Catch Me Lucky Charms Cereal Milk Ice Cream!

If you were raised like any good American child, you grew up feasting on hearts, stars and horseshoes, clovers and blue moon, pots of gold and rainbows and me red balloons at least once or twice a week. If you weren't, as a result, your diet is probably much healthier than mine as an adult and you probably consume way less sugar on any given day because you were taught the importance of nutrition at a young age. To you I would say, was it worth it? To sacrifice the joy that fills your heart when you see that mischievous little leprechaun's face come out of the grocery bag, the sense of satisfaction you get when you were disciplined enough to eat all the cereal pieces first in order consume huge spoonfuls of only marshmallows afterwards and the overwhelmingly- sweet flavor experience as you polish off the taupe colored cereal milk?


Well, there might be hope for you yet and a blissful recollection for those of us who grew up eating Magically Deliciousness! I give you Me Lucky Charms Cereal Milk Ice Cream. Complete with the 3 essential elements of the Lucky Charms Experience: 
1. Cereal Pieces 2. Marshmallows 3. Lucky Charms Cereal Milk

Not only is it an amazing ice cream, it is also super fun to make. To start you get to actually buy Lucky Charms. I hadn't purchased them in years, so it was really exhilarating. Then you get to pick out all the marshmallows from the cereal pieces, kinda like when you were a kid treasure hunting through your bowl. Lastly, you end up with extra marshmallows so you can munch on them as you concoct your magical ice cream.

With that said, I invite you to try it out for yourself and relive, or live for the first time, your childhood.


Me Lucky Charms Cereal Milk Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 1/2 cups Lucky Charms cereal
1/3 cup sugar
4 eggs yolks
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
1 - 1 1/2 cups Lucky Charms marshmallows


Toast just the cereal pieces in a 325 degree oven for 12 minutes.


Soak only 2 cups of the cereal pieces in milk for 15 minutes. Reserve the other 1/2 cup for later. Drain the cereal from the milk through a sieve and put milk in a medium pot with the sugar and salt.


In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Also, prepare an ice bath that another medium bowl can rest in. Pour the cream into that medium bowl that will rest in the ice bath and place a sieve over the top.


Heat the milk sugar mixture over medium heat until scalding to the touch. Whisk very slowly into egg yolk bowl, making sure to whisk constantly as you add so the eggs don't scramble. Add the egg yolk mixture back into the pot on the stove. Continue to stir until the mixture thickens into a custard and coast the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and pour through the sieve into the cream. Stir over the ice bath until cool, stir in the vanilla.


When mixture is cool, cover with plastic wrap leaving a slight opening at the top and place in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight. 


Churn in your ice cream maker according to manufactures instructions. When it reaches a good consistency, fold in the marshmallows and remaining 1/2 cup of cereal. Transfer to tupperware and put in freezer to firm up a little more.

Miso Proud Of My White Miso Pear Ice Cream

For Valentines Day this year Josh and I decided to do an all homemade holiday to save some moolah and also because Valentines unintentionally is always a huge fail for us, so we decided...why spend money on failing. And don't get me wrong, it is no ones fault. I just think St. Valentine hates us.

However, the dessert I made for Josh this Valentines was an exception because it was fantastic. A bright spot in an otherwise gray day. I made his favorite ice cream on the planet: White Miso Pear.

Interesting flavor combo huh? Funny thing is, I didn't come up with the idea to combine the salty full taste of miso with the delicate fruity taste of pear, our favorite ice cream shop Humphry Slocombe did. However, about a year or so ago they stopped making it. Time after time we would show up with clear eyes and full hearts but we did indeed lose! (FNL insider joke), for White Miso Pear never made it back on the menu. It saddened Josh, but he eventually moved on to other varieties, though to this day he mentions how much he misses the flavor almost every time we go. 

So I decided to recreate it for him. The recipe you find below is my own take on the flavor and, if I do say so myself, which I do, it is amazingly close to the original! But hopefully I will see how close if Humphry releases the recipe in their first cookbook coming out in April.

It is a really great ice cream folks, one that is sure to please everyone. Subtle, but utterly irresistible.

So make our Valentines even better retrospectively by enjoying this ice cream yourself!

