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Jeni, Jeni

You’re the girl for me

You don’t know me

But you make me so happy

How could Tommy Tutone have known, way back then? Courtesy of my new book, “Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home”, I am now an ice cream maker. Well, I have an ice cream maker. And Jeni’s got the recipes.

This is what I’ve tried so far:

(Please forgive the lack of pictures. I'll do better next time.)

-Chocolate Peanut Butter (a combination of The Buckeye State Ice Cream & The Darkest Chocolate Ice Cream in the World) This is the clear winner so far. Not so much because it is a superior ice cream, but because its chocolate and peanut butter. Few are immune. I chopped up some Reese’s PB Cups for a fun addition, but I don’t think it needed it. Pretty darn outstanding on its own.

-Cinnamon Ice Cream (a variation of Star Anise Ice Cream) My intention was to have a scoop of this cinnamon ice cream atop a slice of homemade peach pie. Unfortunately, the ice cream got a little too soft in transit, so it ended up being more like a soup. Not very picturesque, but pretty tasty. I think I like the simpler flavours. I’m looking forward to trying other spices, and a chai version.

-Gucci Muu Muu (chocolate & curry!). This was a special request from Rachel for Asian-Fusion Night. In case you are not able to break our super-secret code, this is a night on which we make and eat foods from Asia. It’s crazy! Not really. But the ice cream is. The texture is divine, but there is definitely a curry kick, and it’s kind of weird. Not good. Not bad. Just weird. The recipe called for toasted unsweetened coconut flakes. I used sweetened, and neglected to toast it. I think the toasting would really help the texture. I will definitely toast next time. And use unsweetened. But I’m not sure I need to make chocolate curry again. You can never be sure though…

-Bangkok Peanut Ice Cream. As I had my reservations about the above ice cream, I chose to make an alternate Asian-esque ice cream. This was delicious, though same coconut issues as above. It also had a pinch of cayenne, which gave just a little back of the throat burn. It was nice. Peanut is a good ice cream flavour.

-Cucumber, Honeydew & Cayenne Frozen Yogurt. The book recommended this as a pairing for the Bangkok Peanut. So why not? Thoughts: The yogurt tang is awesome! I love it, and am looking forward to the next frozen yogurt. The honeydew didn’t really come through, nor did the cayenne. It was mostly cucumber. Now the recipe called for an English Hothouse cuke, and I used a standard, so maybe that’s the reason. Though I enjoyed eating it, I think it was the idea of it more than the taste. All I could think was tzatziki. Which is good stuff, but not really what you’re looking for in ice cream. Worth a try though.

What other flavours are on the docket, you may be asking. Well… Scarlet & Earl Grey (black tea & cherries), Kona Stout (coffee & beer), Baked Apple Sorbet, Queen City Cayenne (bittersweet chocolate & cayenne), Black Coffee, and Grapefruit Hibiscus Frozen Yogurt (based on color alone).