With the two-day/four-flavor Ice Cream Throwndown scheduled for Monday and Tuesday of this week, I spent the weekend – what else? – making ice cream.
Looking ahead, this is what the judges can look forward to –
Monday (Round One)
Rob’s Chocolate Mint vs. Joe’s Advokaat-Laced Vanilla with Crumbled Milk Chocolate Flake
Going mint is a double-edged sword. While, on the one hand, Rob’s already won over Brad and Ashleigh who have declared themselves fans of the gum flavor, I’m sure there will be others on the jury who won’t be quite as enthused. Still, I’m not leaving anything to chance and countering with one of my big guns. Given that some seventy percent of all ice cream lovers go for the vanilla, I think this one has potential to wow across the board. The vanilla base alone – made using actual vanilla beans that are simmered for half an hour, allowing their flavor to infuse the milk before being stripped – could carry this round. The Advokaat gives it a nice eggnog undertone while the crumbled Flake chocolate lends the whole a terrific textural contrast.
Rob’s Coconut Ice Cream vs. Joe’s Coconut Cream Pie Ice Cream.
I’ll admit to breaking my “fruit and dessert are two completely different things” rule when it comes to certain candidates: bananas, pears, the occasional apple, and, of course, coconut. So when I learned Rob was going to offer up a coconut creation, I decided to counter in kind and reached into my bag of tricks for this delectable version. Coconut milk replaces regular ice cream in forming the custard base. Then, during the churning process, three more ingredients go into the mix: crushed graham crackers to approximate that delectable pie crust flavor, dark rum, and toasted coconut.
Tuesday (Round Two)
Rob’s Chocolate Brownie vs. Joe’s Sweet Milk Chocolate with Shaved Bittersweet Dark Chocolate.
Chocolate Brownie will be hard to beat. While I considered countering with similar feature particulates (ie. cookies, doughnuts), I ultimately elected to offer a contrasting approach. Pralus Melissa criollo 45% forms the sweet milk chocolate base, while slivers of finely chopped Amedei 70% Chuao offer a bittersweet counterpart. The spotlight is all on the chocolate here.
Rob’s mystery entry vs. Joe’s Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream.
While I played fast and loose with the the previous three entries, allowing my own creativity to inspire me, this final flavor was by the book – a recipe compliments of the fabulous David Lebovitz (available here: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2007/04/salted_butter_c.html). It’s a little more labor intensive than the other three, but well worth the extra effort. In fact, it’s so good, I’m heading to my local bookstore tomorrow to pick up The Perfect Scoop, David’s book which details a host of equally marvelous ice cream creations: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/1580088082/davidleboviswebs.
I want to be modest, I really do, but there’s no way in hell I’m losing this throwdown. With the four flavors I’ve got lined up, I’ll be surprised if I lose even one of the head to head battles. Taking nothing away from Rob – I’m sure he’ll deliver some terrific creations – but these are probably the four best ice creams I’ve ever made.
In the end, it’ll be up to the judges. I look forward to hearing what they have to say.
And, later, critiquing their scripts.
Uh…Joe. That silver mallet thingy…
Mebbe you shouldn’t be nekkid when taking pictures of something so shiny… and reflective… 😕
das
All of your creations look absolutely yummy.
David Bowman — “…my God…it’s full of stars!”
Me — “…my god…it’s full of Amedei Chuao!”
nice. Also, if you had a tough time cutting up the chocolate, try using a serrated knife next time. Works quite well for me
I just saw David Blue in a Subway commercial – right?
How long does it take you to make your ice cream? It seems like it takes a lot of work and time.
Good luck in the SG:U Throwdown.
Sweet Milk Chocolate with Shaved Bittersweet Dark Chocolate Ice Cream??? Omigosh!! Big chocoholic here! That definitely gets my vote! Oh…Joe…I wish you could send some of that over. That just sounds heavenly!
hi, it all looks yummy but can you answer my question please is there any possible way for you to have a read of my book (when it is done) please i need a pros opinion. my family are great and so are my teachers but i think they are just saying what i want to hear please oh please read it.
