Jul
27
2012
National Ice Cream Policy
July is National Ice Cream Month. I’m throwing an ice cream social…in August. Oh well, it’s the thought that counts.
Who do we have to thank for this month-long celebration of ice cream?
The Gipper!
“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall. Then we’ll go get some ice cream.”
Photo Credit: Curtis Patrick & Art Van Court collections
I thought an ice cream social would be a fun way to practice what I learned at Ice Cream 101 in January. To practice for the party, I’ve made ice cream almost every weekend since the class. I’m getting fat. So it’s time to unleash my ice cream on others because I’m giving like that.
I’m having 20 people over and plan to serve six flavors of ice cream and one sorbet. I’ve calculated that I need to make 15 quarts. So far I’ve made two. Somehow this all seemed like a better idea back in January.
A friend suggested having smaller ice cream scoops available because people would want to taste everything. As I always do, I had to kick that idea up to 11. I bought ice cream tasting spoons. I could not find a non-commercial source of ice cream tasting spoons. Let’s just say I now have a laughable number of ice cream tasting spoons.
I spent part of last weekend making a to do list for the party and Tetris-ing all the tasks into the amount of time left. Basically, I will be up to my eyeballs in party tasks (and ice cream tasting spoons) for the next ten days. After the party, I plan to be back with tales of how much ass it kicked, and how much everyone loved my ice cream, and how someone offered me a couple hundred thousand dollars to quit my job and open my ice cream store (what? unrealistic?!?!).
What flavor would you most want to see at an ice cream social? Besides a “guess how many ice cream tasting spoons are in this jar” game, and eating ice cream, and being social, do you have other suggestions for entertainment at an ice cream social?
experience
An ice cream social sounds like the greatest party on earth. If a friend asked me to come over to sample a ton of ice cream, I think I would fall to that friend’s feet and weep with joy. I hope it’s a success.
Hmmm….no one wept with joy at their invitation. Now I’m annoyed, I want weeping.
Flavor: Caramel swirl in vanilla ice cream, with some sort of crunch – either finely chopped nuts, or chocolate toffee bits. Mmmmmm.
That social sounds nice, there will be a lot going on with the different tastings. Maybe you could make up a small card with the flavors listed and room for a checkmark and any comments? Not that you have room in your prep schedule or anything like that. I wish I lived close enough to attend!
Great flavor idea, Jill! That’s (heath bar caramel swirl) actually a favorite custard flavor of the day of mine at a shop here, don’t know how I could have forgotten about it. Only problem for me is I’m not good at making caramel. I need to work on that.
The comment card is a good idea. Especially since this is early research for a possible business.
The locally owned ice cream store that used to be around the corner from us *(and sadly has gone out of business) used to make the most divine salted caramel ice cream. Just thinking about it makes me want some!
I’m sort of toying with ice cream being my second career, but the “sadly has gone out of business” part of your comment is what makes me very nervous about it.
I’ve tried one recipe for salted caramel ice cream and the friends who tried it loved it, but it tasted a little burnt and bitter to me. I want to keep trying though.
I agree with Jill… though I am currently obsessed with SALTED caramel. OMG, it’s like baby angels got together and created joy and happiness. You could totally do that.
You could play a “fun things to do with left over ice cream tasting spoons” game.
I’m not making salted caramel ice cream because I don’t yet have a recipe I like (see my response to Kimberly). But I’m going to try to make a salted caramel sauce. Hopefully that will turn out better, I’m bad at caramel making.
Baby angels, eh? People do seem to love the salted caramel flavor. I’ll keep trying…
I used to laugh at the people who always chose plain old vanilla ice cream over a gazillion other flavors. Now that I am older, I think a wonderful French vanilla ice cream would be…well…wonderful at your ice cream social. Damn, wish I lived near you because I’d crash your social.
If you lived closer, you wouldn’t have to crash!
I’m making some vanilla. It actually is french vanilla too, since I put a little egg yolk in my vanilla.
Coffee ice cream!
“Tetris-ing all the tasks into the amount of time left” — love that expression
I always think party games like Apples to Apples, Taboo, Catch Phrase, Outburst, and Pictionary are fun with a big group. Or maybe you could play a drinking game with ice cream as the “drink.”
