Welcome to the Ice Cream Social!

Welcome to the Ice Cream Social! Please see Mr. Linky at the bottom of this post to add your blog link! Any post related to ice cream in some form or fashion is welcome! Now, sit back, get out your spoons and dig in to all of the fabulous ice cream that I know everyone is going to share!

Did you know July is Ice Cream Month? And a great month for it too! There’s nothing like cooling off in the summer with a bowl of cold creamy ice cream. When I was a very little kid we had an old timey crank ice cream maker something like this one. It might not be identical but very close in style and color. Later we got an electric one but I still remember taking a turn to crank on the old one. I think the hard work must have made it extra good!

I found this old advertisement and had to share. I'm not sure but I think those are Ice Cream Brownies!

As I was working on this post it occurred to me that ice cream and I have quite the history. I have so many food memories associated with ice cream I couldn’t possibly include them all here or you’d be bored to tears. But since this is a social..and an opportunity to get to know me, I did want to do a brief synopsis of my very lengthy love affair with ice cream.

From very early on (I’m guessing from before I could walk or talk) ice cream was a treat kept on hand at our house. Typically it was the standard vanilla, but I do recall the occasional carton of sherbet or even neopolitan..but that was usually reserved for a special occasion like a birthday.

Over the years, and especially after I was able to reach the bowls and ice cream by myself I created a couple of concoctions that I still love. The first is kind of a sundae minus the hot fudge….Vanilla, with lots of maraschino cherries, cherry juice and a sprinkling of chopped pecans. And the second is pretty simple….vanilla with a tablespoon of peanut butter plopped on top and swirl in with every bite. MMMMM!

Not only did we eat ice cream at home, but we made frequent trips to the local ice cream joints. We had an old fashioned Dairy Queen in my hometown of Alexandria, La which had the actual Dairy Queen with blond pigtails on top of the building. I always remember that my mom got a banana split! And I seem to recall that I thought I needed one too! There was also a neat older Drive-In in my parents hometown of Port Barre, La called the Big Wheel. We were allowed to walk across the highway by ourselves to get a treat. I think my standard was the Dip Cone!

Another Port Barre memory is the Nutty Buddies my Aunt Gussie would keep in the freezer to share with her nieces and nephews and other assorted neighborhood kids. I don’t think they make them anymore but it was similar to a drumstick.

In my early high school days I remember many a date nights when we would drive through the Dairy Queen to get what we called Frosted Cokes (or Root Beers or Dr. Peppers). I think they call them blended floats now…the ice cream and soda is all mixed up instead of the ice cream floating. A Peanut Buster Parfait was always a favorite too.

Later, when I attended a residential high school we would walk to the store (because we couldn’t have cars!) and buy pints of Haagen-Dazs . Is it any wonder I have a weight problem!!!!??? A whole pint is so rich and full of fat it could be my whole days worth of calories. My absolute favorite was Vanilla Swiss Almond. I haven’t had any in years, but I bought a pint to share with you here at the Ice Cream Social. Wasn’t that sweet of me?

In college I moved on to waffle cones filled with Swenson’s ice cream. They had a little restaurant in our Student Union at LSU and it did a very brisk business.

Then came my ice cream epiphany…my trip to Europe during Law School. I fell in love with Italian Gelato!!! So creamy and rich..unlike anything I’d ever had before. A few years ago when I was dreaming of that gelato I decided I needed one of those new fangled Ice Cream makers you could use inside, so I bought my little Cuisinart. If you don’t have one I think it’s a great investment and lots of fun besides.

More recently, in my weight loss efforts I have explored the world of light and low-fat ice creams and to be honest there are some very good ones on the market. Dreyers Slow Churned line is excellent and I also think they are a pretty cool company. About 4 years ago I entered their Slow Churned Neighborhood Salute and won (along with a couple other thousand people)! They sent 12 cartons of ice cream, tablecloths, spoons, scoops, games & signs for me to throw a block party. I ended up bringing most of it to work because my neighborhood was going through some turmoil at the time…it actually might have helped to bring everyone together!

Just last month I found another incredibly good but low fat item from Weight Watchers…it’s a knock off of the Snicker’s Ice Cream Bar which I adore. So it doesn't hurt to bad to trade in some of my super fattening ice cream goodies!

So enough already you say..quit babbling on about your own silly love of ice cream and give us some goodies! Well today I’ve prepared three very special ice creams especially for you. I’ve got whipped cream, sprinkles, nuts, hot fudge and other toppings just waiting for you to create your own masterpiece! Come into the parlor!

