Wednesday Want- The Perfect Scoop

I haven't featured a cook book for the Wednesday Want before but with temperatures continuing to rise around here, I have to give this amazing book a little shout out. The Perfect Scoop is tried and true and I've never heard a bad thing said about it (except maybe for it's skinny-jean consequences!) A nice ice cream maker (like my Cuisinart) is surprisingly affordable and compact. I scored mine of Craigslist but they are all over Amazon, garage sales, and even thrift stores.

David Lebovitz also explains some techniques for making ice cream without an ice cream maker. See some ice cream inspiration here and pick up a copy of The Perfect Scoop already- once you start making ice cream, I think you'll be surprised how fun and delicious it can be. If you're intimidated, I'd recommend starting with a sorbet (Pineapple is my favorite and strawberry of course!) With the heat and amazing summer produce, there's no time to start like now (well, as soon as I clear a spot in the freezer for the bowl again- am I the only one with that problem?)

PS See some more great ice cream from these lovely ladies, but consider yourself warned- it's going to make you hungry!

Tracey 

Annie 

Di (with homemade Magic Shell- I can't wait to try this!)

Mint Chocolate Ganache Fudge Ripple Ice Cream

I'm aware the title of this recipe is overly long, but what are you going to do? When I saw the simple and delicious chocolate ganache recipe for this week's Tuesday with Dorie treat, I knew it would be a great recipe to experiment with. I had a chocolate mint Lindt bar in my chocolate stash that provided all the inspiration I needed. I also had a lovely jar of homemade hot fudge sauce in my fridge from a banana split party and figured a little more chocolate and cream couldn't hurt, so I swirled it in after it finished churning. And since I can't leave well enough alone, I also added some chopped mint chips.


The final product? Delicious. And I don't even like chocolate ice cream. But like my tall man said (as he stared longingly at the final, toxic-for-him-chocolate-laden goodness) it's not nasty fake chocolate flavored ice cream. It's cream and chocolate, lovingly combined into frozen deliciousness. Yum.

Grab the recipe from Katrina. She's amazing with ice cream and I bet she even found a way to lighten up this cream laden treat!


Easy Hot Fudge Sauce
from Baked by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

*Note- this yields a little over two cups of sauce- I will halve the recipe next time

6 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
6 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped (I used milk and semisweet chocolate chips- it's almost a whole bag put together)
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup

Place both chocolates in a heatproof bowl and set aside. Bring the cream to a simmer over medium, stir in corn syrup, and remove from heat. Pour over the chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth, starting in the center and moving out. Cool, cover tightly, and keep refrigerated.

Reheat the sauce in the microwave by cooking in 20 second intervals, stirring in between, until desired temperature is reached.

Mango Sorbet

{printable recipe here}
Oh I know you've all waited in suspense to see my Mango Sorbet. I actually made it for Father's Day and as you can tell from the picture, my family wasn't willing to wait for a final freeze. It started melting but no one cared. I'll tell you who loved this recipe the most though- Baby Strawberry. One little taste and she would not be left out. I didn't feel too bad since it's just mangos, lime juice, and a little sugar. All fresh and delicious. I served this with my mom's famous Molasses Crinkles (and she's forbidden me from sharing the recipe, though I'll secretly say the closest recipe I've found is Dorie's) and we were all happy campers. Big thanks to the brilliant David Lebovitz for his wonderful Ice Cream book. Buy it here.

I used to splurge on Dreyer's (or is it Breyer's?) Whole Fruit Sorbet and loved the Strawberry- shocker- and the Mango versions. While this does require a little forsight in freezing your ice cream bowl, unless you don't overcrowd your freezer like I do and can keep it in there, it's fun and quick to make this. My son loved the turning of the bowl and the bright color. Give it a try.

Come back tomorrow for my Fourth of July dessert idea. Nothing new but it will be pretty and delicious- perfect!

