Internet, I have reached the Grim Determination stage of My Friend’s No Sweets Resolution.
I don’t have gnawing cravings for sweets anymore. I’ve made it 18 days with nary a sweet, and I have no doubt I can plow right through to the end of the month.
But I do have a deep yearning. This yearning has me poring over recipe blogs and Pinterest posts, pinning cookies and cakes and brownies with wild abandon.
Next month is so going to be The Month of Sweets.
Anyway, since sweets are occupying a lot of my brain space, let’s talk about ice cream.
My husband got a book of ice cream recipes for his birthday last October.
He got it from me, actually.
The book is Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer. (Unrelated to ice cream: Do you think there’s any way Jeni is related to Tami Taylor?!?!)
He’s recently been in quite the ice cream making mood. Over Christmas, he made Backyard Mint ice cream for the whole family. I don’t normally like mint ice cream, but this was SO SHRIEKING GOOD. It was made with lots of fresh mint, so it had a very fresh mint taste – not a spearmint or peppermint flavor. It was crisp and clean and fresh-tasting. Yum.
(I think I was the only one who liked it. But WHY? It was SO GOOD!)
Now that we’re home, he’s made two other Jeni’s recipes.
Because giving up sweets INCLUDES ICE CREAM, I may have done some pitiful whining and puppy-dog-eyeing when he mentioned his yen for ice creaming it up.
So we compromised: He would only make flavors that I wouldn’t want.
He’s kept his end of the bargain. The first batch he made was star anise ice cream. That was super easy for me to avoid. Not only do I haaaaaaate anise flavor, but the star anise itself looks like creepy little spiders swimming through the ice cream. No thank you.
Most recently, he made a batch called “Gucci Muu Muu.” I mean, I’m not going to eat a flavor with that name just on principle. LAME.
But it’s also a dark chocolate ice cream with yellow curry and toasted coconut. I’d skip it for the coconut alone, honestly, but the yellow curry makes it… weirdly curry-heavy. And the combination of chocolate (yum) and coconut (yuck) and curry (good in savory dinner foods) is just not something my tastebuds can handle.
(I know it’s curry-heavy because my husband needed me to hold the bag of chilled, steeped ice cream liquid steady over the ice cream maker. And a little bit of the ice cream liquid got on my hand. So I licked it off.)
(THIS DOES NOT COUNT AS FAILING AT MY “NO SWEETS” GOAL.)
The truth is, I am not a huge ice cream person.
I mean, I LIKE it. I am a human being. But it’s not a driving force in my life. It IS a driving force in my husband’s life. In fact, his love of ice cream is one of the most adorable, charming things about him. Before we go ANYWHERE – whether it’s to Paris for our honeymoon or to Columbus, OH for a fellowship interview – he researches all the ice cream in the area and plans exactly which ice cream we’ll try during our trip. He may or may not have back up ice cream stops, in case the first choices are closed or too busy. Ice cream is a Serious Priority, is what I’m saying.
But I’m a little more ambivalent.
I like Jeni’s ice cream. Jeni has come up with some crazy flavors. I wouldn’t call them “splendid,” mainly because I don’t use that word very often. But some of them are pretty amazing. The Cherry Lambic Sorbet is delicious. So is the Lime Cardamom. The Goat Cheese with Cognac Figs is wonderful – despite the figs, which I do not like. Salty Caramel is pretty good.
My university had a couple of ice cream shops just outside of campus. My husband and roommates and I would go out for Thai food and then go straight to one of those ice creameries (the better one, in my opinion. Though many would disagree with me.). There, I’d order green tea ice cream. Or cookie dough ice cream (which didn’t have chunks of cookie dough – instead, it was a soft, dough colored base with tons of mini-chocolate chips in it). Or sweet cream ice cream.
As far as Ben & Jerry’s flavors go, I have a weakness for Phish Food. There’s just something about the marshmallow ribbon and the caramel swirl and the fudgy fish. (I may or may not have bought many pints of Phish Food from the campus convenience store when I was in college.)
The first time I ever had Coldstone ice cream was in California. I was visiting my college roomie/dear friend for several weeks, and she took me to Coldstone and I was blown away. I had the sweet cream with fresh raspberries.
No other Coldstone has ever measured up to that first time. Believe me, I’ve tried.