First up is Fresh Raspberry with Chocolate Chunks. I wanted to use something in season and the raspberries couldn't be fresher since I picked them and brought them inside to make this ice cream. This is a perfect recipe for those of you (like me) who thinks its a lot of trouble to cook custard..then cool it..then make the ice cream. No waiting involved in this one except churning time.

Fresh Raspberry Ice Cream (No-Cook) Adapted from a Southern Living recipe

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 (5-ounce) can evaporated milk

2 tablespoons sugar

1 Tbls Lemon Juice

Pinch of salt

1/2 cups whole milk

16oz Fresh berries

4 oz dark chocolate, cut into chunks

Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Cover and chill 30 minutes.

POUR mixture into freezer container of a 1 -quart electric ice-cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. (Instructions and times will vary.)

REMOVE container with ice cream from ice-cream maker, mix in chocolate and place in freezer 15 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container; freeze until firm, about 1 tO 1½ hours.

Next up Cookies and Cream..this was Randy's request and he helped me make it. I ran out of time last night so I had him put the chilled mix into the maker today and he even added the Oreo Mix-Ins! Thanks Honey! Good Job! For this recipe and the next I did go all out and make a custard base using a combo of David Lebovitz' recipe from his book Perfect Scoop which was featured in this month's Fine Cooking and Sheila Lukins recipe from her USA Cookbook.

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

3 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

3/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

4 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla

18 oreos, crushed

In a saucepan or double boiler combine cream, milk, sugar and salt. Warm until sugar is melted but don't boil. In the meantime beat the egg yolk. Add 1 cup of the warmed cream mixture slowly to the eggs, whisking as you pour. Whisk until smooth, then slow add egg mix into the rest of the cream. Add vanilla at this time as well. Cook for 4-8 minutes or until the custard slightly thickens and coats the spoon or spatula. Strain the mixture, cool completely and chill. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to instruction. When you remove the ice cream from the container, mix in the oreos as you put in the container you will be freezing it in. You can eat at this point, but if you want it hard enough to scoop you should freeze for a few hours.

And finally a very rich and decadent Dark Dutch Chocolate

Dark Dutch Chocolate Ice Cream

3 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

3/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

4 egg yolks

8 oz good quality dark chocolate
1/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa

In a saucepan or double boiler combine cream, milk, sugar and salt. Warm until sugar is melted but don't boil. In the meantime beat the egg yolk. Add 1 cup of the warmed cream mixture slowly to the eggs, whisking as you pour. Whisk until smooth, then slow add egg mix into the rest of the cream. Cook for 4-8 minutes or until the custard slightly thickens and coats the spoon or spatula. In a separate pot melt chocolate, then add cocoa and stir. Add chocolate to warm custard. Strain the mixture, then cool completely and chill. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to instruction. Remove from ice cream maker bowl and place in another sealable bowl to freeze.

Together they make kind of an updated Neopolitan!

In case you missed them please check out my other recent Ice Cream themed posts:
Flashback Friday ~ Ice Cream Memories

Outdoor Wednesdays and Two Birthdays

Mosaic Monday ~ Ice Cream Colors


Hope you all enjoyed the Social! Please join me by placing your link below! Any ice cream related post is welcome..even if it's an older one.
Ice Cream Social Participants

1. Barb - Foley's Follies (Baked Alaska) 2. Darnold23-Dining With Debbie (Snickers Ice Cream Cake) 3. Darnold23 - Ice Cream Pies (repost) 4. Susan at Savoring Time in the Kitchen 5. A Grain of Salt 6. CuisineKathleen 7. Kate @ Spoonful of Thyme 8. Christi @ A Southern Life

9. Sheila 10. peachkins 11. Mary@OnePerfect Bite 12. Michelle@Big Black Dog 13. Debbie - Lavender Bars 14. Karen @ Nittany Inspirations 15. Rhonda @ Shellbelle's Tiki Hut 16. printersdevil~Felecia

17. Kristen (vanilla custard ice cream) 18. Jacqueline - Tinned Tomatoes (Cinnamon Ice Cream) 19. Christie's Corner 20. semi psycho baker 21. Charity @ Sweet Charity Pie 22. Carol @ There's Always Thyme to Cook 23. Patricia @ Brownies for Dinner

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Adding this late because I just learned about it, but there is another Ice Cream Social going on Monday July, 13 at Sweet Eye Candy Creations. Go check it out..her blog is beautiful and there are other creative bloggers that are participating.



The next big event is next weekend July18-19th. Join us at the Garden Party over at Susan's place, Savoring Time in the Kitchen. I can guarantee that you will get your socks knocked off by the beautiful and elegant party she's going to throw! Bring your garden party themed posts!