AICC-2: Gilles Butter Pecan Frozen Custard

Would you believe that I've never tried Butter Pecan ice cream? seriously, I don't think I have, or if i have, it was once and a very long time ago. It's just one of those flavors that can get my attention. Well, leave it to the Ice Cream Club to finally get me to try it by including Gilles Butter Pecan Frozen Custard.

Opening up the container, you are greeted by the aroma of fresh pecans. I can't say custard looks terribly different than "regular" ice cream.

So, after having tried it, I know my gut was right: There's no need to order butter pecan on a menu, there are just too many other exciting flavors to try. Don't get me wrong, this is a quality product, I'm just not excited by the flavor. I didn't really notice much of a butter taste, instead, it's all about the pecans. They're a nice quality, and there's a decent amount of them, but overall I say they're a bit too salty. As much as I love salty snacks, I don't want to taste salt when I'm done with one, and I do a little bit here. Now that I think about it, I can't think of any flavors that use salted nuts. So kudos for trying to be a bit different...as long as that is what your customers want.

Before I leave, I should talk about the whole frozen custard versus ice cream debate. Frozen custard uses a custard (egg) base and you think the difference would be night and day, but I was too distracted by the pecans to notice. I'll have to go back for another go around and see what's up.

On Second Scoop: I just can't get over the salty taste of this ice cream. Granted, I don't love pecans, so that isn't helping. Even if you don't scoop a pecan, the base still tastes like salty pecans. Actually, maybe that's just how pecans taste or something. Oh well, this is obviously a quality product and I'd love to try one of their other flavors. I recommend this one for pecan lovers only.

Nutrition: 81g: 200 / 110-6 / (1) / 4 - (66mg of cholesterol)
Note: Gilles is manufactured by Schoep's Ice Cream and not to be confused with Gilles Frozen Custard Stand

AICC-1: Cedar Crest Neopolitan

It really is fun pulling into the driveway and seeing the Ice Cream Club box sitting in the driveway. Four tasty secrets just waiting to be discovered! Oh boy!

I let my daughter pick what we were going to try. Though this container looks huge, it's only 1 pint ...and she thought by picking it I would let her have the whole thing.Well, we each had one serving (1/2 cup, or a 1/4 of the container).

As a Neapolitan, this isn't anything groundbreaking, but it is a quality ice cream. We quickly ate our servings and contemplated finishing off this cute little box. It's nice, I like it, but I would like to try some of their more unique offerings.

Stay tuned for the other, more unique choices that we have to try this weekend.

It comes in what flavor??? The short lived life of the Grape Coolatta

I almost wet myself the other night when I realized that my favorite sugary drink the Coolatta comes in grape now! i know it's late and I haven't slept much, but could this be real? a grape coolatta? this has to be a dream! I was so confused I actually asked if the menu was right!

I love Strawberry Coolattas: sugary, icy, and a nice flavor with bits of what appears to be real strawberries. Could this same greatness come to grapeness?

Well it sure looks official in that cup, but for some strange reason, the flavors of grape and watermelon are in a different font then the standard menu flavors of strawberry and Tropicana orange. hmmmmm. how odd.

Who cares really, I couldn't wait to try it. I take a taste and it reminds me of ....a grape freeze pop. it's not bad, and I'm really thirsty, but I can't say it has that usual coolatta quality about it. Talk about setting your expectations way too high.

Well, I just looked at the site and it's official: I've been had! That corner store pulled a fast one. There is no grape coolatta on the Dunkin' Donuts website. Oh well...

Update: I haven't been had after all!! I just happen to stumble upon a store test marketing this cheesey new beverage! Grape Coolattas are now an official yet unsatisfying part of the Dunkin Donuts Menu. Maybe I'll try another one some time, but why would I want to when I have the oh say tasty Strawberry to run with? (I just had one two days ago and it was as tasty as ever).

Update 2011: The grape coolatta is long gone. I want to say they survived for the 2010 season, but I'm not even sure anymore. Seems like all the new fangled flavors are poorly thought out and have the life span to prove it. I just don't get why they don't put more effort into these things.

Treat of the Week: Blue Bunny Birthday Party Ice Cream Sandwiches

Every now and then I second scoop a treat before I actually post the review, and here before you is just such a treat. I can't say that I would have been tempted to buy these on my own -but- knowing my daughter would help me finish them off, I gave them a shot (with fairly low expectations in mind)

What we have is a standard size ice cream sandwich with birthday cake ice cream. It's hard to tell in the picture, but there is a blue frosting streak in there. Well, technically it's hard to taste it in particular as well, but that's not really a big deal.

What you have is a half decent birthday cake flavored ice cream in between two vanilla wafers. I think the wafers keep us from going too deep into that overly sweet frosting flavor that plagues so my birthday cake ice creams. The confetti sprinkles are there for color, so don't worry about crunching on anything hard.

