The Best Thing In My Mouth - ABC Kitchen Sundae

Last Thursday, I treated myself to a fancy lunch at ABC Kitchen.  I have been dying to go there after I heard about their salted caramel sundae with candied peanuts, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and popcorn.  Like really!?  As an ice cream freak I had to try it, and I glad I did, because it was the best thing I tasted all week.  Toffee popcorn is officially my new topper on ice cream (specifically Garrett's).  I also loved that the chocolate sauce was in the bottom of the bowl, like a swimming pool for my three mounds of salted caramel ice cream.  And yes I shared, so don't judge.

Banana Split Upgrade

I went to Co. a couple weeks ago and got their banana split for dessert.  Although, this split was definitely not my favorite (I prefer ice cream over gelato any day), they added loads of toasted hazelnuts. Replacing your typical chopped peanuts for hazelnuts might be more expensive, but it gave the split a more refined a special feel.  Try it at home!

To read more about Co. and their awesome pizza, click here.

Root Beer Float & Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Most people know how to make a root beer float, but using homemade vanilla ice cream takes it to another level.  I made these decadent root beer floats (based on the Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook recipe) last weekend in celebration of Kansas' 150th birthday.  I used David Lebovitz's Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from his book The Perfect Scoop.  Honestly, I never go crazy for vanilla, I am more of a chocolate girl, but this ice cream is to die for.  Using fresh vanilla bean creates a more rich, complex flavor compared to store-bought vanilla.  See below for the Clinton Street root beer float recipe as well as David Lebovitz's vanilla ice cream recipe.

Momofuku Milk Bar

If you are in the mood for dessert, and want something off the beaten path, try Momofuku's Milk Bar.  There are actually two locations, one in the East Village and the other in Midtown.  I have only been to the East Village spot.  It is dimly lit with a chalkboard menu behind the dessert-filled counter, along with tall tables with bar stools that fill the space.  I have stopped in there a couple of times for their compost cookies, but the last time I was there I tried their Old Fashioned Donut Soft Serve.  OMG!  It tasted seriously exactly like an old fashioned doughnut, except cold and soft.  I also love the way they serve it - a small cup overflowing with ice cream and a cute wooden spoon to make you feel like you are in first grade again.  Besides their soft serve and cookies, people rave about the Crack Pie, which my friend described to me as pecan pie, without the pecans, just the sugary filling.  Sounds gross to me, but I am not the norm.

If you don't live in NYC, don't fret.  Milk Bar actually ships their cookies, pies, and cereal milk (yes, it is milk that tastes like corn flakes - whoa) now.  February 9th is the last day they are accepting orders for Valentine's Day.  It's coming up people!  Click here to check out their menu.  Click here to see their shipping menu.  And click here if you want to make your own compost cookies.

The Best Thing I Had In My Mouth - Dairy Queen Pecan Mudslide

A couple weeks ago, I flew to Iowa to visit my parents and surprise my grandma for her birthday.  Of course, I had to hit my most favorite fast food spots.  Sorry to make the fast-food stereotype stick in the Midwest, but even a snoot like me still enjoys some zesty curly fries from Arby's, hush puppies from Long John Silvers, and of course ice cream from Dairy Queen.

There are no Dairy Queens in Manhattan, so it is truly a special treat when I can go.  I walked in and asked for a Tropical Blizzard, and to my dismay the high school girls looked puzzled.  Ummm in case you didn't know, it's vanilla ice cream blended with shredded coconut, pecans, banana, and pineapple.  What is even more puzzling is that it is the Blizzard's 25th birthday.  Hello - shouldn't we be celebrating DQ's Blizzard diversity?  Bring back the Tropical Blizzard (by the way it is Tom Brokaw's favorite too)!  So I then requested a grape StarKiss, and they were out.  DEVASTATING.  I finally order a Pecan Mudslide.  Although, it wasn't the first two things I requested, it was still the best thing I had in my mouth all weekend.

This time last year, I made Flourless Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies.  Click here for the recipe.

Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream

Anytime I mention the yellow ice cream truck, aka Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream, people sigh deeply and say, "I love their ice cream...its sooooo good."  I think they even close their eyes while they talk about it.  I can't help it, but I roll my eyes.  One of the yellow trucks is a few blocks away from my office, so I have stopped by twice.  I will admit the truck is super cute.  It is a pale yellow that is soft and sweet, and the illustrations on the side of the truck always makes me slow down and ponder whether I should get a scoop.  On my first visit, I chose strawberry ice cream.  It was the middle of June - strawberry season, and I had very high hopes.  The most obvious problem I had with the ice cream was that there were no chunks of strawberries - it was all one smooth, light pink scoop.  WHAT?  Hello - show case your seasonal ingredients!  The other issue was that it just wasn't creamy enough.  The ice cream had a an icy and grainy texture, which surprises me because on their website they state the finished product contains 18 percent butterfat and 30 percent overrun, which is typical to premium standards according to Harold McGee in On Food and Cooking.  Overall, the strawberry ice cream had a nice, natural flavor, but I still walked back to work disappointed.

After I explained my first experience to friends, they were in shock.  Perhaps, I had chosen the wrong flavor?  In my opinion, there shouldn't be a wrong flavor, if there is - don't put it on the menu.  So a few weeks ago I went back in hope for the little yellow truck to redeem itself.  This time I chose an Earl Grey ice cream cone.  Okay, I know this is an untraditional flavor, but I wasn't interested in the hazelnut ice cream that everyone raves about.  The flavor was light, subtle, and quietly complex with hints of orange mixed with the tea.  Unfortunately, I still could not get past the icy texture.  This ice cream was even worse than the first.  There were actual small chunks of ice in every bite! 

Small strawberry ice cream cone - $3.95

So now that I have talked trash about Van Leeuwen's, I will give them props for using hormone-free milk and cream from farmers in Lewis County, New York.  Their disposable goods are 100 percent renewable too!  They use Bagasse, a fiber made from sugar cane husks for their cups and napkins, and they use corn husk for their drinking cups, spoons, and straws.  And on top of that, 1 percent of their profits go to Wildlife Direct, to protect the endangered Mountain Gorilla.  


So if you are in New York, I recommend going to the little yellow truck on 23rd Street and Fifth Avenue and paying $3.95 for a small cone (which is actually quite big) and decide for yourself.  Get the hazelnut or coffee ice cream, but I would actually recommend just making your own.  Van Leeuwen's has nothing on David Lebovitz!

Oatmeal-Raisin Ice Cream

I didn't think I would ever make an ice cream that I would like better than the Aztec "Hot" Chocolate Ice Cream, but this Oatmeal-Raisin Ice Cream from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop is a close call.  I made this ice cream a couple month ago, and I still can't stop thinking about it.  If you like oatmeal raisin cookies, you will love this ice cream.  There are about three steps to the ice cream, making the custard, making the oatmeal praline, and the plumping the raisins.  It is definitely worth the steps, because is seriously delicious.

Coffee Ice Cream

I made this coffee ice cream from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop about a month ago.  It went so quickly, that I forgot to snap a photo of the finished product.  Below is the recipe:

Ingredients for David Lebovitz's Coffee Ice Cream:

-1 1/2 cups whole milk
-3/4 cup sugar
-1 1/2 cups whole coffee beans
-Pinch of Salt
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
-5 large egg yolks
-1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1/4 teaspoon finely ground coffee

Warm the milk, sugar, whole coffee beans, salt and 1/2 cup pf the cream in a medium saucepan.  Once the mixture is warm, cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

Rewarm the coffee-infused milk mixture.  Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.  Slowly pour the warm coffee mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.  Pour the custard through the strainer and stir into the cream.  Press on the coffee beans in the strainer to extract as much of the coffee flavor as possible, then discard the beans.

Mix in the vanilla and the finely ground coffee and stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

For another coffee treat, try this Chocolate Espresso Mousse Cake!

Cinnamon Ice Cream

As I mentioned in my previous post, I made cinnamon ice cream for Thanksgiving. I thought the ice cream would create a more special pie a la mode. It was packed with cinnamon, but it was not the type of flavor that would overpower the pies. This cinnamon ice cream came from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop. Yes, I know I am obsessed. This recipe required making a custard, which isn't as intimidating as I thought it would be, but still something that takes a little more time and awareness.

