It Melts Around The Cracks

Some of you who know me really, really well may already know what deliciousness I’m referencing in the title.  Those of you who don’t are about to be enlightened:  ice cream.  (The title is a quote I used to love to dish out after a good work lunch at CCU.)  It’s just amazing, my friends.  I could eat it all day, every day.  A few years ago, my husband and I discovered that I’ve even built up a resistance to “brain freeze”, probably just from the sheer amount of time I’ve spent indulging this pleasure.  I can seriously eat my ice cream so blazing fast and still not experience that debilitating side effect.  Sometimes in doing so, my tongue does become a bit numb, though, so that’s not always easy to deal with.  Especially if you’re also trying to carry on a conversation, or at the very least, just interject now and then. 

Some of my favorite ice creams:

1.  Homemade Vanilla.  Nothing will ever, ever beat this.  Hands down.  And don’t mess with it & put toppings or other flavorings in it when you’re making it.  (This means you & your short-lived eggnog ice cream adventure, Dad!)

 2.  Graeter’s, Cincinnati, Ohio.  They have a unique French Pot process.  I’ve tried many flavors.  Tops for me are the signature black raspberry chip, the peppermint stick (which, sadly, is only seasonal now but used to be a constant once upon a time), and the chocolate coconut almond fudge chip.  Graeter’s was featured on Oprah for her “favorite things” show one year, and for a reason.  They will ship just about anywhere, for a price.  Additionally, I just found that I can purchase small pints of it at our local Baker’s (aka Kroger in Nebraska) for a small fortune (but worth it every now & then!).   http://www.graeters.com/

 

3.  Maggie Moo’s, just about everywhere.  I used to love their cheesecake ice cream mixed with strawberries, but this was when they used fresh strawberries that were cut up and then frozen.  Now they mostly use mushy strawberries, which gross me out.  So then I found their creamy coconut ice cream, which I love to mix with coconut (shocker!) and crushed pineapple.  But they are often out of pineapple.  (I think you’re beginning to see a pattern of frustration for me with dear Maggie.)  I do think it’s worth noting that Jake & I feel almost entirely solely responsible for closing our local Maggie Moo’s when we lived in Cincinnati.  Because we gave up ice cream for Lent one year.  We celebrated Easter with a       couple pints of our favorite blends.  But then about a week later our branch closed.  I think you can see the direct correlation for yourselves. (For those that can’t see it:  Lent is usually about 40 days long.  Figure it out.) http://www.maggiemoos.com/home/index.cfm

 

4.  Baskin Robbins, increasingly hard to find.  Luckily, we have one a couple hours away, in the city that we pass through to visit family, so it’s still pretty handy for me.  The classic peanut butter and chocolate tops my B&R list.  I’ve also always loved the daiquiri ice, for some reason.  Tangy!  And I share a love of pralines and cream with my dad.  I have to say that the combo in some areas of Baskin Robbins and Dunkin’ Donuts stores is a sweet, sweet dream to me (literally).  http://www.baskinrobbins.com/