Overall, it's not bad. I don't foresee myself buying any more of these unless I was having a bunch of kids over for a birthday party on a hot summer day. I'm sure kids and parents would be more than happy to give these a try on just such an occasion.

Nutrition: 56g: 160 / 30-1.5 / (1) / 3

Edy's Slow Churned Limited Edition S'mores Light Ice Cream

It's late, so I'm going to keep the first scoop simple.

You only need to know one thing about this ice cream: It was born to be in an Oreo Cone. Together, S'mores and Oreo Cone are a treat to be reckoned with on a beautiful day like today.

I'll admit I was starved from mowing and so I ate really quickly, but what a great break this made today. The Oreo cone really brought out the marshmallow flavor, and at the same time, the marshmallow really brought out the Oreo flavor. I'll have to do the second scoop in a bowl to be fair, but for the time being, I'm going to remember this one as it is.

just so you know, S'mores is Toasted Marshmallow and Chocolate light ice creams with a graham cracker swirl, marshmallows and chocolaty chips.

On Second Scoop: This is Edy's, so I knew a plain old second scoop just wouldn't be as exciting, but it's not awful either. My biggest problem, which was my biggest fear, are those chewy little marshmallows that always seem to mess with Edy's flavors. Oh, why do they use these little buggers? Maybe they get chewier from the trip from the factory to the store. However, there are some saving graces here. Overall, it is a respectable flavor. Basically, it's a chocolate pudding with graham cracker crust flavor, and I'd like to make a suggestion: stir this one up and balance out the flavors. It was decent to start, but it seemed to solidify the chocolate graham flavor afterwards.

Nutrition: 61g: 140 / 45-2.5 / 0 / 3

DubbaBerry Ice Cream

Yes, we did it, we finally made some ice cream! and on the very last use by date on the light cream too (no worries, it tasted fine plus I just opened it now). I've had this DubbaBerry idea in my head for months now, so it's nice to finally get to it.

DubbaBerry Ice Cream Recipe (rev 1)
1.5 cups of light cream
0.5 cups of fat free milk
1/4 sugar
1/2 cup of blueberry spreadable fruit
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
2 heaping teaspoons of confectioners sugar
(8) small frozen strawberries

Unfortunately I forgot to verify we had regular milk in the fridge, so we had to increase the light cream to make up for the fat free milk. We then mixed in about half a cup of the blueberry spread (it was about half of the 10oz container). Next was a 1/4 cup of regular sugar and the 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Now the frozen strawberries were, well, frozen. I didn't plan ahead and defrost them, and I certainly wasn't going to microwave them, so I threw them into the mix whole and still frozen. My daughter stirred for a few minutes which was sufficient to thaw the strawberries enough to cut them up. I went with fairly small pieces.

I put the cut up strawberries back in. We did a bit more stirring and then I did a quick taste test. Needs more sugar. I grabbed a big spoon from the drawer and threw in two big scoops of confectioners sugar. We stirred a bit more and then threw in into the Cuisinart Ice-20. At the bottom of the bowl was a bunch of blueberries from the spread which I thought was kinda cool to see whole blueberries in a fruit spread.

So, we mixed for 20+ minutes and did our taste test. The result: surprisingly good! The blueberry wins up being quiet pleasant and mellow, well the strawberries add a nice fresh tang to the whole thing. It has to be healthy since it's made with fruit! Actually, it tastes like fruit flavored whip cream because of the high light cream content, so it's hard not to like it. Blueberry doesn't get much love in the ice cream world, but after this, I'm thinking maybe it should.

Now, for the record, I never added my "secret" ingredient. I expected not to like the base mixture, so my original plan was to add a raspberry marshmallow swirl. I even refrigerated the raspberry fluff so it wouldn't liquify when I mixed it in. I did try a sample of the ice cream with the fluff, and that made me sure that I should leave dubbaberry as it is.
I know this recipe isn't perfect, but hopefully it's a worthy idea to get you started. You can make the base stronger, or tweak the sugar, or maybe add different berries, but overall, I like it! It's nice to actually have a little success now and then, plus it makes me want to go out in search of other blueberry ice creams.

Mistreat of the Week: Kemps Frozen Yogurt Parfait

Overall, I'd say we've had good success diving into the world of frozen yogurt in our house. My wife is a a much bigger fan than I am, but I have been swayed to the opinion that you can make quality treats with frozen yogurt.

Well, I was at Walmart and what do i see but little frozen treat snack cups from Kemps. I think they had more choices last time I was there, but this week they only had the Trail Mix flavor: vanilla frozen yogurt with granola, nuts, and mini chocolate chips on top.

The first thing you notice is that the yogurt is VERY white, it's disturbing actually. I mean, i guess plain yogurt is white, but this is unsettling. I mean, when's the last time you had something that was both tasty and colorless?

