Nibbles of Tidbits, a Food Blog

Creamistry Ice Cream — Because Liquid Nitrogen is so cold, it causes the Milk particles to stay very small creating an ultra-smooth creamy texture, Creamistry reports, and after having it, I think it’s the creamiest Ice Cream I’ve ever had.  It is CREEEE-MEE!  Creamistry Ice cream is made using Liquid Nitrogen while you watch and wait.  Fresh ingredients are frozen fast.

Chosen ingredients are frozen at 321 degrees turning all into a creamy goodness.

Choose your SIZE, pick your BASE, and then choose your FLAVOR and TOPPINGS.

I chose the PREMIUM BASE, Strawberry flavor with Roasted Almonds for a topping.

The Liquid Nitrogen fogs up the place like dry ice — It’s fun to watch, though a little hard to see.

I met a family in line who traveled from San Clemente to Irvine just to get Ice Cream here.

I liked it more than I expected and now find myself craving its creamy texture and want to try other flavors.  Creamistry offers a multitude of flavors and toppings creating a slight dilemma when choosing.  I must go back to try more.  It can take some time getting through the line when it’s long and it’s not cheap, but a little goes a long way.  It’s ultra-rich, creamy and good.

I wanted to ask more questions about the process and see all clearly from start to finish, but it was a busy day at Creamistry in Irvine.  It’s already loved by others, I’ve seen and heard, and now I like it too.  It’s not just another Ice Cream.  It’s fun to experience and different to taste.

What would you do for a Klondike Bar?  Uh, how about just buy one if you want it?!

Have you ever wondered what a raw, frozen Egg looks like underneath its shell?

We wanted to know, thus froze an Egg and dropped it on the concrete to see what happens.

It didn’t crack, shatter or peel, like I hoped — We had to peel it, but it wasn’t hard to do.

Our frozen Egg looked like this (below) underneath its shell.

It was somewhat clear with an opaque cloudy line running through it.

We threw it down (shell-less) a couple more times, but it wouldn’t crack.

So we power washed it until it mostly disappeared onto now smelly grass — Hhmmmm.

The Yolk became more and more visible.

We won’t have to wonder what it looks like anymore — Check 🙂 .

Ta-da!  The Yolk wouldn’t disappear fast enough, so we gave it to the Dog.  He’s still alive.

We probably should of cut it in half, but it’s too late now and our curiosity is satisfied.

Searching for an adaptable Peach Ice Cream recipe, I came across Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy’s Roasted Peach Ice Cream and it was over and on — I began roasting Peaches.

I had 5 Peaches, 1% Milk, Cream, Sugar & Vanilla on hand and made the best recipe with all. 

Inspired by the linked recipe, I got lucky with the ingredients and measurements used to make the pictured Roasted Peach Ice Cream, and will happily make the same over and over again.

Always wanting to simplify a process, I merely blended the ingredients, and then transferred the mixture to an Ice Cream Maker to churn — And it couldn’t have turned out better.

It’s crazy good — I’ll roast Peaches forever for this Ice Cream.

A new favorite, Roasted Peach Ice Cream is documented below — Try it.

RECIPE:  Halve, pit, and toss 5 – 6 Peaches with Brown Sugar (1 – 2 Tbsps.) and roast them cut side down in the oven at 400° for 25 – 30 minutes, and then set Roasted Peaches aside to cool.  Add cooled Roasted Peaches (with skins) to a blender with 1/2 Cup of Cream, 2/3 Cup of Sugar and 1 Tsp. of Vanilla.  Once well-blended, add 1 Cup of 1% Milk and blend a little longer to combine.  Transfer mixture to an Ice Cream Maker and churn for 30 minutes.  Viola.

New beginnings and endings over and over again — Turn, turn, turn.  Lord thank you for the wisdom to thank you for the blessings abound.  Everything else is Gravy, though it looks like Ice Cream weather to me.  Driving down the mountain in Lake Arrowhead to Doheney Beach.

It’s one more day up in the canyons and one more night in Hollywood — Happy Long December in California, no doubt about it.  We keep it rockin! On to the Haagen Dazs.

