Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Vanilla Ice Cream (TWD)

I think that Vanilla Ice Cream is the "little black dress" of the dessert world. It goes with almost anything - it can go fancy accompanying an elaborate dessert or be enjoyed simply on top of a sugar cone. Here is one of my favorite ways to enjoy vanilla ice cream....

Take a glass and add one scoop of Dorie Greenspan's fantastic vanilla ice cream,
One scoop of root beer sorbet (too simple to make - heat one can/bottle of your favorite root beer and 1/4 C sugar, until the sugar dissolves. Cool, then freeze in your ice cream maker),
Next,
Top off the glass with root beer:
Wait, we're almost done:
Ah yes, one more scoop of vanilla ice cream. Now, it's time to enjoy!
As I'm writing this post, I am craving the crazy delicious Root Beer Float at Michael Mina - home brewed root beer, sasparilla ice cream, and root beer granita. Served alongside this delicious concoction are warm chocolate chip cookies. My tummy is growling!

Dorie Greenspan's vanilla ice cream is delicious! Her recipe uses a 50/50 ratio of milk and heavy cream, which is unlike the heavy cream dominant recipes that I'm typically used to. The ice cream is wonderfully rich and creamy, and for what it's worth, I'm happy to save a few fat calories going with the 50/50 ratio.

Thank you Lynne of Cafe LynnyLu for a perfect summer dessert recipe! If you'd like the recipe, please visit Lynne's blog. My fellow TWD bakers have also been churning up a storm, so make sure to peruse the TWD blogroll.
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38 comments:

  1. HindyJuly 28, 2009 at 3:58 AM

    Amazing recipe. Beautiful! I want to sit in a cafe and sip one.

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  2. chocolatechicJuly 28, 2009 at 5:37 AM

    Looks fabulous.

    I never thought about making sorbet with root beer before.

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  3. The Food LibrarianJuly 28, 2009 at 7:49 AM

    Oh...looks sooooo good. Mine is in the freezer now. And I have some rootbeer at home so I might be making this! - mary

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  4. Ingrid_3BsJuly 28, 2009 at 9:08 AM

    My son Jalen would go crazy for this! Thanks for the "recipe" I'm going to surprise! :)
    ~ingrid

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  5. MeganJuly 28, 2009 at 9:41 AM

    Root beer sorbet? Oh yeah, I am totally heading to the store to pick up some root beer.

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  6. Mary AnnJuly 28, 2009 at 10:09 AM

    That looks so good! I actually had a root beer float with some other homemade vanilla ice cream and it is the best thing for summer. beautiful pics. I agree with you about vanilla ic. It goes with everything and anything

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  7. betty geekJuly 28, 2009 at 10:44 AM

    OMG! You are totally bad ass for referencing Michael Mina! YES, I always crave his root beer floats! FUNNY!

    I am a sucker for root beer floats and your pictures have inspired me to make some this weekend!

    Awesome awesome awesome.

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  8. AnonymousJuly 28, 2009 at 10:46 AM

    OMG. I love it. I'll have to try it. YUM.

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  9. AnonymousJuly 28, 2009 at 11:45 AM

    Your root beer float looks spectacular. I can't wait to try the root beer sorbet!

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  10. saraJuly 28, 2009 at 12:48 PM

    Now, I am definitely going to have make myself one of these. I can't believe I didn't think to make a root beer float! So goooood.

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  11. JodieJuly 28, 2009 at 1:09 PM

    ohh, that looks SO good. I love root beer floats!

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  12. Heather BJuly 28, 2009 at 2:50 PM

    wow...that looks so good I nearly wanted to lick my computer screen!

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  13. JaimeJuly 28, 2009 at 7:04 PM

    wow now I really want a root beer float!

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  14. TammyJuly 28, 2009 at 7:23 PM

    I must have mis-read the recipe (not unusal for me!!) as I made mine 2/3 milk to 1/3 cream. it was still deliciously creamy

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  15. PamelaJuly 28, 2009 at 7:52 PM

    I don't like root beer, but oddly enough, I'd like to try this! Looks great.

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  16. margotJuly 28, 2009 at 11:02 PM

    That looks perfect for a summer afternoon! Thanks for the sorbet recipe, how refreshing.

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  17. LyBJuly 29, 2009 at 6:39 AM

    Oh. My. Now I know what I have to get today. ROOTBEER! This looks fantastic!

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  18. MelissaJuly 29, 2009 at 1:07 PM

    That sounds amazing. I'm adding rootbeer to my shopping list!

