'Tis The Season

I love this time of year, especially in San Francisco. You can feel the season change, just enough to bring out the sweater, scarf and boots, yet it never gets that cold. It's also a fun time of year because my birthday is in November, Thanksgiving arrives with 2 days off and Christmas comes before we know it. Bah, it's hard to be humbug!

So in the spirit, I got back into ice cream practice with two seasonal staples -- pumpkin and eggnog. But they both seemed boring on their own. I rummaged the cabinets and found some leftover walnuts and Trader Joe's cinnamon schoolbook cookies. I toasted the walnuts and crumbled the cookies but now I can't decide which belongs with which ice cream. The texture and taste of the cookies could resemble the crust of pumpkin pie while the crunchy, salty nuts could balance the richness and sugary sweetness of egg nog. I think that's the pairing! I'll let you know how it turns out in the morning after it goes through the maker. Then I'm shopping! It's also that time of year for fabulous sales. Too fun!

A New Home

From an old 1908 Victorian in historic Nob Hill to a shiny new condo in up and coming Rincon Hill, my ice cream maker has a new home. And it loves it! No more shoddy kitchen. No more cramped counter space. Best of all, no more ants marching single file straight into my fridge and freezer. Ice cream making and cooking will never be the same! The only sign of ants now is this.

Well, hello there Mr. Ant. Aren't you cute? I promise not to Raid you! (Special thanks to Deirdre, my former upstairs neighbour, for the perfect housewarming card!)

An American Original

After ascending the top of Angel Island, a hearty lunch and margaritas at Guaymas in Tiburon and a pretty ferry ride back to San Francisco, my friends and I craved dessert. Jason wanted Cara's Cupcakes but it just closed so we opted for ice cream. Unfortunately, the long line of tourists, overly-sweet smell of chocolate along with a pricey $8.25 hot fudge sundae at Ghiradelli Square prompted us to give up our killer parking spot and we headed to Swensen's Ice Cream Parlour - by far the better move.

This is the first and original location that Earle Swensen opened at the corner of Union & Hyde (a few blocks from my apartment) in 1948. Now there are over 300 Swensen's ice cream outlets worldwide churning premium ice cream "as good as (Earle's) father used to make." Sarah emerged with a hot fudge sundae and I came out with mocha fudge in a waffle cone, both for under $10.

The menu at Swensen's is traditional. It even sounds retro - Rocky Road, Cookies and Cream, Almond Praline Delight, Mocha Fudge compared to Humphrey Slocombe and Bi-Rite Creamery, who concoct innovative flavours of green tea black sesame seed, kumquat poppy and pistachio bacon. Sometimes in today's age of artisanal and gourmet, old-fashioned is a nice return.

Hubba Hubba Hubby Hubby

Way to go Ben & Jerry's! To celebrate Vermont's new same-sex marriage law, which passed today, the ice cream maker renamed their signature Chubby Hubby flavour to Hubby Hubby. Too bad it's only available in Vermont. I wanna get my hetero-hands on the special sundae in stores only!
http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/09/ben-jerrys-chubby-hubby-renamed-hubby-hubby-in-support-of-gay-marriage.html

The Best Ice Cream Parlours in SF

I'm finally back and sorry for the hiatus. Life got very busy after my last post in March. I traveled to Peru (Andes mountains trek, Machu Picchu and Lima), New York, Boston, Calgary, Banff and Vancouver. At work, I clocked in some long hours and launched a couple of brand new products into the market. I'm also searching for a home to buy and training for a half-marathon. Does that help justify my absence from this blog?

Lately it seems all my spare time is devoted to running. I assume I'm burning lots of calories so it's a perfect time to get back into ice cream because I can do it *guilt-free*! I'll try to be super diligent, dust off the ol' machine and start making some more. Until then I'll get my post-run ice cream fix at some of the best parlours (spelled the English and Canadian way) in town. Here's the top eight according to Gourmet magazine.
http://www.gourmet.com/restaurants/2009/08/ice-cream-parlors-in-san-francisco

Ice Cream War

I just learned from another friend who's into ice cream that Haagen-Daz is reducing the size of their pints from 16 ounces to 14 ounces, prompting Ben & Jerry's to strike. No wonder Haagen-Daz is on sale at the supermarket. They're trying to sell off the bigger pints! But in this economic recession, is it better to downsize pints or people?

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=101869

Been Caught Cheating

I know you're supposed to "eat your own dog food" but tonight I'm cheating and enjoying my favourite ice cream of all time - Haagen-Daz Caramel Cone. But let me explain! As I walked down the aisle at Cala Foods today, I saw 3 pints for $10. How could I resist a sale? I guess this means I need to start searching for a caramel cone recipe to make but this Haagen-Daz original is gonna be hard to match.