S'More Ice Cream Pie

Screw pumpkin and apple pies. This is the pie people really want. It's made with a graham cracker crust filled with chocolate-mini marshmallow ice cream then covered with whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and graham cracker crumbles. 

This pie also won "Most Likely to Put You in a Food Coma" at a friend's pie competition. I consider it a huge honor.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Some ice creams are meant to be slowly savored, bite by tiny bite. This is not that ice cream. This is the one that you'll want to ravage until there's nothing left but a shiny clean bowl.  

Creamy gooey stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth peanut butter. 

Rosemary Ice Cream

I have a chicken to thank for this recipe. Whenever I roast one, I always have some fresh rosemary left over. It sits in my fridge forever, and I finally throw it away. Then one day, I had the idea to use it in an ice cream. Genius, I know. 

This is one of my favorite ice cream flavors. I even made it twice, and I almost never make the same flavor twice.

Rhubarb Strawberry Champagne Sorbet

It's hot outside, and I'm on a rhubarb kick. To beat the heat, I decided to make this sweet, tangy, boozy, and most importantly, COLD sorbet. It was a huge summer dinner party hit.

There are technically no strawberries in this recipe—just strawberry-flavored Champagne.

Rhubarb Frozen Yogurt

Rhubarb was forbidden in my household growing up. You see, when my dad was a kid, his family had a giant rhubarb plant in the backyard. They would make pies and jams, but my dad refused to eat them because he often spotted the neighborhood dog marking its territory on the plant. To this very day, the thought of rhubarb still grosses him out.

I later discovered that rhubarb is actually pretty good. It's tart and fruity and tastes something like strawberry jam when you cook it down with sugar. It's also the perfect compliment to tangy plain yogurt.

Lemon Poppy Seed Ice Cream

Don't let its loveliness fool you. The lemon packs a lot of punch and the poppy seeds provide a fun little crackle with each bite. 

Inspired by one of my favorite treats: lemon poppy seed bread.

Oreo Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Behold the Turducken of Oreos. For those who aren't familiar with the Turducken, it's a duck stuffed inside a chicken inside a turkey. This recipe is essentially Oreos inside Oreos stuffed inside Oreos (meta, I know). The cookies are blended into the ice cream base with large chunks mixed in. Then, the whole thing is stuffed inside an Oreo. 

Crunchy and gooey!

Almond Gelato

That's right, gelato. No heavy cream. No eggs. Just light creamy gelato. Oh, you want to know the secret? Read on. 

The almonds are just a topping, but if you like a little crunch in the gelato itself, I recommend adding some shaved almonds just before it finishes churning. Chocolate syrup is another great topping with this flavor.

Birthday Cake Ice Cream

Yesterday was my 25th birthday. In my quarter-century wisdom, I thought, "Why have cake and ice cream when I can have cake ice cream?" Yes, that "the old, the wiser" thing is true. And wow, this ice cream really does taste exactly like birthday cake. My only birthday wish: That none of those calories actually counted. 

Who says you need a cake to blow out the candles?

Pear Spice Sorbet

Most holiday desserts will make you feel more like a stuffed turkey than a hot chick. But unlike Paula's whoopie pies, this recipe gives you all the holiday flavor without the Santa-like waistline. The pear is silky and sophisticated, sexed up with some cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. And because no holiday is complete without a little liquor, there's a shot of rum to finish it off. 

Cloves, ginger, cinnamon.

Gingersnap Ice Cream

I'm no Cookie Monster, but a bite of this stuff squashes my inner Grouch. It may look innocent enough, but this flavor is not for the preschool palette. It's got a mean zing and crunch blended into a seductively smooth cream base with a mischievous hint of rum. 

How high can you stack 'em?

Clementine Sorbet

I'm addicted to Clementines. I could easily overdose on those sweet seedless slices in a single sitting.  Each year as the temperature drops, these "Christmas oranges" are flown in from California or South America or some other magical place where fruit, um, grows on trees. And just when I begin to bore myself crazy with pumpkin recipes, clementines bring back that summer fruit nostalgia.

If you want to be really sophisticated, add a scoop to a glass of champagne for a mind-blowing mimosa.

12 Recipes with 4 or Fewer Ingredients

A few weeks ago, I went to see Mark Bittman (AKA The Minimalist) speak about his new book Food Matters. It got me thinking about the minimalist's approach to ice cream and sorbet making. People often have the misconception that it's a long process with lots of complicated ingredients. In fact, many of the recipes on this site can be prepared in less than 20 minutes (pre-freeze time) and contain just a few basic ingredients. 

