New Flavors: Ben & Jerry’s Class of 2010

Boston Cream Pie – I have mental list of flavors I would like to create in my home kitchen and an incarnation involving Boston cream has long been on the list. With the arrival of this excellent flavor, I can keep being lazy and just let Ben & Jerry’s do the work for me. The eggy custard ice cream base has pockets of yellow cake and doughy/custardy goodness. A teensy bit of chocolate chunks makes the flavor not as chocolate-y as an actual pie—a welcome surprise given that my typical complaint about Boston Cream Pie is that the custard is overpowered—but offers a perfect kiss of sweetness in the aftertaste. 

Milk & Cookies – The most distinguishing feature of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is the obnoxious amounts of junk it crams into its flavors. Every chunky bite of one of their pints should contain most, if not all, of the features mix-ins. This flavor is no exception, including hunks of cookies and not just Oreos—the flavor takes the long-overdue inclusion of actual chocolate chip cookie pieces to the ice cream instead of its more oft-used larval form, cookie dough. 

Peanut Brittle – I was right: it is better than the Häagen-Dazs variety. The main reason is the caramel swirl. Another reason is that the ice cream base is peanut brittle ice cream, which is sweeter that the Häagen-Dazs peanut butter base. Both support the idea that peanut brittle is foremost sweet and nutty second. However, the better idea would be a toffee-flavored ice cream since the solidified corn syrup that makes up the majority of brittle does not taste in any way like peanuts. The peanuts chunks, however, are more glazed, like what you might find in a Cracker Jack box, and less brittle. As a child of Virginia, the land of peanuts, I would know.

I cannot find Hannah Teter’s Maple Blondie (Maple Ice Cream with Blonde Brownie Chunks & a Maple Caramel Swirl) and am not interested in Mud Pie (Chocolate & Coffee Liqueur Ice Creams Swirled Together with a Chocolate Cookie Swirl). Dulce Delish will be reviewed next week alongside Häagen-Daz's Dulce De Leche.

UPDATE: Hannah Teter's Maple Blondie was finally found and reviewed!

New Flavors: Häagen-Dazs Class of 2010

For some reason, no matter where I live, the grocery stores I frequent never carry ALL of the new ice cream flavors. I reeeeeeally want to try Midnight Cookies & Cream. I do not know if it has to do with regional sales patterns or if it is a dastardly plot of the gods to bring me misery. Enough whining, here are the reviews:

• Amaretto Almond Crunch: I love almond for its roasted flavor and its texture. Neither of these are in the foreground of this flavor. But it’s still good! I normally don’t like amaretto, but I like this! Super-creamy and the brittle is much more like toffee with accents of nut than brittle. No brittle ice cream has even approximated the tastiness of the fallen Häagen-Dazs flavor, Macadamia Brittle. But this new one if good. Seriously.
• The Five flavor series, which features ice cream that only uses five ingredients has a new flavor: Lemon. To me, lemon has always been better as a sorbet or Italian ice. This flavor, however, fights back. It isn’t just tart; it has a sour sting. Little pieces of lemon help bring variety to the texture, something most of the flavors in the Five series lack.
• Dark Chocolate Mint: Häagen-Dazs has made some of the best chocolate ice creams to be found in the grocery store, but all of them have gone the way of the dodo. That is why last year’s Limited Edition flavor Dark Chocolate was so highly anticipated for a certain blogger. That flavor, like this one, left much to be desired. In both cases, I expected a richer flavor than what I tasted.
• Last year’s Peanut Brittle makes a repeat showing. It didn’t wow me in 2009 because the peanut butter ice cream drowned out the sweetness of the brittle. Hopefully, Ben & Jerry’s new Peanut Brittle ice cream will be better.
• As you can probably guess, I have no interest in trying the two banana flavors currently in the store (Split and Foster, if you’re curious).

I am VERY sorry to report that, from the looks of things, Häagen-Dazs has phased out it Reserve Series. Pints of ice cream are already a luxury product, so to offer a high end pint the failure was a fault of timing, not of product to be sure.

UPDATE: Midnight Cookies & Cream was finally found and reviewed!

Made-to-Order Cream Puffs!

Recently, in a period lasting just over 48 hours, I consumed 7 cream puffs. It all started when my friend Amber, visiting from Virginia, read about a new place in Time Out Chicago. Figuring the place would be a tourist trap of overpriced, mediocre pastry, I indulged Amber and her husband John. Boy, was I wrong.