Well, you don't know for sure until you try it. I scooped out a spoonful of just yogurt. For a brief moment, you are hit with a citrus-y type taste ...and then it REALLY hits you ...this AWFUL, hideous, disgusting spoiled milk type taste. I spit it out into the sink and rinsed with water. No, that's can't be right. I tried again ...and spit again! I have to write to Kemp's and see if maybe this went bad because there's no way they ship a product this awful.

UPDATE: This was not a fluke. I just tried a different flavor from a local Stop & Shop and it had that weird spoiled taste to it.

Disclaimer: Apparently there is a trend towards "TART" yogurts, and I'm probably being too harsh, but to me, it has an unpleasant consistency and strikes me as spoiled, not tart.

Nutrition: 127g: 230 / 70-4.5 / (1) / 4

Treat of the Week: Blue Bunny Double Chocolate Sedona Frozen Yogurt Granola Sandwiches

The review that's been 5 weeks in the making : you wondered about it, you waited for it, you googled it, and now here it is : Let's delve back into the creative new Sedona line from Blue Bunny! I'd say my overall expectations are decent for this one, though I am a little afraid of what the chocolate has in store for me.
As soon as you unwrap it, you'll be greeted by a very friendly chocolate milk scent, but it looks a little suspicious doesn't it? The granola is fine looking, but the chocolate looks ...cheap? refrozen? a bit off? But ice cream is 1 part looks and 4-5 parts taste, so let's move on.

You may remember I mentioned a "strange" aftertaste when I first tried the Sedona line. The good news is that I think it was a fluke because it didn't hit me tonight. Maybe it was me, or maybe I picked a bum box last time, but we are good to go.

I actually really enjoyed my new little chocolate friend. As soon as I started the taste test I was surprised at how well the chocolate milk flavor combined with the granola. It's a surprisingly smooth treat really, and if I had any more room left, I definitely would have went with a second one (for blogging purposes ofcourse).

I know I probably sound like a blue bunny commercial, but it really seems like they put the time in to get the granola texture just right and I think that's what really sells it. Not too hard, not too soft, and it's got a nice middle of the road flavor. It even seems like they've taken the time to get the yogurt/granola ratio just right, well, at least for a fan of ice cream. Nice job Blue Bunny.

On Second Scoop: I tried a second one after attempting to eat a Kemp's Frozen Yogurt Parfait. The Kemp's made me really appreciate the tastiness of the Sedona.

Nutrition: 68g: 190 / 45-2.5 / 3 / 4

Blizzard of the Month: Raspberry Truffle Blizzard

You know you might be slightly obsessed with ice cream when you fill your belly with blizzard before you fill your tank with gas. No worries though, I had a whopping half gallon left as I filled up (before I found myself drifting back to work).

So I visited my old DQ (which is now too far from my new job). I'm pretty sure this is the first time they've tried a raspberry flavored blizzard, and if you try one and agree with my diagnosis, it could be their last. Actually, that's not totally fair. It's by no means awful, and it's different, it's just ....so so. Ok, let's try this again.

The Raspberry truffle blizzard is vanilla soft serve, raspberry topping, and "rich" truffle pieces. Mine came to me with pink and white streaks, so not quite like the picture. It was very soft so I wound up stirring it myself 'til it looked more like the picture.

At first I was going to complain that the truffle pieces were non-existent, but in reality they had all just fallen to the bottom. There was a decent amount down there, and they were fairly soft ...or should I say chewy, again, it's hard to choose the right word here.

The flavor was....cheapish, not real impressive. It was ok, nothing fancy, but it did remind me of something. I kept eating and it dawned on me. This tastes like a half melted, less impressive version of Turkey Hill's Raspberry Chocolate Chunk. It's kind of uncanny how similar they are, but considering the price and the flavor, I'd much rather have the Turkey Hill.

Nutrition: 630 / 220-17 / 5 / 13 (40% calcium)

Meola's GrahaMa Meola Ice Cream

It's been a long time since I stopped at Meola's Ice Cream on Route 12. It's a beautiful day, and I was already out and about, so I couldn't resist an excuse to stop for ice cream. To really make things interesting, the sign out front says "GrahaMa Meola freshly arrived" or something to that affect anyway. Fantastic, that's the flavor I wanted to try the last time I was here.

Now, we've probably all tried an ice cream that has had graham crackers in it, but have you ever had one that set out to be graham cracker flavored? I wish I had a camera with me, but alas words will have to do: I was presented with a respectable "small" sized cone filled with a tan colored ice cream. I could see huge streaks of crushed graham cracker, very similar to the kind you would find in a pie crust. There is also a mild/decent scattering of chocolate covered graham pieces mixed in.

I find a shading spot (with a nice breeze) and dig in. The good news is that the ice cream really was nice and fresh, no freezer burn like the other samples I've had from here. There is no mistaking this is graham cracker flavored. It's quiet potent, not awful, but you definitely feel like your chowing down on a pie crust here. The chocolate bits don't add much, it's just all about the graham. The consistency was good as I continued to hit graham throughout the entire cone.

