DIY ICE CREAM BAR TIPS

The ice cream line-up (from top to bottom): mint chocolate chip, rocky road, vanilla, coffee toffee. All stored in various Tovolo containers.

This past Saturday was my sister’s baby shower, and I, of course, took on the task of handling dessert. I feel like for most baby showers, there’s usually a cutesy dessert table filled with pink cupcakes, blue candies or a donut wall, but if you know my sister and I, that’s not really our style. We both just wanted simple, summer-y desserts that both men and women would enjoy, since it was a co-ed baby shower. My initial plans were to make about three Victoria sponge cakes with each one highlighting a summer fruit (peaches, strawberries, etc.) but the closer we got to the date, the temperature continued to rise and the less I wanted to turn on the oven to make 6 or more cake layers.

So eventually I thought to make ice cream, which by now, I’m sure you all know is my favorite dessert to make. Everyone loves ice cream, and there’s something nostalgic about eating it that makes you feel like a kid, which I think is perfect for a baby shower. So, I set out to make an ice cream bar with homemade ice cream and even though it was my first time tackling such a large task (the party had about 70 attendees), it was actually super fun and not that daunting due to simple planning and organization. Here are my steps and tips to a successful ice cream bar.

(I apologize that I don’t have more photos of the ice cream bar setup - it was a looooong day, starting with my mom breaking her arm and winding up in the hospital. So once the party finally began, I tried to relax and indulged in many, many margaritas. Photos weren’t my priority by ice cream time!)

Rocky road and mint chocolate chip ice creams both in 2.5 quart-sized Tovolo containers

1) Buy quality ice cream containers: before you begin making the ice cream, make sure you have good containers to store it in. All these years that I’ve been making ice cream, I’d always stored them in either random mismatched Tupperware containers or various cake pans covered with plastic wrap, which was obviously an eye sore. Although this worked just fine for a single batch of ice cream consumed by myself, it wasn’t going to cut it for 8 batches of ice cream on display at a party. I had been eyeing Tovolo’s ice cream containers for years and finally purchased 5 of them in different sizes. Not only are they adorable, but ensure that there’ll be no freezer burn with its double wall insulation and secured lids. Tip: the cheapest place I found the containers for sale was at Sur La Table! Not Amazon!

2) Choose ice cream flavors and quantity: pick however many flavors that you are comfortable with making and how much you’ll make of each (based on how large the party will be). Furthermore, stick with recipes that you’re also acquainted with: I wouldn’t suggest making a new recipe that you’ve never tried before, which could lead to a disaster. I ended up making 4 different flavors - coffee toffee, fresh mint chocolate chip, rocky road and plain vanilla - all recipes found on my blog - and either did a single, double, or triple batch. I wanted to use 3 classic flavors because I knew everyone would love them and threw in the coffee toffee since it’s my favorite and not something you can find at the store (it ended up being the most popular at the party). Once you have all your flavors picked out, you can then make your grocery shopping list.

The ice cream toppings selection: rainbow sprinkles, chopped peanuts, mini chocolate chips, crushed Oreos, toffee bits and gummi bears.

3) Go shopping for the ice cream bases and extra toppings: since all of my ice creams were custard-based, I bought my eggs in bulk at Costco, but everything else either came from Trader Joe’s or a standard grocery store. I also set up a toppings section for those that wanted to jazz up the plain vanilla or the other flavors. My toppings included: crushed Oreos, mini chocolate chips, Haribo gummi bears, toffee bits, chopped peanuts and sprinkles. If you want to make it more baby shower themed, you can opt to put out only pink or blue candies.

4) Plan out making your ice cream. The best part about ice cream is that you can make it well in advance as long as you have room in your freezer. I decided to dedicate one flavor per day and spread it out over the week leading up to the party so that 1) I didn’t lose my sanity and 2) my ice cream maker’s freezer bowl had significant time to freeze between batches. I also did the most time consuming ice cream first (rocky road) and left the easiest (vanilla) to be my last.

I brought my own collection of ice cream scoops to the party. It added a personal touch to the ice cream bar and made it feel more rustic.

5) Purchase servingware for ice cream: this includes small bowls, spoons and ice cream cones. I got plastic bowls and spoons from the dollar store to save money, but for a more eco-friendly option, you can buy bamboo utensils and biodegradable bowls. As for the cones, I bought a few packs of my favorite waffle cones from Trader Joe’s which honestly taste like they’re freshly made from an ice cream shop. Also, try to have enough ice cream scoops so that there is one per flavor. I collect vintage and new ice cream scoops, so I had plenty to bring with me to the party, but you can find cheap ones at the dollar store as well.

