DC Food Blogger Happy Hour

I have been stalking these happy hours long before I ever had a blog. It's a great way to meet fellow foodies and get to know the people behind your favorite food blogs. Total food dork fest.

Dark Chocolate Cardamom Ice Cream

My mom's best friend recently opened a fantastic spice shop in Colorado. As a result, I've been the recipient of some exotic hand-me-downs: smoked salt, pumpkin powder, chili threads, candied cantaloupe, and recently, cardamom pods. Until now, I wasn't quite sure what to do with them. Turns out cardamom goes great with dark chocolate.

These are cardamom pods. Kind of cute, aren't they?

Lucky Charms Ice Cream

My brother and I were never allowed to eat Lucky Charms as kids, which makes this concoction a particularly guilty pleasure. I love the pops of colors, the crunch, and the way the marshmallows melt on your tongue.

Lucky Charms are all about a high marshmallow to cereal ratio. So why not improve your odds be separating them out?

Pineapple Basil Sorbet

One of my goals is to master the art of growing basil, because believe it or not, it's a terrific ingredient for all kinds of ice creams and sorbets. Unfortunately, I seem to eventually kill every plant I bring home. At least this week it was reincarnated as pineapple basil sorbet.

I'm sure there are ways you could make this recipe very complicated by adding in all sorts of extraneous ingredients. I kept it simple with just two: pineapple and basil. I let both of them soak up some sunlight for a couple days.

White Wine Mango Sorbet

I hadn't had a chance to properly celebrate spring. I was traveling, then got sick, then dragged myself down to the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossom trees only to be swarmed by tourists. Then I made this sorbet. It's boozy and sweet. Icy and smooth. Perfect for kicking off spring.

I think a Riesling or some other sweet white wine would work best for this recipe. I chose this bottle of French white wine called La Vieille Ferme totally at random from Whole Foods. It comes from the slopes of the Luberon Mountains. It had a nice peachy flavor.

Salt and Pepper Ice Cream

I bought my ice cream maker on Craigslist for $20. When I went to pick it up, the woman told me she had made only one flavor: pralines and cream. She apparently didn't like ice cream, but her boyfriend did. Obviously, they broke up. But one woman's cold heart is another's cold treat, and thus began my love affair with the Cuisinart ICE-20.

The joy of making your own ice cream is that you're not limited to the tired flavors in the grocery store. So, there will be no chocolate vs. vanilla on this blog. Only fig goat cheese vs. basil strawberry (I prefer the latter). And above all, absolutely no pralines and cream.

The photo is very film noir, no? To kick things off with a twist, I bring you Salt 'n Peppa ice cream. Think salty sweet like caramel popcorn with a bite of spice. Whatta flavor. A friend mentioned that she had tried such a gelato in Berkley, I think, and I was instantly intrigued.

I used long peppercorns. They smell sweet, but taste spicy. You could experiment with different types of pepper.