Is graham flavored ice cream unique? definitely!
Will I get it again? It's well made, but I think I'm good for awhile.

Brain Freeze

Brain Freeze, the mortal enemy of the mighty Ice Cream. Usually a bowl of ice cream isn't too dangerous, it's those tempting trips into the freezer to spoon some ice cream right out of the container that puts you at risk. Sure, the first few bites are fine, but beware, too many and your "brain" will get frozen....ok, actually your throat. Now don't panic, there is a cure! if you don't want to waste any of that tasty ice cream, just take some slow deep breaths to warm your throat back up. If the freeze is too bad, and you don't mind washing away any tasty goodness, have some room temperature water to bring your throat temp back up real quick, at which point you can go back to shoveling in the ice cream. With water, you don't have to worry about tainting your ice cream experience with uncomplimentary flavors.

Lights, Camera, Action!

Now think about this for a second: When's the last time you saw an ice cream commercial? especially if you exclude Klondike. It's been forever, literally. I can't even think of one offhand. There must be some, but apparently they weren't memorable.

Well, a week or two ago, I saw the new Walmart commercial talking about how you can save over $200 a year by making sundaes at home rather than going to an ice cream shoppe. At 5+ bucks per person, you can't really argue with the logic. If you have seen this commercial, you may have noticed that the star ice cream is Breyers new Smooth & Dreamy.

Well, what did I see last night but a new Smooth & Dreamy commercial. After eons, we finally see an ice cream commercial on TV. I was shocked really. They even have a new website that asks the question: "Is there a love better than ice cream?"

P.S. Breyers, you owe me 3 minutes of my life back for watching that pointless webisode.

On Second Scoop: A marketing email convinced me I should give this campaign one more try, so I watched the "King Kong" webisode...Ok, Breyers...you now owe me 10 minutes of my life back.

Now how can I put this...I don't think I fall in the demographic of where these webisodes are aimed...that or my sense of humor is really rusty.

Mistreat of the Week: Whole Fruit Strawberry Fruit Bars

All natural, fat free and made with chunks of real fruit! Wow, sounds great doesn't it? But...it tastes awful. These little buggers taste like they are half fruit bar, half refrozen tap water. It's a shame really. I couldn't even bring myself to finish the one I was eating.

I'm sticking with Edy's! (Dreyer's)



Nutrition: 81ml: 70 / 0 / (1) / 0

Treat of the Week: Edwards Hot Apple Crisp with Creamy Ice Cream

After spending way too much time mowing, I knew exactly what I wanted for my snack: Edwards NEW! Hot Apple Crisp with Creamy Ice Cream. The exact description is a Cinnamon Apple bowl with an almond crumb & caramel topped ice cream cup.Just like before, you heat up the bowl and then plop on the ice cream. Simple, yet effective, and enjoyable. The toasty warm apples hit the spot but dominate the entire treat. You just don't really taste, well think, about anything else. The ice cream is there, and it adds a nice hot/cold contrast, but this is an apple treat, not an ice cream treat. I also couldn't tell if an aftertaste was starting to build up there at the end.
Overall I say it's good but not fantastic. I think it's a worthy treat to have in freezer in case the mood hits you for a hot apple treat.

Nutrition: 130g: 310 / 80-4.5 / (1) / 2

Turkey Hill Dynamic Duo: PB Explosion Light Ice Cream

This flavor has been discontinued

I know it took awhile, but I finally tried one of Turkey Hill's dynamic duos. There are currently 4 duos to chose from and the one that caught my eye the other day was the PB Explosion. The "red" side is a milk chocolate with peanut butter swirl, which just so happens to be the exact same description as my old favorite TH Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup. The "blue" side is vanilla with mini peanut butter cups.
At first I was debating maybe only trying one side tonight, but then I couldn't resist and had to try both. I started my adventure by digging out the pb cups...What can I say, they were just sitting there on top staring at me! Tasty little buggers. Then I took some bites of the vanilla ...Nothing special here, kinda bland actually.

Next was the other side and it sure does look good. You never forget a flavor like TH chocolate PB cup and so I already knew what to expect ...but I was wrong, oooooo so wrong. Unfortunately this light milk chocolate doesn't taste nearly as good as it looks, in fact, it doesn't really have any taste at all! It was a little disturbing actually, but maybe the peanut butter will save it. Nope! the bland chocolate mixed with this particular PB is borderline unpleasant....no, let's call it like I taste it: it is unpleasant.

This dynamic duo has made a lousy first impression on me. The vanilla pb cup side isn't bad thanks to the pb cups, but the milk chocolate with peanut butter swirl is just awful. Wow, this just doesn't seem right. None of the cold-churned stuff has been flavorless, so I don't know what's up here ...but I am disappointed.

On Second Scoop: I still don't know what's up with this flavor, but I'm starting to wonder if they messed with the peanut butter swirl in an attempt to lower the fat content. Mix that strangest with the mild/bland milk chocolate and you set yourself up for a disappointing ice cream.

