THE NIBBLE BLOG: Products, Recipes & Trends In Specialty Foods


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TIP OF THE DAY: Alternative Ice Cream Sandwiches

June 23, 2012 at 8:44 am · Filed under Ice Cream-Sorbet-Yogurt, Recipes


Donut sandwiches are the new ice cream sandwich. Photo courtesy Schwan’s.		   We love ice cream sandwiches. We typically make ours with chocolate chip cookies or sliced pound cake.

But these ideas from Schwan’s have us thinking in new directions. You can whip them up and serve them immediately, or store them in the freezer.

  • Donut Ice Cream Sandwiches. Cake-style ring doughnuts, regular or mini, make excellent uppers and lowers with an ice cream filling. More dense than the airy, yeast-leavened doughnuts (like Krispy Kreme), cake doughnuts are leavened with baking powder or baking soda. Look for a plain doughnut without frosting or glaze, like a cinnamon sugar doughnut. Cut it in half with a serrated knife and fill with ice cream.
  • Rice Krispie Treats Ice Cream Sandwiches. Slice a rice krispie treat in half, fill with ice cream and cut away the excess ice cream. (Don’t throw away the trimmings; snack on it.)
  • Waffle Ice Cream Sandwiches. Toast two toaster waffles and let cool before filling (or the heat will begin to melt the ice cream).
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    GARNISH YOUR ICE CREAM SANDWICH

    You can add another layer of flavor before sealing with the top sandwich layer:

  • Caramel, chocolate or fruit sauce
  • Sliced bananas, strawberries or other fruit (mango is delicious with vanilla ice cream, orange segments or marmalade creates a “Creamsicle” effect)
  • Chopped nuts
  • Morsels (butterscotch, chocolate, mint, peanut)

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    You can roll the ice cream edges in sprinkles, mini chips or confetti (as shown in the photo).

    Whatever you do, you’ll have fun.

    If you’d like to have these treats delivered to you, visit the Schwan’s website.

    		  
    Photo courtesy Schwan’s.

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    PRODUCT: La Pan’s Gourmet BBQ Sauce

    June 23, 2012 at 8:12 am · Filed under Sauces-Rubs-Marinades

    The number one product we receive over the transom (unsolicited) is barbecue sauce. We get so much, that we joke that aliens from another planet who happen into THE NIBBLE offices would think that earthlings live on barbecue sauce.

    On a less jocular note, most of the barbecue sauces sent to us are simplistic recipes of what we pejoratively call “meat sugar”: ketchup (there’s already plenty of it in the ketchup), more sugar or high fructose corn syrup, and some onion and garlic powder that aren’t strong enough to cut through the sweetness.

    Every now and then, we receive a barbecue sauce that we enjoy. It has complex flavors and a smaller dose of sweeteners.

    So it was a good day when a box of samples from Le Pan’s arrived.

    All natural La Pan barbecue sauces have more layering of flavors than we’ve seen just about anywhere.

    		 
    Spicy and regular barbecue sauces hit the spot. Photo courtesy La Pan’s.
     

    Prior to developing his own line, Jon La Pan of Ladera Ranch, California was a foodie who liked to tinker with recipes to turn them into his vision of perfection. When he started to make barbecue sauce, his goal was “…to help anyone…turn a $5 piece of meat into a $50 steak.”

    As tasty as the sauces may be, they won’t tenderize a $5 flank steak into anything resembling a $50 strip steak; but the sauces will taste good on just about anything.

    Enjoy them with meat, poultry, hearty fish or tofu. Jon Le Pan uses them as a bread dipper, too. We prefer them with fries, instead of ketchup.

    Foundation Gourmet BBQ Sauce

    The first four ingredients in this barbecue sauce, are common to many recipes: water, tomato paste, sugar and brown sugar, along with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper and vinegar, Worcestershire Sauce and yellow mustard. More complex sauces add ingredients such as apple cider vinegar, molasses and natural smoke flavor. Spicy versions add cayenne pepper, chipotle and other chiles and hot pepper sauce,

    But La Pan’s further layers on celery salt, cinnamon, coffee, cumin, honey, lemon juice concentrate, maple syrup, oregano, turmeric, and and raspberry juice concentrate.

    That’s a lot of measuring, but the result is worth it.

    Fiery Fusion BBQ Sauce

    An excellent balance of fruit and medium heat, this sauce makes things interesting with the addition of apricot, mango, pineapple and habanero. Many spicy sauces just ratchet up the spice level on the basic sauce.

    Don’t choose: try both. A 16-ounce bottle is $8.00 at LaPans.com.

    The company also makes seasoning and Bloody Mary mix.

    Find more of our favorite barbecue sauces.
      

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    TIP OF THE DAY: Bloody Mary Ice Pops

    June 22, 2012 at 8:04 am · Filed under Cocktails & Spirits, Ice Cream-Sorbet-Yogurt, Recipes


    Bloody Mary ice pops. Photo by Elvira
    Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

    		   Yesterday we proposed diet ice pops, made from diet fruit soda.

    This time, it’s serious: Bloody Mary ice pops.

    You can turn any juice-based cocktail into an ice pop. We especially like Bloody Mary ice pops because they have no sugar (guilt free!) and because the kick of spices in the ice is very refreshing indeed.

  • Make your from-scratch Bloody Mary base or use a mix. We make our own, from Knudsen’s Tomato Juice, horseradish, hot sauce and fresh lime juice. Play with the proportions to decide how spicy and citrusy you like it (we also add a half teaspoon of lime zest). We use two teaspoons of horseradish, a tablespoon of lime juice and four shakes of hot sauce per six ounces of tomato juice. (We prefer to get the heat from the horseradish than from hot sauce.)
  • Start with a tablespoon of vodka per pop. The amount you use will depend on the volume of your pop molds. Water freezes at 32°F, but the freezing point of ethanol alcohol is -173.2°F. Thus, too much alcohol impedes freezing—you’ll end up with a slushie (not a bad idea!).
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  • You can conduct a test with your first batch. Add different amounts of vodka to each of the pop molds and see which works for you.
  • Or, substitute shochu for vodka. Shochu, called “Japanese vodka.” has half the proof of vodka—40 proof compared to 80 proof. Thus, it freezes more easily: The lower the proof, the higher the freezing point. More about shochu.

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    Of course, you can also make Virgin Mary ice pops. They’re equally delicious.

    Whether pop or slushie, enjoy!

      

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