While I am all indisposed lying flat in my hospital bed / germless adult haven of blissfulsilence, imagining the killer abs that will magically pop out once my bandages are removed and Pink and Madonna will be all like "Bitch please, how did you do that?".... I have scheduled a post that flies in the face of the whole weight loss thing. Because I love a good contradiction. While in Bali over Christmas and New Year's, I noticed a distinct increase in the volume of gelato shops. To be fair, they've probably been around for years, but the inclusion of booze is what caused me to take notice. Clearly during the day, while sober. Because I was crapping myself with excitement to take all these awesome pics, rather than dive in face first and scoff the contents of each in the interest of research and sampling:
Thank the Vodka Gods for whoever installed booze infused gelato on every block on a hot, tropical island.
Seriously, thankyou.
Just when I came crashing back down to earth upon my return home to manage my own meal preparations and other such domestic duties, ie. parenting (I miss our Bali Nanny every freaking day); I received this baby from Kambrook: Kambrook Little Chefs
Limited Edition Soft Scoops Ice cream maker RRP $39.95 So it's clearly for the kids, because there's no way they'd make single-serve bowls for adults with dreams of starting up their very own all-booze ice creamery. The kids fairly crapped themselves over the Ice Age theme. I promptly produced two single serves of the good stuff, thanks to the crazy easy recipes in the accompanying manual, leaving The Feral Threesome to fight it out to the death over who got the most ice cream.
That was the last time they got to sample home-made ice cream. Because, fueled by inspiration from my Bali find, I buried my head in the Googleverse to search for booze-inflused ice cream recipes. I spent a solid week effortlessly flicking the switch on this supposedly child-themed machine and trying out different non-child themed concoctions with all the different labels in my somewhat extensive liquor cabinet.
I'm completely in love, and also easily distracted, hence the timer in my action shot. What time-poor domestic goddess wouldn't want a fool proof way to combine both dessert and nightcap in one delectable frozen treat?
So just how does one adult-up a kiddy appliance?
Get your notebooks out, it's super complicated... Combine your ingredients and mix well with a spoon, spatula or finger, then whack it in the ice cream maker and marvel at the simplicity of it all. Do not panic - and whatever you do, do not toss the mix - when your machine finishes churning and you're still left with a very runny liquid mixture. That be the boozy goodness stopping it from setting. It will still work, it will still set when you put it in the freezer.
Trust me, I tested it out. Extensively. Liberally. To the point where #1Hubby considered an intervention. Baileys and Vanilla It's really Baileys with a slightly present hint of vanilla 200ml thick cream 10ml Baileys
Follow the operating instructions of your ice cream maker, then muster up every shred of willpower to put your creation in the freezer to set nice and firm, rather than downing it like a milkshake straight from the bowl.
Tia Maria and Frangelico also work a treat. Don't even get me started on Butterscotch Schnapps...
Malibu and Coconut Again, more Malibu with the associated coconut flavor that's already present 200ml coconut cream (not coconut milk) 10ml Malibu 2 teaspoons of icing sugar for sweetness Again, mix, put in ice cream maker and whack that bad boy on, then put it in the freezer to set. I made a mango sorbet (pureed fresh mango and a little juice to thin it out) and froze a layer of that over the top of the Malibu ice cream and it was all kinds of tropicalawesome. And healthy, because of the fruit.
Creme de Menthe choc chip This one was for #1Pop who we all take the piss out of for the one time he drank a bit too much Creme de Menthe and we've never let him live it down since. 200ml thick cream 10ml Creme de Menthe As many choc chips as you're brave enough to mix in before fearing the choc chips may over-power the minty booziness. Ahh Creme de Menthe....80's liqueur most people don't ever admit to owning, this could be your big come back my friend!
I have many more variations, including non-creamy mixes like Mojito and Illusion, and also the obvious take-anywhere alco pops of the literal variety (just remember to keep them away from the kiddy pops - the kids wouldn't mind a mix up, but you'll be utterly devastated when you realize you've wasted the good stuff on them). Any publishing house interested in offering up a book deal for my '2-3 ingredients or less adults only two-fer* meals', hit me up. Don't all rush in at once and crash my email.
*A two-fer, as my girl Jessica Simpson says, is where you get two-for-one. In this case, dessert and nightcap.