6) Have dry ice, will travel: if you plan on setting up an ice cream bar at a location that’s not at your house, I strongly suggest buying dry ice the day of the party. My sister’s baby shower was in Culver City in LA, which with traffic, is about an hour and a half drive from my house. I bought about 10 lbs. of dry ice, put the ice cream containers at the bottom of a large cooler, and placed broken up pieces of the dry ice on top, since cold air travels downward. Since dry ice lasts up to 24 hours, the ice cream is safe from melting and could stay in the cooler all through out the party if there happens to be no freezer available.

7) Setting up: I didn’t worry about setting up the ice cream bar until about an hour after everyone at the party had eaten the main course. I used the same table that the main meal was served on and put out three trays - one that held the ice cream toppings, one for ice cream scoops, and the last for the waffle cones/bowls and spoons. I had intended on putting the ice cream on ice in big buckets to prevent any melting but since everyone came in at once to serve themselves, the ice cream went pretty quickly before it had a chance to melt. Since I didn’t make placards detailing each ice cream flavor or ice cream topping, I stuck around and answered any questions people had (but I definitely do recommend making cute placards if you have the time). But I actually enjoyed hanging around because it was so rewarding to see people’s reactions to the ice cream that I made and to hear their nice comments about it all. It was a lot of work, so it was nice to be praised, not gonna lie.

So there are my tips! Once again, I really enjoyed setting up the ice cream bar (more than when I did the desserts for my sister’s wedding) and I think it’s a great idea for not only baby showers, but for birthday parties or any other celebrations. If you plan on doing one in the future and need some more guidance, let me know!

One party-goer’s ice cream creation: plain vanilla with rainbow sprinkles in a waffle cone. Classic.

LEMON + PISTACHIO ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

By the time you’ll be reading this, I’ll most likely be sitting by the pool, sweating in 105°F weather, sipping on a frozen strawberry margarita. Alex and I are celebrating the 4th of July in Scottsdale, Arizona this year (this will be our third time for the holiday) and it’s something that we LOVE doing. The house that we stay at is perfect for relaxing and having fun in the pool, and the neighborhood we stay in (Paradise Valley) is pretty dead since most of the residents leave Arizona for the summer once the temperature begins to rise. We jump in the pool all day and night, BBQ, blast bad music, and occasionally leave the house to get a couple of meals from our favorite spots (Pizzeria Bianco for the best pizza west of the Mississippi and Tee Pee for giant margaritas and amazing tamales). The 4th of July had never been my favorite holiday until we started celebrating it in Scottsdale.

In the past few weeks, I’d been having some trouble in the kitchen with creating a successful recipe for the blog. It all started with wanting to post a recipe for my favorite gelato flavor, hazelnut, and even though the finished product came out okay, I wasn’t completely sold on it. I was attempting to recreate the exact feeling when I had my first bite of hazelnut gelato in Rome years ago and unfortunately my recipe just wasn’t it. From there, I worked on a baked peach doughnut with a crumb topping and that was an utter disaster, followed by a summer berry olive oil cake which I was not a fan of. So, with all of these unsuccessful kitchen moments, I returned to my two favorite sweets to make in the kitchen and combined them together to give you my first ice cream sandwich recipe. I’m happy to report that it is anything but unsuccessful.

I love ice cream sandwiches because of the endless amount of combinations that you can create. You can essentially bake any type of cookie flavor that you love (plain old chocolate chip, brownie, snickerdoodle, white chocolate macadamia nut, etc.) and sandwich it between any ice cream flavor you can get your hands on (rocky road, cookie dough, mint chip, etc.). Today, I turned to a classic flavor combination that I turn to time and time again (Exhibit A and Exhibit B): citrus and pistachios. In today’s case, we’ll be working with soft and chewy lemon cookies and creamy pistachio ice cream. It’s perfect.

The lemon cookies get their flavor from three additions to the dough: lemon juice, lemon zest and lemon extract. We really want the lemon flavor to stand up against the rich, custard-y ice cream, so these three components are vital to achieving that bright citrus taste. I chose a cookie that was a bit softer and chewier, a texture that after being placed in the freezer (this is of course how you will need to store ice cream sandwiches) will not yield a hard and crunchy cookie when biting into it. Much like my funfetti cookies, this dough has cornstarch added to it to achieve that softer and chewier texture, and it’s also important to not over bake the cookies! The moment you see that the edges are set, quickly take them out of the oven (this should be right before the 10-minute mark).

