Mattituck beach on the North Fork of Long Island
A few weekends ago, we made a road trip to the North Fork of Long Island. I have heard much and more about the first East Coast viticultural region and had not yet wandered there. It was time enough to correct that. The nudge came last year (yes, a whole year ago! It is supposed to be slow food after all...), when I had a chance conversation with the lady of the Castello di Borghese vineyard at the farmers' market in Brooklyn.
There was much to learn about wine making in the region, including that Long island falls in the approximate longitude of Burgundy and shares a similar climate that allows grapes to thrive and some varietals in particular. A visit was in order and thus planned. The wine region happens to be a fairly long two hour drive from home and so, optimizer that I am, I planned a few other activities, just in case the wine bit turned out to less than thrilling and a whole days worth.
As it turned out that was for the best. Armed with a list of wineries, including that of the lovely lady of the house I met, we set forth. Castello di Borghese has the honor of being the first vineyard in the region and the wine tasting here went spectacularly. A few bottles heavier, we set off to the next place in the blazing midday heat and slightly happy from both the wines and chat. That next turned out to be closed for a private party and we rapidly lost interest in trudging in the heat to yet another.
So, instead, we made a visit of the local putting range, a lovely seaside bar and a short visit to what looked like almost a private beach, all in the Mattituck area. We sipped local craft beers, had our fill of non-traditional bar food that was rather elegant and gazed on to the wide expanse of blue skies, blue waters and bleached sand. It was fantastic!
At the oldest vineyard on Long Island - Castello di Borghese
One of the most photogenic relic of a machinery I have seen!
And while, we are on the subject of summer escapes, what better to balance the heat than a nice frozen treat! Add some fruit and you feel healthy already. Indulge at leisure...!
Summer is bright and hot and no one wants to do much work to get cool. The best thing to do is simply give in to the beautiful bounty that She gives us and indulge in the innocence of not doing much to them to relish the flavors. This no-churn ice cream, needs only about 10 minutes of work at the stove and little and less effort after. And you have a happy pint of frozen happiness to enjoy in a few hours time!
No Churn Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
1 cup heavy cream
2 egg yolks
1 vanilla bean
1/4 cup condensed milk
Bring the heavy cream to a bare simmer. Meanwhile, whip the yolks to pale yellow.Pour the hot cream in a steady stream into yolks while whisking continuously.
Transfer the uncooked custard mixture to low flame and cook stirring continuously until it coats the back of the spoon.
Remove and continue whisking over a cold water bath to stop the egg from cooking further.
Scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean into a large bowl. Add the condensed milk.
Strain the custard through a sieve into this bowl and mix to incorporate.
Let it is cool to room temperature. Then, refrigerate for atleast an hour.
When cool, whip the cold custard on medium high speed for a couple of minutes.
Transfer the whipped custard cream into a mold and refrigerate for atleast four hours.
Scoop and serve as you please.
