I is for Ice Cream

Oh, how I L.O.V.E. ice cream. I mean…love. It could be from Blue Bell, Dairy Queen, Braum’s, 31 Flavors, or homemade. It doesn’t matter. I just love it.

It’s creamy and delicious…sweet to the taste buds, and sinfully delightful on a hot summer day.

I prefer something with chocolate in it – could be vanilla with chocolate fudge or even chocolate with chocolate chunks. Or, better yet – how about a hot fudge sundae with a scattering of peanuts, topped with whipped cream and a cherry. Oh my. I have to say that’s probably my favorite. Or, you could simply top it with fresh strawberries and a drizzle of fudge sauce and I would be equally happy.

Pile it up on a warm brownie, or serve it a la mode with apple pie, cherry pie, or even in a banana split. There are so many ways to enjoy this delicious treat. Another favorite is Dippin’ Dots. They are so good – those little frozen balls of ice cream. Too delicious to pass up. We even tried to buy a Dippin’ Dots machine but they no longer make them.

I’m not sure if you have Dairy Queen where you’re from, but it’s a staple fast food restaurant throughout Texas. They make “blizzards” which consists of soft serve vanilla ice cream topped with a variety of ingredients – Reese’s peanut butter cups, Snickers, M&Ms, nuts, strawberries, fudge, or whatever else you want. They are amazing. On those summer nights when it’s been so incredibly hot (after all, it gets over 100 degrees here in Central Texas), we’ll sometimes make a DQ run for blizzards or dipped cones (vanilla ice cream on a cone dipped in chocolate that hardens after a few minutes).  The best part of the dipped cone is biting the swirly tip off the top. So yummy!

Fun Facts

• National Ice Cream Day is the third Sunday in July. This year that’ll be July 16th.
• Vanilla ice cream was not the first flavor invented because vanilla was so difficult to obtain. It was considered a rare ingredient.
• Ben & Jerry’s created the Cookie Dough ice cream flavor in 1991 from an anonymous suggestion on their website.
• Cookies & Cream was invented in 1983.
• It takes about 50 licks to finish off a single serve cone.
• Vanilla is the #1 favorite across the world.
• New Zealand and Australia are the top ice cream eating countries right after the USA.
• And my favorite – the ice cream sundae – was invented in 1904. Gotta love that.

RECIPES

No Cook Homemade Ice Cream

• 2-3 cans of sweetened condensed milk
• 1 medium can evaporated milk
• 1-2 tablespoons vanilla
• 1 gallon whole milk

Mix the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and vanilla together. Put in ice cream maker canister. Add whole milk until it reaches the “fill” line in the canister. Freeze according to directions.

Old Fashioned Chocolate Ice Cream

• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks, beaten
• 2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted
• 1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 2 tsp. vanilla extra

Combine milk and cream in a saucepan and heat on low heat until bubbles form around the edge and mixture is hot. Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Beat egg yolks in a small bowl and carefully add a few spoonfuls of hot cream mixture to eggs to gradually warm them. Stir eggs back into saucepan and continue to cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens slightly and reaches 160 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and strain custard into a bowl. Add chocolates, vanilla, and salt. Place bowl in a pan of cold or ice water and cool to room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to feeze. Pour into ice cream maker and follow instructions for freezing.

Ice Cream Making Tips:

• Don’t fill the canister completely. This allows the ice cream to freeze better.
• Freeze the canister first before filling with the creams/mixtures to allow it to freeze better.
• If you are cooking the ingredients first, cool the creamy mixture first to help with the freezing process.

What’s your favorite recipe? Share it with me! I’d love to try it!