Strike 2 tastes much better than Strike 1.

Hopefully everyone celebrated Cheesecake Day yesterday.
It has been a busy month! Ice Cream Day was a mere week and a half ago. I celebrated with my second attempt at making Chocolate Cheesecake ice cream. The first time, the churner of my electric ice cream maker couldn’t handle the density of the mixture; it failed to churn the mixture a mere minute after the liquid mixture was poured in. A good 10 to 20 minutes of churning are needed to get enough air in any mixture for it to be classified as ice cream (and more than the less recognizable food product known as “goop”).

I had to apologize to my guests, informing them that there would be no homemade ice cream that evening, but that they were welcome to any or all of the six to eight varieties readily available in my freezer. And then I had an idea, a delicious idea...

While the recipe I invented did not yield ice cream, it did yield what we dubbed chocolate cheesecake mousse. We decided it could also make a pretty good non-bake cheesecake.

Note from 2012: Chocolate Cheesecake ice cream was something I'd eaten as an incredible Limited Edition Häagen-Dazs flavor.

I love my mom.

My mom called me yesterday afternoon for no other reason than to tell me this important information: On July 30, Cheesecake Factory will be selling slices of their cheesecake (in any flavor) for a mere $1.50! It says limit one slice per customer and that it is for dine in guests only. Lucky for me, I work but one block away. I will also bring a fake mustache and an assortment of hats.

I rarely eat at chain restaurants, but Cheesecake Factory is an exception. Their food is wonderful and comes in huge portions (enough for a certain tall and lanky fella), their menu options are endless and, of course, their dessert is superb. Other than Eli's Cheesecake World in Chicago, I have run into no other institution that serves up more than a few styles of cheesecake at a time.

Cheesecake Factory offers at least thirty varieties, with usually two to three new flavors they are testing. As you can probably imagine, I have tried nearly all of them (excluding those with coffee, banana or alcohol flavors). My favorites are, in order:

• Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake (tragically seasonal)
• Chocolate Pistachio Cheesecake (New!)
• Dutch Apple Caramel Steusel Cheesecake
• Craig's Crazy Carrot Cake Cheesecake
• Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake (which truly is better than your average chocolate cheesecake)

I have tried some of their non-cheesecake desserts as well. They are also worth the trip. See you on July 30!

My gift is my spoon...

Brad 
(singing obnoxiously from cubicle)
“Is there life on Maaaa-aaa-aaars? Maaa-ah-ah-ah-arrrrrs!"

Co-Worker
Brad, that isn’t how “Life on Mars” goes.

Brad
 It isn’t?

Co-Worker 
No. The words are right, but that’s the tune of Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”

- - -

I think it’s an easy mistake to make. The songs are not so dissimilar. But it seems now Elton John has the upper hand among gay, British musicians who have sung songs with Muppets. Ben and Jerry’s has honored Reginald “Elton John” Dwight with an ice cream flavor, “Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road,” in honor of his upcoming first concert in Vermont. Available only in Vermont, the limited edition flavor is "an outrageous symphony of decadent chocolate ice cream, peanut butter cookie dough, butter brickle and white chocolate chunks."

I mentioned earlier the return of The Dave Matthews Band’s flavor: Magic Brownie’s Remix Edition. If Elton John’s flavor is successful and returns after its limited edition release, they’ll have to call it “The Bitch is Back Edition.”


Note from 2012: This flavor was later offered in grocery store pints for a limited time.

Korean ice cream parlors are very, very different.

For real.

Chocolate iz Güd

Theo Chocolate
This three-year-old company is one of few Fair Trade certified chocolate companies in America, as well as one of few places that does the whole process of making chocolate on-site, from roasting to packaging. You can even take tours of their factory in Fremont, which is my personal favorite thing to recommend to tourists visiting Seattle. Call at least a few days in advance because the daily tours sell out fast. At their factory store you can sample every chocolate bar they have for sale! Their chocolate bars are starting to be available around the country. Favorite creations: Coconut Curry bar and any of their signature creations that feature Jasmine, which tastes like fairy dust in your mouth.

