Two for Tuesday: Celebrity Apprentice Ice Cream

This Sunday’s Celebrity Apprentice task is the final task this season, and the winner will be the Celebrity Apprentice.  The two contenders are Trace Adkins (swoon) and Penn Jillette.  Ironically, both guys are tall and have ponytails.  Anyway, the task included creating an ice cream flavor for Walgreens’s Delish brand.  Trace’s team created two, a red velvet cupcake and a maple macadamia mash-up.  Penn’s team created two as well, magic swirtle with chocolate turtle pieces and sin city (don’t remember what was in this one).  The teams had a taste test to narrow it down to one choice.  The winning ice creams are Magic Swirtle and Maple Macadamia Mash-up.  They became available as of yesterday, and of course, I had to try them.

Well, now for the taste test.  They both look pretty similar.

The Magic Swirtle ice cream has swirls of sea salt chocolate and chocolate candies in the shape of turtles that are filled with caramel.

The chocolate swirls are hard, not soft and fudgy, and I don’t taste the sea salt.  I don’t like hard chocolate candies in my ice cream, so I don’t like the chocolate turtles.

The Maple Macadamia Mash-up is maple-flavored ice cream with macadamia nuts.

The maple flavor is nice, and there aren’t too many nuts, which is good because I don’t like nuts in my ice cream.

So the verdict is that I don’t particularly like either flavor of ice cream, but I’ll go with the maple ice cream just because the ice cream itself is nice and there aren’t many nuts…and it’s Trace Adkins’s ice cream!

By the way, Trace’s favorite cake is also my favorite cake–red velvet!  Woo hoo!

Trace, if you ever need a lawyer, I’m licensed in New York and Tennessee!

Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s

Today is free cone day at Ben & Jerry’s.

Review & Giveaway of New York Sweets: A Sugarhound’s Guide to the Best Bakeries, Ice Cream Parlors, Candy Shops, and Other Emporia of Delicious Delights

New York Sweets: A Sugarhound’s Guide to the Best Bakeries, Ice Cream Parlors, Candy Shops, and Other Emporia of Delicious Delights by Susan Meisel, published by Rizzoli on April 2, 2013, is a comprehensive listing of all the places to get your sugar fix in NYC.  Whether you are an ice cream person, a bakery person or a candy person, there is something in this book for you.  Personally, I tend to lean toward ice cream and bakeries.  The book includes some of my faves:  Doughnut Plant, Jacques Torres, Payard, Villabate, L’arte Del Gelato, Sockerbit, Tea & Sympathy, Vosges, Ferrara and Van Leeuwen. This is one of those books I wish I had written!  The book is divided into neighborhoods, so you can do a sweets tour in each NYC ‘hood!  I want to try Puddin’ on St. Mark’s Place–a shop with puddings and toppings.  There’s plenty of eye candy in the hardcover book with color photos of goodies from all the shops listed and recipes for you to try at home.

If you are in New York and have never been, the Rizzoli Bookstore on 57th Street is worth a trip.  I love this store.  Rizzoli has wonderful art and photography books and a great international magazine section.

You can win a copy of this fun book by entering the giveaway.  If you win, Rizzoli will ship you a free copy of New York Sweets: A Sugarhound’s Guide to the Best Bakeries, Ice Cream Parlors, Candy Shops, and Other Emporia of Delicious Delights by Susan Meisel.

To enter the giveaway:

Leave a comment below, answering this question:

What is your favorite sweet shop or bakery?  (It doesn’t have to be in New York).

For additional entries, become a fan on Facebook or sign up for my Tweets on Twitter and let me know you signed up in a separate comment.  One winner will be chosen at random and announced on Friday, April 12.  Contest closes on Thursday, April 11 at 12 PM EST.  (Rizzoli will ship the book to the winner.  U.S. residents only.)  Winner will be contacted via email, so please be sure to include your email address in the field when you leave your comment (it will not be visible to the public).  Good luck!

Contest is closed.

The Best of 2012

As 2012 ends, it’s a time to reflect on all the delicious meals and treats I had this year.  It was a year of firsts for me:  my first empanadas, my first ramen, my first soup dumplings.  I tried bottarga (an Italian delicacy–dried caviar from tuna or gray mullet eggs).

Here are lists of my favorites for the year.

