I SCREAM Ice Cream Cake

I bet you would scream too, if you saw a mouse scurrying to find cover in your apartment! UGHHHHH!!!!!!! Ok, I can't really talk about it right now, but such a sighting on the day that I made this cake for my son's birthday (and ANOTHER sighting right after I started this post!) is why I christened it I SCREAM Ice Cream Cake. Hopefully, you will instead be screaming with delight when you experience the painless process of making/assembling this. Or, you will scream out of amazed satisfaction when you sink your teeth into it. It is really tasty. (I wish I had an easy way of halving the sugar* for this baby, but since the beauty of this recipe is convenience, and making homemade ice cream isn't convenient, I leave the tinkering to you recipe nerds.)

This is the easiest dessert I have ever made, and certainly the easiest ice cream cake. And doesn't it look like to took some effort? (OK, this photo makes it look a little skiwampus, but it does look good in the other photos!)

Well, it didn't. The secret? Ice cream sandwiches! Ingenious, right? They make perfect layers, plus the wafers on the outside of the sandwich add some lovely textural interest, and taste so much better than a layer of frozen regular cake (which is kind of hard/dry/gross/unappealing). Combine those bad boys with tasty ice cream (whatever flavor suits your fancy), good hot fudge, and crumbled Oreo's, and now we're talkin'!

Speaking of customization, who knew how many flavors of ice cream sandwiches there are now? In the generic store brand alone, in addition to regular vanilla, I saw mint chocolate chip, cookies and cream, caramel swirl (what I chose for this), and even birthday cake flavored ice cream sandwiches! So, you have LOTS of options for both the kind of ice cream in the ice cream sandwiches, as well as the other ice cream you layer with it. Go to town!

I SCREAM Ice Cream Cake

Full Ingredients List:

1 box of 12 ice cream sandwiches, your choice of the variety

1.5 quart container of ice cream, your choice of the kind (you will have between 1/4-1/3 leftover for snitching)

1 box of generic-brand Oreo's, crushed into chunks and crumbs (I used just 2 of the 3 sleeves)

1 jar of hot fudge sauce, heated in 30 sec increments so that it is more pourable (there will be leftover)

Aluminum foil

Cover a square 8x8 in pan with aluminum foil, so that the foil hangs about 2" or more over edges on all four sides. 

Next, cover the bottom in a single layer of 

   ice cream sandwiches

cutting them if needed to fill the space. 

Cover the ice cream sandwich layer with a layer of

   hot fudge

and top that with a layer of

   crushed Oreo's.

Cover the Oreo layer with about 1/3 of your container of softened ice cream.

Repeat, changing the order a little**, so you layer:

   Ice cream sandwiches

   Hot fudge

   Softened ice cream

   Crushed Oreo's 

Cover and freeze for at least one hour. In my experience, there was no thawing necessary in order to be able to easily cut the cake (as is sometimes necessary for ice cream cake).

*It was a little too sweet for my current taste buds, but that didn't keep me from finishing my first piece or from eating five more pieces over the next several days!

**I changed the order just for asthletics, so that the top would be covered in the crushed cookies.

Easy Peasy Zucchini Soup

Sheesh, it's about time for another post!

So, somehow I manage to kill basically every potted plant that has made my acquaintance, including a little basil plant entrusted to me for just one week. (Sorry, Annie!) Case in point, observe my effect on these once-darling flowering plants. 

Shucks, I haven't even been able to keep alive a tiny herb garden to use for my recipes. All this, and I am just one generation removed from agrarian life, at least on my dad's side. Plus, my dad and mom always grew a lovely garden, not to mention their perfectly manicured, verdant yard. Why did the gene skip me? Well, at least I have some goals to work towards.

My exemplary sister-in-law, who makes things like gardening and being a perfectly consistent parent look easy*, once gave me a gem of knowledge about gardening: you'd have to be an idiot not to be able to grow zucchini! I think this is especially true in certain regions. But, I do know that many green thumbs have zucchini coming out of their ears during the summer. Thus the genesis of zucchini bread, right? When you get sick of grilling it, stuffing it, sauteing it, and frying it, why not transform it into a completely different entity to satisfy your sweet tooth? It tastes great to me! And yet I digress.

Today's focus is a savory option for your bountiful zucchini, one which I am hoping none of you has had before. It is easy and quick to whip up, cheap (especially if you have a neighbor who is only too happy to get rid of some of their supply, and if you use the cheaper options I include), and is absolutely delicious!

Like with many dishes, of course it will taste better if you use fresh basil and good Parmesan, but it still tastes FANTASTIC with the cheap ingredients. So, unless you have them on hand, are really picky, or are planning to serve it to a professional chef, go cheap and you will love it.

This recipe is complements of my outstanding friend, Diedra.

Cream of Zucchini Soup

Full Ingredients List:

2 ¼ lb zucchini cut length ways into quarters then into ½ in slices

1/4 C olive oil

2-4 garlic cloves, minced (1-2 tsp if you use a jar of pre-minced garlic)

2 1/2 C chicken stock** (OR 2 1/2 C water plus 1 TBS Chicken or Vegetable Better than Boullion)

1/4 C heavy cream

a handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped (OR about 2 tsp dried basil)

2 oz freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus more for garnish (OR 2 oz of the green container Parmesan!)

Salt and ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat on medium high in a heavy-based pan:

   1/4 C olive oil

Add:
   2-4 garlic

   2 tsp dried basil

   2 1/4 lb zucchini (cut length ways into quarters then into ½ in slices)

   some salt

and cook for approximately 10 minutes, until the zucchini is lightly browned and very soft.

Add:

   2 1/2 C water

   1 TBS chicken Better than Bouillon (or regular bouillon)

   some pepper

and simmer for 8 minutes, uncovered. Remove from the heat.

Using an immersion blender/regular blender/ food processor, blend until smooth. Return to the pan (if you took it out to puree it) and stir in:
   1/4 C heavy cream
   2 oz Parmesan
Salt to taste.  

To serve, sprinkle with additional cheese (optional).  

*In retrospect, considering those other qualities I just mentioned, I should have taken her zucchini comment with a grain of salt! My attempt at growing zucchini was a total failure.

**I always substitute water+chicken Better Than Bouillon for chicken stock. It is delicious, easy to keep on hand, and cheaper than chicken stock (especially if you can get the giant jar at Costco for <$6.)