Postin'. Should be packin'.

So I realized I never drew a winner for drawing from the submissions of the best places to get ice cream.

Congrats to Ice Cream Forum! I used random.org to pick a winner. Ice Cream Forum will win a copy of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book to be mailed in the new year, because as I mentioned, I should be packing, not posting! (I leave for Arizona in 13 hours...well, that is, if the storm allows!)

I promise I will begin to set up the ice cream guide soon, as well!

Spice Dish Saturday {December}: Bourbon-Gingerbread Ice Cream

My apologies on the delay in posting this recipe. EB of Spice Dish was so great in getting it to us and I have been a Scoopalicious slacker. My apologies. As an artist, the holiday season is completely crazy for me! But I promise I will be back and better than ever!

Bourbon-Gingerbread Ice Cream

3 cups half & half
5 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground clove
3 tbs bourbon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup broken gingerbread cake or ½ cup gingerbread cookie pieces

Warm 2 cups of the ½ & ½ , sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Pour the remaining ½ & ½ into a large bowl and put a mesh strainer over the bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yolks. Slowly add some of the warmed mixture into the yolks and whisk vigorously. Slowly combine the two mixtures until completely combined, then return the mixture to the saucepan.

Constantly stir the mixture as it warms over medium heat. Scrape the bottom and sides of the pan, until the mixture coats your spoon. Pour the cooked mixture through the strainer, into the remaining ½ & ½. Mix in the spices, bourbon, and vanilla. Cool over ice.

Chill the batter completely! Once it is chilled through, churn it in your ice cream maker according to the instructions. 5 minutes before it is finished add your gingerbread. Let finish freezing in the freezer.

Thanks, EB! You rock! Happy holidays to all and to all a good scoop!

Photo by DNAMichaud on Flickr.

Happy Thanksgiving - Pumpkin Ice Cream Recipe

Its been a slow fall here at Scoopalicious as Bethany geared up for her awesome Open Studios Holiday Sale (if you didn't know she is not only an amazing ice cream maker but an amazing artist too!) and myself, well life with new baby and full time job, oh and lack of sleep, makes it hard to motivate but enough excuses, we promise the new year will bring lots of ice cream happiness!

One thing that hasn't slowed down though is our love for ice cream and this time of year anything Pumpkin is a good thing. I recently had to bribe (yes, bribe!) my four year old with the promise of ice cream if she'd just go in "one" more store with Mommy. Little did she know I was dying to go back to one of our favorite homemade ice cream shops to see if they had Pumpkin Ice Cream so the bribe was actually my own selfish thoughts but she really didn't need to know that. Results...one happy kid (scoop choice=Birthday Cake) and one happy Mom who not only got her shopping done but fabulous ice cream (see pic) too!


So in case you are looking to make some ice cream to go with that yummy pie here are a couple recipes to try...


STEP BY STEP Pumpkin Ice Cream Recipe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFMvuD-7KZE

Pumpkin Ice Cream Recipe

2 cups heavy cream
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
2/3 cup puréed pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Heat 1 1/3 cups of the cream over medium-high heat. Remove from heat when edges start to bubble.

In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, corn syrup, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a metal mixing bowl. Gradually pour the hot cream into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Pour egg mixture back into the pan and cook over low-med heat stirring constantly with a rubber spatula until mixture is thick enough to coat back of the spatula.

Pour custard through a sieve into a bowl. Add pumpkin, vanilla, and remaining 2/3 cup of cream, and whisk until blended. Cool over an ice bath. Refrigerate custard for about 4 hours. Transfer custard to an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

The Ice Cream Theory

A while back, and I do mean a while back, I got an email from a woman named Steff Deschenes asking me if I would like to review her book The Ice Cream Theory. Ice cream? Book? Two of my most favorite things in the world? A no brainer. "Sure," I said, and days later, a bright yellow book with a dripping ice cream cone arrived in the mail.

I was already in the middle of a few books, but that's often the case, so I was excited to add this to my reading list. Then life got in the way. Work. Art shows to enter, open studios to arrange. The book kept getting pushed to the bottom of the pile. No, not the pile of books, but the pile of "stuff," the mess of my life that is there daily (no, I would not consider myself a tidy person in any sense of the word), but gets exponentially worse when I am overwhelmed with work.

Then came a perfect excuse to put it on the front burner. A wedding in Vegas. And it became the first thing I packed in my carry-on, with a promise of this book being read by the end of the vacation.

So, here we are. Day two of vacation. Las Vegas and it's countless ice cream parlors waiting to be tested and one-armed bandits waiting to be pulled. But this bed is too comfy, and you, my dear readers, haven't heard from us in a while.

So here is my promise: Six days remain of this vacation, and with the conclusion of those eight days, there will be a book read cover to cover, and a review will be written.

But, for now I must motivate out of this comfy bed, because afterall, this is Sin City, a city not quite defined by those who sit in bed with a book.

But keep your eyes peeled for a review of Deschenes book, which she describes as her "theory on how personality traits are similar to ice cream flavors, which explains why we get along with some people/enjoy some flavors; and can't stand other people/certain flavors)." (I think my husband is my cookies 'n' cream...)

To read more about it, you can visit The Ice Cream Theory website or buy the book at Amazon.

Help and Win!

A while back we asked for help in compiling a list of readers' recommendations for top ice cream shops. We didn't get too much feedback (thanks to those of you who did help!), but we still want some to know where your favorite place is!

Make a suggestion here by November 16th, and you could win a copy of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book. Help us out and you could be a winner! And suggesting a Ben and Jerry's shop does not get you bonus points...we are actually after more of the local, "hidden gem" scoop shops!

To be entered as a winner, please be sure to include your email address on the form. And not to worry. If you already helped us out, you will still be entered into the drawing for the book!

Enter here!