Anne Strawberry's New Favorite Mango Sorbet
{printable recipe here}
From David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop

2 large, ripe mangoes
2/3 c sugar
2/3 c water
4 t freshly squeezed lime juice, plus more to taste
1 T dark rum (I omitted this)
pinch of salt

Peel the mangoes and cut the flesh away from the pit. Cut the flesh into chunks and put them in a blender with the sugar, water, lime juice, rum, and salt. Squeeze the mango pits hard over the blender to extract as much of the pulp and juice as possible. Puree the mixture until smooth. Taste, then add more lime juice or rum if desired. Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

TWD- Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

If you're thinking my Burnt Sugar Ice Cream looks a lot like Cookies and Cream, you're right. It's been absolutely insane around here! Things started out pretty easy. I saw a huge (half gallon I think) container of cream at Safeway for $1. Really. I snapped it up, thinking of all the delicious, artery clogging dishes I could make and then remembered I had ice cream to make for Tuesdays with Dorie! Then, a million commitments got in the way, everyone in my house got sick, but me (which meant no sleep for anyone really), and it was suddenly late Monday and we were having dinner at my parents. With the help with the kids I knew it was the only chance I'd get to make the ice cream. So I put the caramel on and let it do it's thing. It took forever. And then, I knew it was time. I'm really bad about taking it off before it gets dark enough but I was patient. And suddenly, my dad was taking out the baked beans (recipe coming, wow, they're so good) and in that three seconds it burned. I must have looked really disappointed, though I stand by my feeling that I was just tired, because everyone all at once told me it was okay and we could make it again. The ice cream bowl was frozen, the cream was measured, we were good to go, but it wasn't meant to be. I scooped out some Cookies and Cream and called it a night. I've heard this ice cream is amazing, though, so after a good night's sleep I'm going to try again.

Come back next week for a nice French Berry Tart (one of my favorite desserts of all time- no illness, kitchen disaster, or mommy fatigue will stop me!) See the real ice cream here. It'll make you hungry. And please, if you've ruined caramel more than you've made it, let me know. I could use a boost (or some advice apparently!)

TWD- Cinnamon Ice Cream and a Giveaway

It's Tuesday again so that means another delicious treat tempting me in my kitchen! Dorie's vanilla ice cream was chosen by Lynn. Fortunately for everyone involved, all this takes is a minute on the stove and a quick spin in the ice cream maker to yield a delicious and adaptable treat.

I made this recipe last summer and over cooked the custard. This time, in fact, it only took about thirty seconds on the stove after tempering the eggs to get the mixture hot enough. I guess I'm learning after all. When I made this before I thought it needed to thicken up almost like pastry cream does, but mine was at the right temperature just after putting it back onto the stove- it was thick like egg nog (but much tastier!) I skipped past vanilla to the playing around options- choosing cinnamon because I tried it in Paris long ago and it was the best I've ever had. Honestly, I really didn't eat any bad food in Paris. The French are just good like that. But that cinnamon ice cream was exceptional.

Grab the recipe here or at Lynn's blog. And go make it. I'm hoping to try the mint chocolate chip recipe next and will post it when I do. Then I'm thinking of adding in my banana to a batch of vanilla. And maybe I'll make a peach variety, they are coming soon after all. I don't think you can go wrong with this great vanilla ice cream.

Now for the giveaway. MyBlogSpark has given me one gift pack for a reader. It features new Pillsbury Simply Cookies, a nice reusable shopping back, and a cute cookie jar (that I filled with "potty treats" for my little man who is almost all trained- yeah!). I bought the peanut butter cookies to try and made regular cookies (my husband's favorite) and some little cookie cups to eat the ice cream from. To make those, I just flattened out one cookie and placed it inside a greased muffin tin. I baked them at 350 (same as the cookies) for about 9 minutes and they popped right out. They are cute and would make a fun dessert, especially topped with some chocolate syrup and your favorite ice cream.

I love making cookies from scratch but I'll admit these are pretty fast and perfect for a quick dessert like this. With summer craziness it's nice to have quick desserts up your sleeve. I'm going to have a series of recipes up for quick dinners to go along with this theme because I know we aren't the only ones running around and thinking of dinner only when our stomachs start to rumble.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment with your favorite quick summer meal or tip (or your favorite ice cream, since it is ice cream week around here!) One entry per person- contest ends Sunday night at midnight Arizona time. I'll announce the winner next Tuesday. U.S. addresses only please. :) And please leave a way to contact you (if you don't have a blogger profile that links back to you- I'd hate not being able to get a hold of the winner!)