Triple Scoop: I waited a few weeks and decided to attack the vanilla pb cup side with a renewed sense of hope. Well, my hope was worn away by the disappoint of this flavor. The blog makes it obvious I'm a huge TH fan, but I'm really disappointed with this one. The bleach white vanilla...wait, actually, calling it vanilla seems like an insult to other vanilla based flavors. You would hope the pb cups could save this flavor, but they cant. They're ok at best. I just can't recommend this Duo, not even a little.

Nutrition: 61g: 130 / 50-2.5 / 1 / 3

Results from the Last Poll

How often do you try a new flavor?

89 total votes:
30 (33%) - All the time!!!
16 (17%) - Once a month
22 (24%) - Once a couple months
13 (14%) - Once a year
8 (8%) - Never!!

It looks like we have some good diversity here on the blog, thanks for voting!

Turkey Hill's Cold Churned Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

Hey, finally got some tasty fresh Turkey Hill to review, and overall, this one gets my approval! I know, you're shocked. Hey, besides birthday cake, I've never met a bad container of Turkey Hill. Guess I'll just have to keep trying different flavors 'til I find one...mmmm, excuse to eat more ice cream.
So, today's fresh container is the lower calorie, Vitamin D and Calcium enriched Raspberry Chocolate Chunk. I've mentioned before that I don't think Raspberry should be messed with. Chocolate chips and chunks just always seem to detract from the simple yet reliable nature of a smooth Raspberry ice cream. Even with my first bite of a chunk, I was unsure and thought this was just going to be another raspberry ruined by cheap chocolate.

Now, it may have been the freezer, but this stuff melted fast. It was very soft, but this had an unintended consequence. This texture wound up working great with the semi-soft nature of the chunks. Plus, the chunks have a more mild flavor then I'm use to, which adds to their overall subtly here. I wasn't expecting it, but I like it. Well, I still probably technically prefer just plain non-lowfat Black Raspberry, but this is a worthy alternative.

I almost forgot to mention that while the chunks do their best to take a back seat here, you will be left with a chocolate aftertaste and not a raspberry one. This isn't a bad thing, just an observation.

On Second Scoop: So, let's recap. The lighter raspberry ice cream is decent, though it obviously can't match Turkey Hill's very tasty regular black raspberry. I also find the soft chocolate chunks are more subtle and pleasant than the hard chips you might find in say Breyers Black Raspberry Chocolate (Chip). We have a respectable light ice cream here, but to be honest, I'd probably be happier without the chocolate chunks...or at least less of them.

Nutrition: 61g: 120 / 35-2 / 1 / 3

Weekend Wrapup

The Road less Traveled
My wife and I actually managed to get out to see the new Star Trek film, and on the way back to get our daughter we made an ice cream pit stop at Friendly's to tide us over until dinner. I knew I was in the mood for their excellent black raspberry, but as I looked over the flavor list I noticed something: NO ROCKY ROAD!!! That was my very favorite flavor as a kid, what happened?!?!

That makes two
There are now two flavor recipes stuck in my head and still we haven't made any ice cream. Granted it's been crazy these last few months, but still, I need to get churnin'!

Gobble Gobble
It's been a long time but I finally bought a pair of Turkey Hill containers at the store so look for those reviews this week. Also, the turkey hill blog mentioned that the price of their containers would be coming down, and it has: Shaw's now has them for $3.49 a piece (on sale this week for $2.99).

Extras: Oreo Cones

I can't believe I've never noticed these before. It doesn't say new on them or anything. I'm sure I must just have missed them...right? Iunno ...but they went right in the shopping cart the second I saw them.
We got home and I knew these would be our afternoon snack ...until ...I noticed the huge dent in the box. I shook the box and it sounded like pieces were rattling around ...that can't be good.
Well, the packaging really does work because all 12 cones are intact, even if they are a little shaken up. What I do notice is a small problem with quality control: not a single cone matches. Some of them are partially smooth rather than having the typical cone surface. Others are about an inch short because the bottom looks double wrapped. It's all very odd, but they held together during preparation and that's all the matters.

The taste is respectable, but not exactly what I imagined. I figured the Oreo name was just a cheezy cross marketing gimmick. Well, while the cone does not have a strong flavor, it has a distinct aftertaste that will be making you think you just had an Oreo. It's definitely different and if I was going to be scooping cones at a party, I'd be sure to keep some of these handy.

My only word of caution here is that I'm not sure this will work with every flavor. I tried mine with Breyers Waffle Cone Overload and I just didn't feel like the caramel overtones were the best choice for this cone. I'm sure the Oreo cone will compliment many flavors, I just don't think this was one of them.

On Second Scoop: These have been a big hit in our house, you have to try them. Quality control is rough, and I have broken a few, but overall, it's nice having these in the cabinet.

