BRRRRRR

It is really too cold to follow up a post about frozen yogurt with one about ice cream, but I can't help myself. After weeks of casually searching any grocery store we happened to be in for the new Shatto Ice Cream, we finally found a pint of chocolate at the Hy-Vee North of the river (207 NE Englewood Rd, to be exact) and brought it home for a taste test.

At first taste, I wasn't in ice-cream heaven. The texture is different than I expected - less creamy, more chewy - but the flavor was a really pleasant mellow chocolate. Much like the milk, but even lighter, less rich. As the pint started to melt a little in my hands, it got even better. I have the most pleasant aftertaste in my mouth now and I was pleasantly surprised by how fresh the ice cream tasted. Yum.

Now I'm just waiting for them to come out with root beer ice cream. Their root beer milk could only be improved by making it into a frozen dessert treat. Root beer ice cream in a root beer float? Words fail me to describe how awesome that would be.

Blurgs

When you write a blurb in your blog, that is called a blurg. Here are two.

** Last night, while picking out two pints of Ben and Jerry's at my local grocery store, I was very excited to find the Americone Dream, Stephen Colbert's new flavor. I know it's been out for a while but I had kind of forgotten about it since the hype had died down and since I can't keep my eyes open late enough to watch the Colbert Report anymore. I have this to report: meh. I like caramel swirls, waffle cones, and chocolate coating. But maybe I just don't like all those things together.

Anyhow - now that that bubble has been burst, I can spend my time looking for the new Breyer's Triple Chocolate flavor. (I've got to find the ice cream to take me through the upcoming Murray-less winter. They close for the season on December 2nd and it is NEVER too early to start planning ahead.)

** Last week's food section in the Kansas City Star had a tremendous recipe for Chocolate Molasses Cookies. The point of the "Eating For Life" feature was portion control, and if I had the ability to eat just one cookie the whole concept would be excellent. But I don't. And if they had a better website, I could just link to the recipe. But they don't. So here you go, then.
(Typing out this entire recipe makes this much less of a blurg, but these cookies are worth the work.)

2/3 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. unsalted butter
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 c. brown sugar
1 egg
2 T dark molasses
1 tsp vanilla
confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt chocolate and butter in microwave-safe glass mixing bowl on high power in 30 second increments, until almost melted. Stir to blend well, then let cool.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
Stir brown sugar, egg, molasses and vanilla into cooled chocolate mixture. Add flour mixture, stirring until combined.
Place scant tablespoons of dough on ungreased cookie sheet, 2 in. apart. Bake 10-11 minutes until tops begin to crack and cookies are still soft to the touch. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to wire rack and dust lightly with confectioners' sugar.

A Watched Pot

This baby is fashionably late (in case you were curious), and I am the proverbial watched pot.
This watched pot has been escaping the stove for a few "last meals" and tasty treats, however.

* Miami Ice (1624 w 39th St): The ice cream (Yay! Peanut Butter ice cream!) is smooth and and creamy and the passion fruit Miami Ice (with a dollop of custard at the bottom of the cup) is refreshing and amazing.

* Spit Fire Grill (1809 W 39th St): Well-priced entrees and a comfortable interior make this a really great addition to 39th Street. My only complaint was with the plating of the food - the food itself is really well prepared (juicy pork chops, moist and well-seasoned rotisserie chicken, truly excellent french onion soup, crisp grilled sandwiches) that it seems like the presentation of it doesn't match the food itself. The macaroni & fondue side would have benefited from some parsley, and the dinner plates could use a little flair. Food that is made with this much attention to flavor (the sandwich with grilled asparagus and Gruyere was a standout) deserves to have a little more attention paid to how it is presented. Otherwise, a truly excellent meal in a great new spot.

Ice Cream Pie

I'm calling this my Ice Cream Birthday.

Not only did I get a copy of David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop and a set of absolutely beautiful glass ice cream dishes, but I've been blissfully treating myself to slices of this delicious ice cream pie. It's a Chocolate Flake Fromage Pie from Murray's. I am truly loved and spoiled.

Dessert vs Dessert

After eating dinner on 39th Street, we decide to treat ourselves to dessert. We have two new choices! We can either head down to the newly opened Miami Ice, which has a color and design scheme that makes me feel slightly uneasy, or we can try out Little T's Big Lick, in the space formerly occupied by Angie's. Little T's Big Lick has an unfortunate name, and when pitted head-to-head against Miami Ice, it is chosen simply by virtue of proximity. Sometimes decisions make themselves based on laziness.
After perusing the menu, we settle on custard. They have shaved ice, and the very delicious option of a shaved ice/custard combination, but we go straight for the custard. Straight chocolate for the less adventurous, and some ridiculously indulgent concoction of custard, caramel, Nutella, sliced almonds, whipped cream, and a cherry for me. You really can't go wrong by putting Nutella on anything - remember that. The almonds are unnecessary, and the cherry is donated charitably to the top of the chocolate custard next to me, but the rest of the dessert is a winner. My dessert is $4.88, but a single custard is a very reasonable $1.49 - and if you try out one of their hot dog combos, you can add a single custard or a brownie for a very low price.