I have actually kept up my tetris-ed schedule so far. I made 4 quarts yesterday, and need to make 3 today.
I would need help perfecting a coffee ice cream, since I don’t like the taste of coffee (I have the palate of a 5-year old). So I have no way of knowing when I find a recipe that’s a keeper. You’ll have to be my taster…
I am impressed with your ice cream making prowess. Are you making multiple flavors per day or large quantities of the same flavor? Are you making cookie dough or cookies and cream? Those are sure crowd pleasers.
I accept the job of coffee ice cream taster. Perhaps I have found my calling!
Just digging out of my post-party stupor. I made 2-3 quart size batches of each of 7 different flavors. It was overkill. I will do a wrap up post soon.
Sounds like the ice cream social needs to be followed by a dance party or some other kind of physical activity to burn off all the calories!
I’ve gained 10 pounds since I came back from the ice cream class I took in January at Penn State. After the party, I’m going to try to cut down on the ice cream making.
Was that a class for credit???
No, the class was a weekend workshop type thing. They also offer a week-long “short course,” but I wasn’t ready to commit to that.
I love the idea of Tetrising tasks into time slots!
I wish I could think of a good flavor suggestion, but my mouth is watering almost audibly at the thought of all that frozen goodness, and I can’t concentrate.
I managed to fully Tetris everything. We still have some ice cream left if you want to come over…
My favorite ice cream flavor was Ben and Jerry’s Mandarin Fudge (chocolate orange). I never found it in pints, but you could get it at their scoop shops for a while. We used to go to a frozen custard stand in Maine that had a delicious pumpkin pie flavor. I am also a big fan of mint chocolate chip, especially Baskin Robbins’s with the tiny flakes of dark chocolate. We have a great ice cream shop locally (Sweet Cow) and their best flavor is raspberry chocolate chip. We just got back from Montana and had some great pie at the Park Cafe in St. Mary. I had their Razzleberry pie (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries) a la mode, and seems like it would be yummy as an ice cream flavor if you could avoid iciness. These are my ice cream fantasies! Wish I could come!
Wow, that’s a lot of ideas. I remember your love of orange chocolate. I tasted an orange chocolate chip at the ice cream place I like to visit in Buffalo. It was too orangey and not chocolatey enough.
Pumpkin! You must have pumpkin flavored ice cream, no matter what time of the year it is
Also, I LOVE the idea of having little taster spoons. Food’s always more fun when it’s miniature.
Pumpkin is totally on my list of flavors to try!
That sounds like the funnest thing on the planet! I’m so pissed I don’ t know you in real life.
Thanks, Angie! I find that eating ice cream is a good cure for being pissed.
So you are probably totally busy opening up your new ice cream shop–but what a cool party! (and yes, maybe like less work in Jan.
) Hope you got everything Tetris-ed into the schedule in time and had a blast!
It was fun and I got great feedback. I want to write a post about it soon!
Yum! I wish I could have been there. I love ice cream. You did take on a big task. I’m old school. I like vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips. Really good, true vanilla ice cream can be amazing. Add some kick ass chocolate sauce and life is better than good. I am all about the chocolate sauce. Hope it went well.
I didn’t make enough vanilla…although we had a lot left over we didn’t have much vanilla left which was a shame given how good the salted butter caramel sauce I made was. I wanted more caramel sundaes.
This is an impressive challange you have given yourself, and you deserve every success. As to flavours, I always find it hard to resist a really good coffee ice-cream. Mmmm ice cream. Oh no, you’ve got me day dreaming now and i feel the need for some urgent food shopping
I’m getting a lot of requests for coffee. That’s a safe flavor for me to make, because I won’t want to eat it!
My favorite flavor is probably Rocky Road. I like chocolate and texture and Rocky Road delivers on both. There is a local ice cream food cart that has a jasmine tea flavored ice cream that I had the other day that was shockingly good.
I was so proud of the homemade marshmallow sauce I made until I realized it was basically Fluff. I don’t think anyone believed I made it myself. I had so much left I thought about making some Rocky Road with it.