Nutrition: 13g: 50 / 5-0 / 0 / (1)

AICC-4: Schoep's Sherbet

The final member of the ice cream club shipment is a swirl sherbet from Wisconsin's Schoep's Ice Cream. This little guy is made up of lime-ish, orange-ish, and raspberry-ish flavored sherbets. Now isn't that a strange way to put it? Well, there's a reason.

First off, this sherbet looks excellent in it's container. Sometimes sherbet can be hard to scoop, but not this one. It's soft and creamy-looking. The taste however threw me for a loop. The good news is that this isn't some cheap salty sherbet. Schoep's is definitely going for a quality product here, but the end result is a sherbet that tastes muted. That's the best word I can think of. I started by trying each flavor individually and it's just odd. The texture for a sherbet is excellent, by the taste is just so....different. I don't know if watered down would be the right term. I'm conflicted between taste and texture, so I press on.

I realize that as I keep going, I'm getting use to the uniqueness and speeding up the eating process. It's strange, but I don't think it's a bad thing since the result makes it goes down so smooth. It's a good thing I had something to go do otherwise I would have kept eating it (the dangers of eating from the container).

Once again the ice cream club has given us another new perspective on frozen treats. Live and learn!

On Second Scoop: Ahhhhhhh, nothing like the second scoop...a second scoop that saw me almost finish off this little unique pint of sherbet. I'm still tempted to call it weird, but I don't mean that in a bad way (honest). I was having trouble puts words to what I tasted yesterday, so again I studied each flavor and have come to the following conclusions: The orange is my favorite and reminiscent of a tasty cremescile. The raspberry could almost be described as a raspberry lollipop. The lime: well, honestly, the best description I can come up with is flat soda. Despite these unique descriptions, the sherbet continues to go down smooth and easy and there's just a small serving left.

Nutrition: 120 / 10-0.5 / 0 / 0

misTreat of the Week: T.G.I. Friday's Signature Slushes

A shake is the ultimate dinner beverage, but what comes in #2? A icy cold beverage sounds about right, but can T.G.I. Friday's do it right? No...no no no no no. Oh the disappointment. Sure the slush looks great in the menu, but what arrives on your table is something quite pathetic.

The slush turns out to be a carbonated flavored liquid on rather large chunks of ice. These things are huge for something that is supposedly "crushed". Maybe the crusher was broken, or maybe the laziness of the wait staff affected the drink staff as well (hey, how many employees does it take to fix a shade from blinding you? Iunno, I lost count, but I think it was 4). Sorry, we we're just trying to pick up a quick cheap meal and we got what we paid for.

To recap:
this is not a coolatta, slushie, icee, slurpee, or arctic rush. This is a drink with small ice cubes.

State of the Freezer Address One Year anniversary edition

I did it, I blogged for an entire year! woohoo! Hey, a blog is no fun if no one's reading it, and according to google, we're now clocking in at 5000 visits a month. I know it's not huge, and techincally not all of those people stay to read other articles, but hey, it's a good start right? So, thanks for visiting, linking to the blog, and spreading the word. Wonder if I can double that by the 2 year anniversary? You gotta dream big, that's all I can say.

So, how's the freezer holding up? It's full, very full, mostly of Breyers. Not only that, I managed to get 3 kinds of cookie dough in there right now. I know, there's way too many vanilla based products in their right now. Oh well, there's always chocolate sauce right?

To celebrate the big day, I scooped a bit of every flavor into a bowl. It wasn't bad actually ...well, wasn't great either. I wound up mixing it all together after getting about half way through it.

So, what's in store for the next year? More ice cream! more treats! more toppings! more of all that great stuff from that place we call the freezer aisle. I don't really plan on branching out to other aisles, this blog tries hard to stick to frozen treats, but I would like the website to offer more than reviews. Ok, I haven't figured out what that means either, but til I do, I'll be here with my fridge full of treats letting you know how each and everyone of them is.

Carvel's Mother's Day Cake

Is your mom an ice cream lover? Then why not get her the mother's day ice cream cake from Carvel!

Oh man does that just sound silly. You know times are tough when they are trying to convince you to buy your mom a carvel cake to boost sales. Oh well, it was decent, but it was very skimpy in the crunchy layer department (compared to their regular cakes).

Nutrition: Unhealthy (sorry, I tossed the box)

Breyers Smooth & Dreamy Vanilla Chocolate Strawberry Light Ice Cream

  Wow, I finally cracked open my container of Breyers Smooth & Dreamy Vanilla Chocolate and Strawberry. Unfortunately I think I waited to long because the texture is a bit off: the chocolate is reminiscent of a popsicle texture, the vanilla is part way there, and the strawberry seems least affected by the freezer burner or whatever unfortunate things happened to this particular container.

I'll have to pick up a fresher container, but as it stands, this definitely has my approval. The vanilla is fine, and the strawberry is nice. the chocolate texture through me off, so not positive about the flavor. Overall, you have to love this new line that Breyers has come out with: all natural and low fat, well, and tasty. What's the point of low cal if it's chewy.