Enjoy the season and reason.  And it’s a literal High FIVE on the Ice Cream.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and taste of Gorton’s Grilled Tilapia.

It’s not something I usually eat, but it was on special and cooked up fast.  I had yet to prepare pre-cooked frozen Fish in the microwave.  After seeing and eating Gorton’s Signature Grilled Tilapia, I wanted to do it again.  The Tilapia was all white and flakey, mandatory to me.  It really doesn’t have that much of a grilled flavor, but it’s more than all right for a quick bite.

It looked like a frozen block out of the freezer and turned into an enjoyable lunch.

Happy with the results, I tried Gorton’s Grilled Fillets Garlic Butter, but they didn’t measure up.

It appeared to be made of Fish pieces pressed together and had way too many dark strains running throughout — Opposite of the Grilled Tilapia, it was sadly inedible.  No bueno.

What’s up Gorton?  I’m told to trust you — Quality consistency is important.  Who likes a hodge podge of this kind of dark meat?  Not I, but still glad you’re around.  It’s 50/50 for now.

We loved the fresh intense flavors of the Grilled Pineapple and Blueberry Lime Popcicles sold by Front Porch Pops, a small stand amongst several popular Gourmet Food Trucks.

We also tried the Mini Pops Sampler of Lemon, Mango, Strawberry Lemonade and Watermelon.

Surprisingly the Tangy Lemon Cream Pop (white one) was our favorite — TASTE-Tee!

It’s happiness on a stick, Front Porch Pops says — To me it’s sweet, handmade refresh-ness.  I once made unconventional Peaches & Cream Popcicles that tasted pretty good.

Popular contenders of The Great Food Truck Race were also present this Thursday in Irvine.

We really liked this Pulled Pork Taco from The Lime Truck too.  Menus vary.

Ice Cream in the summertime on a Sunny Afternoon.

Rock Salt and Ice are no longer needed to make homemade Ice Cream.  I’ve been wanting a new Ice Cream Maker for years, but really didn’t need one since my old fashioned one is still trucking along.  That’s great, but the pictured Ice Cream Maker was on sale for a price I couldn’t pass up.  I feel a little guilty about it, since it’s nicer than the one I bought my Nieces last year for Christmas, though roughly the same price.  Hopefully they skip this post. 😉

Homemade Lychee Ice Cream — I found a simple recipe online that was varied slightly to make the pictured Lychee Ice Cream.  It can (and should) be made in any Ice Cream Maker, because it’s fabulous and couldn’t be easier.  I lightened the recipe with Milk and less Cream.

Ingredients:  (1) 20 ounce Can of Lychees, 1 3/4 Cups of Whole Milk, 1/4 Cup of Heavy Cream, 1/4 Cup of Sugar and the Juice and Zest of (1) Lime — All with an Ice Cream Maker.

Directions:  Reserve the Lychee Syrup and puree the Lychee Fruit, then combine both with the remaining ingredients listed above.  Place ALL in an Ice Cream Maker and churn for 30 minutes.  That’s how long it took in this Cuisinart.  Pictured is the first batch made in it — A success.  The consistency and flavor couldn’t have been better.  The photos don’t do it justice.

I just love surprises, large or small.  They don’t have to be grand and can even be expected, like The Treasure Box (TTB) — My secretary told me about it.  TTB is described as a week of (family) food at a world of savings.  Almost anything food related for the blog.  Order one, I said.  We decided to split a Treasure Box.  This month’s box, titled Simply Enough was $24.  She picked it up nearby on a specific date and brought it to the office.  Here it is.  Surprise!

Hhhmm.  All was frozen and most items were easy to share, but we negotiated a couple others.  She doesn’t like Peas and I do, and I don’t care for Brown Rice, but she does.  The rest, I wasn’t that enthused about, but will give it a try and update this post if notable.

The whole office wanted a piece of this — Do you want a piece of this?  The menus are here.

