Ice Cream Review: Bi-Rite Creamery

I was never a fan of new year's resolutions (really, who of us is a fan?) until my resolution of 2009 to find the best pizza in San Francisco. In all my adventures in this epicurean paradise, I had yet to find the perfect slice. So, I made it my task to find the best pizza and within 3 months, I had satisfyingly checked off my 2009 resolution.

In the same vein, my 2010 resolution is to find the best ice cream shop in the Bay Area. January has been marked by gray skies and continuous rain - not the best ice cream eating weather. So, on the first sunny day of the year (or partly sunny day, I should say) I dragged my boyfriend to the Mission for a stop at Bi-Rite Creamery, which I consider to be the gold-standard for ice cream. If I am to embark on finding the best frozen confection, I had to remind myself what the competition was up against.

Bi-Rite is known for their local, fresh ingredients, their innovative flavors and their commitment to using sustainable products. They must be doing something right, because each time I have walked by their storefront, there is always a cluster of customers huddled outside or more often than not, a line snaking around the block.

Their most popular flavor is salted caramel and it is divine. Creamy, salty sweet goodness. It has made the 7x7 magazine's "100 Things to Eat Before You Die" list, and it undoubtedly deserves a place on that list.

This past weekend, I tried the brown sugar with ginger caramel swirl which was popping with bright ginger flavor contrasted with smooth buttery caramel. I was surprised by the earl grey ice cream and its intense notes of bergamot and black tea leaves. I am also a fan of the ricanelas concoction, a winning combination of cinnamon ice cream with bits of snickerdoodle cookie. And in the summer, my favorite is balsamic strawberry, which (thankfully) is more strawberry than balsamic!

After my cup of ice cream, I wondered to myself if I really did need to pursue this quest for the best ice cream in the Bay Area. After all, who could top Bi-Rite? Luckily, the thought was fleeting as I happily thought ahead to the many months of ice cream tasting. This was a new year's resolution worth keeping.

Bi-Rite Creamery

3692 18th Street

San Francisco, CA 94110

(415) 626-5600

Ice Cream Review: Cici Gelato

Often at the end of a evening out, I am faced with a very unusual decision: beer or ice cream? I've most likely just finished a meal at a nice restaurant with some friends and as we decide to continue the evening, we might pass a ice cream parlor or an interesting looking bar. Do we pop inside for an ice cream or step into the bar for a nightcap? Most of the company I keep will choose the latter, but I am often tempted by the former. Since beer and ice cream do not mix, it is a decision that must be made. Until now.  

I was recently in Fairfax at a "Biketoberfest" (yes, for some reason bikers and beer seem to go hand in hand...) and stumbled upon Cici Organic Gelato & Sorbetto. Cici's owner had a custom-built "gelato" bicycle that consisted of a stainless steel cooler attached to the handlebars of a vintage-style Sycip bike. How clever! Now the ringing of the bell on the handlebars means both "watch out- passing on the left" and "check this out- ice cream for all!"

The two flavors of the day were chocolate and Guinness. Guinness gelato? I had to try it. I ordered up a bowl of both flavors and was pleasantly surprised by the malty sweetness of the Guinness gelato. It paired perfectly with the chocolate and the sunny day.

Cici Gelato

17 E Blithedale Ave

Mill Valley, CA 94941

(415) 388-2423

For the lactose-intolerant...

I wanted to create a sorbet that was dairy-free, but was still rich and chocolate-y. Because what is dessert without chocolate, really? I did a quick search on one of my favorite cooking blogs, Chocolate and Zucchini, and came upon Clotide Dusoulier's recipe for Dark Chocolate Sorbet. When I read over her list of ingredients, I was shocked on the sheer quantity of dark chocolate used, but I guess one can never have enough chocolate. For its healthful antioxidant qualities, of course.

I made a few modifications to her recipe (including reducing the quantity of chocolate just a smidge) and came up with the following recipe:

Dark Chocolate Orange Sorbet

2 cups water

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao), chopped

1/2 t. vanilla extract

pinch of salt

2 T. Cointreau 

In a saucepan, whisk together the water, cocoa powder and sugar. Bring to a boil, whisking continually. Remove from heat and add chopped chocolate. Let the chocolate melt and then add the vanilla and salt. Let cool on the counter and then chill in the fridge overnight. Do not skip this part!

Stir the mixture again and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add the Cointreau at the very end of the churning process.

Surprisingly the sorbet is not grainy, as I was worried that the cocoa powder would make for a grainy consistency. I was also thinking of trying Frangelico or Amaretto in lieu of Cointreau. But, I do have a soft spot for the orange-chocolate combination. Ben & Jerry's used to make a delicious chocolate orange ice cream but sadly, the flavor was retired years ago.

Ice Cream Review: Flavors Unlimited

Labor Day marks the end of summer but that doesn't have to mean the end of ice cream season. I was lucky enough to spend a lazy Labor Day afternoon recently exploring the Russian River area of Northern California. We happened to end up in the funky town of Guerneville and I knew from the moment I saw it, that I had to try an ice cream from Flavors Unlimited, an ice cream shop that touts itself as having "customize your own" soft serve.