Nutrition: 66g: 110 / 30-2 / 0 / 3

Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Banana Froyo

Discontinued.... thank goodness!

I hate this flavor with a passion. Oh my word it is just sickening to me. I'm sorry, but hate is the only word that comes to mind. I took a big bite of the swirl first which was a huge mistake. I tried to soldier on by choking down a second bite, but then I was done. spoons down....no, spoons down in a galaxy far far away.

(My wife is going to finish it, but won't be offended if I don't buy it again. My daughter said it was decent and finished my bowl for me)

Nutrition: 150 /10-1 / (0) / 3

"Free" Haagen-Dazs at Bob's Discount Furniture

I ask you...is it really "free" if there is no one to serve you? Bob's has a little cafe in the corner with all kinds of "free" things, but it was lunchtime and no one was around. I mean that, literally, it was like a half dozen customers in the whole store, another 8-10 employees wandering around aimlessly, and no treats for anyone.

I just wanted to share since it's the first thing you see on their website. If I had to guess, I'd say they stole the idea from Bernie & Phyl's who (use to?) offer free fresh Otis Spunkmeyer chocolate chip cookies. Mmmmmmm, ice cream on pipin' hot fresh cookies....

and no, I didn't buy any furniture

Treat of the Week: Blue Bunny Aspen Frozen Yogurt Granola Bar

You know you've crossed the line from ice cream FAN to ice cream FANATIC when you can come up with an excuse to eat a frozen treat...on your way to work (and I don't mean the late shift). That's right, I was on a mission to get to work on time and I needed something quick. ...ok...ok, you got me...I was looking for an excuse to try another Aspen this morning and I got my wish. People do eat yogurt in the morning, so it's all good.
For the latest excuse to replace breakfast with frozen treats, let me humbly present the new Blue Bunny Aspen Frozen Yogurt Granola bar. I went with the raspberry, because that's what I do (ok, technically I'm not sure I saw the strawberry, but no matter, I would have grabbed raspberry anyway). I had one on the way home from Walmart (I was hungry), and then I had one on the way to work (I was hungry).

The good news is that everything comes together quite well. It's actually quite fun to eat, but maybe that's because I expected not to like it. The shell is just the right thickness. The yogurt is fine and the thin layer of raspberry adds a nice little touch/tang to the whole thing. The granola is just right: not too crunchy, not too soft, and not to prevalent. You would think it might make a big mess and go everywhere, but it stays together well as you enjoy it.

There still might be a little bit of an aftertaste, but it's minimal. No, my only possible complaint here it fat content. Saturated fat clocks in at 7g which is a lot considering the whole thing only ways 51 grams. If they could knock 2, maybe 3 of these sat fat grams off, I could then easily picture myself keeping a box around for the morning commute.

Well done Blue Bunny, you've come out with two excellent product ideas here ...I think you've earned back my respect, keep it up.

Nutrition: 150 / 80-7 / 3 / 2

Weekend Wrapup

It was a decent weekend filled with some interesting selections from the Ice Cream of the month club, but I didn't get to do everything I wanted too.

Boy that's tiny
Wow, I know I haven't had the chance to pick up any Turkey Hill ice cream recently, but it looks like the transition to 1.5 Quart containers is finally complete. It was a little disturbing actually ...understandable ...but still disturbing to actually stare at it for a minute.

Staying Local
I had hoped to run out to one of the local greenhouses that has made the brilliant move to now also be an ice cream shoppe. They even set up a giant playset for the kids to play on. I doubt they make their own stuff, but I'm intrigued none the less.

D is for Dairy
My yearly maintenance says I'm good for another year of blogging...if I add some Vitamin D to my diet. Apparently I've replaced a little too much of my daily milk intake with ice cream. I may have to switch back to Turkey Hill Cold Churned with added Vitamin D.

It's been way too long
It's been over 3 months since we made ice cream. The worst part is that I've had a flavor stuck in my head since...well, since I realized all the cream went bad. I have all the ingredients now at least. Who knows, maybe we'll make ice cream for dessert this week.

I need a new scoop
Wow, my daughter knows how to pick 'em. She tried to convince me to pick this ice cream scoop in the store, mainly because it was pink, but I hesitated and decided to keep my ten bucks. Well, wouldn't you know it, I just checked it out on Amazon and the thing has great reviews!