White Miso Pear Ice Cream

*makes about 2 pints

Ingredients

4 ripe bartlett pears, peeled and cored
1/2 cup water

1 cup whole milk

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

3 tablespoons white miso paste

5 egg yolks

2 cups heavy cream 

1/2 tsp lemon juice

Directions

1. Cut the pears into 1/2 inch pieces. Cook them with the water in a medium saucepan, covered, over medium heat stirring occasionally until cooked, about 10-12 minutes (If the pears aren't super ripe, you can add a tbsp of sugar or two to enhance the flavor). Remove the pears from the liquid. Purée in a food processor until smooth. Set aside to cool.

2. Separate the egg yolks and put them in a medium bowl. Whisk lightly and set aside.

3. Pour the cream into a large metal or glass mixing bowl and nest it on top of an ice bath in a larger bowl. Put a strainer over the top of the cream bowl.

4. Combine the milk, brown sugar and miso in a medium saucepan. Place over medium-low heat, whisking to incorporate the miso and stirring after it has been incorporated until the mixture is just scalding to the touch, not boiling!!

5. Remove the milk mixture from the heat. Gradually pour the hot liquid over the egg yolks, whisking constantly to avoid the eggs scrambling. Return the mixture to the saucepan and place over med-low heat. Use a spatula to stir the liquid constantly until it begins to thicken and coat the spatula. Don't overcook.

6. Now, remove the pan from the heat and pour the hot liquid through the strainer into the cream, add the pureed pears and lemon juice a well and stir constantly over the ice bath until the mixture has cooled down. Cover it with plastic wrap, leaving a little gap at the top, and refrigerator the mixture 8 hours or overnight.

7. Take your ice cream base out and put it in your ice cream maker. Follow manufacturer’s instructions for churning.

8. When the ice cream has reached a soft-serve type of thickness, transfer it to a separate container and freeze for about 1-2 hours before serving. 

Oh, it also tastes great served on top of a thin crispy ginger cookie or florentine.

It's A Marshmallow (Minty) World

Isn't this a great song? Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin are just so fabulous and fun. Definitely, one of my Christmas time favorites. And this year, it inspired DIY gifts for my friends...

Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum.... I give you: It's A Marshmallow (Minty) World Ice Cream! Complete with magic glitter spoons that transform every bite into Holiday Cheer.

Basically, I just bought some little spoons, covered the ends in glue, glittered them with Martha's super fine glitter in a marshmallowy minty green and sealed them with two coats of clear glue/decoupage. Not sure if the glitter magic will last, but that wasn't really the point anyways. In fact, does glitter need to have a point?

For the ice cream I followed the recipe in David Lebovitz The Perfect Scoop for Fresh Mint Ice Cream. Though it called for fresh mint and I did use it...

I added some mint extract for more flavor and a pinch of green food coloring to match the light minty glitter on the spoons. 

But here's the kicker: I layered in some marshmallow fluff, also made from a recipe found in The Perfect scoop, to lighten and liven it up! Plus, I included a little surprise once you lift the lid.

The final product was just what I was hoping for. Not only did the the ice cream's ingredients literally incorporate the words of Frank and Dean, the texture and the lightness of mint flavor was also divinely marshmallowy. 

All that's left to do is wrap it up with some ribbon and deliver it to friends.

"It's a yum yummy world baby sweethearts." So eat up!

Back At Sweet Rose W/ Some Sweet Girls

Here I am, in Fort Collins Colorado, sitting under my favorite snow leopard blanket listening to my Bridget Bardot (consequently a Bossa Nova) Pandora station with the sound of the thunder and rain roaring through my open window in the background. I finished The Sun Always Rises by Hemingway earlier today, and shared a good strong beer and a clove with my husband an hour ago; I can honestly say I am feeling pretty great right about now.


But as I reflect on greatness, I can't help but be reminded of the great summer the Lord allowed me to spend with some sweet girls in Santa Monica, CA during a month long mission trip. We learned together, laughed together, lived together and grew together under the care and guidance of our Great God.


The time has ended now, but will forever shape us thanks to the orchestrator of it all. And though I sit totally content in my bed at the moment, I can't help but think back and miss.


At the end of the summer, we ended our quality time together appropriately with some quality ice cream at Sweet Rose Creamery in Santa Monica, CA.

Yes, I have blogged about the place before, but I just wanted to highlight the sweet girls who went with me and the Bacon Bourbon Sundae :)


Here they are...

Here was our ice cream...

The Bacon Bourbon Sundae as promised. Pretty delicious and beautiful.

And there it goes.

Cue thunder.

Sundae Party On A Thursday

Josh and I threw a Make-Your-Own Sundae Party last Thursday night, because let's face it, a Sundae Party on a Sunday is flat out redundant and annoying.


We invited some great friends over and went all out on the ice cream and toppings.