Dina’s top 5 brunches of 2012:

1.  Barbounia‘s shakshouka

2.  West End Grill‘s omelets with sweet potato chipotle short rib hash

sweet potato chipotle short rib hash

3.  Robert‘s ricotta pancakes

4.  Popover Cafe‘s Carolina Dinah with cheddar cheese grits

5.  Market Diner‘s breakfast

Dina’s top 6 frozen treats of 2012:

1.  Grom‘s candied chestnut gelato

Grom’s chestnut

2.  Itizy‘s vanilla ice cream

3.  Yogorino‘s plain frozen yogurt

Yogorino

4.  Yo Art‘s Greek lemon frozen yogurt

5.  Sundaes and Cones‘s Thai tea and corn ice creams

ginger, corn and Thai tea ice cream

6.  Mo’s cherry and mascarpone gelato

mascarpone and cherry gelato

Dina’s top 6 desserts of 2012:

1.  Smyrna‘s rice pudding

2.  Epicerie Boulud‘s brandied cherry beignets

brandied cherry beignets

3.  Benoit‘s tarte tropezienne

vanilla cream cake

4.  La Silhouette‘s honey mascarpone mille feuille with toasted oats and cherry curd

honey mascarpone mille feuille with toasted oats and cherry curd

5. Pie Face‘s lamington

lamington

6.  Minamoto Kitchoan‘s fukuwatashi

Kitchoan goodies

Dina’s top 14 dishes of 2012:

1.  Braai‘s chicken bobotie

chicken bobotie

2.  Braai‘s portobello mushroom with goat cheese

portobello mushroom with goat cheese

3.  Caffe Falai‘s gnudi

Gnudi

4.  Lillie‘s lobster mac and cheese

5.  Xai Xai‘s eggplant rolled and stuffed with goat cheese

6.  The Palm‘s crab cake appetizer

7.  David Burke Kitchen‘s crab and tomato gazpacho

8.  Porter House‘s organic Scottish salmon

Scottish salmon

9.  Almayass‘s shrimp provencal

10.  Totto Ramen‘s char siu bun

char siu bun

11.  Swizz‘s raclette

12.  Joe’s Shanghai‘s soup dumplings

Joe’s Shanghai soup dumplings

13.  Empanada Mama‘s corn flour cheese empanadas

14.  Num Pang‘s pulled duroc pork sandwich

Two for Tuesday: Ice Cream

Yes, ice cream is a popular topic on my blog because I love it!  I love iced treats in all forms–ice cream, gelato, frozen yogurt…(am I the only one who remembers ice milk?).  Recently, I went to one of my favorite ice cream shops in the city, Sundaes and Cones, in the East Village, with a hankering for my favorite flavor there–corn.  I got that along with ginger and Thai tea.  What a delight!  One was better than the other, but my favorite is still corn!

ginger, corn and Thai tea ice cream

In addition to old favorites, I love giving new places a try.  While in Little Italy for San Gennaro, I stepped into Mo Gelato, a new gelateria.  Of course, gelato is better for you than ice cream, so I was being healthy when I got a double scoop (in a cup, mind you).  Cherry and mascarpone flavors.  Both were out of this world.  The mascarpone was so creamy, but the cherry was the showstopper.  Also creamy, it just had the perfect cherry flavor and a tiny bit of a crunch.  L’arte del Gelato finally has some competition.

mascarpone and cherry gelato

Two for Tuesday: Desserts in a Glass

Bindi dessert company started as a bakery in Milan in 1946.  Now, it sells delicious dessert creations to restaurants.  Recently, I was able to snag one of their glass collection–coppa spagnola.  The Web site says it’s vanilla and amarena cherry gelato swirled with amarena cherries and syrup, but when I tasted it, I thought it was fabulously creamy whipped cream.  Indeed, the label on the dessert I had said it was frozen cream swirled with black cherry sauce and topped with black cherries.  I had never had their desserts before, and this was a great introduction.  If you eat it at a restaurant, I guess the restaurant keeps the glass, but I found this at a grocery store, so I was able to keep the glass.

If you’re in the mood for an ice cream sundae, Big Daddy’s has a few great options.  Big Daddy’s is a fun diner that pays tribute to pop culture in the last 50 years with pictures on the wall and items on the menu.  My friend and I got Strawberry Fields Forever–cheesecake with vanilla ice cream, strawberry topping and whipped cream–and The “Caramel” Apple–apple pie with vanilla ice cream, hot caramel sauce and whipped cream.

These large sundaes, complete with rainbow sprinkles and a cherry on top, are fun takes on classic American desserts.

Ice Cream Serendipity

I wasn’t on my way to get ice cream.  I was hurriedly walking somewhere else when I spotted the light blue Itizy ice cream truck and a small line forming in front.