Little T's Big Lick
1710 West 39th
open Wed & Thurs 11am - 9pm
Fri & Sat 11am - 10pm
Sunday 12 - 8pm

pb & anything

*I think I've been just a little bit peanut butter obsessed as of late. When in NY, we visited Peanut Butter & Company in Greenwich Village and bought a jar of their spicy peanut butter. I was mainly thinking of all the satay and peanut noodles I could whip up with it, but it also makes a surprisingly good (and odd) pb&j sandwich. They sell PB&Co products at local Super Target & Dillon's stores.

*Ever since Otto's closed, I've had a hole in my heart shaped exactly like one of their truly amazing peanut butter milkshakes. They used chunky peanut butter, so you always got little peanut surprises coming up your straw along with the lusciousness of the peanut butter & ice cream combination. Last weekend, on a soujourn down 24 HWY (Independence Avenue), we stopped in at the Hi-Boy Drive In and I had a nearly Otto's experience. The peanut butter was creamy, but the milkshake itself was ridiculously thick and good. The menu also boasted a peanut butter fudge shake, which will just have to wait until next time.

Hi-Boy Drive In
(click the link to see a Google Map of all three locations)
924 W US 24 Hwy
Independence, MO
(816) 252-4050

*Spring Rolls dipped in peanut sauce trump pb&j or peanut butter milkshakes any day of the week. And Saigon 39 has the best damn peanut sauce in town. You can even buy it to-go and act like you made it yourself, if you're a good liar. Sometimes I double the peanut sauce pleasure and add a tiny serving of it to my spicy rice noodles with chicken when we eat there.

Saigon 39
1806 1/2 W 39th Street
(816) 531-4447

I Scream

Nothing says "Spring Is Here!" quite like the return of Murray's Ice Cream and Cookies in Westport. It's open - today! Right now!
See you in line!

I Scream

From the summer of ice cream (2006), I have the following recommendations.
(I've been doing my best to try to step away quietly from the Chocolate Flake Fromage, which I may have been addicted to.)

Four flavors you should absolutely try without hesitation when you go to Murray's Ice Cream:

Honey Ginger
Cinnamon Graham Cracker
Grape Nuts
Zabajone (egg, honey, spices, wine)

The Recipe for Cool

It's just too hot to do anything but eat popsicles and drink lots and lots of ice water. I've been stockpiling Edy's Frozen Fruit Bars in Lime and Lemonade flavors. Here, to help you cool off, are FIVE excellent places (in no particular order) for frozen treats for when your brain starts to feel melty...

Murray's Ice Cream and Cookies
4120 Pennsylvania
816*931*5646

Foo's Fabulous Frozen Custard
6235 Brookside Blvd
816*523*2520

Paleteria Tropicana
830 Southwest Blvd
816*221*0192

Balsano's Gelato Cafe
428 Ward Parkway
816*931*4010

Sheridan's Frozen Custard
Locations all over metro area...

How to Cook Everything

I used to have the unfortunate predicament of working in a bookstore. Even more unfortunate was my position in charge of the section which included cookbooks, which meant that not only did I receive an awesome discount on them, but I had time to slowly leaf through them, drooling over the pictures and soaking up idea after morsel after crumb. The bookstore is where I fell in love with Ina Garten, but it's also the first place where I was introduced to Mark Bittman.
Last night, while I was making the custard for my first ever Vanilla Malt Ice Cream, I had lots of questions about the scalding of the half and half, as well as when exactly the custard mixture was done...my recipe was hopelessly vague, and I really didn't want to make it twice. So I turned around and asked "What does Mark Bittman say about this?"
After some perusal, I heard the answer.
My recipe read:

Return mixture to double boiler and cook, stirring until mixture thickens slightly and coats the spoon.

While the most excellent Mark Bitman writes:

Cook over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly, until the mixture reaches 175 to 180 degrees F, or is slightly thickened; do not boil. (There will be a thick coating on the back of a spoon, one that will hold the outline of your finger after you pass it through.)

I like recipes that give me specifics - I need them the first time. Like a good teacher - they hold your hand for a bit, show you signposts that you can recognize for yourself when you're on your own, and then you learn to adapt the recipes for yourself. They teach you a smidgen of technique in easy-to understand language.

I ask Mark Bittman's opinion on lots of things - he has never failed me once. Sometimes we just sit down on the couch, this big yellow book and me, and figure things out together. How to Cook Everything is my Joy of Cooking.