@ Das – read your comment then quickly (very quickly) scrolled back up to take another look. Surely that is his fingers in the reflection! Surely! It can’t be…! Get your mind out of the gutter young lady! Good for a big laugh anyway.
Joe, you and Rob are so very talented. Is there nothing you can’t do? Looks like it’s gonna be a great contest. I remember as a kid having to manually crank the ice cream maker and when your arm was fixing to fall off, another sibling took over, and eating so much homemade ice cream my mouth would freeze and I couldn’t talk.
omg they all sound so delectable!!!
I think you got it in the bag. Ugh to mint icecream…
Are you afraid Ashleigh’s bias will make her vote against you?
Wow. First off, I am a huge, huge fan of David Lebovitz and his blog (does this mean I’m cheating?). I think you’ll really enjoy his book(s). I am so glad that you used one of his recipes. In fact, when I said a couple of weeks ago that I wanted to try salted caramel ice cream, believe it or not, this was the one I was referring to. It’s the flavour of his that I want to try the most (candied bacon is a close second). I am sooooo envious right now I can taste it. Ohhh wait, noooo I CAN’T *grrrrrr AND a pout* I hope those judges realize, and can appreciate, how fortunate they are. All of the ice cream looks really good. I think you’ll win, and if you don’t then U wuz rob’d. Bonne Chance!!
You know when you see a part of word out of the corner of your eye, and sometimes your brain will finish it (autocomplete if you will). So I was quickly reading down a list of ice cream flavours and out of the corner of my eye I saw Raw Horse…. My brain filled in, Raw Horseradish, I guess maybe because I was already familiar with the flavour, so maybe that was just what I ‘expected.’ As I was scanning back up the list, I actually stopped and read the full flavour. It was Raw Horseflesh Ice Cream. *shudder* I’m thinking that this may be a flavour you might want to recommend to Rob for his mystery entry. This way, even if he does win the Stargate Ice Cream King 2010 title, he won’t have a lot of time to celebrate before PETA comes and hauls his butt off. Do you think he would go for it? Probably not, eh!
@ Das – what makes it even funnier is that he calls the image his “eager assistant”
For the shoe freaks out there:
http://ifshoescouldkill.com/2010/05/29/crazy-shoes-oyee-ice-cream-pumps/
Have a good one!
Kymm
P.S. when you posted that picture of ingredients yesterday, I had looked at it and thought no that couldn’t possibly be bunny graham wafers……… I am, however, starting to get kind of freaked out. I’m waiting for an online order from Well.ca (that I placed late last week) and I actually ordered these.
http://well.ca/products/annies-homegrown-honey-bunny_17699.html?ref=relprod&related_product=17697
Scary!! Although it may be scarier for you!!!! (just sayin’)LOL
Joe,
Those photos should carry a diabetic warning. Just looking raised my blood sugar levels.
Thank you for sharing!
Hope your creations win the day.
🙂
@ Das continued…. at least he didn’t call the image his eager ‘little’ assistant.
K
Go Joe, Go Joe Go!
I got to attend a cooking class with David Lebovitz a few years ago at a Sur la Table store. He was a terrific teacher and very funny. If you don’t already have his Great Book of Chocolate, I recommend it highly. Everything I’ve made from the recipes have been delicious.
Wow! All I can say is that I really wish I was the judge! Especially for that caramel one! 😀
@Das – LOL (and I don’t say that unless I mean it)
Good luck Joe! All those tasty ice creams look so good, it’ll be hard for Rob to counter against. Good luck, and make us ice cream lovers proud!
-Bryan
sff-hub.blogspot.com
While you’re at the bookstore, check out David Lebovitz’s book on chocolate, if you haven’t already.
Don’t forget the ice cream!!
K
*looks, reads, and dies happily*
– Okay, now that I’ve recovered: *looks, reads, and dies happily, again*
Not much else I can say, except I’m glad that I’m not hungry at the moment. Otherwise this entry would drive me mad with ice cream lust.
