My mother used to say, “A poor cook blames her utensils.” As usual – in retrospect – she was right. Chances are, it wasn’t the cookie sheet’s fault that the cookies burned.
The corollary to her adage is that too often we think that without a particular whatsis, we can’t make whatever, so we give up before we start. Or we buy elaborate equipment. We buy bread machines and rice cookers and ice cream makers because we think we can’t make bread or rice or ice cream without them. But, of course, we can.
I went shopping for an ice cream maker several years ago. I was starting to write a book about ice cream, so I needed to make lots of it. I wanted something simple and sturdy and not too expensive. I discovered that ice cream makers range from a $20 ball kids toss back and forth as a way of churning the ice cream to sophisticated machines that make ice cream at the touch of a button and cost in excess of $500.
I knew tossing the ball wouldn’t do the job for me. But I couldn’t justify the cost of the high-end machine. So I bought an electric ice cream maker that cost about $40. Unlike its $500 counterpart, its container has to be frozen overnight before it can be used. But that’s not a problem. I just keep it in the freezer all the time. There’s usually a bag of frozen peas in it to save space.
It works just fine. Because the secret of good ice cream isn’t the utensil. It’s the cream, the milk, the spices, the nuts, the fruits, the flavorings, and the way the cook combines them all that make the difference. It’s the ingredients and the cook. Not whether the ice cream was churned in a Brand X or a Brand Z machine. And yet, people always ask me what brand I use. As if that is key to great ice cream.
Actually, I learned that lots of traditional and quite wonderful frozen desserts don’t require any ice cream maker at all. Semifreddo, spumone, frozen mousse, frozen parfait, biscuit Tortoni, granita – they’re all made without one. And they’re all terrific.
This espresso granita is simple to make and sure to impress guests. Yet it doesn’t require any expensive utensils. My mother would have approved.
Espresso granita
Espresso granita is traditional and very versatile. Serve it in cups and top with softly whipped cream. Or alternate layers of espresso granita and whipped cream in tall glasses. It’s also very nice served with coffee, hazelnut or almond-flavored liqueur poured over it.
Two 8-ounce cups of brewed espresso or strong coffee
(Use decaf if coffee keeps you awake and you plan to serve this after dinner.)
1/4 cup sugar
A slice of lemon peel
Brew the coffee. If you have an espresso maker, use it. If not, just brew according to your usual method but make it a little stronger than you ordinarily would. Stir in sugar to dissolve. Taste and add more sugar if necessary. Add lemon peel. Let the mixture cool, then strain it.
Pour the coffee into a shallow pan, large enough so the liquid isn’t more than an inch deep. An 8-inch square pan works well. Freeze until it’s icy around the edges. Then, using a fork, scrape the icy crystals from the edges of the pan breaking them up into the smallest possible grains. Repeat every half hour or so until the entire mixture consists of small grains of frozen coffee. Serve or store in a plastic container in your freezer.
Just before you serve it, fluff up the grains with a fork again. It’s best to make this on the same day you plan to serve it, but it will keep for another day or so. Serves four.