Ina's Peach, Blueberry, Cherry Crumble

It's Thursday again, and that means another lovely Ina recipe for the Barefoot Bloggers, chosen by the fabulous Aggie. I'm starting to feel bad, that maybe people are sick of hearing how much I love Ina, but it's for real. This isn't a teenage, summer romance. I've honestly made over 50 of her recipes and can't really recall any problems or disappointments, if you ignore the pile of dishes and excessive butter purchases. Honestly though, I don't think Ina is as bad about butter as she's made out to be- and even when she is, it's easy enough to modify the recipe to be a little better. For this crumble/crisp/almost cobbler, I'll be sure to use a bit of whole wheat flour next time, since I'm sure not even my brother would notice (and he kind of has radar for that stuff). I also lowered the amount of butter in the recipe below (actually doubling the topping but not the butter, since I baked this for a crowd in a big casserole pan) to make a less greasy crust. I threw in some chopped pecans last minute and they were perfect.

I love fruit desserts. I love Ina. I can't wait for peach season to come and when it does you can bet I'll be pining for the days when I lived in Utah and could walk one block to Allred Orchards stand and pick one of 10 gorgeous varieties. For now, the "fruit lady" hooks up all my Mesa, AZ peeps with delicious Utah fruit all summer and fall long. Email me (top right) for her info if you're looking for some exceptional peaches, starting in mid August, for Crumbles, Crisps, Cobblers, Waffles, Ice Cream, Smoothies... I don't know, just about everything. And make this Ina recipe (it's another good one, surprise!)

Peach, Cherry, and Blueberry Crumble
loosely adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa at Home

For the fruit
2 lbs firm, ripe peaches (6-8 peaches)
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 pint fresh blueberries
3/4 cup pitted cherries

For the Crumble
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (sub some whole wheat- I bet no one will notice)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 lb (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
2/3 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Immerse the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until their skins peel off easily. Place them immediately in cold water. Peel the peaches, slice them into thick wedges, and place them in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, granulated sugar, and flour. Toss well. Gently mix in the blueberries and cherries. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. Spoon the mixture into large baking dish (I used my standard 9 x 13).

For the topping, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Dump in the pecans. Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it’s in big crumbles, then sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Place the baking dish on a sheet pan lined with a silicone mat and back for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature. If you want to make these early, store the unbaked crumble in the refrigerator and bake before dinner. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (highly recommended!)

Dorie's Amazing Apple Pie

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe didn't quite make it to the table. You see, my mom, the worlds biggest advocate of whipped cream and other delicious dairy products (i.e. the Raspberry Blanc Manger selected this week) has been a pillar of dietary discipline lately, forgoing everything delicious and remotely sinful for salads and celery, carrots and the like. I'm trying to run from the desserts myself lately, as I'm bound and determined to keep the weight off this pregnancy. I'm finding that 115 degree weather doesn't lead to many desirable outdoor/calorie burning activities besides running from the car to the grocery store and back to the house. So, I decided not to tempt my mom (or myself) too much.

However, this apple pie is more than temptation enough- and I've been saving this photos for a while, waiting for the right time to share. Apples are everywhere at my grocery store and so today is the day. With Dorie's ridiculously delicious pie crust I've loved over and over, more apples than you'd believe would fit in the pie pan, and a round scoop of ice cream on top, I think this will satisfy anyone's dessert craving and cool you down in the process. I'll say, this pie was so good it made a fruit dessert non-believer go back for seconds. So check out the other beautiful Tuesdays with Dorie concoctions and then go get some apples. I'm thinking it's high time I make this again (I'll just leave it at my place to save my dedicated mom from the temptation... and I'll count all those apples and a hearty portion of cinnamon as healthy enough!).

