23 Feb
Espresso Ice Cream
Posted by Michelle as Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts | 38 Comments
I know, I know. February isn’t over, the Snowpocalypse aftermath has yet to totally melt, and here I am posting ice cream. No, i didn’t lose track of my calendar. I know the middle of winter isn’t the most popular time of year to be perusing ice cream recipes, but let’s be honest. There’s always a birthday cake that needs an ice cream accompaniment. There’s always a best friend that needs some cheering up. And there’s never a bad excuse to cozy up with a pint of your favorite flavor, put on your favorite movie and enjoy some me time. Ice cream knows no seasonal boundaries and it’s just as acceptable to enjoy a bowl in January as it is in June. And bonus – it won’t melt as fast!
This recipe was actually inspired by a Valentine’s Day gift and a breakfast trip. My Chief Culinary Consultant loves espresso and so for the holiday, I got him a hand-press espresso maker
12 Aug
Pistachio Nut Ice Cream
Posted by Michelle as Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts | 23 Comments
In the interest of full disclosure, I am sharing the whole story about how this pistachio ice cream came to be. Developing this ice cream recipe has been a couple months in the making. Back when I made the pistachio gelato that kicked off National Ice Cream Month in July my Chief Culinary Consultant tasted it and wasn’t really blown away. And since he is always 100% honest in his reviews of my concoctions (which I totally love since I know when something is REALLY good or still needs work), I know if he tells me my pistachio gelato needs an overhaul to become great pistachio ice cream, I need to head back to the kitchen with my mad scientist cap on. Since pistachio is one of his favorite ice cream flavors, I set out to perfect homemade pistachio ice cream.
I should note that some other people did try the pistachio gelato and liked it. It doesn’t have the same consistency as ice cream and is chock full of finely chopped pistachios so it is different than store-bought pistachio ice cream, so you can use your own judgment based on your personal preferences to determine which you’d like to try. Or try both and come back and let me know what you thought!
31 Jul
Spumoni Ice Cream Terrine
Posted by Michelle as Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts | 23 Comments
When I asked my Chief Culinary Consultant last week if he had any ideas for new ice cream flavors since I still had two more Fridays left for celebrating July’s National Ice Cream Month, he offered up quite a few great ones, but the one we both got excited about was spumoni. I haven’t had spumoni since I was much younger, and was excited to tackle this traditional Italian frozen dessert. Little did I know when I decided to make this that in addition to another baking project I would also be tackling a research project. There was much to learn about spumoni! I wanted to make it as authentic as possible, so I went about reading everything I could find both online and in the cookbooks I own. Spumoni, known in Italy as Spumone, is a molded Italian ice cream made with layers of different colors and flavors, and containing a variety of fruits and nuts. The most traditional flavors are chocolate, pistachio and cherry with various nuts and fruit. In mine I chose to use hazelnuts with the chocolate layer, left pistachio as-is, and after reading much about the cherry layer finally settled on maraschino cherries, pineapple and almonds.
24 Jul
Butter Pecan Ice Cream
Posted by Michelle as Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts | 23 Comments
I’m continuing my celebration of National Ice Cream Month with a flavor that most would consider a classic and is found on the menu of just about every ice cream stand in towns both large and small. Butter Pecan was never a flavor I chose over other classics such as vanilla, chocolate, or cookies and cream, but it has always been a big favorite in my family – my mom and grandma both do back flips for great butter pecan ice cream. When thinking about what new flavor I could churn up for this week’s ice cream recipe, my Chief Culinary Consultant gave me some great ideas, including butter pecan. Smooth and creamy, the flavor reminiscent of melted toffee and just when you think it might be too sweet you get the contrasting crunch of toasted pecans. Perfection.