Since you’re going to buy David Lebovitz’s book, what does that mean for your plans of laying off the ice cream making for a while? Are you going to wear a hairshirt or sumthin? Or an item that hasn’t yet been invented: a highly sophisticated programmable chastity belt for the mouth —iBad (or what have you).
I corrected about double my usual number of typos for this comment. Just so you know.
*takes just one more look* – I think I’m turning perv. . .
@Kymm: Great thinking with the Rob Cooper victory-sabotage attempt. But what might be fodder for a wicked insane documentary is if Rob acted first by notifying the Montreal Belgian/French horsemeat-eating community to come and start a fight with the PETA people. Pure chaos. . . BTW, thanks for the “ifshoescouldkill” link – highly unusual, and entertaining to wonder how dudes would like the previous pic. Heh.
I’m a big fan of mint chocolate-chip ice cream, and I believe that vanilla ice cream is a waste of calories, BUT…your version of vanilla sounds pretty intriguing. I’ll be interested to hear what the judges think. Coconut cream pie is another favorite of mine, although I’ve never had it in ice cream form. And the salted caramel idea is just awesome. I’m feeling a trip to Coldstone Creamery coming on…Vancouver’s a little too far away.
G’day Joe
Best of luck with the contest. Mint with ice-cream and mint with chocolate should never ever be mixed. It is so wrong on so many levels.
Rob’s brownie creation will be hard to beat. But your creations sounds delish. Making my mouth water now…
Seriously, there are people out there who like mint ice cream? Yikes.
Hi, Joe.
With it being Memorial Day in the US, a link to an appropriate article, with a Stargate mention:
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, IN)
The things left behind
http://bit.ly/bcYNUR
Best wishes to everyone serving in any country’s armed services and to their families.
Now the Beatles’ tune, “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”‘ is stuck in my head.
come on the nitrogen could give you that extra edge.
I meant to post this yesterday, but I forgot (the horsemeat reminded me). Since you and Ivon are in the midst of planning your trip to Japan, I thought it might put you a Japanese state of mind…. It’s from another one of my favourite food blogs. At the end (resource section) there is another link to 40 foods to try in Toyko (#2 is the horse).
http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2010/05/japan_highlights.php
Have a good one!
Kymm
As much as I love chocolate, I loathe mint, so round one is yours. Round two, sorry, but you beat a poor wee rabbit into crumbs to make your coconut dish. For that brutality, I’m afraid round two goes to Mr. Cooper. Round three, very tough call. The contrast of sweet chocolate with the bittersweet just barely overcomes the textural delight of the chocolate brownie. Round three to you. Final round, unable to call it since you don’t know what you are up against. But I find it hard to believe that anything can overome a dish that takes that much preparation, and looks so good. What happens if the voting goes 2/2 though?
@Das and all the other blog readers. Ok, let’s hear the confessions. How many of you immediately blew up the photo of Mr. M. smooshing the defenseless bunny, to look at the reflection? How many went back after reading Das’ comment implying Mr. M. was in his birthday suit? For the record, guilty on the first, not guilty on the second.
Thanks for the great photos and breakdown of the ice cresm offerings. It’s almost enough to make me start pricing ice cream makers myself. Only the thougt of the inevitable weight gains were I to do so is making me resist at this point. But that caramel recipe may break down my resolve eventually.
You’ve probably told us before but I’ve slept since then so could you tell us (again) how come you became such a gastronome?
Your culinary skills make me feel so inadequate, I think I need ice cream to comfort me:)
Joe, have you ever considered writing your own ice cream cook book? All three of your creations look and sound delicious.
You’re going to wow them with your choices.
Mint ice cream? Go to the grocery and buy Breyer’s for that one. Rob doesn’t have a chance.
so i was watching a certain movie yesterday, and i remember having watched it as a kid, anyway i was watching it and saw the actor who plays Col. Telford in the movie as the main character, i said to myself, alright the guy done some action movies but then right then i saw someone pointing a gun at Col. Telford and was ready to fire, he was a young looking guy, oh yes it was Col. Young! so i was like WTF? or WTH? and as a bonus i saw T-bag too playing some bad mafia guy. so i cant help but think, is SGU a reunion for them? they all worked with each other before.