The small menu features a few classic flavors like vanilla and some creative ones like coffee brownie.  I chose vanilla, as vanilla is the staple by which I judge if someone can make ice cream or not.  I also chose the roasted banana special.

It’s rare these days that I’m blown away by an ice cream, but Itizy ice cream did just that.  This is some seriously good ice cream.  You want that authentic flavor in your ice cream (made from using fresh and organic ingredients), and you also want it to be creamy and delicious (it’s made from farm-fresh cream and milk).  Making ice cream is more than just using good ingredients though, as I’ve had ice creams made from good ingredients that just didn’t make the cut.  Itizy has the right ratio of cream and milk to create a clean, creamy consistency.  It’s got perfectly-shaped scoops.  It’s got that old-fashioned vanilla flavor and the ripe taste of banana.  Itizy is everything you want in ice cream.

There are some interesting toppings on the menu that I’d like to try another time.  They include sea salt & caramel, maple pecan granola, chocolate almond toffee crunch, crushed Oreos, Ghiradelli chocolate sauce and Ghiradelli caramel sauce.  And the best part of eating a scoop of Itizy?  For every five scoops they sell, they donate a meal to a child in need.

Weekend Whets

Third Annual Ice Cream Sunday at New Amsterdam Market, Sunday, August 19, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.  Tickets are $30 for early admission at 12 p.m. (includes 10 tasting tickets for 10 miniature cones) or $20 for general admission starting at 1 p.m. (includes 8 tasting tickets for 8 miniature cones).  Tickets at the door are $35 early bird or $25 general admission.  Each ice cream maker will make up to four flavors to taste in miniature cones.  Ice cream makers include THE BENT SPOON, DREAMSCOOPS, EARLY BIRD COOKERY, ESCA, IL BUCO & IL BUCO ALIMENTARI & VINERIA, MARLOW & SONS, LA NEWYORKINA,  LUCA & BOSCO, ROUGE TOMATE, STEVE’S ICE CREAM, and VAN LEEUWEN ARTISAN ICE CREAM.

Two for Tuesday: Ice Cream

Ice cream is our Two for Tuesday this week.  Well, ice cream-related desserts–gelato and Italian ice–to be exact.

L’arte del Gelato is my favorite gelato place in New York City.  I haven’t had a flavor here I didn’t like.  And the flavors are consistent–consistently great!  Its Web site says it uses the “finest ingredients” in their “natural state,” and I suspect that’s why the gelato here is so good.  This time, I got a flavor I hadn’t gotten before:  coconut.  A wonderfully clean coconut flavor.

Whenever I eat Italian ice, I go for the traditional lemon.  With flavors like mojito, cookie dough and pink lemonade, Andy’s Italian Ices truck delivers more than just the standards and makes lemon ice seem a little boring.  At Andy’s, there are water ices like lemon and creme ices.  My mom talks about a delicious creme ice when she was a kid called vanilla yum yum at a stand in Hoboken.  Andy’s doesn’t have vanilla, but I chose cannoli, which sounded good.  Cannoli is flecked with chocolate chips and pieces of real cannoli shell for a little crunch.  The creme ice does have an authentic cannoli-like flavor while being both creamy and refreshing.

Two for Tuesday: Ice Cream

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream caught my eye while I was at Murray’s Cheese last week.  At $11.99 a pint, I had to see if it was just that good.  I tried goat cheese with red cherries.  I love tart red cherries, so I thought this would be for me.

Jeni’s, out of Ohio, uses tapioca starch as a thickener to create the consistency of its ice cream.

While it had a very clean flavor, I found the goat cheese to be a bit overpowering.  I’m a big fan of traditional, creamy homemade ice creams made Philadelphia-style (without eggs).  Jeni’s is made without eggs, but it doesn’t have that naturally creamy mouthfeel I look for in homemade ice cream.  They do list milk first in the ingredient list, then cream, so maybe that’s why it just wasn’t $11.99 creamy good to me.  So I think how you will like Jeni’s depends on how you take your ice cream.  I like mine with cream, milk and sugar.
Ronnybrook Milk Bar

I tried the ginger and the raspberry ice creams at this shop in Chelsea Market.  I thought the ice cream wasn’t as milky crisp as it could’ve been coming from a dairy and suspected it had gums.  The ingredient list on its Web site confirmed my suspicion.  The raspberry flavor was very light, as was the ginger.  For ginger, it’s probably best to have a lighter flavoring because too much ginger in ice cream can make it a bit too spicy for me.