As for the ice cream, it will require you to use quite a bit of pistachios (1 1/2 cups plus more if you roll the ice cream sandwiches through chopped pistachios after they’re assembled). I suggest using raw, unsalted shelled pistachios, which you can find at a Trader Joe’s for a good price. I personally prefer roasting the nuts myself before adding them to the food processor to finely chop them, but if you can’t find them raw at your grocery store, buying them unsalted and roasted would be the next best thing. The only problem with this option is that they are usually still in the shell aka you’ll be cracking a bunch of nuts open which can take a while.

But here’s the thing: if you want to only make the lemon cookies and go out and buy your favorite store bought pistachio ice cream or gelato, that’s totally fine! Or if you just want to make the pistachio ice cream to enjoy on a warm summer night, that’s okay too! Making both components of this recipe is time consuming so I understand if you’d rather just do half of the recipe. But, I will say it’s a very rewarding feeling when you bite into your first ice cream sandwich knowing that you made every component of it from start to finish. And if you do plan on making both the cookies and ice cream, I suggest making the ice cream first since it’s a longer process but can also stay in the freezer for days.

The cookie recipe yields 10-12 large cookies and the ice cream yields about 1 quart, which will give you 5 or 6 very large ice cream sandwiches. And if you plan on serving this to more than 6 people, you can easily make the cookies smaller or cut the ice cream sandwiches in half (just wait until they are completely frozen). I store my ice cream sandwiches in the freezer by putting them in tupperware, but you can also wrap them in plastic wrap individually.

Happy Fourth of July!

Pistachio Ice Cream

Yields about 1 quart

Recipe adapted from David Lebovitz

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups unsalted shelled pistachios

• 1 cup whole milk

• 2 cups heavy cream, divided

• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

• 5 large egg yolks

• 1/8 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Toast the pistachios for about 6-8 minutes, keeping a careful eye on them. Transfer the pistachios to the food processor fitted with the S-blade and finely chop them.

2. In a small saucepan, warm up the milk, 1 cup of the heavy cream, granulated sugar and salt over medium heat. Do not let it come to a simmer. Turn off the stove, remove the pan from the heat, and add the chopped pistachios. Stir until they are all fully submerged, cover the pan with a lid, and allow the mixture to steep for one hour at room temperature.

3. After an hour, pour the pistachio-infused mixture through a strainer over a medium saucepan. Press down on the nuts in order to extract as much flavor from them as you can. Discard the pistachios and begin to rewarm the pistachio-mixture over medium-low heat. Meanwhile, pour the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream into a large bowl and set a strainer over the top (use a bowl that will be able to fit over an ice bath for later).

4. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks together. Just as the pistachio mixture is beginning to simmer, gradually add some of it to the bowl of egg yolks, whisking constantly as to not scramble the eggs. Once the egg yolk mixture temperature has raised, pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens and coats the back of your spatula or spoon.

5. Pour the mixture over the strainer and into the bowl with the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream. Stir in the vanilla extract. Let the ice cream base sit over an ice bath for about an hour before moving to the refrigerator. Chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

6. Churn the ice cream in your maker according to the manufacturer's instructions and allow it to harden in the freezer for about 2 hours before enjoying.

Soft and Chewy Lemon Cookies

Yields 10-12 large cookies

Recipe adapted from Averie Cooks

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 2 tbsp. brown sugar, light or dark works

• 1 large egg, room temperature

• 1 tbsp. honey

• 1 tbsp. lemon extract

• 2 tbsp. lemon zest

• 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 2 tsp. cornstarch

• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Directions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer) cream the butter and sugars together until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg, honey, lemon extract, zest and juice and mix again for a couple more minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

2. Add all the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt) to the bowl and mix until just combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour. (Tip: you can scoop out the dough before or after chilling).

3. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a large cookie or ice cream, scoop out the dough and place them on the sheet. If you don’t have an ice cream scoop, each cookie will be about 1/4 cup of dough. Do to the size of the cookie, do not bake more than 6 on a given tray.

4. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes. The cookies will be a light golden brown on the edges and just set when they are ready - they may look underbaked, but they won’t be since these are a softer texture of cookie. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

To assemble the cookies;

1. Make sure the cookies are completely cooled and the ice cream is frozen solid before assembling the sandwiches.

2. Try to find two cookies that match exactly in shape and size. Using a ice cream scoop, scoop out about a 1/4 cup of ice cream onto one of the cookies, add the other on top, and gently press down until the ice cream spreads to the width of the cookie.

3. Roll the ice cream sandwiches through chopped pistachios (optional).

4. Place the ice cream sandwiches onto a large plate and put it in the freezer for about an hour. Then, either store them in Tupperware or wrap each one individually in plastic wrap.