When it comes to other chains… well, it’s not uncommon for me to skip the ice cream altogether.
Except Dairy Queen. I’m a sucker for a chocolate Dilly Bar.
But my single most common ice cream order is chocolate. Regular chocolate – not dark chocolate.
Usually, I’ll get a chocolate milk shake. If I’m feeling fancy, I’ll go for a scoop of chocolate with caramel sauce.
If I’m being REALLY adventurous, I’ll do lemon something. Or raspberry something. Or cheesecake something, if that’s available.
I don’t really like CHUNKS of things in my ice cream (Phish Food notwithstanding. I didn’t say I am CONSISTENT.). Chips, on occasion. Fruit and candy, not so much. Nuts, no thank you.
And please, keep your bananas away from my ice cream.
Well. I am QUITE SURE you have DEEPLY ENJOYED learning about my ice cream proclivities.
So now! Please regale me with your own. Best/worst chain ice cream? Favorite flavors? Ice cream no-nos? Personal ice-creamy quirks?
Go!
Ooh, my dad got that ice cream book for his birthday, and it may have caused me to gain some pounds when I was visiting home over Christmas. I also live close enough to Columbus that we can get the real Jenis at a few specialty places… and so when you’re back to eating sweets: the salted caramel and the cognac vanilla are EXCELLENT.
But when I go out for ice cream somewhere (around here, I go for only the local favorite: Graeter’s!) I rarely venture away from chocolate. It could have some peanut butter or other chocolatey things mixed in, but if I know I love it, why bother with something else? Certainly nothing with nuts.
I have always been a frozen dessert kind of gal. I remember eating ice cream in bed to stay warm on a winter evening. Moving to the midwest introduced me to frozen custard (yum), and more recently friends raving about Graeters (?) ice cream I think Cincinnati. My sister recently called to tell me they carry it at Kroger/Fry’s…. it’s pretty delicious. In college a group of us got together to eat ice cream, Bryers and we started collecting the containers just to get an idea of how much we had “shared”. It was a small apartment, but we stacked about 50 half-gallons along the kitchen wall by the end of the year. I can attach a memory to just about every flavor. Thanks for the great post that got me thinking about flavors and people I love. And I am proud of anyone who can do without it for so long. I may have to get a hold of that book!
If I were granted three wishes by a genie, I would waste one of them on being able to eat dairy again (yes, over and above world peace). Give me a salted caramel ice cream, please.
If you’re ever in Austin, please please go to an Amy’s Ice Cream. It is, hands down, the best ice cream I’ve ever head. And I, like you, am not even that into ice cream.
The BEST ice cream is Talenti Sea Salt Caramel. Actually, I think it’s gelato. Whatever. It’s waaaay too expensive and we go through wayyy too many pints of it a month. But, it’s worth it.
There was an ice cream shop in our town when I was in high school that had Sweet Cream & Brownies ice cream. OMG. OMG.
My usual favorite now is Breyer’s vanilla with Hershey’s syrup and salted roasted peanuts, or Mint Oreo. MMMmm.
I strongly dislike chocolate and ice cream. Why adulterate perfectly good ice cream with yucky chocolate? One time I instructed my husband to buy coffee ice cream and he came home with chocolate ice cream (the color is the same and he was in a hurry and blah, blah, blah) and I was utterly repulsed. I find it difficult to believe that people actually LIKE chocolate ice cream. Don’t even get me started on chocolate chips and chocolate chunks in ice cream. Why?! Why?! (Or maybe this has more to do with my intense dislike of chocolate than my love of ice cream…)
There’s quite a few North East Ohio ice cream places that I love. Handel’s and Katie’s Korner to name a few, but Coldstone will do in a pinch. I love ice cream, so I’m all about tasting from different places. I actually worked at an ice cream shop for 2 summers while I was in high school (It was called Scoopers, but it’s out of business now). Thankfully it was in high school and I was supper busy, so I didn’t gain weight from it. 🙂
If you ever get to the California North Coast, be sure to visit Cowlick’s Ice Cream in downtown Fort Bragg. So yummy-tastic! If you can’t pick just one flavor, you can order two half scoops for your freshly made waffle cone. It is one of our ‘musts’ on our trips.
BTW, ditto on the Phish Food!
