Lovely Ice Cream Day!

I know it's the middle of Winter here on Long Island, but I've got ice cream on my mind. Why? Because I was watching The Food Network the other night when I couldn't sleep and they did a spotlight on Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. Jeni's, based out of Columbus, Ohio, is a one-of-a-kind, totally unique and amazingly lovely ice cream store. Jeni and her husband run the company and literally handpack all the ice cream (she slowly folds in many of the ingredients just to ensure every bite has every piece of candy in it!), and handwrite all the labels for the ice cream (giving the store a really cool throw-back look). Lucky for us, in New York (and everywhere else, too!), Jeni sells her ice cream online...and thank God for it--check out these outrageously delicious sounding flavors: Queen City Cayenne (Rich chocolate slowly reveals hints of spice. Finish is pleasantly tingly.); Wildberry Lavender (Complex. Intense lavender with hints of exotic spices and lots of brambly berry flavors); Bourbon Buttered Pecan (Subtle corn mash notes come first, followed by rich and savory pecans; a charming hit of Bourbon finishes); Riesling Poached Pear (A surprisingly rich sorbet; pure pear flavor with unique pear texture; sweet Riesling notes shine on the finish); Gooey Butter Cake (buttery cake soaked in brown sugar caramel sauce and tossed in rich, honey butter ice cream.); Roxbury Road (extra milky dark chocolate ice cream with handmade marshmallows, brown sugar caramel sauce and smoked almonds in every bite!)

And wait...I may actually be in love with Jeni due to the fact that she has married my favorite cheese and ice cream together: Mackenzie Creamery Goat Cheese with Cognac Figs (subtle cognac notes give way to sweet figs, a sweet start which is balanced by the tang of pure goat cheese flavor. The perfect cheese course!) Who does that?! I love it. Just look at the intense flavors and choices she made in creating these ice creams. I love and admire her creativity. Can you tell I'm excited about this? And I'm not usually an ice cream person! Way to go, Jeni and team, you're truly lovely and one of a kind. (PS. Check out her blog, Salty Caramel).

Also, check out this brilliant way of storing ice cream for a party (this is a "why didn't I think of that?!" moment). And, don't forget to peek at this extremely simple and fun recipe for Ice Cream cake which involves buying boxes of ice cream sandwiches and getting to chop them up. Totally going to make that recipe this summer since it involves no time and getting to eat all the "discarded" pieces of ice cream sandwiches.

What's your favorite ice cream flavor? Mine is definitely chocolate and always has been...though, my heart is beating a little faster at that goat cheese ice cream and I haven't even tried it yet!