In a frozen frenzy
- bethchartnett
- Aug 21, 2015
- 4 min read
One of the best parts about the summer time is that a bowl of ice cream can constitute a meal.
Am I right?
As a Hartnett, I’d say I’m an authority on the subject. Generous scoops of Thrifty’s Chocolate Chip sprinkled with a dusting of Malted Milk was/is our standard cap to the day. A gallon is handily polished off in a day, day-and-a-half max. The entire house goes into mourning around February of each year, when my dad decides it’s a good idea to give up sweets for Lent. Blasphemy.
Our love of the sweet and frozen treat is so strong, and my brother John Michael is so trained, that just the tear of the plastic seal on a gallon of ice cream will have him in the kitchen in five seconds flat.
Hey, there’s no real judgement from me. I admit I have picked up on his tremendous skill of filling a bowl of ice cream: one scoop in the bowl, one scoop in the mouth. It’s sheer brilliance—bravo, JM.
With the recent triple digit heat in California, I have been inspired to devote this blog post as an ode to ice cream—pralines n’ cream, cookie dough, chocolate maltball crunch, fluffernutter. …Oh yes, fluffernutter. All sorts of goeey marshmallow cream and rich peanut butter goodness in one satisfying ice cream. The recipe from Jessica Merchant of How Sweet Eats will change your life. Please, for the love of god and all that is holy, check out her blog.
Here is one of her photos to ensure that you do.
What’s not to love about fresh spun sugar and cream with all of your favorite mix-ins? Nothing is the answer. I love to put my ice cream maker to work, but when I’m in need of an immediate fix, I am spoiled enough to be within walking distance of Bert & Rocky’s. This Claremont institution hand makes all of its glorious creations, which include bananas foster, crème brulee, sticky bun, french toast, amaretto cheesecake, the list goes on. They even once had a coffee ice cream mixed with maple bacon pieces. It sounds strange, but I promise you these two distinct flavors were destined for each other. A match made in delicious ice cream heaven. My recent go-to is “coffee and cookies.”
And if you give them a “like” on Facebook, they will include a free waffle cone as its vessel. Perfection.
Another favorite down the freeway is Milk. The decadent desserts at this LA confectionary are well worth the traffic. The original is in Hollywood, but Milk also has a location in Silver Lake. I’d recommend going to Silver Lake as its less crowded, and you lose less of your soul in the search for a parking space (find a spot near the dog park, it’s just a few blocks away). In addition to their ooey gooey cookies, cakes, sundaes, and shakes, they have this amazing concoction they call a macaroon ice cream sandwich.
When I discovered this, I died.
Handmade ice cream sandwiched in between two fluffy macaroons and dipped in white chocolate? Yes, please. I opted for the Froot Loops and Milk macaroon sandwich because my love of ice cream is only rivaled by my love of cereal. I will have it for every meal. Just the other day I made dinner myself—a bowl of cereal drizzled with chunky peanut butter. Don’t judge me.
The Froot Loop macaroon was all of the things I wanted—a little childhood whimsy mixed in with those pillowy macaroons and just the right amount of sweetness.
It took everything in me to not order another. As it was, I finished a majority of my friend’s Triple Chocolate Shake…
Eating dessert is an event to look forward to, which is why I have been daydreaming—and carefully plotting—my trip to Afters Ice Cream to devour the devilishly decadent Milk Bun. The Milky Bun is essentially a glazed donut stuffed with drool-worthy ice cream combinations, like peanut butter s’mores, milk and cereal (my friend, we meet again), and cookie butter.
Pictured here is a Milky Bun stuffied with Cookie Monster Ice Cream.
There are no other words. I. Need. This. There are locations in Fountain Valley and Chino Hills. Follow my lead and flock!
After I get over the sugar coma induced from the Milky Bun, I plan on hightailing it down the highway to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in Los Angeles. I first heard about Jeni Britton in the Saturday section of the Los Angeles Times (hands down my favorite section of the paper). It was love. This woman is an ice cream artist. Seriously. She created a line of ice creams—the “COLORS Collection”—inspired by Matisse artworks. The woman is a genius. Her crafty creations include brown butter almond brittle, wildberry lavender, double-toasted coconut, and rootbeer. But what I have my sight set on is the ice cream that made her a local legend—the salty caramel. I am a sucker for the salty-sweet combo. Created with a healthy dose of sea salt, cream, and vanilla bean, that salty caramel sauce is what is missing in my life. I plan to change that. Take a look at one of Jeni's photos:
I discovered the sauce is sold in a jar as well. This is excellent news....and just in time for my birthday.
On that note, I have sufficiently tortured myself. Looks like ice cream is on the menu for dinner tonight again. What are your favorite ice cream creations?
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