I downloaded some cute ice cream parlor labels from EatDrinkChic and set up three stations.


Step 1: Choose your vessel/vessels


Sugar cone or waffle bowl...

chocolate chip sandwich cookies...

bananas for banana splits...

and/or a bowl (not pictured b/c bowls are pretty boring to look at).

Step 2: Choose your ice cream/ice creams (all homemade)


Fleur De Sel Valrhona (aka fancy salted chocolate)...

Four Barrel Baramundi Coffee...

and/or my personal favorite (in fact maybe my favorite ice cream I have ever made) Cereal Milk. 

Which tastes pretty much like it sounds, the ice cream form of the milk you get after you finish your cereal. You know what I am talking about right? If you don't, you need to have a bowl of Golden Grahams right now and, when all the cereal is gone, drink the milk down to the last dregs. It is quite magical.

Step 3: Choose your toppings


Homemade Marshmallow Hot Fudge...

not-homemade caramel...

candied cereal for the Cereal Milk...

and/or rainbow sprinkles of course.

Plus a cherry for on top!

People came up with some pretty creative and delicious combos, see evidence below...

My favorite combos were the Cereal Milk with the candied cereal and caramel on top in a cone and the Fleur De Sel Valrhona with fudge and sprinkles on top mounded on top of a chocolate chip cookie. You really couldn't go wrong though!

I will leave you with some recipes, but before I do, I would like to highly recommend having your own Sundae Party this summer, it was so fun and delicioso! Just make sure you invite some fabulous friends and don't have it on a Sunday, unless of course you want to become the next Sandra Lee.

Fleur De Sel Valrhona:

Use this recipe and omit the mix-ins. Use Valrhona cocoa powder and add fleur de sel to your salty desire right after you mix the costard into the cream.

Four Barrel Baramundi Coffee:

Use this recipe using Four Barrel Baramundi beans. I also added a shot of brewed coffee to the mixture this time around.

Cereal Milk:

Follow this recipe to the T. This ice cream requires a little more work than most, but it is sooo worth it.

Marshmallow Hot Fudge:

See David Lebovitz Perfect Scoop.

Mr. & Mrs. Spontaneous At Mr. & Mrs. Miscellaneous

If you know Josh and I at all you know that every Thursday we have our date night, and that every Thursday we go to El Farolito and Humphry Slocombe and get pretty much the exact same thing. You may think that is horribly boring, but I actually kind of like it because I just adore tradition. 


But sometimes a girl needs a change, and sometimes she needs some spontaneous change, which is just what I got this past Sunday.

7am: Wake up in the morning, it's not raining like it said it was going to. Josh isn't up yet, and Bay to Breakers is today, which is going to make getting to church pretty difficult. 


8:30am: What! Josh wants to go to the flea market?!


9:30am: Arrive at the Alemaney Flea Market to do some treasure hunting for our bathroom decor. Didn't go to church, but just this once ;) Plus, we can catch Dave on podcast.


11:00am: Hunting through junk and gold has encouraged quite an appetite. Wait, didn't I hear about some amazing pizza place near here in the Dog Patch? Yes, it's called Piccino; let's go.

      Photo by: Khianni

11:30am: Eat amazing pizza and meatballs in a bright and sun drowned room. Mmmmm! Def. coming back!


12:00pm: Hold on, Mr. & Mrs. Miscellaneous is in the Dog Patch. I've been meaning to try that place out, let's check gps on my phone. Crap! It's a block away! Let's go Josh! What? He said yes? 


12:15pm: Eating some delicioso Bananas Foster Ice Cream with a Peanut Brittle and Brown Sugar Cookie with my Josh. A perfect end to a date that never really had a defined beginning or any intention of happening. You might as well call us Mr. & Mrs. Spontaneous. 

Moral of the story: Switch stuff up, tradition is good but not everything, oh... and also go to Piccino and Mr. & Mrs. Miscellaneous, both are a fabulous change in routine.

Leah's (I'm kinda loving it right now) Cookies and Malted Cream Ice Cream and Classic Hot Fudge

Man your stations and baton down the hatches(I can combine those right?) because we have officially entered birthday season. That's right, every year, in March and April, tons of babies are brought into this world in order to attain the prestige that comes with being born during the coveted birthday months of April and March. Which, for thier friends, means strategic planning of parties, purchasing of affordable gifts and a strict limit to how many pieces of cake they can consume in one day.