Wow, those look excellent. I never get to do anything like that doing my NVQ. Sure, I can poach an egg, concasse tomatoes and make creamy beschemel, but not this!
Anyway, your pictures look fantastic, and Rob appears to have made some pretty fine types (I’d like to vote for his chocolate brownie flavour. Still, best of luck Joe. 🙂
Oh my, that recipe looks decadent. Thanks for including the links! I may try the Butter Carmel one this summer.
I hope your headache is better.
Das: too funny 😆 .
Hey Joe,
Your salty caramel ice cream seems really tasty. One comment/question: I’ve learned doing caramel that usely, you don’t stir at all the sugar water mix while it’s on the cooking fire. You lay it flat and let it do its stuff. But by looking at the picture, you seem to stir it alot. Was it mentionned in the recipe?
Joe, if I missed who you said was serving as the ice cream extravaganza “judges”, forgive me… much preoccupied of late. So, who specifically will be sampling all of these cool offerings @ the Bridge?
Since this is “fresh from scratch ice cream” and contains no preservatives, how long will your creations last in the cooler before taking on the “freezer flavor” scourge? Assuming of course, that every spoonful isn’t immediately devoured with great relish. Every item looks absolutely scrumptious!
True Confessions:
@ das and Thornyrose and Gilder
Yes, I thought the pink was skin reflection and yes, I zoomed in to verify and yes, Maxwell’s Silver Hammer is looping through my brain. (I think it was finger/hand reflection).
Thanks for the laughs and memories ladies!
This Memorial Day please remember our fallen service members who have served the American people and country with honor and grace. God Bless them and our active service members and may He keep you safe and soon return you home.
Grateful in New Jersey,
2cats
dasNdanger …Mebbe you shouldn’t be nekkid when taking pictures of something so shiny… and reflective… 😕
Can’t fool Das… 😀
Coucou,
ça va ? Waouuuuuu!!!!!!! Mais vous êtes le dieux des glaces!!! (enfin du moins dans mon coeur;)
je suis certaine que vous allez gagner!!! Merci pour toutes ces photos, ça met l’eau à la bouche!! impatiente de savoir le verdicte.
Gros bisou:)
♥
Count me in please if you need any taste testers!
Have you thought about inviting Mark Dacascos or Bobby Flay?, that would have been fun. Sounds like a great day at ?work? Good luck to all the judges, looks like a tough job. Looking forward to the update. Hope your headache is better now.
Have fun!
Why are you still ignoring my soundtrack question? And is Mike Dopud playing the same person (Odai Ventrell) or another LA guy?
Hi, does any one know how you ask Joe a question? Please.
Sorry, I meant to put “anyone” not “any one”
Hey Joe, could you an Rob tell us your ice cream “base” ?
I’m sure that I’m not the only one here that would love a “good” ice cream base receip.
Oh and there is one icecream you gotta try if you haven’t.
Tiramisu Icecream, I simply can’t get enough of it.
(Sidenote, Tiramisu Chocolate is also fantastic)
As to SGU, any chance you could write a Anime inspired episode? You know where the characters main trait gets overblow, weird facial expressions, suddenly halting in their halfway in their steps while seeing something, blatant fanservice, and any other anime tropes you can think of.
And if some plot device is needed to explain the odd behavior, there is always that odd “something” they could find hidden away in Destiny that has an odd temporary sideeffect. (like exponentially magnifying their main traits at the expense of reducing all their other traits maybe?)
You know just a somewhat comedic fanservice episodes with some seemingly though temporary super powers and other weirdness, but a good writer would be able to do this and still keep it within the “universe” rules ;P
Ooh, another plot device idea that could be used (not exactly original either but… two universes temporarily phaseshifting due to a nearby stars anomalies at a interconnecting timestream of two said universes maybe?)