Fran’s Chocolates
The most high-end of these three. As a caramel fan, I do not say this lightly: their caramel is the best tasting caramel I have ever had. Their products are available nation-wide, so if you have a fancy chocolate shop near you, treat yourself to my favorite of their creations, the Almond Gold Bar (chocolate, almonds, and sweet, sweet caramel). They may be small, they may be three dollars, but you will be a different person afterwards.

Seattle Chocolates
These truffles are small, not particularly decadent, and come in many straightforward flavors. All of these factors add up to a product that is easy to consume in large quantities, which, having worked at a non-profit arts organization sponsored by Seattle Chocolates, I can tell you I have done many, many times. I have actually sampled every product they make, including their truffle bars, which are more creative in flavor combinations and texture. Favorite creation: blackberry truffle.

Mark Your Calendars!

I’ve already missed two major holidays: Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day, held annually in late April or early May, and Pi Day, held on April 14 (3.14, the first three digits of pi), which is celebrated with pies aplenty. I am determined to not miss any more!

• National Ice Cream Month: July
• National Ice Cream Day: Third Sunday in July
• Free Slurpee Day: July 11 (7/11). 7.11 oz Slurpees will be free from 7am to 11pm.

Please let me know of any more dessert-themed days you know of, especially if they result in free desserts or are frequently celebrated with parties.

For over achievers, more days exist, though quite possibly only in imagination.

Ben & Jerry’s Turns 30!

Ben and Jerry’s continues to push the importance of ice cream ethics in their latest batch of new flavors, which, honestly, are all worth trying and most worth keeping around:

ONE Cheesecake Brownie – The ONE Foundation does more than fight poverty: they inspire people to do more…and eat more. (I love eating for a cause.) This is not just a cheesecake ice cream with Ben & Jerry’s familiar brownie chunks: they actually use cheesecake brownies! Ben & Jerry’s proves once again they know how to do cheesecake ice cream.

Dave Matthew’s Band Magic Brownies Remix “Encore Edition” – The earlier version of this flavor was chocolate-based with a gooey brownie and raspberry swirl. This was good, but did not inspire multiple purchases. The “remix” is much more exciting: the brownies are now in black raspberry ice cream. Euphoric. (And a portion of proceeds go towards the band’s Bama Works Fund.)

John Lennon’s Imagine Whirled Peace – With its caramel and toffee cookie pieces, this one takes on a graham-cracker-y taste, reminding me of one of my favorite regional flavors, Stewart’s Crumbs Along the Mohawk. (It is at least a step in the right direction for folks that aren’t in New England.) I do not think the caramel cups used in the flavor match the quality of the ice cream, but when they left a bad taste in my mouth I just took another bite.

Cake Batter – The secret to Ben & Jerry’s exemplary cheesecake ice creams is that they are uncharacteristically subtle while other brands overload theirs with cheesecake flavor. Similarly, cake-inspired ice creams are usually overly sweet with too much “frosting.” With Cake Batter, Ben and Jerry’s schools everyone else. Still, they could learn from Perry’s Piece of Cake by mixing in texture-enhancing cake pieces…and by using yellow cake…or they could just purchase Perry’s recipe.

Another update to the Ethics of Ice Cream debate: Häagen-Dazs is on a new kick. It is donating money toward research to save the dwindling honey bee population. It seems an odd cause to raise money for, but the blurb on the side of my most recent carton pulled at my heartstrings a little, like when that polar bear couldn’t find solid land in An Inconvenient Truth.

I am not an addict.

I took a Meditation class last summer, learning that, at its most basic, meditation is a practice of being present in the moment: not escaping it, nor over-analyzing it. Facing each moment for all it is and asking “What’s happening now?” The idea isn’t to become lost in thoughts, profound or otherwise, or even observations, but instead letting moments pass through you, instead of focusing on the past or future of a moment. Keeping yourself conscious, instead of on autopilot.

