Friday Faves – Big City Cooking makes Frozen Yogurt
Niki from Big City Cooking is another one of those bloggers that I started following a while ago. I love the consistency of the approachable recipes that she posts. Niki just announced yesterday that she’s renaming her blog three square to merge her blog with her business. Be sure to check out her first wedding cake order pictures which are getting posted today hopefully!
Hi my name is Niki [aka wifeplzak] and I started the blog Big City Cooking in June of 2008. At that time I was a newly wed with a husband who was back in school and therefore I had lots of free time on my hands. I started playing around in the kitchen and discovered a passion for food. I soon went back to school myself to pursue my culinary arts certificate and now operate a small catering business. Feel free to come check out my blog any time!
I am currently expecting my first baby [three more months to go!] and have been suffering from an incurable craving for frozen yogurt. Luckily for me a new shop opened up two blocks from my office. I now go there 3-4 times a week. eek! As there are no frozen yogurt places near my house in the burbs I decided I should learn to make my own. Man was I surprised when I found out how simple it really it. Plus I love finding a new reason to use my ice cream maker. I added vanilla and sprinkles to this batch but the possibilities are endless. I am thinking frozen raspberries and chocolate chips will be my next creation. While I day dream flavor combinations you should seriously try this recipe!
Sprinkle Frozen Yogurt
Yield: 1 quart
Ingredients:
3 cups Greek-style yogurt
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp sprinkles
Directions:
Mix together the yogurt, sugar, and vanilla. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Refrigerate 1 hour.
Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. After approximately 20 minutes in the ice cream maker add the sprinkles.
Recipe from David Lebovitz - The Perfect Scoop
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I am of two minds on this post. On the one hand, my OCD really kicked in when I read that you had not followed Mark Bittman’s recipe but still decided to write about it. Seemed a bit sloppy for a nerd and an engineer. On the other hand, that is how Pasteur discovered Penicillin. Bittman is such a great cook, that I think he deserves better treatment; so I plan to do him the honor of making his recipe. I am not going to make the other two though!
Oops! Senior moment that – it was the Scottish scientist and Nobel laureate Alexander Fleming in 1928. Apparently, the Pasteur Institut ignored the work of a French physician, Ernest Duchesne, who in 1897 discovered the curative properties of the Penicillium Glaucum, a different mold than the one Fleming discovered, but in the same genus. Gotta love Wikipedia.
There are two tapioca recipes on the Minute Tapioca box. I always use the one for Fluffy Pudding, which calls for 2 cups milk and whipping the egg whites separately from the cooked milk with tapioca and egg yolk. I think you will find the pudding much improved over the basic recipe.
Also, the quality of the vanilla makes a huge difference in something like tapioca. Cooks Illustrated likes McCormick and I found this on amazon and at Sam’s Club in large bottles for very reasonable prices.
One other note: I find that CI has a sweet tooth: their recipes are sometimes too sweet for my taste, though they are a go-to source otherwise.
This is an interesting discussion. I tried the Kraft recipe today. I threw everything (except the vanilla) in the blender before putting it on the stove. I also added 1/2 tsp. salt and a bit more vanilla. I actually thought it was sweet enough already, though. However, I agree with your overall conclusion that it’s a bit boring. Well, at least it was easy. Anyway, next time I may a recipe using large tapioca. 🙂
Thanks for the comparison.