Or maybe just a good old Anime party on the Destiny to break up their daily monotony (due to no impending doom for a few weeks for some reason *laughs*).
I’m just saying I’d love to see Eli or someone else blast off a fireball or shockwave from their hands or something, over the top animestyle, I’m sure the CGI guys have a few Anime fans too 😛
Or they could always stumble upon a form of “Mech” in Destiny somewhere? (and Eli throwing around Anime references to that)
Thanks a heap, JM. I gained five pounds just reading that.
Who is your grocer of choice Joe. My heart will always belong to Superstore/Loblaws…personally.
I just had a brainflash of a possible “ending” scene for let’s say SGU’s finale at let’s say fifth season (crosses fingers that SHU will make it that long).
Imagine the ending scene being Destiny dropping out of lightspeed (or something), and the crew look out the window and they see a Ancient city ship orbiting a planet, and behind it a yellow sun, the Destiny glides beutifully towards it.
Obviously this is Atlantis (that is now fixed) and the planet is Earth. The End.
That would be the perfect ending for the whole SG tri-series if you ask me. (with cameos of SG-1 and Atlantis crews waving out of the windows of Atlantis to Destiny “docking”…
*whipes away a tear*
@ DANIEL FLEMING – You can ask Joe a question right here.
das
I have been remiss in not reading the blog for far too long, and here I come back in the middle of ice cream wars!! Bless you, Joe, for successfully making dry caramel… got all misty for a minute…
I came across a recipe for butternut squash ice cream a little while ago and saved it because it sounded intriguing – have to wait for squash season, though.
Good luck!
Lisa
All those ice cream flavours sound awesome. I would kill to be one of the judges! Well, maybe not kill, but probably maim!
Mmmmmm, I’m still licking my lips at those wonderful creations. But, I have to admit, I’m a choc-mint ice-cream kinda gal, so you’d have a fight on your hands with that one! 😀
@ Das… get your mind out of the gutter girl! It was his FINGER! hahahahaha
I might just have to go and buy that ice-cream book now, oh and an ice-cream maker, and learn how to make custard properly, and, and, and…. 😀
Good luck with the ice-cream contest. Looks like you’ve definitely have a winning line-up of offerings. Inspired by your photos, I’m heading over to Cold Stone Creamery right now.
Roger Hågensen, I can’t see that happening personally, though that is a nice end, however a ship like Destiny given it’s size probably couldn’t be brought back to Earth, at least not without revealing the gates existance, it could easily be taken to an offworld base to be studied should it ever appear in the Milky Way.
I remember reading a thread on Gateworld debating the size of Destiny, could it ever land on Atlantis? I have no idea, I don’t think it could, the scale wouldn’t work.
Anyway I love Ice cream, the one thing that always seems to give me brain freeze, lol.
Hey, did anyone see the clip after the credits finished rolling on IronMan 2? Looked intriguing!
I think that the eager assistant is Lulu, either that or (edited by Kymm).
Can we PLEASE have an early post today/tonight? I think I can speak for everyone, when I say we are all dying to hear the results of Day 1. *pretty please*
K
P.S. Postie delivered my Well order today. I tried the Maple Arrowroot Cookies first, strong maple flavour but strange after-taste. Nope – not a keeper. The Honey Bunnies did NOT taste like graham at all, in fact, rather tasteless. Double Fail….*disappointed frown* ……maybe because they were both organic *muse* Note to Self: No more organic baked crap.
Well all the best to you Joe in your contest – I already vote for the vanilla,pie crust, dark rum creation. Anything with booze in it has to be a winner.
May I make a suggestion… a bananas foster creation with caramel, hint of chocolate and I bet rum would round out.
Of course festooned with whipped cream and wrapped in a crepe.
oh-oh just to clarify for the latecomers, my brand of bunnies were different than the ones Joe used in his recipe. I had mentioned these other organic bunnies in one of my (MANY) earlier posts, so you may have missed it. I haven’t tried the brand Joe used, but I am sure that his are very good, otherwise he would not have used them.