One concept explored was addiction. The instructor asked us to consider the act of eating. He explained that we may have plans to eat at our favorite restaurant and, throughout the day, look forward to eating our favorite meal. When the dish arrives, we relish in the smell, look, and taste…but after a few bites we’ve fallen back into conversation and are absent-mindedly taking bite after bite. The instructor said he used to eat a pint of Ben & Jerry’s every night before bed. As this became a daily activity, it was no longer about making each bite its own experience, but more a quest to finish the pint. It became an addiction for him. The more addicted you are to something, he said, the less pleasurable it is. Something that once was savored in each moment is lost with the quest to have more. We get confused when we think having more is the way to achieve satisfaction. The instructor told us that only when we find the actual source of satisfaction can we lose the addictive desire. (This practice can be applied to any situation where you might not feel like yourself.)

I agree fully with the instructor’s message, but we have distinctly different experiences with ice cream. I have, even since I started this blog, gone weeks without consuming ice cream. This wasn’t to prove the “power of self-will;” I just didn’t think to indulge.

More importantly, when the instructor spoke about taking a bite of ice cream and not fully experiencing each bite, I had no idea what he was talking about. I do not ever take ice cream for granted. Actually, it makes me more than a little giddy.

Wildlife animals inspire delicious ice cream (or “Tastes gamey”)

Denali Flavors ice cream (sometimes called Denali Alaskan Classics) are the folks that claim to have originated Moose Tracks ice cream, the popular vanilla-based flavor with a hardened fudge chocolate ripple and chocolate peanut-butter cups. I confess that amongst antler-themed ice creams, I am more drawn to Denali’s Caramel Caribou, a triple threat of caramel. Like Moose Tracks, this flavor is licensed by other brands, so you may have seen it before.

The tragedy is that Bear Claw, Denali’s finest flavor and my favorite half-gallon flavor, is not as widely available as its forest-dwelling peers. Let the drooling begin: dark chocolate ice cream filled with choco-covered cashews and a caramel swirl.

While Bear Claw is not being copied nationwide (with bootleg variations on the name), I am delighted to report that cashews are becoming more commonplace in ice cream: Ben and Jerry’s Turtle Soup—a simple-sounding, yet incredible flavor—and other half-gallon flavors from grocery store brands.

I planned on including a link to Denali’s website, which used to feature a section where you could listen to a moose call—few things were more entertaining to me in the pre-YouTube-world—but, regrettably, the website has been updated to be more adult and functional. The good news is they have a flavor locator so you can find Bear Claw in your state, which I advise you do…now!


Note from 2012: Happily, Bear Claw is starting to get licensed out. Kroger-brand stores now offer Bear Claw in their store brand. It remains my favorite half-gallon flavor.

Flavor Review: Häagen-Dazs Reserve Series

This new flavor series features rather expensive ice cream made from "rare and unique" ingredients. Some of them are worth shelling out the extra cash for:

Pomegranate Chip - Tied with Ben and Jerry’s Limited Edition Pumpkin Cheesecake, this was my favorite flavor from 2007. The pomegranate flavor is full, unlike many weak fruit-flavored ice creams. (Fruit is generally better in gelatos and sorbets.) The dark chocolate flakes add the perfect amount of sweetness. Dark chocolate ice cream bars are also available for this flavor, but the balance of flavor is better out of the carton.

Amazon Valley Dark Chocolate – I’ve already reviewed this flavor. In short, it is highly recommended.

Brazilian Acai Berry Sorbet – This sorbet was not very flavorful straight out of the freezer
and had a berry seed texture. But I learned (much too late into the carton) that the taste was unlocked by letting the sorbet sit out for a bit. It then became perhaps the most unique sorbet I have ever tasted. Worth trying for sorbet and fruit lovers.

Toasted Coconut Sesame Brittle – Remember the Häagen-Dazs contest to search for the next flavor? Well, it seems this flavor was a runner-up in the 2006 contest! And according to a blog entry from a runner-up from this year’s contest, the creator of Toasted Coconut Sesame Brittle did actually receive prize money. (His hope is that his flavor, Coco y Cacao, is selected for this same reason.) As for Toasted Coconut Sesame Brittle, I like the coconut ice cream, but, this my first experience with sesame brittle, I did not find it the delicacy others do.

Hawaiian Lehua Honey and Sweet Cream – As promised, this ice cream tastes like honey. I like honey on things, but not as a substance to eat alone. In retrospect, I should have tried this ice cream in tandem with another flavor or complimenting another dessert.

