Posted by Lucy Baker, July 10, 2008 at 11:30 AM
Vanilla ice cream with pie is a classic combination, but why not try something different?
My three favorite words in the language of desserts are à la mode. In fact, I love ice cream so much that I frequently wish I could invert the formula, as in, "I'll have three giant scoops with a sliver of pie on top." But when it comes to the dizzying array of cakes, crumbles, and crostatas made from all sorts of ingredients—chocolate, coffee, fruit, nuts—why do we so often limit ourselves to crowning our sweets with dollops of plain old vanilla?
Don't get me wrong—I have nothing against vanilla ice cream. I just don't understand why it is the end all be all flavor for spooning over baked goods. There are so many other enticing, rich, and exciting options out there. Sure, vanilla is a classic pairing that won't interfere with, say, the lavender essence in your pound cake, or the toasted walnut crunch mounded inside your roasted apple, but it might not be your dessert's best compliment either.
I've spent the past week developing and compiling a small collection of recipes for à la mode alternatives—ice cream flavors that, while delicious enough to stand on their own, are even better when paired with tortes, brownies, and the like, because they enhance the dessert's primary flavors. Check out my recommendations after the jump.
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A new bill passed by New York lawmakers will regulate the sale of ice-cream and sorbet containing wine, prohibiting sale to anyone under age 21 (although ice cream makers do not need a liquor license). Alcohol content must also be limited to 5 percent by volume, and warning labels must be placed on the product. If you're looking to get pleasantly buzzed, just know that you're gonna have to eat a lot: two gallons of wine ice-cream or one pint of wine sorbet are the equivalent to one glass. [via Gothamist]
Posted by Leah Greenstein, June 9, 2008 at 4:00 PM
Blackberry sorbet made with blackberries from Burkart Organics.
For a former New Yorker there's a lot to get used to about Southern California life. For the first eight years I lived here I felt like a winter kale wilting in the summer sun. It took leaving and moving all over the country before I figured out that there's something truly special about Southern California. Rest assured it's not Lindsay Lohan.
While to most people California is a postcard of beaches and palms trees, much of the Golden State is actually farmland, a fact that is reflected by the more than 50 certified farmers' markets in Los Angeles County alone. Perhaps the most famous of these markets is the one held on Wednesdays in downtown Santa Monica, where you can spot the city's top chefs picking through dandelion greens and squash blossoms.
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Posted by Ed Levine, August 3, 2007 at 9:00 AM
The San Francisco Chronicle food section tasted eight lemon sorbets on Wednesday in search of that perfect sweet-tart ratio, smoothness, acidity, and real lemon flavor. What they found is not pretty: "Too much sweetness, off textures and strange, artificial-seeming flavors ... at least in the opinions of our five tasters."
The national brand that fared best was Häagen-Dazs (72 points out of 100). Häagen-Dazs finished second to Draeger's Sorbet Classico (78), an upscale Bay Area store brand. Ciao Bella (45) finished a distant third.
Sharon's Sorbet, a national brand I root for because it's still independently owned and operated, totally tanked. On the Chronicle's one to 100 scale, it received an 11. Ouch!
The Chronicle's tasting inspired me to do my own mini-tasting featuring Häagen-Dazs, Sharon's, and Ciao Bella.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, May 4, 2007 at 6:30 PM
David Lebovitz says, "Here's my address book for the most popular, and my favorite places for ice cream in Paris," and proceeds to list six top glaciers and what he likes to order at each, plus the names and addresses of four more he's heard about but has yet to try. There's possibly no one else whose opinion on this I'd trust more, as he lives in Paris, is the author of the cookbook Perfect Scoop, and his recipe for Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream is supposed to be better than that of Berthillon, which is regarded as the best ice cream maker in the world. Consider it a list you must print out when visiting Paris!
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Posted by Robyn Lee, March 15, 2007 at 2:20 PM
By Robyn Lee | After a failed early afternoon trip to Gelati d’Alberto which didn't open until 3 PM, my friend Jessie and I went to Damman's Glacier for dessert after scarfing down some sadly sub-par gyros at Saint Michel. Although my soul usually writhes in horror at the idea of not getting a creamy, dairy-based flavor, my body screamed for something with fruit or at least a slight presence of beneficial nutritional value. Of course, strawberry basil sorbet isn't exactly recommended by doctors; it just seemed less doom-full than Jessie's orange chocolate ice cream. A hint of basil mixed with strawberry made for a refreshing dessert, but it would've been better if the "small" wasn't the size of a baby's fist.
Then again, if the portion hadn't been so small then sampling the goods at Delizefollie would've been more difficult for my bloated stomach. We tried a generously filled small cup of pistachio, which I use as the standard "IS THIS PLACE AWESOME?" flavor to judge a place on, and caramel, which the gelateria named "MOO". I could smell the roasted nutty flavor of the muted yellow-green pistachio before it even hit my mouth—it definitely passed the "awesome" test. The caramel flavor was subtle, but enhanced by small chunks of creamy caramel. I also sampled the mint which, as the odd sea-green color forewarned me, wasn't made with real mint. (I think a good rule to follow is "skip colors that are not naturally occurring".) I'd still pick Pozzetto over Deliziefoliie, but Deliziefollie is better if you want more flavor choices, larger portions, a view of the magically fluffy mountains of gelato, and a place to sit right outside the shop.
Damman's Glacier
1 rue des Grands Degrés, 5ème
Deliziefollie
7 rue Montorgueil, 1ème
Robyn Lee is interning at Serious Eats for the semester. Like what you've read here? See more at The Girl Who Ate Everything.
Posted by Ed Levine, April 4, 2006 at 12:20 PM
Sorbet eaten in moderation is a dieter's best friend. Some of the best commercial sorbets on the market contain a hundred calories in a serving. Of course it's hard to limit yourself to a single serving of sorbet if it's really good, but that's a problem that can be solved by a creative sorbet manufacturer. When I found myself perusing the ice cream selection at Whole Foods the other day, I came upon Blue Moon Sorbets, made in Queechee, Vermont, undoubtedly by some old hippies that went to college when I did in the late sixties. I bought two pints, Blackberry Lime and Pear Ginger. They cost $5.00, or half of what a pint of Capogiro's sorbetto costs. They are not as smooth-textured as Capogiro's are, but they are intensely flavored and very clean-tasting. The Pear Ginger was downright smooth, perhaps because pears are naturally creamy. The flavor combinations are blessedly straightforward and carefully thought out. Pear belongs with ginger as blackberry belongs with lime. No savory flavors or herbs need apply here. I'm a fan of Sharon's sorbets and even of Haagen Dazs, but neither offers the judiciously chosen flavor combinations that Blue Moon does. I wish they were creamier, but you can't have everything.
