Thanksgiving | Sweet Potato Casserole Ice Cream

I mentioned a few weeks ago, when I went to the KY Proud Food Show, that I had sweet potato casserole ice cream.  I was OBSESSED.  So much so that I made it at home! 

The ice cream that I tried at the food show was good; it had the nuts, marshmallows, and a sweet ribbon running through the ice cream.  However, my favorite part of sweet potato casserole is the crunchy topping.  So I made my topping separate and sprinkled it on top. 

 {Sweet Potato Casserole Ice Cream}

 {I made the base only slightly sweet so that the topping and it didn't compete}

How did I make this you ask?  I simply modified my sweet potato casserole recipe from a few years ago, and viola!  Ice cream perfection!  This is the perfect dessert for those who do not like pumpkin pie or are adventurous.  This is different, but I'm all about different and new!

Sweet Potato Casserole Ice Cream

Makes 2 quarts

2 pounds sweet potatoes (KY Proud)
2 cups brown sugar, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup pecans, chopped
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1. Cook sweet potatoes until tender.
2. Cool the potatoes, and then puree them in a blender of food processor.
3. Add 1 cup brown sugar, heavy cream and vanilla to the potatoes.
4. Put potato mixture in a container and cool overnight in the fridge.
5. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350.
6. Mix remaining 1 cup brown sugar, pecans, flour, and butter together until crumbly.
7. Place pecan mixture on a baking sheet and bake until crispy, about 10-15 minutes.
8. Once the pecan mixture is cooled, break into pieces.  Save in an air tight container.  This will be the topping for the ice cream.
9. Freeze potato mixture according to manufacturer's directions.
10. Serve potato ice cream with topping.

This was such a hit at work where I convinced about 10 people to try it.  The Hubby hates sweet potatoes so he didn't even try which was okay with me because that meant more for me!

I won't judge you if you add whipped cream too!   Do you do traditional desserts for Thanksgiving? 

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Crank and Boom

Originally posted on HerKentucky.com!

For National Ice Cream Month, I decided to check out a local ice creamery that popped up at the Farmer's Market over the last year or so.  Its name is Crank and Boom.  The owner, Toa Green, is the daughter of another famous Lexington restaurant couple (Taste of Thai which I have been eyeballing for a while to try out), and she grew up here in the beautiful Bluegrass state!
 

 {Crank and Boom stand at the Farmer's Market}

I try to be VERY picky about what I eat.  I rarely buy anything pre-made or pre-packaged from the store to avoid preservatives and other unnatural chemicals added to food.  That is a HUGE reason I was so drawn to this ice cream.  Crank and Boom makes their ice cream with simple ingredients--milk, cream, sugar, and other natural flavorings.  No preservatives!  You do pay for it in the price ($8 at farmer's market or $9.27 at Hamburg Liquor Barn), but I am a firm believer in quality over quantity (and supporting locals!).  I selected five flavors to test: chocolate fudge brownie, dark chocolate truffle, vanilla, coffee stout, and blackberry and buttermilk.  I also tried the bourbon honey and at the farmer's market (they didn't have pints for sale when I went to the store!).

Now on to what you are here for--the review!

 {The hubby and I had a blast trying these out!}

Coffee Stout--A spoonful of this is like taking a shot of espresso!  WOW!!!  I've had coffee flavored ice cream before, and this ice cream blew them out of the water.  If you love coffee, this is definitely one for you.  My mom also loved this the best, and she loves herself a great cup of coffee!

Dark Chocolate Truffle--Being a chocolate lover, I found this chocolate ice cream delicious!  It has a ribbon of chocolate throughout that is crunchy when you bite into it making it an extra little chocolate surprise. 

KY Blackberry and Buttermilk--Although this sounds completely strange, it was fantastic!  This ice cream has sweetness from the blackberries but tang from the buttermilk.  It's light and refreshing which I prefer in my desserts!

Bourbon and Honey-- WOW!  This has a definite bourbon kick with none of the alcohol effects.  Crank and Boom use Buffalo Trace bourbon in this delicious ice cream!  It's got the hint of bourbon with the sweetness of honey, and I can't lie when I say I bought peaches just to grill them and have them with this ice cream (it was FABULOUS if you are wondering!)!!!

Vanilla Bean--My philosophy is that if you can't get the basics right, then there is little hope for the rest of the line.  This vanilla was the perfect vanilla--light and refreshing with just a slight sweetness.

Chocolate Fudge Brownie--It's flavor is only slightly chocolatey compared with the dark chocolate truffle.  In it's defense, it's made with milk chocolate not dark chocolate.  After further digging (more than the picture above) the brownie bits did make up for the lack in chocolate flavor.  The hubby said that maybe we got the last of a batch or something. 

