White Chocolate Ice Cream with Baked Apples

Last week we had delivered our new kitchen scale. Believe me, the last one had really lost it; it wouldn't keep weights consistently, among other troubles, so I threw it out. It lasted at least eleven years, so I guess that's pretty good. The new one is a My Weigh i5000H, 11 pound capacity, weighs in grams and pounds. We do a fair amount of bread and pastry baking, and measuring by weight is definitely the most accurate way to go. Eddie used it yesterday to weigh out white chocolate for a batch of ice cream, and it came out perfect. Yummy! We had it alongside of microwave "baked" apples with caramel sauce, another recipe I tried to avoid stove and oven cooking.

Thanks to Joe and Nick Maglieri for their advice about what kind of scale they use and recommend.

White Chocolate Ice Cream

(From "The Dessert Lover's Cookbook" by Marlene Sorosky)

6 oz. white chocolate, chopped (Eddie used Trader Joe's white choc. chips)
1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 cups milk
3 large egg yolks, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
pinch salt
1 cup half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt the chocolate with 1/2 cup milk in top of double boiler over simmering water. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Whisk yolks and sugar and salt in medium saucepan until blended. Gradually whisk in 1 1/2 cups milk and half and half. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, until mixture is thick enough to leave a path on wooden spoon when you run a finger along it. Remove from heat. Stir in white chocolate and vanilla. Cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until cold. (May be refrigerated, covered, up to 2 days.)

Freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Serve immediately, as soft serve, or freeze up to 1 week.

Baked Apples in Caramel Sauce

(from "The Well -Filled Microwave" by Wise and Hoffman)

1/2 cup walnut halves or pieces
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 large apples, such as Granny Smiths, cored

Spread walnuts on a plate and microwave, uncovered, on High for 3 minutes, or until toasted. When cool, finely chop and set aside.

Place the brown sugar, butter and cream in a dish large enough to hold the apples without touching each other. Microwave on High for 3 minutes or until bubbling. Whisk to mix.

Set apples in the dish and stuff apples with walnuts and spoon some sauce over. Cover the dish and microwave on High for 5 to 6 minutes until apples ae soft all the way through, but still hold their shape.

To serve, spoon some sauce back over the apples.