Here are a few tips from Lebovitz on how to make custard:

*Before getting started, prepare an ice bath to quicken the chilling of the custard. This means a lot of ice and a cup or two of water so the cubes are just barely floating.
*Heat the milk or liquid in a medium-sized saucepan on the stove using a nonreactive cookware, such as stainless steel.
*In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.
*The next step is to temper the yolks. This is a part where you need to be careful. Once the milk and is hot and steamy, slowly and gradually pour the milk into the egg yolks, constantly whisking so the egg yolks don't become cooked and you have eggy bits. David advises to remove the saucepan from the heat and ladle the liquid in whisking constantly.
*Scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan and then stir the custard over moderate heat using a heat-proof spatula or straight-edged wooden spoon. Cook, stirring nonstop, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Be sure to scrape the bottom while stirring. Do not let the custard boil!
*You will know the custard is done when it begins to steam and you feel it just beginning to cook as you scrape the spatula across the bottom of the pan. You can test it by running your finger across the spatula coated with custard: it is done when your finger leaves a definite trail that doesn't flow back together.
*You can check for doneness with an instant read thermometer; it should read between 170 and 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
*Immediately pour the hot mixture through the strainer into the chilled bowl of cream in its ice bath and stir. Once cool, refrigerate thoroughly.
*If your custard does boil or curdle, you can rescue it by blending it while it is warm with an immersion or standing blender.

Here are the ingredients for David Lebovitz's Cinnamon Ice Cream, makes 2 quarts (which is double the original recipe):
-2 cups whole milk
-1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
-2 pinches of salt
-Twenty 3-inch cinnamon sticks, broken up
-4 cups heavy cream
-10 large egg yolks

To begin, warm the milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon sticks and 2 cups of cream in a medium saucepan.Once warm, cover and remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.
In the meantime, separate eggs and whisk egg yolks in medium bowl.Pour the remaining 2 cups cream and place mesh strainer on top. Prepare ice bath.Rewarm the cinnamon infused milk mixture. Remove the cinnamon sticks with a slotted spoon and discard them.
Slowly pour or ladle the warm mixture into the egg yolks, stirring constantly to prevent eggs from cooking. Then scrape the mixture back into the saucepan.
Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.

Pour the custard through the strainer and into the cream. Stir over ice bath until cool.I needed to scrap the bottom more, but the custard still turned out fine.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Serve with alone or with your favorite fall pie.

Aztec "Hot" Chocolate Ice Cream

This is the best ice cream I have ever made (which isn't hard since I have only made a few kinds), but it is also one of the best ice creams I have ever tasted. I found this recipe for Aztec "Hot" Chocolate Ice Cream in David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop. What makes this chocolate ice cream special is its complex flavor due to the chile powder, ground cinnamon, and brandy added. Lebovitz suggests using ancho or chipotle chile powder, which you can find at Mexican markets. I found whole dry ancho chiles in Dallas, Texas at a bulk food store called Sprouts Farmers Market, and ended up just grinding a couple up (after removing their stems) in a coffee grinder I rarely use. The coffee grinder create a pretty fine powder, but it was still coarse enough that it created a subtle texture in the ice cream. If you are worried about the strength of your chile powder, add a small amount and let it sit for a while and see if you like it before adding more.

Here are the ingredients for David Lebovitz's Aztec "Hot" Chocolate Ice Cream:
-2 1/4 cups heavy cream
-6 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
-3/4 cup sugar
-3 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
-1 1/4 cups whole milk
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-Pinch of salt
-1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
-2 to 3 teaspoons chile powder
-2 tablespoons brandy

To begin, chop the chocolate and set aside.
Whisk together the cream, cocoa powder, and sugar in a large saucepan. Heat the mixture over medium heat, whisking frequently, until it comes to a full rolling boil. It will start to foam up.
Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate, then whisk until it is competely melted.
Stir in the milk, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, chile powder, and brandy.Pour the mixture into a blender and blend for 30 seconds, until very smooth.
Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to instructions.
Place your ice cream in an air tight container and place plastic wrap on top to reduce freezer burn.

If you get a chance to make ice cream - make this one! It is so satisfying - chocolatey, warm, and hint of brandy all the way through - you will not be disappointed.