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  19. ErinJuly 29, 2009 at 2:40 PM

    Love the root beer float! Root beer floats are insanely popular with my husband's family :)

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  20. AmandaJuly 29, 2009 at 6:47 PM

    Holy cow, that's awesome looking! YUM!

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  21. TeaLadyJuly 29, 2009 at 8:28 PM

    Root beer float. I haven't had one in years. But tomorrow is the day. Yours looks too good to pass up.

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  22. Engineer BakerJuly 30, 2009 at 12:28 AM

    Love the progression from empty glass to full-on root beer float with a lovely straw in it! And root beer sorbet sounds wonderful!

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  23. steph- whisk/spoonJuly 30, 2009 at 9:44 AM

    as i was reading along, i thought, "that looks just like the float at michael mina," which i had at his place in vegas! yum--now i crave it, too!!

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  24. TeannaJuly 30, 2009 at 1:05 PM

    OH MY GOD STOP IT! SERIOUSLY! OK, See... now Root Beer Floats are my boyfriend's favorite thing in the world. And this may just very well be the best rootbeer float idea I have ever seen! With root beer SORBET?! STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!! MUST MAKE!

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  25. graceJuly 30, 2009 at 3:12 PM

    okay, root beer floats are good, but i've never had anything better than a ginger ale float. have you tried that? frankly, i buy vanilla ice cream for that very purpose. :)
    nicely done, linda!

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  26. RachelJuly 30, 2009 at 10:13 PM

    Wow you just made me realize i have not had a root beer float all summer! I think I need to make this ice cream (and the sorbet too--why not?) and remedy that immediately!

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  27. Carol Peterman/TableFareJuly 31, 2009 at 10:35 AM

    Wow! That's just what I need to make to deal with this heat wave we are having. I have eaten all the ice cream thought. What could I possible do? Good to know Michael Mina serves up a mean root beer float. I have to go look in my Michael Mina cookbook to see if it's in there, though I am not sure I want to take on making home brewed root beer.

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  28. Soy*BabyJuly 31, 2009 at 5:38 PM

    You totally win. Root beer sorbet! Genius. I'll have to try that next time. Nothing like a root beer float to make everything better.

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  29. AnonymousJuly 31, 2009 at 8:18 PM

    Root beer sorbet? I would have never thought of that. Great idea. Can't wait to try it out! =)

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  30. PheMomAugust 1, 2009 at 8:17 AM

    That looks like the most perfect RBF I've ever seen!

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  31. cattyAugust 2, 2009 at 1:43 PM

    oh my goodness, there are few things I love more in life than a root beer float - and yes, it HAS to be A&W! This is making me not just thirsty but hungry (??) right now!

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  32. UnknownAugust 2, 2009 at 2:54 PM

    That is a phenomenal looking root beer float! I love it! I played around with Dorie's recipe instead of keeping it simple and making it as written. I can't wait to try it again the way she intended :)

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  33. Rachelle SAugust 3, 2009 at 4:13 PM

    Yum! I could go for some of that right now in our So Ca heat! Looks great! A&W is the best, IMO! =)

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  34. Carol Peterman/TableFareAugust 4, 2009 at 1:30 PM

    Your post inspired me to serve root beer floats for dessert last night and they were great. Michael Mina's cookbook does have his recipe for root beer floats and it was great, but I wasn't able to get sarsaparilla extract for the ice cream, so I went with vanilla. Thanks for the idea. Root beer sorbet makes the difference!

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  35. Lynne DaleyAugust 5, 2009 at 5:04 AM

    What a lovely way to serve vanilla ice cream! My girls love root beer so know they would love this combination. Thanks for making Dorie's recipe with me.

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  36. DeeAugust 5, 2009 at 7:58 AM

    thats the darn cutest float i ever did see :p

    i am loving your blog!

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  37. vibiAugust 7, 2009 at 3:26 PM

    You know, I'm surrounded by French people (from France)... my bubie is French, many of my friends are too. And to them, rootbeer tastes like a medication the dentist give you to gargle with when infected, therefor, they find rootbeer to be the most disgusting drink they've tasted! (And one must admit, rootbeer in the old days, started by being just that: medicine).

    But I LOOOOOOOOOVE rootbeer! And when I make myself that wonderful luscious super mouthwatering float of yours, it'll just be more for me... then, I'll go and have bubie smell my breath (oh! just for the fun of it!!!) LOL LOL LOL

    Thank you so much for sharing Linda!

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  38. AlinaSeptember 25, 2009 at 10:16 AM

    Wow that's fantastic!!! Root beer sorbet sounds very intriguing, is it difficult to make? I mean, how long does it freeze? Just as usual (e.g. citrus) sorbet?.. very interesting...

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