I adore black cherry ice cream – I don’t know if it’s the subtle hint of almond flavoring (which I love) or the cherries themselves. I have not attempted to make my own. But I LOVE it above all others. I’ve made a pretty rockin’ berry frozen yogurt at home too.
I despise ice cream with “stuff” in it, so Coldstone is a big fat NO for me. They’re all, “GET A MIX IN,” and they’re so PUSHY about it. nooooo. Anyhow, we live five blocks from this gourmet ice creamery, Molly Moon’s, and they sell the most fantastic salted caramel ice cream in the world. That is my favorite from now until forever.
I am not an ice cream fan either but OMG…..we have a local ice cream shop where they make a peanut butter ice cream with peanut butter sauce that I could take a bath in and come out loving it even more…. I haven’t tried a salty caramel ice cream yet but it sounds awesome.
I LOVE ice cream. All kinds. My fav is vanilla ice cream with strawberries and marshmallow. OMG I want some RIGHT NOW.
I’m only kind of a fan of ice cream. When I am eating it, it is the best thing ever, but when I am not eating it, I never crave it and I never seek it out. I love peppermint ice cream. And I love vanilla ice cream with Heath bars crunched up in it.
I would kill for a Jeni’s in Akron. Fave attainable ice cream is Ben and Jerry’s Brownie Batter (YUM)
For years my husband and I would eat ice cream together every night while watching a show (like Alias)…it was our thing. Now our children think that it is a moral imperative to have ice cream every night. (They do not always get it. We are still reasonable parents.) (Sometimes.) I really love Breyers Mint Chocolate Chip. While I do love chocolate, I don’t love chocolate ice cream, but I do love chocolate in my ice cream. Milk shakes are A-OK; we like to make them at home. Some of the best ice cream I ever had was in Princeton, NJ, at Halo Pub. HIghly recommend.
Oh, dear. I’m afraid I could eat ice cream all the livelong day if given the chance. My very favorite, since childhood, is peppermint ice cream – not mint or mint-chocolate, although those are good, but pink peppermint with bits of peppermint candies. Second favorite is Hagen Daaz coffee ice cream, and as long as you’re serving it up, the best way is with Cherries Jubilee (bourbon and cherry pie filling, mixed/flamed!/cooled) on the top (YES IT IS). Recently my Cold Stone had Basil-Strawberry and OHMAGAH. It was to DIE for. Except the ice cream dude working there told me that NO ONE else liked it but me. Can you believe that?! I am sad I may never have it again.
I love real mint ice cream. Bart says it is like toothpaste. Bah.
I can usually find something I like at Baskin Robbins (World Class Chocolate, German Chocolate Cake, Butter Pecan, Gold Medal Ribbon…), but my very most favorite seems to be Ben and Jerry’s Mint Chocolate Cookie….I’ve liked some of their other flavors (New York Super Fudge Chunk and, most recently, Red Velvet Cake), but I always come back to Mint Chocolate Cookie =).
I’m lactose intolerant (I had to spell check that one), so ice cream isn’t something I enjoy often, but when I do, it’s amazing. I am a huge fan of funky flavors with lots of delicious additives, but my goto is always French Vanilla. Does that make me boring?
Apparently I’m the only one who was more interested in your little side note. As a die-hard Tami Taylor lover, your comment made me pause and think “wow, I sure miss FNL”. But I will tell you that Britton is her married name. Her maiden name is Womack (I had to go and look that up) so it is possible her husband is related, but Tami Taylor is not.
I am normally boring when it comes to ice cream. I like vanilla bean. Not French vanilla, or homemade vanilla. Vanilla bean. I am not particular on brand either..usually. The exception I have is peppermint ice cream. I adore Blue Bell peppermint ice cream. It is only available for two months, but I hoard the stuff when it comes out. I don’t like anyone elses peppermint ice cream because it is always vanilla ice cream with chunks of peppermint in it. That is not what I want. Blue Bell is peppermint flavored ice cream with tiny bits of red and green peppermint sprinkled in. It is the perfect ice cream.
And the only ice cream shop I like is Amy’s Ice Cream in Austin. It makes Cold Stone look pathetic. My brother even had an ice cream bar from Amy’s for his wedding instead of a cake. Great stuff.