Cold & Tasty

Last night I made some Gingersnap Gelato, and just had a bowl. Damm, that is good. I am thinking of pairing it with either a Butter Cookie Peach Cobbler, or Pecan Rum Cake. I am leaning toward the rum cake, as I have some rum to be rid of, plus it's been years since I have had rum cake. Pecan Rum Cake it is. From scratch of course. :)

Summer is a great time for making ice creams and sorbets. The favorite in our house is Grapefruit with Caramel Swirl Sorbet, made with grapefruits off our tree. Sounds odd, but this sorbet has followers...

Other favorites of mine, that I have made in the past include, Darjeeling Tea Ice Cream, Thai Ice Tea Ice Cream, Buttermilk Ice Cream, Ginger Sorbet, Lavender Sorbet, Lemon Poppy Seed Lavender Sorbet, and Pear Chardonnay Sorbet.

The month of July is when we harvest plums from our Santa Rosa Plum tree. These plums are best eaten raw. They become bitter when cooked, so tarts, cobblers, cakes are out. I found that sorbets though, preserved the flavor, as well as entice you with a luscious, vibrant, pink color. A color that just makes me giggle. Thus came the plum sorbet flavors; Rosemary Plum Sorbet, Basil Plum Sorbet, Cabernet Plum Sorbet. Have you ever had a wine sorbet? Sweet...

Once I made a fabulous Indian meal with dessert being Anise & Green Peppercorn Ice Cream with Mango Sorbet. It was sophistication at it's best! I love originality in desserts and find most restaurants lacking in creativity when it comes to dessert. Have you ever eaten a fabulous meal, that was an unusual mix of flavors and herbs which culminated in taste-satisfaction, only to find that the dessert menu has a chocolate something [cake, mousse, tart], cheesecake, fruit tart, and ice cream? In other words, insulting to my taste-intelligence! Give me that job. Dream job = Dessert Designer

My favorite flavor of all... Jasmine Tea Sorbet. It is delicate and highly aromatic, and you can't help but feel like you are eating a flower. It's a sexy flavor, if there is such a thing. An aphrodisiac for sure, only to be found at Chez Elle.

Trivia:
Ice cream and gelato are made from the same basic ingredients; eggs, diary, sugar. The difference being that gelato has a higher fat content and more eggs. The end result also has less air than ice cream.