This month's Progressive Eats is one I've looked forward to from the moment the chill was gone and we knew summer was actually, finally here. How I LOVE homemade ice cream. My friend Barbara from the blog Barbara Bakes made the call for us to have an Ice Cream Social this month and I'm in Heaven...so much ice cream and hopefully plenty of time! I had this crazy idea to make a banana split cake but as the day drew closer finding the time to make a cake and the three ice cream components was not going to happen. Blame it on the amount of yard work I'm trying to accomplish this year, but no matter, I'm so glad I went this direction. I simply love chocolate and cherry together so how could I go wrong with Black Forest Ice Cream Sundaes; a rich ice cream simply loaded with fresh Bing cherries, Stracciatella (Italian pronunciation strattjaˈtella), topped with some more chocolate and finished with light as air whipped cream and a fresh cherry. And when I say loaded? None of that business we find with commercial ice cream, hunting for the good sections. This has cherries and chocolate EVERYWHERE!
Stracciatella you say; what the heck is that? Well, it's just the most divine way of incorporating chocolate into ice cream EVER. I'm not a huge fan of chocolate chip ice cream. Those hard as a rock little nubs never seemed to do it for me. But one day several years ago when I was perusing the counter of a local ice cream shop with my girls, I notice two ice creams of particular interest. Chocolate Gelato with Bourbon (OH YES!) and a perfectly gorgeous Vanilla Bean with ribbons of chocolate throughout called Vanilla Bean Stracciatella. I was lucky the owner was the man behind the counter and he explained that the Vanilla Bean Stracciatella was made by churning Vanilla Bean gelato until done and then drizzling a stream of melted chocolate into it that hardens on contact with the cold ice cream and becomes the shards that are liberally scattered throughout. Stracciatella literally translated from Italian is 'shards' or 'rags' and you have to admit that it's an exotic name for ice cream. I seriously doubt I would have found the same appeal for Vanilla Bean Rags, right? It not only looks divine but the fact is that the chocolate actually melts in your mouth; something I never found chocolate chips to do. I'm certainly using a bit of poetic license today as this is not Vanilla Bean or gelato but the shards are the same and I do this any time chocolate chips are called for in ice cream.
It's not just about the chocolate though; I took a few minutes to roast the cherries and those minutes make all the difference in the world. The roasting intensifies the sweetness of the fruit and softens it a bit; they release some of their juices that are then combined with the base resulting in a subtle cherry flavor in the ice cream too. So good. The ONLY way to add cherries to ice cream if you ask me!
Combined together as they are in a Black Forest Cake and you've got my latest and newest favorite and we sure did love these Black Forest Sundaes. Cool, creamy ice cream and the punch of two of my favorite things; chocolate and cherry. Pretty perfect.
Know how much I love cherries? No? OK, to be fair I don't wax poetic but I should. I love making my own maraschino cherries, cherry liqueur, cherry pies, cherry jam, cherry pastry, and more. My current business card has a background of this photo of a Cherry Crostata I made a few years ago. Maybe it's their short season, maybe it's just simply their sweet, intense flavor, maybe I just love the color but whatever I just love them. So much so that I'm redoing my logo and yes it will have a cherry in it. What else do I love so much that I use for both foods and cocktails? Well, nothing actually. I like limes...but it's not the same LOVE I have for cherries! I pay for that love though; they can sometimes be the total pits! I don't know if I could enjoy the results without this handy dandy little tool; it has made cherry pitting so much easier. They roll one at a time into a little station where you then plunge through them pushing the pit into a collection box and having the now pitted cherry roll into a waiting bowl; with a new cherry rolling into the 'pitter' area. That being said, I watch them closely; no one wants to bite into a cherry pit but this contraption does a great job, making the effort so much quicker that I can get through a pound in minutes. Kids love to do it too!
By the way, I have the ice cream ready and just bought a new box of sugar cones. Who's coming over?
Black Forest Ice Cream Sundaes
If you're unfamiliar with the concept, a progressive dinner involves going from house to house, enjoying a different course at each location. With Progressive Eats, a theme is chosen each month, members share recipes suitable for a delicious meal or party, and you can hop from blog to blog to check them out.
We have a core group of 12 bloggers, but we will always need substitutes and if there is enough interest would consider additional groups. To see our upcoming themes and how you can participate, please check out the schedule at Creative Culinary or contact Barb for more information.