MANGO + ROASTED TOMATILLO SALSA

Earlier this week, Southern California got its first heat wave of the season and it was a doozy. Alex and I live on the top (3rd) floor of our apartment building and so by the late afternoon, its typical for our apartment to reach about 90 degrees (!!!). We do have central A/C, which we’re totally grateful for, but I come from the notion that you should save the A/C for the worst conditions… aka I’m cheap. Because of this, I try to never complain about the heat, but it’s pretty much a given that sleeping on these hot nights will be hell, especially because I’m sharing a bed with Alex. You know how back in the old days (I’m talking like, the 16th century) when people would place bed warmers in their bed? Alex is essentially one of those bed warmers, which is something I cherish in the winter times, because then I don’t even have to wear socks or sweats in bed, but not so much in the summer. I love him, but the dude runs hot.

Because of the heat, the last thing I wanted to do this week was turn the oven on and bake a cake or cookies. Furthermore, I noticed how I hadn’t posted a non-sweets recipe since January (my bar nuts) so I knew it was about time to do another appetizer or snack of some sort. And even though Alex turns our bed into a mini sauna, today’s recipe is dedicated to him because he was the inspiration for it.

Any time Alex and I go to a casual Mexican restaurant, without fail, Alex gets the mango salsa from the self-serving salsa bar. Although I love fresh mango and pretty much eat a bag of Trader Joe’s dried mangoes every day, mango salsa has never really been my thing. In my opinion, it's usually too sweet and has none of the spice or other flavors that I crave in my favorite salsas. And I’m convinced that most of them have added sugar to achieve that flavor. So, I decided to turn a mango salsa into something that both Alex and I would enjoy, which was achieved by adding a little heat with serrano peppers and a good amount of roasted tomatillos.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Mexican fruit, let me tell you a little bit about tomatillos. Although they are part of the nightshade family and look like unripened green tomatoes, tomatillos are actually not tomatoes! They’re smaller, come in a papery husk which is easily removable and have a sticky residue on the exterior. Their bright green color is what gives Mexican salsa verde its signature look and as for taste, it is more acidic than normal tomatoes. Because of this added acidity, I felt like sweet, ripe mangoes would be a perfect match when balanced correctly. After a few trials, I believe that I found the perfect blend of sweetness, spiciness and acid.

In order to get that right balance, it is very important that you only use ripe mangoes. Otherwise, if you add a mango that isn’t ready, the sweetness won’t be there and you won’t even be able to tell that there’s mangoes in the salsa. Tomatillos can be a pretty overpowering flavor, so in order to combat this, ripe mangoes are vital. Don’t even bother making this salsa if your mangoes are unripe!

Although I pledged to not turn the oven on this week, I made the exception to turn the broiler on to roast not only the tomatillos, but the peppers and garlic cloves as well. Roasting these three ingredients allowed the flavors to be more accentuated and added more depth to the salsa. You want to achieve a light char on them, so don’t worry if you think you’ve “burned” the tomatillos or anything. Char equals flavor. Oh! And speaking of the serrano peppers, if you’re afraid of spicy food, I would suggest removing the seeds after you’ve roasted them, and using anywhere from one whole pepper to half of one. My ideal salsa is one whole pepper with some of the seeds squeezed out after roasting.

And just so everyone is aware, Alex told me that this salsa is “the best salsa he’s ever had” and I literally had to take the bowl away from him because he would have eaten all of it. That’s a big deal! And I know he’s not lying because we’ve been together for 5 and 1/2 years and so we’re well past the phase of not being brutally honest with one another (he loves telling me when my hair is too fluffy).

If mango isn’t your thing, check out my other salsa recipe here, which includes a recipe for homemade tortilla chips.

Mango and Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Yields about 3 cups

Ingredients

• 6 small to medium-sized tomatillos

• 1 serrano pepper

• 3 unpeeled garlic cloves

• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, lightly packed

• 1/2 cup red onion (about 1/2 an onion), chopped

• 1 tsp. kosher salt

• 2 ripe mangoes, chopped

Directions

1. Move the oven rack to the top position and preheat the broiler.

2. Remove the husks from the tomatillos and quickly rinse them with water to get rid of the sticky residue. Place the tomatillos, pepper and garlic cloves on a baking sheet and broil them for about 10-12 minutes, turning halfway. You want everything to be slightly charred, so if the garlic or pepper roasts faster, remove them first. Once roasted, peel the garlic cloves and remove the stem from the pepper. If concerned about heat, cut the pepper in half and squeeze out some of the seeds.

3. In a food processor fitted with the S-blade or in a high-powered blender, add all ingredients except for the mango, and mix on high until everything is puréed. A few chunks are okay. Add the mango and pulse 5-10 times. Add more salt if needed. Transfer to your desired bowl and eat immediately with tortilla chips.