Yes, these months are a joyous time filled with parties, friends and the celebration of another year of life, but even the best things in life can kill you, like drinking to much water or eating pop-rocks with coke. So friends of March/April babies be wary, we are entering into survival mode here, and if you're lucky (and you will be if you follow my simple instructions) you just might survive and have a fantastic two months filled with birthday celebrations.


Rules of Survival


1. Make homemade cards. They are more thoughtful and they don't cost 3.50 a pop. Which times 7 birthdays equals $24!


2. Take it one birthday party at a time to prevent burn out. Each birthday party can be extremely fun and special if you live the party in the moment.


3. Limit yourself to one piece of cake at each party. If you don't, you could end up eating an entire cake yourself in the course of a couple weeks.


4. Make homemade gifts that reflect some quality or unique-like your friend has. 

For example, for my good friend Leah I made her favorite ice cream, with a twist, and named it after one of her signature catch phrases, "I'm kinda loving it right now." It's a flavor I have never made before and will never make again, unless Leah requests it. She owns the rights to the flavor: Cookies and Malted Cream, and the name: Leah's (I'm kinda loving it right now) Cookies and Malted Cream.

See, a special gift for a special friend. Which is why I am not divulging the recipe.


In addition to the ice cream, I made some homemade fudge, not pictured here, to complete the gift. It also bears a name that reflects a unique quality about Leah, but it is a little to inside to share here. I can tell you though that the recipe comes from David Lebovitz' Perfect Scoop, which is THE ice cream book to have, and I will even give you the recipe at the end of my post.


You have your instructions, now go execute them, party and be merry.


Classic Hot Fudge
*adapted from David Lebovitz Perfect Scoop


INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 light corn syrup
• 6 ounces of chopped bittersweet chocolate
• 1 tablespoon slated butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1.5 tbsp sugar (optional, I wanted it a tiny bit sweeter)

Directions

1. Mix the first 4 ingredients together in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and  boil for 30 sec. while stirring constantly. 

2. Remove the mixture from the heat and add the butter, chocolate and vanilla. Stir to combine, taste and add the sugar if you want it a little sweeter.

3. Store in the fridge in a airtight container. To serve, reheat in the micro.

Carless=Fraiche Yogurt

So Josh and I have been stuck without a car in the city for about 5 days. It's funny how much you miss your car when you're without it for a couple days. Don't get me wrong, I love the bus, it just makes everything a little harder and it takes a lot longer, like... getting to work, getting home from work, hanging out with people, grocery shopping, and yes... even going on dates. With a car I could totally do these things on my time with ease and comfortability, with the bus I am forced to abide by someone else's schedule and stand cramped between strangers armpits while carry groceries hand in hand.

But I guess I am kinda glad for it, it forces me to be less self focused, which I believe everyone needs a little more of. However, there was one major buzz kill in my week no amount of selflessness could fix, Josh and I couldn't go on our weekly date to Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream. I had to forfeit my Fudgesicle Sorbet with Marshmallow Fluff on top and I wasn't happy.

Notice how it's empty, b/c I didn't have any this week :(

My wonderful husband, knowing this, decided to adapt or date to ease the pain. So we ended up taking the bus into Pac Heights, a much straighter shot than taking it to the Mission, to check out Fraiche Yogurt.

Fraiche is a "homemade, organic fresh yogurt and frozen yogurt cafe." Both the fresh and frozen yogurts are made from local Clover organic milk and all the topping are super fancy local tucked into bed at night type goodies. So San Francisco right!

Honestly, I wanted to hate this place for 3 reasons...

1. It wasn't Humphry

2. I try to shy away from places that pride themselves on being organic and all that crap. Not that I am against organic, it's just I don't care with dessert; I just want it to taste good.

3. I paid $6 for a junior yogurt with 3 toppings.

However, I would be lying if I said it wasn't truly refreshing and amazing. You really could taste the difference in the yogurt from a Golden Spoon or Yogurtland type yogurterie (just coined that word, boom). The quality was so silky smooth yet hardy; in fact, it tasted flat out wholesome. I got the chocolate and plain frozen yogurt and both were off the charts flavorful, as far as yogurt goes.

In addition, they house make there Mochi, and it is great! 

Of course, I got some on top of my yogurt along with some fresh raspberry preserves and some freshly shaved Callebaut chocolate, which is why mine was so pricey and why Josh didn't get any. But it was a phenomenal combo and dessert all-together.

Not to mention they have fresh yogurt available; yeah, like the stuff you buy at the store except way better. And they have amazing yogurt breakfast items that include steel cut oatmeal, homemade granola, maple syrup, etc. What a fun breakfast date with ,like, a girlfriend. Totally!