At some point the real Crab Claw Shell begins hidden under the breaded, pressed fake and real Crab combination.  Be careful when nearing the end of the Claw, as Crab Shells are hard.  Don’t get too happy — And there really isn’t need, since they’re not that remarkable, other than the fact they are different.  Although flawed, I appreciate the creativity of ’em and other unique offerings at Fresh & Easy, newly opened within walking distance.  Bite at your own risk.

Looking out through the pink dots, I used to feel so uninspired… cause you make me feel like [wanting] a natural Yogurt — The semi-related song popped in my head and couldn’t resist, since I actually was somehow inspired by the pink dots, natural Yogurt and fresh toppings at Cherry on Top.  As you may or may not know, we’ve been sampling various Frozen Yogurt shops all around town and just tried Cherry on Top.

We’re fans of the tart flavors and really liked their Original Tart and Blueberry Pomegranate.  We were hoping to try the Lychee Tart (sometimes available), as we’re currently hooked on Lychee’s taste, but it wasn’t being offered at the Huntington Beach location this day.

Each Yogurt shop we’ve tried has almost been better than the previous and we especially like the self serve options.  All have offered truly fresh fruit, along with a wonderland of colorful toppings that look equally good.  Although the topping selection is great, most are wasted on me, since I still can’t get past the simple Granola, Blueberry, Mango and sliced Almond combination.  We’ll go to Cherry on Top again.

09/13/10 Update:  For convenience, Cherry on Top will be opening the first drive-thru store of its kind — A first for any leading Frozen Yogurt company.  It’ll open in Culver City in September.  Check their website for more information.

Nibbles of Tidbits loves a good Ice Cream Party, especially if it includes Häagen-Dazs.  We’re amazed by the unique and tasty flavors they keep coming up with.  We gave big thumbs up to the Haägen-Dazs FIVE series at our last tasting party and loved the Passion Fruit and Brown Sugar, and today we happily tried a few of their latest and Limited Edition flavors.  As long as they keep coming up with them, we’ll keep tryin’ them.  So far the pleasure is ours.

For this sampling round we tried (pictured above l – r) Häagen-Dazs’ Peach Low Fat Frozen Yogurt, their new Five Ice Cream flavor Lemon, and several of their Limited Edition flavors including Peanut Butter Brittle, Bananas Foster, Dark Chocolate Mint and Almond Amaretto Crunch— A varied combination of what’s new with Häagen-Dazs.

Seven of us dug in, then weighed in (verbally, whew).  All were first impressed with the fun flavor selection and then wowed by the actual flavors.  In particular, the Lemon Five has an amazing natural taste — It’s my favorite with the Bananas Foster as a close runner-up.  The rest of the gang was knocked over by the Dark Chocolate Mint, three picked it as a favorite, one chose the Almond Amaretto Crunch, another picked the Lemon, and one vote was cast for the Bananas Foster — We appreciate Häagen-Dazs’ progressive creations and unfailing high quality.

It seems that more and more good things are coming from trucks.  Not only did Sarnoff’s Summer Splash include a couple Kogi BBQ trucks as previously reported, but also Coolhaus, a gourmet Ice Cream Sandwich truck.

Coolhaus Ice Cream is all natural and handmade.  As you can see, the Ice Cream Sandwiches are gigantic too — And the paper wrapped around ’em is edible.  How fun is that!

They’re happily served from converted chromed-out postal trucks with pink tops.  The flavors are cool too — Dirty Mint Chip on Chocolate, Vanilla Bean on Chocolate Chip, Meyer Lemon on Ginger Cookie, Chocolate on Snickerdoodle, Brown Butter with Caramelized Bacon on Chocolate Chip, plus other varying flavor combinations.

Believe it or not, several reported that they ‘really liked the Brown Butter with Caramelized Bacon on Chocolate Chip’ Ice Cream Sandwich — They said it didn’t taste much like Bacon, but more like Butter Pecan Ice Cream.  That’s a good thing.  Coolhaus is a cool house.