NEW IN 2008! Fleur de Sel (“Flower of Salt”) Caramel – It is a popular hoity-toity practice to eat caramels that have hints of sea salt on top. This is a mixture of salty and sweet that I confess I do not understand. (One I DO understand is chocolate-covered pretzels or chocolate-covered potato chips, which if you’ve never tried, are delicious!) The fact is this ice cream does not seem to have sea salt nuances, as promised. It tastes like a lighter version of Ben and Jerry’s defunct Triple Caramel Chunk or a less creamy version of Denali’s Caramel Caribou.


Note from 2012: The Häagen-Dazs Reserve Series had an tragically short lifespan, which I attribute to timing. Superpremium pints of ice cream were still an affordable luxury after the collapse of the housing market, but paying even higher prices for more decadent flavors was probably harder for people to justify. These flavors all fit the elegance of the Häagen-Dazs brand, but may never be seen again.

Back in Business

Free ice cream!
Ice Cream Theatre. It has been a dream of mine for some time now, realized in Seattle company Emerald City Scene's ambitious evening of world premiere one-acts, The Shark and The Worm. Everyone in attendance receives free ice cream from an authentically-dressed ice cream person. But why ice cream? There is one part during The Worm where a bumbling country grandpa compares the discontent of being without ice cream to his friend’s struggles with cancer. This may sound rude and abrasive, but I assure you it is not. Another thing it is NOT is “to be missed.” Catch The Shark and The Worm in its final performances of its extended run at Stone Soup Theatre, 4035 Stone Way N, Seattle. Runs Friday and Saturday at 8pm. Buy tickets early!

Free Gelato!
My favorite Gelato place in Seattle, Gelatiamo offered free gelato scoops to anyone who came in between 11 and 1 today. And not just little one scoops; two scoops. There were lines around the corner of happy smiling people waiting patiently for sweet, sweet free gelato. Being a socially conscious sort, I made sure to leave a tip in support of the cause. Big ups to Rachel S. for the tip.

Cheap ice cream! (Almost!)
Yesterday, Baskin Robbins shops across the nation (except Seattle, apparently) participated in 31 Cent Scoop Night in recognition of America’s firefighters. Baskin Robbins, perhaps pondering “The Ethics of Ice Cream,” made a donation of $100,000 to The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation , which “remembers America’s fallen heroes and assists their families.” The shop I sought out, however, was not participating. (There was fine print anyway: “Limit 10 scoops per person.”) Still, there was a long line of people, all disappointed, but still needing a fix. I recommend Love Potion #31 .

New Flavors: Ben & Jerry’s Class of 2007

To ring in the new year, I will review some of the most notable ice cream flavors to premier in grocery stores in 2007, starting with Ben & Jerry's.

Cinnamon Buns - This flavor is good. Of the few people I know who have tasted all the new flavors, this has always ranked as their favorite, possibly because of its brilliant simplicity in taste and concept. (I have only experienced one other flavor modeled after this breakfast treat--at Lickety Split in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Theirs was even better because it included pecans!) Though good, this Ben & Jerry’s creation is not as good as the two flavors it seems to fuse: Oatmeal Cookie Chunk and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, if you subtracted the chocolate chunks and added more cinnamon to the vanilla-base.

Crème Brulee - I remember thinking when I had Häagen-Dazs’ Crème Brulee a few years ago that it was good, but I never needed to have it again. Same thing with the Ben & Jerry’s incarnation, only B&J’s has more of the burnt sugar crunch. What I miss in ice cream versions of Crème Brulee is the gooeiness. I’m not sure super premium ice cream can accomplish both the richness and the lightness of custard.

Willie Nelson’s Country Peach Cobbler – Put simply, I am not a fan of peach-flavoring. After trying this, I stand my ground. I find, in ice cream, that fruit flavors taste too diluted for me, with the exception of berry flavors. I usually get my frozen fruit fix with gelato or sorbet (or I go acoustic and eat fruit).

Mint Chocolate Chunk – Do not expect mint cookies and cream; the ice cream is much mintier than it is creamy. The mintiness also overpowers the chocolate flavor. I prefer mint chocolate chip, especially if the ice cream is green.

Also new this year are Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream, Banana Split, and several flavors now available as a “Lighten Up” product line.