The concept is simple, and the instructions are written on the wall. Pick a base flavor (vanilla ice cream or yogurt or chocolate ice cream or yogurt), choose cup or cone and add a mix-in or three. After a few minutes, your name is called and you can take your ice cream concoction out to the cheerful front porch to watch the town roll by. The genius of this shop is that they have managed (what I thought was) the impossible: stir the toppings into the ice cream while it is in the soft serve machine. You can even get your flavor combination served piled high onto a sugar cone. Simply magic. Some might say success lies in choosing the right combination of mix-ins, but I am convinced that you can't really go wrong with any combination.

Flavors Unlimited

16450 Main Street

Guerneville, CA

707-869-2927

And now for something completely different...

One of my favorite summertime activities is picking strawberries. The strawberry is my favorite fruit - so sweet, so perfect, so versatile and so easy to eat. No peeling or slicing necessary. I eat strawberries on cereal, salads, yogurt and, of course, ice cream. So, after a morning of picking strawberries on a recent visit to New Hampshire, we were left with three overflowing baskets of fresh berries that needed to be eaten. We decided to try our hand at making a strawberry sorbet. 

We washed and pureed the berries in the blender, added a squeeze of lemon juice and the sugar syrup and left the mixture in the fridge to chill. I created the following recipe and I must admit, a spoonful of this sorbet is like eating the sweetness of summer!

Strawberry Mint Sorbet

3 cups of pureed strawberries

Juice from one half lemon

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

Mint leaves

2 T. creme de cassis

Heat the water and sugar in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Add a few fresh mint leaves and simmer on low heat until the syrup takes on a faint greenish hue and the aroma of mint fills the kitchen. Remove from heat and let cool. When cool, remove mint leaves and add to pureed strawberries. Add lemon juice and chill mixture for as long as possible (overnight is best).

Pour mixture into ice cream machine and churn according to manufacturer's instructions. During the final few minutes of the mixing process, add the creme de cassis into the pour spout.

The sorbet can be eaten immediately, but if you freeze it overnight, the texture improves. It remains soft and scoop-able and is a deep red in color.

Happy Summer!

Oh, the possibilities!

Where to begin? My mind was racing with the plethora of possibilities for ice cream flavors. Do I start with chocolate (an all-time favorite), strawberry, mint, coffee, green tea, or an exotic flavor combination such as peach-ginger? Balsamic-strawberry? The possibilities were endless.

When the haze cleared, I realized that I must start from the ground up. I had recently tasted a delicious honey vanilla ice cream and I figured if I couldn't make a decent vanilla ice cream, there was no use in concocting dangerous flavor combinations. And who doesn't like a simple, delicious vanilla ice cream?

I found the recipe from Patricia Wells' "The Paris Cookbook" online: Maison du Miel's Heather Honey Ice Cream. The ingredients are simple and few - milk, cream, vanilla bean and honey. I have found that the less ingredients used, oftentimes the better the result. Who can argue with the Italians who are known for creating delicious dishes with just a handful of ingredients? Olive oil, garlic, tomato, basil, rock salt, sprig of rosemary - a foundation for a simple and foolproof meal. The secret is in the quality of the ingredients.

One Saturday morning, I wandered over to my local farmers market to search for the perfect honey. Not a terrible chore on a Saturday morning!

At the Double R Bees (from Modesto, CA) honey table, I was able to sample nearly 10 different honeys in a range of colors and flavors. My honey "flight" consisted of orange blossom, alfalfa, wildflower, buckwheat, and even star thistle. I settled on a sage honey, which is a light amber in color, has a smokey sweetness, and has a thick consistency due to its ability not to crystallize over time.

I bought a pint of heavy cream, a carton of whole milk and some bourbon vanilla beans, which are rich in taste and smell, with a thick oily skin.

And last but not least, I also picked up a basket of fresh raspberries to sprinkle on top of the finished product.

Here is my modified recipe of Ms. Well's recipe:

Sage Honey Ice Cream

1 plump, moist vanilla bean

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup sage honey

Flatten the vanilla bean and cut it in half lengthwise. With a small spoon, scrape out the seeds. Place the seeds and pod into a large saucepan. Add the cream and milk. Heat gently. Add the honey and stir to dissolve. Heat over moderate, stirring from time to time, just until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan (about 4-5 minutes).

Remove from heat and let steep, covered, on the counter for an hour. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled (I chill the mixture for 24 hours. This step is very important and cannot be skipped.)

Remove the vanilla pod and stir the mixture again to blend. There will be a skin on the mixture, just stir until it dissolves. Transfer into the ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.

This ice cream can be enjoyed directly after processing for a soft, decadent consistency. After freezing overnight, the ice cream solidifies but still remains soft enough to scoop and a divinely creamy consistency. Enjoy with berries or almonds sprinkled on top.

Off and Running!

For those of you who know me, you know that ice cream is an integral part of my life. I talk about it, I eat it, I search it out, I covet it and I daydream about it. And for those of you who don't know me, you will soon learn the depth of my obsession.

I've been thinking about writing a blog devoted to my favorite dessert/snack for a while now. But the event that spurned me to turn on my laptop and begin writing was my recent purchase of the Cuisinart ICE-20 Automatic Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker. I had entered a new realm of ice cream nirvana. 

I was about to create my own.