Beard Papa’s specializes in made-to-order cream puffs. With the success of Cold Stone, made-to-order desserts are increasing in popularity. Each variety comes in the same eggy pastry shell but offers different options for toppings (powdered sugar, chocolate and cookie crumb) and fillings (regular custard, chocolate custard, strawberries and cream custard or an assortment of Häagen-Dazs ice cream*). Since treating friends to dessert has become my calling card, I bought 6 for us to share, which were ravenously consumed. And then, the next day, I bought 6 more for my 4 person department. After one bite, my boss declared she would go there for lunch. And when she returned to the office, she came bearing more cream puffs. And the next night, John and Amber shared what remained of the half-dozen they had bought that day.

When all was said and done, I had tried each of the toppings and custard fillings. My Virginia friends and I agreed on the following:

• The chocolate topping, a classic éclair, was the superior topping. The cookie crumb topping, however, was disappointing, tasting sugary, but burnt.
• Each of the fillings were fantastic. The strawberries and cream did not taste a bit artificial and had pieces of strawberry in it. The chocolate was rich and made from two types of Belgian chocolate. The classic yellow custard tasted fresh and full.
• The most unique option was an eclair with strawberries and cream filling with chocolate on top.(Top 20 to Visit)

With 9 different options of custard-filled cream puffs and numerous ice-cream-filled options, one visit isn’t enough. Look for a Beard Papa’s in your area and try them all. But be careful because each box contains highly addictive substances; John and Amber are already reporting a decrease in motivation in the workplace that stems from cream puff withdrawal.


* I do not recommend the ice cream filling. My opinion is that the cream puffs filled with Häagen-Dazs ice cream would be the optimum choice of presentation at an ice cream shop—a fresh alternative to the waffle cone. At a cream puff shop, however, the ice cream overpowers the puff. It’s worth trying, but go to Beard Papa’s for the custard.


UPDATE (Nov. 2012): The Chicago location has closed. Consult the store locator linked above for the nearest Beard Papa's.

No Scoop Day

Ben and Jerry’s annual Free Scoop Day is tomorrow. For the first year ever, I found out about it ahead of time…but none of the Chicago shops are participating. Hopefully you fair better.

1st Annual Pi Day Party

Last Sunday was Pi Day, which occurs every year at 3.14. It offers a universal celebration of math and science...but mostly eat pie. Though I have done no actual research on the matter, the origins of the holiday are mysterious. Some believe it was handed own by the Greek gods themselves, who also gave birth to the Greek alphabet. Others believe the holiday was founded by a scientist who was turned into a pie whilst performing experiments involving centrifugal force. Some believe it was a culinary genius trying to reach a new market of desperate high school geometry teachers. Regardless of the day's beginnings, the day is a gift we must share.

I invited the whole internet to my new apartment (Population: two couches, two chairs and whole lot of empty space) telling people to bring a pie, savory (chicken pot pie, pizza pie, shepherd's pie, quiche) or sweet (pecan, apple, ice cream). Sadly, my 1st Annual Pi Day Party had more stories than pies, the subject of those stories being how there was a pie, but it got eaten beforehand. Luckily, I had made my favorite chicken pot pie (a recipe handed down by Boren's mom) and my staple fudge pecan pie. Other contributions were Manno's homemade apple pie, a store-bought apple pie, a frozen pizza, a $40 fully loaded Uno's pizza and a store-bought pecan pie. For those who didn't mind filling up on more dessert than dinner--we call them rational--it was a splendid day.

But let's not get lost in the deliciousness of Pi Day. Let us also remember (and honor!) the number, the letter, the legend that is Pi. To do that, I present to you a quote by a great man. Actually, it is Boren's favorite quote of mine: "There are too many songs about love. There should be more songs about...math!"

Duck season! Rabbit season! Girl scout season!

The freezer in my new apartment has ten containers of ice cream in it. (Some people read more than one book at a time; I have my own variation.) Four of them are the different varieties of one of my favorite seasonal offerings: Edy’s Girl Scout Cookie ice cream.

Thin Mint – Easily the best of the three flavors, which is not surprising since Thin Mint is also the superior cookie and is best eaten when out of the freezer. There are other mint cookie ice creams, but none that make chocolate their primary concern over mint. The cookie mix-ins vary from small sandy pieces to large crunchables. Two “half-gallons”* now grace my freezer.