17 Jul
Tin Roof Ice Cream
Posted by Michelle as Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts | 42 Comments
Imagine the most perfect vanilla ice cream. Now layer it with a rich fudge sauce. Then mix in chocolate covered peanuts. Now stop imagining and go make this Tin Roof ice cream. Right.Now. For someone who loves nothing more than the sweet symphony of flavors that the combination of chocolate and peanuts mixed together provide, this is the ultimate treat. The traditional Tin Roof Sundae consists of vanilla ice cream topped with Spanish peanuts and chocolate sauce, and this ice cream mimics the old-fashioned sundae perfectly. The combination of sweet ice cream and fudge sauce with the saltiness of the peanuts is wonderful. Note that the recipe calls for unsalted peanuts, but I love the sweet/salty combo so I went for the salted peanuts, and am so glad I did – I love the contrasting flavor that they provide.
10 Jul
Chocolate Ice Cream
Posted by Michelle as Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts | 39 Comments
Oh.My.God. In his prologue to this recipe in The Perfect Scoop
03 Jul
Pistachio Gelato
Posted by Michelle as Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts | 21 Comments
July is National Ice Cream Month. As if I needed an actual excuse to eat more ice cream, I am embracing the holiday and bringing you a new ice cream recipe each Friday during the month of July to celebrate. And lucky for us, July has not four, but five Fridays this year. Woohoo! I also needed a good excuse to use my ice cream maker more often. Ironically, I used it more over the winter than I have so far this summer. I am kick-starting the month of ice cream with a Pistachio gelato. I’ve had this recipe in the back of my head for some time, for it was either after I received my ice cream maker or I found out I was no longer allergic to nuts that my Chief Culinary Consultant suggested I make pistachio ice cream. I never forgot, but just never got around to it. Me being lazy about ice cream? Totally ridiculous, and I needed to right this wrong.
16 Jun
Chocolate Espresso Semifreddo
Posted by Michelle as Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts | 36 Comments
Do you like those slushy, cold drinks that Starbucks sells? I believe Mocha Frappuccino is the name? Those, along with the hot chocolate, are the only drinks I enjoy from Starbucks. I know, I know, I’m in the minority. In any case, this dessert tastes like one of those drinks, spread over an Oreo cookie crust and popped into the freezer. In other words, absolutely freaking delicious. Now I had heard of semifreddo before and have even watched Giada DeLaurentiis make a couple, but I wasn’t sure what exactly classified a particular frozen dessert as a semifreddo, so I did some Googling. According to Wikipedia:
Semifreddo (Italian for “half cold”) is a class of semi-frozen desserts,
typically ice cream cakes, semi-frozen custards, and certain fruit tarts.
It also refers to an ice cream sandwich, in which the bread
is a lightly toasted croissant. It has the texture of frozen mousse.
This definitely qualifies as a semi-frozen custard and certainly has the texture of a frozen mousse.
03 Feb
Classic Vanilla Ice Cream
Posted by Michelle as Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts | 23 Comments
I’m sure it’s a bit bizarre to see ice cream recipes popping up during the winter months, but when you are lucky enough to receive the KA ice cream maker attachment for Christmas, there really isn’t an alternative to churning out new ice cream recipes! After a successful Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream, I definitely got the bug to keep trying new recipes and after hearing rave reviews, I ran out and picked up The Perfect Scoop
Vanilla ice cream is a classic that just about everyone loves, so mastering it was on the top of my list. A short list of ingredients ensures a rich, smooth, and fresh-tasting ice cream that melts in your mouth (slight pun intended). Using real vanilla beans gives the ice cream robust flavor and infuses it with speckles of vanilla bean, which I just love.
28 Dec
Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Posted by Michelle as Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts | 18 Comments
I have been lusting over the ice cream attachment for my Kitchen Aid stand mixer since the day I opened the box. I had never made homemade ice cream before, but the idea of being able to create any flavor combination imaginable seemed completely irresistible. I received an early Christmas present from my friend Annie and when I opened the box and saw it was the KA ice cream maker attachment I shrieked like a little kid on Christmas morning. I couldn’t wait to make my first batch! I had been saving a myriad of ice cream recipes as I had come across them, but I already knew what recipe I wanted to make. Cheesecake is by far my favorite dessert and I had stumbled across a recipe for Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream quite some time ago and had promised myself it would be my first ice cream recipe when I finally got around to getting the attachment. This was absolutely fabulous ice cream and I am officially addicted to homemade ice cream, I can’t wait to make my next batch!