All-American All-Delicious Apple Pie
adapted from Dorie Greenspan (and casually typed- buy the book already to enjoy her beautiful writing, photographs, and recipes of course!)

Good for Almost Everything Pie Dough for a double crust, chilled (see instructions below)
4 pounds (about 6 very large) apples - I used a mix of Pink Ladies, Fujis, Granny Smith, and Golden Delicious - whatever looks good and a nice mix of textures and sweetness
3/4 cup sugar
Grated zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca or 1 tablespoon Ultra Gel
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs (or dried bread crumbs, unseasoned)
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
milk and sugar for the optional glaze

Assembly Instructions:


Preheat the oven to 425. Peel, core and slice the apples. Put the apples into a large bowl and add the sugar, lemon zest, tapioca (I used Ultra gel), cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Toss together and let sit for five minutes.

Remove the pie crust from the fridge and sprinkle the crumbs over the bottom of the crust (to help prevent sogginess) and then turn the apples and the juices into the crust. The apples will heap over the top of the crust. Pat them into an even mound. Dot the apples with the bits of cold butter.

Lightly moisten the rim of the bottom crust with water, place the top crust over the pie, and crimp together after cutting overhang.

Use a sharp knife to cut slits into the top crust. Brush the top crust with a little milk and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Bake the pie for 15 minutes (at 425). Reduce the heat to 375 and bake for another 50 to 60 minutes, or until the crust is browned and the juices are bubbling. Check on the pie after a half an hour or so to make sure it’s not browning too quickly (use a foil tent in that case).
Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and let it rest until just warm. Serve with ice cream.


Good for Almost Everything Pie Dough
adapted from Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks very cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces
3/8 cup very cold (frozen is even better) Crisco (plain, not butter flavored), cut into 4 pieces
About 1/2 cup ice water

Put the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade; pulse just to combine the ingredients. Drop in the butter and shortening and pulse only until the butter and shortening are cut into the flour. Don't overdo the mixing—what you're aiming for is to have pieces the size of fat green peas and others the size of barley.

Pulsing the machine on and off, add 3 tablespoons of the water—add a little water and pulse once; add some more water and pulse again; and keep going that way. Then use a few long pulses to get the water into the flour. If after a dozen or so pulses, the dough doesn't look evenly moistened or form soft curds, pulse in as much of the remaining water, or even a few drops more, to get a dough that will stick together when pinched. If you've got big pieces of butter, that's fine. The dough is ready and should be scraped out of the work bowl and on to a smooth work surface. (be careful not too add too much water- if the dough looks dry after adding most of the water, pinch it with your hands to check if it's coming together, and finish combining it by hand)

Shape the dough into a disk and wrap it. Refrigerate the dough at least 1 hour before rolling. The dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 1 month.

Ina's Brownie Pudding... my new favorite dessert

Dear Ina,

I've been a fan for a long time. I watch your show faithfully, love your house, envy your kitchen, laugh at your jokes, and think you and Jeffrey are adorable. I've made probably 30 or 40 of your recipes in the past year alone and can't think of one I haven't liked.

However, this brownie pudding rocks. I expect awesome things from you but this was beyond delicious. Even reducing the butter by a quarter, I fell right in love with this dessert. It was so good I couldn't be bothered taking great pictures but had to dig in. The Butterfinger ice cream melting on top was too much to resist.

Thanks for everything. Please come to Phoenix for a book signing someday. I feel like we're old friends, but now we're best friends.

Love,

Anne Strawberry

What are you waiting for? Go make it now! And wish me luck- I really shouldn't eat this for breakfast today, but it's going to be hard to resist. (Don't forget to enter the giveaway below if you haven't already!)

Freaking Delicious Brownie Pudding
adapted from Ina Garten, my best friend I've never met

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering the dish (that is the reduced amount- the original calls for 1 stick for the half recipe)
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3/8 cup good cocoa powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Lightly butter 6 ramekins or mini pie tins. Melt the butter and set aside to cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 to 10 minutes, until very thick and light yellow. Meanwhile, sift the cocoa powder and flour together and set aside.