Samoa – My friend Amber observed that this flavor made with the famous coconut cookie was like a creamy macaroon. The most unique flavor of the bunch, but the cookie doesn’t become an ice cream flavor so much as the cookie is mixed in to vanilla ice cream.

Tagalong – Without chocolate, peanut butter does not seem like a dessert treat to me. The cookies are covered in chocolate, but the ice cream is in vanilla ice cream.

Girl Scout cookie season is short. I like to stock up on my Thin Mint ice cream. Make sure you grab some before it’s too late.

* In the past five years, ice cream companies have shrunk the size of their larger containers. The idea was to keep the pricing the same, rather than charging more for the half-gallon. Edy’s packaging is currently at 1.5 quarts. Somehow, “three-eighths gallon” doesn’t have the same ring to it. 


Note from 2012: Sadly, my beloved Thin Mint has fallen victim to the "Frozen Dairy Dessert" epidemic and is no longer palatable.

Something Delicious This Way Comes... (Post #100!)

Seattle's Fremont Solstice Parade is my favorite festival event. During this time, the liberal neighborhood allows many unusual displays in their parade--naked bicyclists, puppets with political messages, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence--but does not allow any written word. This means no tacky logos or lip service corporate sponsorship. Any company that wants to take part in the festivities while marketing themselves must be creative. But this is all expository to how one chocolate company introduced to me the new feminine ideal:

Topless women parading down the street covered in chocolate.

I'll say it again: Topless women parading down the street covered in chocolate. Plus there was strategic gold-dusting that's commonly used for the tips, er, tops of truffles.

And, great gobs of goo, one of them was the girl of my dreams. This girl had sold me chocolate once before at the sponsoring chocolate shop and let's just say the Jasmine Truffles weren't the only thing that caught eye. And the sugar wasn't the only thing that had my heart rate up. And the aphrodisiacs in chocolate weren't the only thing getting me excited. (Whew! Is it getting hot or is it just me?) Needless to say, seeing her walk by covered in chocolate left me hungry.

"Dude," I managed to sputter to James. "I think I've sexually peaked."

Really, what could be better? Marisa Tomei and I may have once shared intimate details about what we like for dessert, but it's not like she offered to share her sundae with me or covered herself in whipped cream. (Down boy!)

I explained the situation to James: Not too long ago I had been serviced by one of these chocolate-covered goddesses at her place of work. Having been painfully attracted to her when she was fully clothed, it seemed like a sign to have seen her in this new, toothsome way.

"I should ask that girl out."

"Go for it, man."

"I should ask that girl out tomorrow."

And so it was. The next day I wandered into the chocolate store and--BAM!--there she was looking delicious, even while fully clothed. I wandered in circles around the store pretending to be interested in chocolate. (Well, maybe not pretending...) She offered me free samples. I tried not to drool.

I waited for the other customers to give us some space, you know, so the burning passions that might erupt wouldn't make their chocolate all melty. Polite chit chat between she and I began as I browsed, continued as I made my selection...and ended as I made my purchase.

The move had not been made. What to do now? Go back through the line buying chocolate until I found the courage? No! It was time to act! I wandered back to her section of the store.

"Want some more free samples?" she asked. "Marry me now," I thought. Luckily, more sensible words came out of my mouth as I made my move. But, sadly, she said she was already seeing someone. She politely continued the conversation a bit and I was smooth in my replies, but really I had already mentally checked out. I had a bag of chocolates to eat that I no longer had any obligation to share.

Filler post. (Post #99!)

Da da da.

The Nose Knows

Yesterday, from early evening into the late Chicago night, the corner of State and Lake was permeating the smell of melted chocolate. I searched and searched but found not the source. It shall remain a mystery.

Note from 2012: The mystery was solved, but you have to read the comments to this post...

Unforgettable Krispy Kreme Memory Countdown: No. 1

When I was very young, my mom went back to school for her Master's Degree. With my dad working full-time, my grandparents were asked to watch me.

Granddaddy and I had a schedule to keep on these days. He would greet me when I arrived with a hug from his recliner and a "Heeeey, Pahd-nah!"--that's "Pardner" or "Partner" for y'all city folk. For breakfast, I would have apple sauce, corned beef hash and cubes of cheddar cheese. (Apple sauce remains almost a daily staple for me, while corned beef hash is purchased less frequently but always eaten with nostalgia.) This would be followed by a trip to a playground, either at the Hardee's on Big Bethel Road or the much larger wooden jungle gyms and slides, which I suspect were across Mercury Blvd. at Francis Mallory. Lots of running around and playing and making up games with other kids. The next item on the list was most important: meeting up with the other old men that congregated at Krispy Kreme to smoke, talk and drink coffee.