AICC-3: Cedar Crest Rootbeer Twister

Ok, I'll admit it, I was a little afraid of the third contestant in the ice cream of the month club after my experience with Breyer's Root Beer Float. What you see before you is Root Beer Twister from Wisconsin's Cedar Crest Ice Cream. It's half root beer sherbet and half vanilla ice cream.
The good news is that this is much more enjoyable than the Breyers, well, to me any way. My first couple of bites were from the Root beer sherbet. It's definitely root beer, but it's more mellow than the Breyers. What I mean is that a straight shot of this sherbet is more enjoyable than the RB sherbet/vanilla mix in the Breyers. I also appreciate the fact that it's "twisted" and not layered like the Breyers. If you needed a break in the Breyers, you just couldn't do it, you always scooped both flavors. Not so here. If I want to cleanse my palate, I can take a couple of scoops of just vanilla, and it's a nice vanilla too. Next, I can take a bite of 2 parts vanilla to 1 part root beer, or 3:1, 4:1, 1:1, it's up to me and I really appreciate having that choice. Sure the Breyers is cool looking, and great if you love root beer floats, but for those of us who don't want our taste buds smacked down with soda buzz, this is a much more pleasant alternative.

Actually, now that I think about it, I just don't like swirled sherbet, I much prefer my flavors separated. I'm a big boy now, I don't need help eating my ice cream...just kidding, swirling has it's limited place. Hmmm, swirling might be the next poll question. Anyway, so this is definitely better than Breyers, but I'm guessing I'll polish off the vanilla portion long before the root beer is gone.

Nutrition: 76g: 130 / 40-3 / 0 / 2

AICC-2: Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream - Eggnog

I'm like a kid in a candy store with these Ice Cream of the Month Club ice creams sitting in my freezer. I feel a little silly, but I actually cracked open the Eggnog flavor last night and took a big whiff. There is no part of my brain that is tuned into the eggnog frequency, but man does this stuff smell good. I had it on the brain all day and I couldn't help but do a taste test when we got home today.


I happily opened the container, scooped out a serving and dug in...and that's when I remembered I don't like eggnog. Sorry, I just don't. It reminds me of gingerbread men or other seasonal treats that I've just never been that in to. Chocolate shoppe says they are the best ice cream in Wisconsin, and I'll agree it's a quality product, but I can only say so much when I'm just not into the flavor. I got about half way through before I started dipping some pretzels in to the bowl to break up that gingery/nutmeg/whatever it is vibe.


I feel bad that I can't say more, but I'm just not that excited like I was yesterday. It's a shame too, because looking at the Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream flavor list, you'll see there are a ton of fantastic looking flavors , a hundred of which I would have preferred over eggnog. I'm sure they are good...if not a bit unhealthy in regards to fat content....

....sorry, still staring at this gigantic flavor list. Man they have some awesome looking stuff!

Nutrition: 240 / 120-8 / 0 / 3
Made in Wisconsin (Available at their 3 stores or through your local place)

AICC-1: Oberweis Super Premium Cookie Dough Ice Cream

One of the many great things about this blog (besides the excuse to pack my freezer with ice cream), is making a home for the friends of ice cream. Whether you have ice cream everyday, or just enjoy a scoop of vanilla now and then, all are welcome. Well, I got an email from a fan...who just so happens to run an Ice Cream of the month club. The funny thing is, it never even dawned on me that their might be an ice cream of the month club. I was intrigued, how could I not be...and then he asked if I would like to start reviewing their selections. Can you guess how long it took me to say yes? I believe it was about 37 milliseconds.

Today, a week before the blog's 1 year anniversary, I received my first shipment. Mmmmm, a box full of 4 premium ice cream samples. Oh I'm excited. I mean, really, what does $50 worth of ice cream look like? It's gotta be good...not just good...REAL good to justify the cost. Oh...I'm setting myself up for disappointment aren't I?

Ok, 4 choices: I'm going with the Oberweis Ice Cream Parlor Super Premium Ice Cream. Whoa, that's quite the self title they got going there. According to their website: "Oberweis Ice Cream is made with a minimum of 18% Butterfat making it a much richer product than many of the so-called super premium national brands. Oberweis Dairy mixes fresh milk and cream along with sugar and other dry ingredients prior to pasteurizing the mix. We then chill and agitate the mix for 24 hours to insure the creamy texture for which Oberweis Ice Cream is famous." Ok, we need a taste test to figure out what this really means.

Lid is off and we're going in: First bite and it pretty much tastes like ice cream. Hmmmm, time to enjoy a bowl in front of the TV. Hmmm, ok, now the butterfat thing is hitting me...you know, the one that gives it a buttery flavor. Actually, it reminds me of blue bunny cookie dough, but I'm still not sure I'm describing it right. I tried a couple of cookie dough chunks and they're good. They remind of those days gone by where we'd dig into a fresh roll of Pillsbury cookie dough.

Still going...still trying to place the texture. You know what? This ice cream is awesome. There really is a smooth and "famously" creamy texture here. The more I eat, the more I realize I'm really enjoying this. It's different, very different, nothing like I've had before. It's like eating cookie dough flavored whip cream. I was a little worried at first since I set the bar so high in my mind, but this unique ice cream has totally won me over.

Disclaimer: Amazing clubs has not paid for a positive review.
I get free ice cream, and they get my free honest opinion (and a link)

Nutrition: 230 / 120-7 / 0 / 3
Made in Illinios (so available in Chicagoland, St. Louis, Indiana, and Michigan)