Summer BBQ: Salad and Dessert

As Porthos described, our 2008 Labor Day BBQ kicked major ars. Since the fellas were in charge of the plethora of meats, I decided to complement the pig with my Asian version of the Waldorf Salad. I figured a sweet spicy salad would play off the rich pig well and it really paired very nicely. Also, since the wife of Maximus Edicus decided to make brownies, I figured why not do a custard gelato.

Asian Waldorf Salad
My play on the classic waldorf salad which is basically apples, grapes, and walnuts. I substituted the apples with asian pears, grapes with lychees, and walnuts with cashews. In this version, you get the crunch, tanginess, sweetness, and some heat. Very refreshing salad on a summer day and pairs well with a rich meat dish.

Ingredients (all are guesses, since I never measure)
3 cups cashews, crushed
1 bag cleaned arugula
6 asian pears cut into 1 inch dice
2 cans of lychees halved (fresh ones are better, but hard to find great ones)
1/2 cup mayo
1 cup kefir
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp yellow pepper hot sauce (my favorite is Baron's)
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/4 cup lychee juice from the can

1) Combine mayo, kefir, lychee juice, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and yellow pepper hot sauce and whisk together. Salt and pepper. Taste and re-adjust amounts if necessary...should be on the thinner side, slighty sweet, tangy and spicy.
2) Add enough of the dressing to the the asian pears and lychees just enough to coat.
3) When it's time to serve, add the arugula, cashews, and enough of the dressing to coat. Serve immediately.

Custard Gelato
I found this Italian recipe and I assumed the sweetness would be fine, since Italians don't like overly sweet desserts. This was completely not the case as it was way too sweet for my taste. The texture was nice, so this is a guestimate of how I think the recipe should have been to adjust the sweetness. The key to gelato is to have a dense texture - less air, leads to better flavor and texture as the Italians believe. I will play with this some more and let you know the results.

Ingredients
7 egg yolks
3 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
rind of 3/4 orange - make sure no pith (white part)
juice of 3 orange segments

1) Whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar in a medium sized pot until the egg yolks become pale - about 3-5 minutes.
2) Simmer milk over medium heat with the orange rind in a medium sized pot. Let it come to a slight simmer and remove from the heat...should be little bubbles starting to form only and please make sure it doesn't boil. About 5 minutes.
3) Remove the orange rind and then slowly add the milk to the egg yolks about a cup at a time. Make sure to whisk thoroughly while adding the milk - otherwise you'll get scrambled eggs. Once the mixture is combined, add the mixture back to the stove top over medium heat. Whisk for 2 minutes then remove from the heat.
4) Place the medium sized pot in a roasting pan and fill with ice around the sides to cool the mixture down. After 15-30 minutes cover the medium sized pot with the custard and place in the freezer. The cooler the mixture is, the better the texture of the gelato.
5) After 3-4 hours in the freezer, pour the mixture into your ice cream machine and churn according to your manufacturer's instructions. Mine was about 20-25 minutes.
6) After it's finished, cover and place in the fridge for 3-4 hours. When you're about to serve, let it sit for 5-10 minutes.