* We’re not sure what’s up with the serious looking photos on the side of the truck!?  It looked a little trippy. 🙂

During Bertolli’s Taste & Tweet, we tried the Lemon Herb Shrimp & Penne.  We were impressed with the consistency and Lemony flavor of the Sauce and its ease of preparation.  All is happening right now — See link above for more details or click here for instant access.

* We paired our meal with Gnarly Head Pinot Grigio.  It went well with this Bertolli meal and will be reported about separately.

Stay tuned tomorrow on ABC starting at 9PM (Pacific) and on Twitter for Bertolli’s Taste & Tweet Sunday Night Dinner Party.  Nibbles of Tidbits will be virtually dining with other VIP Bloggers via #BertolliItaly — We’re on Twitter as FoodBlog and our Tweets (aka Chirps) are RSS’d below.  Our participatory selection for this fun event is Bertolli’s Lemon Herb Shrimp & Penne paired with Gnarly Head Pinot Grigio.  We can’t wait to try all during Desperate Housewives, when the Into the Heart of Italy episodes premiere.  Learn more @ www.IntotheHeartofItaly.com.

* Come back tomorrow to see how the above cooked up and click here for previous Bertolli product reviews.

I’ve noticed a lot of different Frozen Yogurt shops opening up all around Orange County and thus far Pinkberry is my favorite — HOWEVER, it’s the only Frozen Yogurt I’ve tried in a long time.  I’m more of an Ice Cream fan, but just learned I can be converted by Pinkberry.  Their Yogurt has that tang I’ve missed in past Frozen Yogurts.  It actually tastes like Yogurt and I can’t wait to have the same combination again, especially the Passionfruit.

I tried a small with 3 Flavors — Coconut, Passionfruit and Pomegranate with Fresh Blackberries and Honey Almond Granola, and a friend had the same Yogurt with Fresh Coconut and Kiwi, while two others opted for the Original Flavor with Pinkberry’s new liquid topping of Italian Caramel.  When opting for toppings on a small, you currently get to choose two.

ANNOUNCEMENT:  Starting October 7, 2009, if you pay for toppings, you’ll be able to add as many as you like — That’s a good thing and makes sense, since only so many toppings can fit on each.  And it’s more satisfying and fun for Pinkberry’s customers, but I wrote this song…”You had me at two toppings.“

Baskin Robbins Ice Cream and Cake Dance commercial — Have you seen it?  Some find it completely annoying and others find it oddly funny.  What do you think about it?  We had one of the Ice Cream Cakes for a birthday celebration.  It was okay.  I like the combination, but (unfortunately) always find the Cake portion a little dry.  Back to the commercial, Ice Cream and Cake, Do the Ice Cream and Cake — I find it oddly funny, boarderline annoying and a little creepy, my Mom says she can’t turn the channel fast enough when it comes on, and my Brother-in-Law sings it at the Fire Station with another Fireman who thinks it’s funny.

There’s less than two hours left to receive a FREE SCOOP of Ice Cream from your local Ben & Jerry’s Store — But luckily ALL Coasters can get a $0.31 Scoop of Ice Cream from Baskin Robbins on April 29, 2009 to honor America’s Firefighters.  More information about both deals is linked below.

http://www.benjerry.com/scoop-shops/feature/free-cone-day/

http://www.baskinrobbins.com/spotlight/31CentScoopNight.aspx

Nibbles of Tidbits is currently in love with Häagen Dazs FIVE (Passion Fruit) — Hopefully that’s the next SCOOP. 🙂

Häagen Dazs FIVE: http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/?p=3670

WOW, this Ice Cream deserves a tablecloth and I sure wish I had a black one for these photos.  In any event, we love the densely creamy texture and bold flavors of Häagen Dazs New FIVE Ice Cream.  Nibbles of Tidbits conducted a Taste Test of 6 flavors – Pictured above from (L-R) are Ginger, Coffee, Vanilla Bean, Brown Sugar, Milk Chocolate, and Mint Ice Cream.

