Vanilla Ice Cream with Salted Butter Caramel

Today I want to wish my brother Ryan a very Happy Birthday! He's an amazing older brother, and an wonderful father, and hopefully he has an awesome day today because he deserves it! And hopefully he doesn't mind me sharing his age with you, because this birthday cake ain't telling no lies.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake

 One of my favorite things about blogging is getting to babble on about the people who make my world go 'round.  You've met Jill, Pam, Dorien & Kenny, and obviously Allison.  So it's a pretty glaring omission that after all this, not much has been said about the guy I'll be spending forever with.  Without further delay, meet John Francis...

We met in college while working at California Pizza Kitchen.  I thought he was handsome, and he followed me around the restaurant delivering extra ranch dressing to my tables and opening bottles of wine for me.  He kissed me one Friday night after a late shift, I was smitten, and then he ignored my calls for a week.  Then he called me, and I ignored his calls.  But whatever phase of the ridiculous dating dance we found ourselves in, we'd usually end up together in the dive bar across the street from the restaurant, smooching to "Don't Stop Believin'" after eleventy six Miller Lites. 

5 years later, I still think he's handsome, although I've mastered the art of opening my own wine.  We share an obsessive love of Mad Men, Mexican food, and our dogs.  He puts up with my messes (a trail of shoes and dirty laundry follows me around our house), and I put up with his questionable taste in snack foods (atomic jalapeno Cheetos are never ok).  If he's not marathon running, playing exquisite classical guitar, or working on his dissertation, he's charming the little kids in my family, or listening intently while my dad recounts the 1981 NFC playoff game.  And get this:  he does the dishes.  All.  The.  Dishes.

A guy like that comes along once in a lifetime, so his birthday dessert matters.  While I've never seen him turn his nose at any of my baked creations, John Francis is a chocolate-peanut butter man.  And since he's watched me make countless birthday cakes, I knew I wanted to mix it up and surprise him with something special.  Enter the ice cream cake...

Lemon Speculoos Ice Cream

Last week I reached the conclusion of lemon week, my ambitious attempt to do good with a drawer full of meyer lemons before they hit the compost bin.  I love ice cream, and I'd trust David Lebovitz with my life, so when I flipped to his recipe for lemon speculoos ice cream, I knew exactly what I'd be doing with my final four.  I've had my fair share of lemon sorbet, but lemon ice cream is a whole different animal.  It's first and foremost an ice cream, with the richness you'd expect from your favorite pint of Haagen-Dazs.  The lemon brightens the recipe up a bit because it is Spring after all!  Everything comes together with a crumbly ginger cookie mixed in, resulting in a fresh spring twist on the classic cookies n' cream.  And yes, it tastes as good as it looks.

If you've never heard of speculoos (I know I hadn't), it's a biscuit-like cookie that's all the rage in Belgium.  It's very similar in flavor to a ginger snap, with powdered ginger, allspice, and cinnamon all in the mix.  The recipe in the book yields one large cookie, and it was the perfect texture to mix in.  The final product is a perfect exercise in complementary flavors (although gingersnaps from the grocery store would be a fine substitute). 

Guinness Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

I live in Los Angeles, steps from a massive film and television studio, so please forgive this analogy in advance.  I want to talk about stunt casting.  Stunt casting is the phenomenon in which a big star will play a small role in a movie or television show.  Examples include Britney Spears' guest spot on How I Met Your Mother, or Taylor Swift's role in Valentine's Day.  All too often, the guest star catches your eye, but then doesn't really bring anything to the party.  In the worst case scenario, said star becomes a distraction, and their extraneous role takes away from the show or movie's intended storyline.

Yes, I know this is a cooking blog, but hear me out.  When I saw this recipe for milk chocolate and Guinness ice cream, I assumed that the dark hearty stout was being stunt casted just for shock value.  Like, "look at me, putting beer in my ice cream, how edgy am I?".  Despite my skepticism, I forged ahead, since it's St. Patty's week and I wanted to bring you a dessert that didn't taste like Bailey's.  Here's my verdict:  if the Guinness in this ice cream is indeed an example of stunt casting, then it's like Tom Cruise in Tropic Thunder: understated, well-integrated, and downright impressive.  The Guinness blends seamlessly, adding a depth to the milk chocolate, and creating a silky smooth texture.  Still not convinced?  It tastes like a Wendy's frosty.  I think I've said enough... Let's make it.