When the egg and sugar mixture is ready, reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla and the cocoa powder and flour mixture. Mix only until combined. With mixer still on low, slowly pour in the cooled butter and mix again just until combined.

Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared dish and place it in a larger baking pan. Place pan in oven. Add enough of the hottest tap water to the pan to come halfway up the side of the dish and bake for about 30 minutes- until the edges look done but the center is still a little soft. A cake tester inserted 2 inches from the side will come out 3/4 clean. The center will appear very under-baked; this dessert is between a brownie and a pudding.

Allow to cool and serve with vanilla ice cream.

TWD- Heath Ice Cream Sandwiches

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie assignment, Caramel Crunch Bars chosen by Whitney, has left me feeling happy about the kitchen again. I've been mostly staying out and I'm feeling guilty about my semi-neglected blog (and husband) but promise to have more coming soon. And well I nearly missed the deadline for these babies, they were worth the wait.

These little cookies are more than delicious. They are also a little philosophical. I spent a good portion of the time mixing them up and spreading chocolate thinking about another Heath. He's been a favorite since Ten Things I Hate About You and A Knight's Tale, and I'll admit I teared up watching his family accept his Oscar. I think we all miss him. (Sorry, no photo credit- I'm not sure where it came from. I wish I could say I took it!)

Not only were these little heath bar cookies easy to make, they didn't dirty too many dishes and came together pretty quickly. I tend to make cookies when I'm looking for a quick fix (or some baking therapy) but I like how simple and fun these were and the nice change of taste and texture. I think the recipe also leaves a lot of room for variation. Since we don't do coffee, I just omitted that with no problem at all. I'm already planning a few different versions- maybe something with peanut butter and white chocolate for my Tall Man? The next batch will also feature more milk chocolate and less bittersweet for my mom.

I think it might be fun to experiment with different shapes, too. This time around, I cut some into big squares for ice cream sandwiches (which I filled with cookie dough- it was down to that or mint, so it was a pretty easy choice!) and little bite size cookies for my hubby to take to work. Don't forget to check Whitney's blog for the recipe and come back Thursday for Barefoot Bloggers and the Yoplait giveaway winners.

Fresh Peach Sorbet

Peaches are still abounding at my house and since they are my husband's very favorite fruit, they've been the star of the show around here lately. This peach sorbet came together quickly the other night and was a perfectly refreshing dessert- marrying the flavors of fall and the coolness of ice cream- just right for an Arizona autumn (of what, 100 degrees?)

I served it up with some snickerdoodles and the cinnamon went along just right. I'll post that recipe soon- they are my brother's favorite cookies and he'll be home in just a couple of weeks. I'm sure he'll want some after all this time. He's been serving a mission in Greece for our Church for the last two years and we'll be picking him up next week. I'm scrambling to get everything ready and hope to have my Dorie and Barefoot posts scheduled. But while we're hustling getting ready for our trip, I especially appreciate a quick and refreshing dessert... and using the ice cream maker one last time before the season is truly over. Enjoy!

Fresh Peach Sorbet
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

6-8 Fresh, Ripe Peaches (about 2 pounds)
2/3 Cup Sugar
2/3 Cup Water
4 Teaspoons Fresh Lemon Juice
Pinch of Salt

Slice, peel, and pit the peaches. Combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth. Taste, then add more lemon juice of sugar if desired. Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Serve immediately or allow to harden in the freezer for a few hours. Before scooping, allow to soften a couple of minutes.

Pineapple Sorbet

A few weeks ago I mentioned my new ice cream maker. Since I got it, I've made several recipes and had several flops. I don't normally have such problems when I'm trying something new so I've been determined to get it right. A couple of times I didn't freeze the bowl long enough so I ended up with soup (the case of the Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream and the Banana Sorbet I attempted this weekend). Then, I made Peach Frozen Yogurt from the recipe in the manual and no one liked it (too sour- I think we all love Golden Spoon!). I also made Dorie's Vanilla Ice Cream but in the course of cooking the custard and chasing the baby I ended up cooking it to about 15 degrees higher than recommended. Needless to say, when it froze it tasted pretty crazy (though the cooked version reminded me a bit of pastry cream, which I love!).

