To Egg or Not to Egg?

The New York Times posted an excellent article today about going egg-free to create a lighter, more intensely flavoured ice cream. It's certainly food for thought. What I absolutely love most about ice cream is its creamy, decadent richness, which comes from using an egg-based custard. In the article, David Lebovitz, author of "A Perfect Scoop" (my bible), says this new egg-free ice cream goes against the Haagen-Daz style of “fat-is-flavor”. But isn't fattening the very point of ice cream?

In any case, I'll definitely try out these egg-less recipes to compare. At the very least, it might help spare me some calories.

What Do Ice Cream and Hip Hop Have in Common?

An excuse to party! It's It, Adidas Berkeley and a crew of three are hosting The Original It's It Ice Cream Social. You can dance, drink, eat ice cream and get free stuff all night this Friday at Azul Lounge and Bar (11 Tillman Street). Just so you know, It's It is a local San Francisco treat -- delicious vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two chocolate covered cookies. Whoop whoop!

Snow Cream!

Growing up in Canada, you'd think I would've had snow cream before but I haven't! It's also a shame that I found this recipe now and not when I was home for Christmas. Trust me, there was plenty of snow to make this with. 

Snow Ice Cream
Snow (8 cups)
Sugar (1 cup)
Whole milk or heavy cream (1 cup)
Vanilla extract (1 teaspoon)
The amount of each ingredient really depends on the type of snow - light and fluffy or wet and icy. Gather *clean* snow, add about 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of milk or cream to start. Then mix together.

Room to Grow?

Haagen-Dazs plans to expand its Bay area presence and will open 25 new retail locations. Competing with Ben & Jerry's, Coldstone Creamery and local gourmet faves Mitchells, BiRite and Humphrey Slocumbe plus the current froyo onslaught, will it survive?
http://www.mercurynews.com/business-headlines/ci_14046850?nclick_check=1

Peter Peter Pumpkin Ice Cream Eater

The jury's out. My pumpkin pie ice cream (with cinnamon cookies representing pie crust) is just alright. Everyone who sampled it said the flavour was good but the texture was off. And I agree. Perhaps it was from adding an extra tablespoon or two of rum (I couldn't resist!) or not letting the ice cream soften at room temperature long enough, but the ice cream wasn't as creamy as I hoped and it came out more icy in texture. There was also a dry after taste perhaps from too much cinnamon? All in all, this pumpkin ice cream is enjoyable enough for me but I wouldn't serve it to Peter or future guests. It was a fun experiment though!

Here's the recipe for those interested. I found it on a blog by David Lebovitz, the god of ice cream.

'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!)