K
Hi Joe,
Just got back from visiting 3 cemeteries to put flags on vet graves and flowers on others: Happy Memorial Day! It was a little damp out there, although the sun came out just as I finished, of course. It was lovely to see so many people out to honor the fallen, many more people than last year. My cousin Jeanne and I were the only ones from my family who could go this year – our generation picking up the duty from the previous one who, due to various infirmities, could not attend.
Can’t wait to hear the results from the Battle of the Frozen Giants – I know Carl is looking forward to judging – he posted it on twitter several times in the past several days!
Bonne Chance!
Smiles, Julie
@ Das & Kymm – LALALOL – you are too quick, girls!
@ 2Cats – have done!
Hi Joe, I would be very great full to you if you would please answer a few questions please
1, I am 15 now and i live in the uk and i have watched Stargate ever since i was very little, and I have always wondered how much did a SG1 episode cost, and did the budget per episode ( or season, whatever easiest) ever go up or down, and could you please answer the question for Stargate Atlantis and Universe, thanks very much.
2, Is there any chance of a spin off show to Stargate Universe and will stargate come to an end if SGU gets cancelled? (I hope SGU lasts a very long time)
3, Is there any chance of MGM cancelling the movie and renewing Stargate Atlantis the TV series ?
4, Will Peter DeLuise direct any more SGU episodes?
5, This is very random but, will you use any of David Bowie’s music on SGU, as it is often about isolation and depression? (David Bowie is my favourite artist)
6, As i live in the uk, i was wondering what is it like in Vancouver?
i would be very grateful if you could please answer these questions Joe, thanks.
I just know that I’m feeling really dirty now cuz I went back and peeked (I actually hadn’t before), but because people were still talkin’ I did. *durty durty girl*
K
P.S. were any of your bunnies stuck together in suggestive poses. Some of mine are rather x-rated.
(Kymm SHUTTING UP now)
Joe, hope your head is feeling better.
@TammyDixon: Thank you so much for the wonderful golden retriever joke. I read it tonight. I needed a laugh so badly.
I had such a horrible weekend. That school meeting on Friday was incredibly hostile, ended up with me embarrassingly almost fainting (long explanation as to why it happened–but of all the times I had to do that, my nemesis was actually out of the room–I think she was out of the room on the phone with the school district’s scumbag lawyer), my HDTV breaking, Patrick beating himself so hard this weekend for reasons we are still not clear (I think he was upset the HDTV was broke, too and became obsessive about it because every time we said, It is broke, he would start tantruming, punching the sides of his body. We put the XBox and Rockband in the living room TV, but the change in the routine he just couldn’t cope with it. And then he gave himself a bloody nose and well, he won’t let us stop it (it takes one of us to hold his body down, one of us to pinch his nose and try to keep his head still). This is not normal behavior for my kid. And then guess what — Another school meeting (I’m so disoriented I’ve lost count? Is this # 7 or #8?) and still have no idea what they are offering him for summer school. They had off today, tomorrow is the last “full” day, Wednesday is a half day and Thursday is a half day and the last day of the regular school year.
The latest tactic the special education attorneys teach the school districts now are calling Child Protective Services on the parents who are vocal in advocating for their children. Since they can leave “anonymous” calls, there is no followup for fraudulent calling. After the meeting we had on Friday, and Patrick hurting himself this weekend, I have to bring Patrick into the nurse’s office and get the principal and the teacher in there to witness this. He did this once before in a school year and I actually kept him out of school until I got him into the doctor to document it was self-injury but since that is already on the record, I am hoping they won’t make me do that again, but if they think that this director will try to retaliate against me by doing this, then I will take him home, and try to get him in to the doctor’s office that day.
And people wonder after 6 years of this why I am so ill.
Noooo! Poor bunnies. 🙁
The flavors all sound terrific, though. Might have to try my hand at one or two. Or that doughnut thing…
Hi Joe.
What do you think of the new series of doctor who? (If you’ve seen it)