So anyways, last night I was determined to do something right with this sweet new appliance. I froze the bowl over night and decided to try Pineapple sorbet. I used frozen pineapple from Trader Joe's so it was nice and cold before going into the mixer even. I'm sure canned pineapple (or fresh) would work too but would take longer to freeze. The resulting sorbet was flavorful, fresh, and so pretty. Finally. You can see my assistant couldn't hardly keep his hands off it for the photos. Let's just say, I'm going to try and clear a spot in the freezer and I'll be making this again. And please let me know if you have some amazing ice cream recipes!

Frozen Pineapple Sorbet
by Anne Strawberry

1 lb Frozen Pineapple Chunks
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Light Corn Syrup
6 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
1/3 Cup Water

Combine all ingredients in food processor with metal blade and pulse until smooth. Pour into freezer bowl of ice cream maker and churn until thick. Eat immediately or allow two hours in the freezer to harden sorbet.

TWD- Blueberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream

I'm becoming a kitchen appliance fanatic. I've always loved them, but now, more than ever, I find myself wandering the home section of Macy's or TJ Maxx and envisioning how pretty some of these things would look on my counter, and how delicious their products would be. So, I've been interested in a fancy little ice cream maker for a while and thought this week's Tuesdays with Dorie was the perfect excuse. Try as I might, though, I couldn't find a good deal on the little Cuisinart of KitchenAid attachment. I decided to check Craigslist and found the brand new Cuisinart for $15, sealed in the box. I called the guy and happily picked it up, eager to try the new recipe.

Things seemed to be going my way. I had exactly one cup of fresh blueberries in the fridge. It looked beautiful, but a little dry, in the sauce pan, and I quickly looked at the book and realized I'd forgotten the JUICE of the lemon!

I added in the juice and got to work on my blueberry, sugar, and lemon compote. It was so pretty and then suddenly...

The blueberries burst and turned purple! It boiled and smelled delicious.

I poured it into the blender, pureed, and I'll admit I snitched a little spoonful. Yum.

Next, I added the cream and sour cream and blended. It got the okay for sweetness from my Dad, who is the blueberry king, so I put it into the fridge to cool.

After it was chilled, I ran and picked up the ice cream maker from the nice guy a few miles over. Totally brand new and so cheap. That makes me happy. I washed it, threw the bowl in the freezer, waited about two hours, poured the ice cream puree into the bowl, and started the mixing. I know some of you are thinking, "Two hours? Mine takes longer than that. I wonder if her cool cheapo Craigslist ice cream maker has super powers or something..." No, it doesn't, as you can see from the rest of the pictures.

After it thickened a little, I added some chopped white chocolate chips for a little added flavor. And then, it never thickened any more. In my haste I neglected to follow the directions to freeze the bowl overnight. So, I tried to compensate by following some of the ice cream without an ice cream maker directions. It never thickened completely but was good to go, if not totally photogenic, by the end of the night.

I served up a dish for my dad, complete with freezer burned blueberries (I used all the fresh earlier) and he took two bites and told me in his nicest voice that he was full. Well, he never says anything bad about my cooking and he always loves ice cream, so I told him to tell me what he thought and my feelings wouldn't be hurt. He said it was WAY too sour (and I secretly agreed!). Then, my husband came and poked his nose in the kitchen, grabbed a spoon and made a crazy face letting me know he thought the same thing.

So there you have it. This was a ton of fun to make and a great excuse to get a cute little rock-salt-free ice cream maker (the old one is going to Goodwill once it comes out of storage!) Despite it's beautiful color and great ingredients, this just wasn't a hit at my house, even for the blueberry lovers. I'll try the technique again, though, and loved making it. I'll admit, too, that not liking a Dorie recipe is not such a bad thing for my skinny-jeans goal. LOL. Thanks, Dolores, for choosing a fun recipe. I can't wait to plow through the rest of the ice cream recipes in Dorie's book, since we have enough Arizona summer left to get through them!