Last Fall a friend asked if I had tried an ice cream shop walking distance within my friend's and my neighborhood? I said, :"No, what about it?" My friend said, "You must try it, they have very unique flavors that rotate on their menu. They have a Thanksgiving flavor. right now" I thought oh boy, what the heck is Thanksgiving ice cream. About a week later I was out for my weekend neighborhood walk and came upon this ice cream shop "Salt and Straw". On the sidewalk stood their sign with the flavors of the day. Sure enough, there it was, first on the list, "Thanksgiving Ice Cream". The ingredients listed were vanilla ice cream with cranberry sauce and stuffing swirls. I had to have it...
It tasted fabulous, just as I had imagined it should. When I purposely went back the following
Saturday to satisfy my new savory and sweet addiction the flavor was no longer on the menu. It has been nearly four months since and I cannot get this unusual concoction out of my head so I decided to make my attempt to re-create it..
Before you laugh or wince at the thought of this Fall combination of flavors in a frozen dessert I must remind you that many of you have been to the Gilroy Garlic Festival just to try the garlic ice cream and I am sure there were skeptics when salted-caramel made it onto the dessert scene, and you love that, right?
1. Make the basic brown sugar ice cream from TALL Blondes Butter Pecan Ice Cream (link) as directed omitting the toasted pecans of course.
2. I always have TALL Blonde home-made cranberry sauce (link) in the fridge. You will use about 3 tablespoons.
3. Make that boxed stuffing mix (you know the one) and let cool. I added extra powdered celery and sage and a pinch of salt to the cooked mix. You will use about three tablespoons of stuffing for the ice cream.
ASSEMBLE:
When your ice cream is made take a few heaping tablespoons and plop it in the container that will go in the freezer. Swirl in some cranberry sauce and small bits of crumbled stuffing. Continue layering ice cream, cranberry and stuffing until ice cream is all in freezer container. Freeze for at least two hours until firm. Makes one pint.
NOTE: Left over cooled stuffing can be made into balls, placed on a greased cookie sheet and placed in the freezer for an hour. I use a small ice cream scoop to make rough balls. Transfer to freezer bags. TALL Blonde uses these as dumplings in chicken soup and clam chowder.