The hubby and I ranked them according to our preferences, and the results are below:

Hubby

1. Coffee Stout
2. Dark Chocolate Truffle
3. Bourbon and Honey
4. KY Blackberry and Buttermilk
5. Vanilla Bean
6. Chocolate Fudge Brownie

Mine

1. KY Blackberry and Buttermilk/Bourbon and Honey
2. The rest--what can I say?  I LOVE ICE CREAM!!!!!  Sometimes I'm in a dark chocolate mood and others a vanilla mood--as long as it's good ice cream, I don't care!

Overall, I would highly recommend this ice cream company to my fellow Lexington dwellers!  For me, a few bites satisfied because the flavor is so intense and delicious.  I can't wait to try some of their other flavors like coconut and strawberry!  It'll be my ice cream of choice from now on!

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National Ice Cream Month Recap Celebration

Originally posted on HerKentucky!

In honor of July being National Ice Cream Month, below are links to some delicious ice cream or frozen yogurt recipes!  Check back for more ice cream recipes and local ice creamery reviews throughout this month!

Red Velvet Cake Batter Ice Cream or Cake Batter Ice Cream

Coconut Ice Cream with Chocolate and Roasted Almonds

Berry Ricotta Ice Cream

Banana Bread Ice Cream

Banana Ice Cream or Nutella Banana Ice Cream

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt

Frozen Berry Cake

So go make yourself one or two recipes this month!  Not that anyone needs much of an excuse to make or eat ice cream!

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July 4th: Frozen Berry Cake

What's the 4th without a themed cake?  I threw my hat into the ring with this re-vamp of a family favorite that was a bit more cumbersome to make!  Plus this is much healthier than the old version because it uses real fruit purees!

 {Frozen Berry Cake}

 {Greek Gods Honey Vanilla yogurt is my absolute favorite!  I really loved it in this cake, but please use your favorite!}

 {Strawberry and Blueberry Filling}

 {Baked and cooled crust}

 {Add blueberry filling and freeze until solid}

 {Add strawberry filling and freeze until solid}

 {Frozen Berry Cake side view}

One year ago:  Grilled Corn
Two years ago:  Triple Berry Summer Buttermilk Cake

Frozen Berry Cake

Makes 15 servings

2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 oz pecans, finely chopped
1 cup butter, melted
20 oz frozen blueberries, slightly thawed
20 oz frozen strawberries, slightly thawed
1 cup sugar, divided (optional--might need more)
6 cups vanilla Greek yogurt. divided
pinch of salt
Whipped cream (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Whisk flour, brown sugar, and nuts together; add butter and stir until combined.
3. Press crust into the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish.
4. Bake for 20 minutes; cool completely.
5. Place blueberries in a food processor and puree; add yogurt and a pinch of salt.  Add sugar to taste; I only used about 1/2 cup for each berry.
6. Repeat with strawberries.
7. Once crust has cooled, pour blueberry filling over it and freeze until set.
8. Pour strawberry filling over blueberry filling and freeze until set.
9. Place in fridge about 1 hour before serving to make it easier to cut.
10. Serve with whipped cream. 

Another cake that I didn't take ANY leftovers home!  This will be a refreshing and cool treat for the family after all that grilling, running around, swimming, and setting off fireworks!

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt

Say that five times fast!  Anyway, one of my spring/summer list items is to perfect at least one frozen yogurt recipe.  I saw this recipe on Pinterest and was so easy (plus I had almost everything at home) that I went home and made it that day.  I LOVE cookie dough....  I mean I can't make cookies without having a few bites of raw dough.  No--I haven't had food poisoning or whatever it is you can get from eating raw dough.  If you don't like to eat raw cookie dough...  Well...  I'm sorry is all I can say!

{Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt}

Not only is this delicious--it LOOKS like pure, straight-up cookie dough!!!  I PROMISE that there are no raw eggs in this recipe.  In fact, that's how you make it; make cookie dough without eggs and add vanilla yogurt at the end.  Theortically, you could make ANY cookie dough into frozen yogurt.  Worth the chance right?

{Cream butter and sugars together until super light and fluffy}

{Add dry ingredients}

{The dough will be VERY dry, but adding the vanilla yogurt will make it look better!}

{Completed frozen yogurt batter}

{Fold in mini chocolate chips}

{The original recipe only makes about two cups (see above), but I've doubled the recipe for you! (yes it does need to be doubled--as of right now, I only have about 1/4 of it left because the hubby found it)}

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt

Makes 1 quart

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

20 oz Greek vanilla yogurt (I used Oikos non-fat vanilla; this recipe was a tad sweet but good.  Just keep in mind what yogurt you use; if it's sweet cut back a bit on the sugar!)