So all in all, would I recommend Fraiche Yogurt, yes. However, I would recommend it once every 2 months so you don't break the bank. And who knows, even when we get our car back I may stop by every now and again.

Brown Sugar Fennel

Josh and I went on our weekly Humphry Slocombe date and were pleasantly surprised by this new flavor...Brown Sugar Fennel. It has the warmth and full sweetness of brown sugar with a slightly bitter off-setting element of fennel that works so well. Be on the look out! Also, since it is Beer Week here in SF, they have 4 flavors on tap that include some very good beers! And no, I don't mean Bud Light. 

Danish Ice Cream Is Like Paradis!

Thanks to a suggestion from one of my readers, who in fact lives in Denmark, I made the journey out to Paradis Ice Cream in Montrose, CA, the only other location other than the shops in Denmark. Isn't that funny? Denmark and Montrose.


Regardless of it's perplexing location choice, which I really shouldn't bag on since Montrose is conveniently 10 minutes from my house, the ice cream is outstanding! It is sort of Gelato-esque. Very smooth and silky, with very little air churned into it unlike most american ice creams. It's like velvet on your tongue.

The flavors, outstanding! Pistachio was my favorite, with Nougat coming in a close second. Lactose-intolerant? No worries, their sorbets are just as amazing. 


All-in-all, Paradis is a must try and perhaps my new favorite ice cream in LA. So thanks for the suggestions Hanne! I plan on making Ris Ala Mande soon.

The Flavors of Fall: Brown Sugar, Bourbon, Bacon Ice Cream

Fall is here! And you know what that means, time for flavors that warm you up and make you feel all good inside. Which is "exacitily" why I made this ice cream, because what could make you feel better than brown sugar, bourbon and bacon? No seriously, I challenge you to come up with a better fall trio.

You might have noticed that although my flavors are very warm, my dessert is actually quite cold. But don't worry, I have a reason behind everything I do, or at least that's what I claim, and my reasoning behind this cold creamy treat is that it was 100 plus this week in LA! In fact, on Monday we hit a record high of 113! I couldn't let the heat spoil my plans to dive head first into fall. Thus, out of my spite for the weather, this ice cream was born. And to add insult to injury, I even served the ice cream alongside my Mom's famous pecan pie at my birthday party! I believe that's Fall-2, Lingering Unwelcome Heat-0.


Triple "B" Ice Cream
*adapted from David Lebovitz

Ingredients


For the candied bacon:

• 5 strips bacon
• 10 teaspoons light brown sugar

For the ice cream:

• 3 tablespoons salted butter
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 3/4 cups half-n-half
• 5 large egg yolks
• 3 teaspoons bourbon
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Candy Bacon Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400

2. Lay the strips of bacon on a baking sheet lined with tin foil, shiny side down.

3. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of brown sugar over each bacon strip, rubbing it into ever strip.

4. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Halfway through baking, drag the bottom side of each strip through the dark goop on the foil then flip each strip over. Continue to bake until the bacon is a rich mahogany. Remove from the oven and cool the strips on a wire rack.

5. Once crisp and cool, chop the bacon into very small pieces. About the size of two grains of rice. Store in an airtight container. 

Ice Cream Directions

1. Pour half of the half-n-half into a large bowl with a mesh strainer set over the top, set aside. In a separate medium bowl, whisk all 5 egg yolks together, set aside. Prepare an ice bath in your sink or in a very large bowl, leave till later.

2. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar and the remaining half-n-half. Heat until scolding to the touch but not boiling.

3. SLOWLY pour the warmed brown sugar mixture into the bowl with the egg yolk, whisking FAST and CONSTANTLY as you pour. Then pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan.

4. Cook the mixture over low to moderate heat stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with the spatula as you stir. Cook until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of your spatula and when you run your finger across it, it does not run together. There is a fine line between cooking the eggs and turning them to custard,  better to air on the less thick side than cooked eggs.

5. Strain the custard into the bowl of half-n-half you set aside. Mix in the bourbon, vanilla and cinnamon. If the cinnamon clumps, you might need to use a whisk for a second to incorporate it well. Then set that bowl in the ice bath and stir with your spatula until the mixture reaches room temp.

6. Cover the bowl with plastic-wrap, leaving a slight opening. Refrigerate the mixture overnight or 8+ hours. 

7. Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufactures instructions; stir in the bacon bits at the end, freeze and enjoy!