Find your scoops and break out the bowls - it's ice cream season, and high time too! We went a little crazy with our ice cream maker last year, churning up new flavors well into the fall. And remember our Ice Cream Contest from last summer? That brought in some tantalizing recipes, like Arin's Grapefruit-Chocolate Chunk and Abby's Cucumber Vanilla.
Yeah, ice cream is pretty great. What are your favorite flavors, and how do you like your ice cream? Unadorned? Dripping with fudge? Chunky? Smooth? Sound off below and see a few more recipes too...
Ice cream really is an ideal dessert because it needs to be made in advance - easy and low-stress for dinner parties. Plus people tend to go slightly crazy when you pull homemade ice cream out of the freezer; it's so easy, but it makes a big impression.
We are raving fans of simple ice creams made with slightly different dairy products - like this Watermelon Sundae with Ricotta Ice Cream from Gourmet. The ice cream has a slightly grainy texture that is strange at first and then becomes quickly addictive. Paired with watermelon it's sublime. We also like the classic Southern Buttermilk Sherbet which is always smooth, silky, and refreshing.
For more decadent options, try Molly's Dark Chocolate Mousse Ice Cream, Heidi's Cherry Ice Cream, or this Sauternes Ice Cream.
(Image credit: Jeni's Ice Creams)
Homemade ice cream was always a WINTER treat for us when I was a kid - we had a handcrank icecream maker that we always broke out in January for my sister's birthday, because in January there were always plenty of icicles on the roof to pack the sides of the can with. I was always jealous becuase my birthday was in August, and we never made icecream then...(However I always got a homemade maple angelfood cake, so no compaints!)
view Rosie's profile
for those of us without ice cream makers, is there a way to do a whole-milk or cream granita or slushy-type thing? (i think this might technically be a semifreddo, but desserts are not my forte, so i don't know!)
view thinkingwoman's profile
thinkingwoman: my question exactly. I'm packing up my kitchen for a move, but it's HOT this weekend, and I need to use a lot of matcha powder. Green tea semifreddo? How to do without use of ice cream maker....
view nadarine's profile
In my family, it's homemade peppermint icecream. Essentially brach's starlight mints gently melted in a half gallon of milk until totally melted and then into the churn it goes then the pint of heavy cream (whipping cream), churned until firm and then put into the freezer.
It's a summer staple with virtually everyone I know - including me.
view ciddyguy's profile
with stuff crowding my itsy bitsy freezer lately and leaving no room for the ice cream maker's bowl to do its stuff, i've resorted to doctoring my vanilla ice cream. it's not ideal but if i start with a good base vanilla, i can have a good amount of fun.
nadarine, bet this would work well with matcha powder. it was awesome with williams sonoma hot chocolate.
view abby's profile
That picture makes me want chocolate ice cream so much!Even though its cold and raining a LOT here! [In best Homer Simspson voice] mmm ice cream...!
view tin_angel's profile
Well if you don't have an ice cream maker, you can always do it the poor man's way! We used to do it as kids all the time. You can actually make homemade ice cream using two coffee cans...as long as you don't mind rolling a coffee can around for a while...
http://ezinearticles.com/?Home-Made-Ice-Cream-Recipe-for-Coffee-Can-Ice-Cream&id=40545
view ktelschow's profile
I LOVE ice cream and always have a pint or more in my freezer. I had been going with the Ben and Jerry's standard. (Karmel Sutra--wow!).
But, I recently discovered a local dairy farm that also makes ice cream from their fresh milk.
I have the strawberry cheesecake right now, and it's just lovely. It has actual graham crackers in it--like right out of a box and not some weird cracker crumby things.
http://www.wrightdairy.com/
we used to make homemade in my family, too. Strawberry was always the winner.
view Nicole R's profile