I remember how the place used to look: the counter that had stools that could spin all the way around, the cigarette ash and the coffee stains. I'd marvel at the doughnuts being made, traveling up and down while the dough would rise until the final stage, when the completed doughnut went by on the conveyor belt and up toward the ceiling where they would cool. (While a lot of this image has changed with sleeker, openly throwback design of today's Krispy Kreme, having the doughnut machinery on public display has thankfully stayed the same.) Granddaddy would buy me two doughnuts: a chocolate-frosted cake doughnut and an original glazed. The chocolate-frosted always felt like the "meal" doughnut that I'd have to endure to get to the dessert doughnut, the original glazed. (In retrospect, I realize that if I had understood things better then, I probably could have asked for two glazed instead and gotten my wish, but it all made sense at the time. First the meal doughnut, then the dessert doughnut.)

Unlike other kids that would come in, I would stay in my seat and behave, which means I gained the approval of the tough old men that we saw there every day. I remember that it was always exciting when "Uncle" Jesse was there; something about the man was dangerous, but in a Butch Cassidy, fun-loving way. My mom tells me I would sometimes report back with a mopey voice that "Uncle Jesse's in jail again." I didn't understand what it meant when a person didn't pay their child support; I just knew I missed my friend. The conversation just wasn't the same without him, but when he came back I was always ready to round the counter the give him a big hug.

But a person couldn't sit at Krispy Kreme all day. There was Bob Barker and The Price is Right to be watched, followed by professional wrestling--I think every kid's favorite at my age was Hulk Hogan--followed by soaps and/or cartoons.

There may not be a playground at the Hardee's on Big Bethel anymore. There may not stools at the counter of Krispy Kreme. There may not be any new episodes of The Price is Right with Bob Barker and his skinny microphone. And I may not be able to spend time with my granddaddy anymore. But I do think of these days Granddaddy and I spent together, more than one would probably expect, but most often when I go to Krispy Kreme and take the time to sit and enjoy the moment.

Unforgettable Krispy Kreme Memory Countdown: No. 2

It was my first date. Or at least I hoped so. I'd only met the girl a few days ago, but we'd already spent more hours together than I'd spent with some of my better friends. We couldn't stop smiling the whole time. I was crazy about her, but was it a date?

Started at Sandy Bottom Nature Park and I suggested we keep hanging out. We ended up at Krispy Kreme. I was a bit concerned because she didn't order anything. But when I sat down to eat my Boston Kreme doughnut, she revealed Item #3,045 that we had in common: Boston Kreme was her favorite doughnut. At this point the excitement was too much and I announced, "Okay, I'm going to hold your hand now." This prompted all of the wonderful things we had to say about one another to pour over the brim and eventually back to her place where I had my first (offstage) kiss.

Unforgettable Krispy Kreme Memory Countdown: No. 3

I love Krispy Kreme. And Krispy Kreme loves me. This has been proven so many times that whenever I eat their delicious glazed doughnuts, I can't help but reminisce. The countdown begins:

It was college. I had switched out of acting and was starting my first semester with my new major, where I would explore producing, directing and arts administration. Much to the chagrin of some professors, I had chosen to direct off-campus to assure no restrictions were placed on me or my art. And I was spending a lot money for a college production, hoping to recoup my losses, but more so hoping that charging admission wouldn't detract all of my friends from attending. I had directed before, but at the time I was at the helm a pretty difficult piece. We worked long rehearsals (which gave me a "reputation"), spending as much time as we could in the space with the performers and the designers.

The sound designer and I especially clicked during this process. Perhaps it was that we were sitting in the booth together during run-throughs. Perhaps it was that I gave a stamp of approval to a sound collage of city noise that also included a tiger. Or perhaps it was that we would go out for Krispy Kreme doughnuts a lot. It was right across the street from the theatre and hot glazed are hard to resist. What better way to spend our teeny tiny profit? As we continued to collaborate on theatre pieces and eventually recording music, it became our tradition to celebrate with a dozen glazed, often downing the whole thing in an evening.