National Ice Cream Day was last Sunday. It is celebrated on the third Sunday of July – National Ice Cream Month – since its proclamation in 1984. My favorite ice cream as a child was always chocolate, though I did go through a brief cookies and cream period in high school … until one Friday night when I overdid it. As an adult, coffee is my favorite flavor of ice cream.
While I have fond memories of my parents and grandparents making homemade ice cream throughout my childhood, I had never made ice cream myself up until two summers ago. It was part of a larger series of exercises/projects in a company-wide team-building event in which I participated as one of the team captains. I toyed with the idea of making something exotic, but decided that for the benefit of my team I should probably just stick with something basic – something tried and true. My publisher shared her father’s recipe for homemade vanilla ice cream with me. It turned out delicious and my team won the ice cream portion of the competition that day.
As I researched various non-traditional ice cream flavors and recipes in preparation for the event, I ran across one called “Sweet & Spicy RedHot Ice Cream.” It is made with Frank’s RedHot® Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce which is one of the primary components of Buffalo hot wings. My household has an affinity for hot and spicy fare and we especially love Buffalo wings so I knew we would have to try this. I made it shortly thereafter. It’s definitely not for everyone, but I loved it and found it to be like nothing I had ever had before. It was sweet, hot, spicy and cold – all at the same time. I’m sharing the recipe today in case you’re willing to give it a go.
Earlier this year, my family had the opportunity to visit the Museum of Ice Cream located at 11506 Century Oaks Terrace in Austin. Not necessarily your typical museum, it is an experiential outing that offers interactive, ice cream-themed art installations, unlimited ice cream and terrific, colorful photo ops.
We were served ice cream treats in the first installation upon arrival. The choices that day were vanilla with rainbow sprinkles or cherry with chocolate sprinkles. I opted for the cherry with chocolate sprinkles and it was a refreshing delight. We enjoyed our visit, had lots of fun and perhaps even caught glimpses of our inner children. It’s impossible not to enjoy the whimsy and joy of a place like that. For the whole scoop – get it? – go to
www.museumoficecream.com.
My Mother and her friends recently discovered an ice cream shop that they are crazy about – particularly the banana pudding ice cream. Located at 952 FM 356 in Onalaska, it’s called Lindy’s Ice Cream. The ice cream is handmade fresh every day and an array of flavor choices are available.
I had the opportunity to try it not long ago when we held an ice cream social/baby shower at the office for a coworker. My publisher picked up a dozen or so flavors for us to sample and enjoy. There was old fashioned chocolate, strawberry cheesecake, butter pecan, pineapple habanero, honey lavender, cherry vanilla crunch, lemon cake – and several others I can’t remember. It was a special treat and quite the big hit.
So to bring things full circle, I made the executive decision that we’d head out to Lindy’s last weekend to celebrate National Ice Cream Day. We had a lovely time and each enjoyed our selections. Hubby went with two scoops in a bowl – old fashion chocolate and cookies & cream. Daughter picked out coconut cream Italian ice in a wafer cone with sprinkles. I opted for two scoops in a bowl – old fashion chocolate and Cafe Milano which was coffee ice cream with chopped nuts.
And one more fun option that I highly recommend for when you need to get your ice cream fix is Glammas Tasty Treats, a food truck owned by our friends Donna and Adrian where you can purchase cereal-infused ice cream. Once you try it, you’ll be hooked. My go-to is a small – or sometimes medium, depending on how my day’s going – vanilla ice cream infused with Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal and topped with a chocolate and caramel drizzle. Follow them on Facebook or call 936-433-0342 to find out where they will be next.
Now don’t fret if National Ice Cream Day slipped by and you failed to acknowledge or celebrate it appropriately. I think you can celebrate it any day you choose. In fact, I hereby grant you permission. (Imagine a wink emoji here … next to an ice cream cone emoji.)
Sweet & Spicy RedHot Ice Cream
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
- ¼ cup corn syrup
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup plus tablespoon Frank’s RedHot® Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 3 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon apple pie spice
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 20 drops red food coloring
Place cream in a blender container and cover. Blend on high until stiff peaks form, about 35 to 45 seconds.
Mix remaining ingredients, except the food coloring, in a medium bowl. Add to the blender container with the cream and cover. Blend on high speed until well blended and slightly thickened, scraping down sides as needed.
Transfer ¼ cup of the mixture to a small bowl and add the food coloring, stirring to mix well.
Pour half of the remaining un-tinted ice cream mixture into a freezer-safe container. Drop small spoonfuls of the red mixture over top, using only about half. Run a knife through the ice cream mixture to swirl colors. Repeat with remaining ice cream mixtures, swirling red on top layer. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing down to cover the surface of the ice cream mixture. Freeze at least 6 hours or until firm.
