking means working over a campfire. We’ve got that covered too. Noelle Carter is a connoisseur of cast iron and particularly of cast-iron Dutch camp ovens. They’re like regular Dutch ovens, except they have three legs to hold them just above the coals. Peach and blackberry dumplings, anyone?
Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times
More great stone fruit
Had it with run-of-the-mill mealy apricots? Don’t give up hope. There are some great ones out there if you know what to look for, including some innovative crosses between apricots and plums. Here’s a guide to the best, along with a dozen recipes for using them.
Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times
Feedback?
We’d love hear from you. Email us at [email protected]
Are you a food geek? Follow me on Twitter @russ_parsons1
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