1 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
2. Add vanilla and beat until combined.
3. Add dry ingredients and mix until semi-combined.
4. Add yogurt and beat until well combined--should look like cookie dough at this point.
5. Fold in chocolate chips.
6. Place frozen yogurt in a freezer-safe container and place in the freezer.
7. Freeze overnight.
8. Enjoy!

I do want to perfect vanilla and chocolate frozen yogurt, but I haven't found a recipe that has wowed me yet.  I will keep looking!  (unless one of you lovely readers has a suggestion!)

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Tuesday Tip: Bananas to Make Ice Cream

I have seen floating around the internet that a banana makes a great base for ice cream--just puree it, and there you have ice cream without the hassle of an ice cream maker!  Intrigued, I froze some bananas a few months ago and forgot about them (oops...).  However, I saw this recipe for nutella banana ice cream on Pinterest (obsessed!) and knew that for World Nutella Day (February 5--today, seriously!!!), I HAD to make it because my family loves Nutella and bananas!  No brainer!

{I might have been caught a few times in childhood/adulthood eating this with just a spoon........}

{Frozen bananas}

{Add Nutella, cocoa, and milk}

{Delicious Nutella Banana Ice Cream!}

Nutella Banana Ice Cream

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 bananas, frozen

8 tablespoons Nutella

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons milk

1. Place everything in a blender/food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Serve immediately for a soft serve consistency or place in a container and refreeze for 1 hour for firmer texture.

This mixture doesn't freeze hard (like a brick); it was perfectly scoopable!  Great for a quick treat without the calories!

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Banana Bread Ice Cream

I am always so happy to have my brother in town.  My family would be in constant stitches with him around; we always have a blast together.  So when he came in for my wedding/vacation, I try to do anything for/with him.  He requested a banana bread ice cream, and I was only too happy to fulfill that wish.  However, I had no clue how I was going to do it!

{Banana Bread Ice Cream}

I really don't know how smitten kitchen does it, but she posts a recipe that I need about 1-2 weeks before I realize I need it!  She posted this recipe on vanilla custard with roasted blueberries towards the end of August, and I immediately printed it out to try because I have a thing for puddin' especially homemade puddin'.  Seriously...  I have no clue why--I just do.  Plus the roasted blueberries sounded good too!

{Whisking egg yolks and brown sugar}

{Adding flour to stablize the mixture}

I decided to modify her recipe just a bit--I used brown sugar instead of regular sugar, added carmelized bananas, and roasted walnuts.  To say that this ice cream is spot on for banana bread flavor is a SEVERE understatement!!!  Add chocolate or peanut butter chips, and it goes to another level!

{Adding the hot half and half}

{Cooking the custard until it gets thick}

I have made custards/pastry creams a lot in my culinary career, and they are a pain.  However, this recipe is fool-proof; the flour helps to stablize the mixture.  Which means this recipe is EASY!  Believe me, the original custard recipe is going into my arsenal to pull out when I'm craving puddin' or a base for fruit tarts!

{Cooked and thickened custard}

{Be sure to cover the surface of the custard or it'll develop a 'skin'}

{About to carmelize bananas}

{Roasted walnuts}

{Carmelizing bananas!}

Banana Bread Ice Cream

Makes 3 quarts

Ingredients

4.5 cups half and half
14 egg yolks, room temperature
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
12 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
6 tablespoons butter, cold
3 ripe bananas, cut lengthwise and then in half
4 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cup walnuts, roasted

1. In a small saucepan, heat half and half until warm.
2. In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until it pales in color; this wil take 3-4 minutes by hand or 1 minute with an electric mixer.
3. Whisk in flour to fully incorporate.
4. Whisking the whole time, drizzle the warm milk into the egg yolk mixture, just a tiny bit at first. Once about 1/4 cup has been incorporated, add the milk in a steady stream, whisking constantly.
5. Put egg and milk mixture into a pan and heat it over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until it begins to bubble. Once it bubbles, whisk for another 2 minutes then remove from heat.
6. Stir in vanilla extract and butter until combined.
7. Place pan in an ice bath to cool mixture quickly.
8. Pour into a large container; press plastic wrap onto the top to prevent a 'skin' from forming. Place container in the fridge overnight.
9. Heat 4 tablespoons of butter in a pan until hot; place bananas in the butter and allow to carmelize on both sides.
10. Place bananas in a container and cool overnight.
11. Place custard in ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions.
12. Once custard is at a soft-serve state, mix in carmelized bananas and roasted walnuts.
13. Freeze overnight.

What do you like to make when your family comes over?

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