Häagen Dazs FIVE comes in 7 flavors — Passion Fruit wasn’t included in the Taste Test with the others, because I couldn’t stop eating it in the days leading up.  OMGosh, I’m in love!  It’s luxuriously creamy and the Passion Fruit taste is intense and exact.  I’ve got to have it again.

After the Taste Test, I asked our six tasters what one flavor each would pick and the tally is as follows:  Ginger (1), Vanilla Bean (1), Brown Sugar (3), Mint (2), and my favorite was the Passion Fruit (obviously), and the Brown Sugar in this Taste Test.

Milk Chocolate reminds me of the Best Fudgesicle I had as a kid, and the Brown Sugar tastes like a Werther’s Original (Toffee Candy) with notes of Black Licorice — It’s an interesting punch of flavor.  And the Ginger was a fun surprise, it’s spot on and enjoyable.  FIVE is an excellent Ice Cream and I was happy to try them ALL.

Häagen Dazs DIRECT:  http://www.haagen-dazs.com/

More INFO re FIVE: http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/?p=3592

I’ve got to get an Ice Cream Party scheduled real quick.  If not, I’m going at it alone.  I’m so excited about FIVE, a new line of Ice Cream by Häagen Dazs.  Each of the (7) flavors include only five ingredients (Milk, Cream, Sugar, Eggs), but I’m most keen on the uniqueness of the fifth ingredient — Ginger, Passion Fruit, Coffee, Mint, Milk Chocolate, Vanilla Bean and Brown Sugar.  And many will like that they advertise that it has surprisingly less fat — Less fat than what?  I’m not sure, but it sounds good.  Nibbles of Tidbits will post our verdict soon, but not soon enough. 🙂

Häagen Dazs DIRECT: http://www.haagen-dazs.com/

Review NOW Posted: http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/?p=3670

I received a coupon to try 4 Marie Callender’s Frozen Pie Crusts (Deep Dish Pie Shells).  I’d always liked their Pies from the restaurant, but never tried their Frozen Pies or Frozen Pie Crusts.  There’s a Marie Callender’s Restaurant & Bakery down the street and fresh is always best.

My Grandma used to make the best Pie Crusts, but it’s hard for her to do it these days.  She now uses the Mrs. Smith’s Frozen Crusts, but says the Marie Callender’s Crusts were very good too.  And I thought they were surprisingly great.  I would now choose these Frozen Pie Crusts when in need.  The 4 Pies I made were Blackberry with a Cinnamon Crumble Topping (above) and continuing.

Orange Cream Pie with Real Whipped Cream.  I used a Lemon Cream Pie Recipe and substituted Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice and Orange Zest for the Lemon.  This Pie was the BEST! 

Pecan Pie from the Karo Corn Syrup Bottle Label Recipe.  It’s good and simple.  I add just a few extra Pecans.  I write only a few, because one time I added too many – HA.

Custard Pie was the fourth Pie we enjoyed during our Marie Callender’s Tour De Pies.  I cooked the excess Custard in the toaster oven and will report the results of that later.  It’s fun creating Pies when the tricky part is already done — I’d rely on MC’s Crusts to do it for me.

Related Links:

http://www.mcpies.com/

http://www.karosyrup.com/

http://www.mrssmiths.com/

http://www.conagrafoods.com/consumer/brands/brand_info.jsp?cookietest=true&page=marie_callenders

If you work or live near an Ikea Store, you should consider it a worthy place for lunch.  The prices are reasonable, the food is good and the cafeteria environment is a fun escape.  Why not skip the fast food joint and opt for the Ikea Restaurant & Cafe.  It’s fast and roughly the same cost.  I always get the Swedish Meatballs with extra Gravy and Lingonberry Preserves.  I love the combination.  I also buy the frozen (Meatballs), powdered (Gravy) and jarred (Preserves) from their Food Market and make all at home.  It’s an enjoyable quick meal.

Related Links:

http://bostonist.com/2006/07/21/eating_out_ikea.php

http://www.nitrolicious.com/blog/2007/08/16/ikea-restaurant-cafe-07242007/

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/IkeaNearYouView?storeId=12&langId=-1&StoreName=localfood