Scroll over the photos to see the flavors.

Culture of Content Creation Video

Over the summer, my friend Eve filmed me making ice cream and talking about blogging and social media for an online project commissioned by Elastic Lab about the culture of content creation. Watch as I whip up a batch of Rocky Road in my tiny kitchen and try to sound profound about the internet and food. There's a whole bunch of bloggers and podcasters who've been featured in the project. You can see the entire series here. Good work, Eve!

Sweet Potato Brown Sugar Ice Cream

The people have spoken. They wanted sweet potato brown sugar ice cream, and I have (finally) delivered. This is my very first Official Fall Flavor. I'm pretty sure that means the leaves will now change, the temperatures will drop, and I'll have to start wearing socks again. I have to confess summer is my great love, but if we have to say goodbye, autumn is a worthy rebound. After all, who wouldn't want to lock lips with this seasonal sweet treat?

If you like pumpkin pie, you'll like this recipe because it tastes awfully similar. Instead of using brown sugar in with the ice cream base, I decided to mix in candied brown sugar bits.  It's like finding the marshmallows in your Lucky Charms. 

Black Tea Orange Marmalade Ice Cream

This dessert may be frozen, but the flavor makes me think warm and fuzzy. Imagine curling up with a cup of English Breakfast or Earl Grey (heavy on the cream) and a muffin smeared with orange marmalade. Except, you know, it's ice cream. This frozen fix really does taste like tea with cream and sugar. It's swirled with the sweet citrus of orange jelly and the bitterness of bits of orange zest. The only question that remains: Is it best served in a mug or a bowl?

I have to give credit to a long lost high school friend for inventing this flavor. She mentioned it on Facebook, and I immediately knew I wanted to try it. Thanks for the inspiration, Lauren!

You Choose The Next Frozen Fix

I recently realized that readers have submitted 42 flavors on my Suggest a Flavor page, and I have not made a single one. I know, shame on me. To make up for it, I'm letting you decide what I make next. You can vote through Friday for your favorite flavor below, then check back next week to see the final result.

The Best Frozen Yogurt

The people of DC love frozen yogurt like Paula Deen loves butter, y'all. A flurry of fro-yo spots have emerged over the past couple years, and I've heard them debated more fiercely than the midterm elections (and this is Washington, DC). Personally, I'm partisan to Mr. Yogato. But the best frozen yogurt I've ever had? It came straight from my kitchen. And it's insanely simple too.

The secret to truly epic fro-yo is just the right balance of tangy and sweet.

Try My Ice Cream at the Mid-Atlantic Red Fruit Festival on Sept. 24

If you've ever dreamed about trying some of my freaky frozen fixes, now you have the chance! My green tomato marbled goat cheese ice cream (seen above) is a finalist in the Mid-Atlantic Red Fruit Festival's tomato recipe contest. Fifteen foodies have been selected to serve their winning dishes with the help of a local chef at the festival. I'm ecstatic to be paired with Executive Chef Mike Lund of Zynodoa Restaurant in Staunton, VA, who previously worked under Patrick O'Connell at the famous Inn at Little Washington. A few of my favorite food bloggers will also be there as well. Mary Cunningham of The Arugula Files is serving up a grilled heirloom tomato pizza, and Olga Berman of Mango & Tomato will present a roasted tomato and dark cherry balsamico soup. The event will be held from 6-8 pm Friday, September 24 in the Pavilion Room Woodrow Wilson Plaza at the Ronald Reagan Building. Tickets are $35. Attendees get to vote for their favorite dish, so come out, enjoy some food and wine, and help me win! Get more information here, and check out the full menu after the jump.

UPDATE: Chef Mike and I tied for the popular vote and won runner-up from the judges!

Junior Mint Ice Cream

On a recent trip home, I promised my 10-year-old brother that we would make any ice cream flavor he wanted. Of course, he chose a combination of gummy bears, Warheads, Snickers, M&M's, and what would otherwise have been the contents of a very large Trick-or-Treat bag. But no matter how cute the kid, sometimes you need to exercise veto power.  I asked for his second choice, expecting this one to include Fruit Roll-Ups and Butterfingers. Instead, he surprised me with a rather sophisticated selection...

If you like mint chocolate chip, you will love this ice cream.