The Nutty Professor

Welcome to Sundae School. Have you taught your toddlers about banana splits? You don't want them to learn about it in the streets.



Starter Sundae for a 27-month old

• Banana, cut into fourths
• Neapolitan Ice Cream (for toddlers who like pink) or Ben & Jerry's Peanut Brittle (really, really good)
• Whipped cream
• Jean's Java Hot Fudge Sauce
• Sprinkles
• Raspberries (cherries are in season, but we didn't have any in the house)
• Optional: More nuts (for accompanying adults; they're a choking hazard for the kid)

I think Mom and Dad were more into this than Tot, but a good time was had by all.

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Here's a new feature for you:


The Ghosts of Snackreligious Past - Discover old posts!

On the blog 5 years ago: Mulberry Memories

Eating Smorgasburg: June 16, 2012

Saturday was a glorious day in NYC. We started it off by picking up our CSA share, then upped the ante with a relatively quick trip to foodie flea market Smorgasburg (I took this picture in the adjacent East River State Park). It was quick, sure, but I still had time to stuff myself with...







Brooklyn Piggies' pigs in a blanket. We got three (2 spicy, one original) with BBQ sauce. BEST OF! Seriously, these are awesome. Eat them, eat them. I didn't want to share.



I always want to drink every flavor of lemonade and limeade being served by The Stand. Today we chose strawberry-rhubarb.Though I don't think the two should be baked together, I love them smushed into lemonade together. And I love that the drinks at The Stand are never too sweet. They're perfectly refreshing.



Not pictured: another olive breadstick. Here's a correction, too. These are not from TomCat Bakery, as stated in that previous post. They're from Commerce. Sorry for the error, Commerce! The baby and I still love how tender and flavorful these are. 


 
The Maine lobster roll from Red Hook Lobster Pound might be the most expensive item at Smorgasburg ($16). I'd heard great things about it, and I finally bit the bullet. You know what? I think I'm just not that into lobster. The pickle was great. The toasted bun and toppings were swell.  The lobster was pretty good, but I kept thinking, "I wish there was less lobster and it cost less." You know what? I think I just wanted a hot dog. If you're a lobster lover, you'd probably love this. Turns out I'm not.



Two pieces of buttermilk fried chicken and cheddar waffle with maple-vinegar dipping sauce by BFC (from the folks at Buttermilk Channel). I've had Buttermilk Channel chicken and waffles before. They are famous in their neighborhood -- and beyond -- for good reason. This chicken was moist and the breading was delicious. It was a great choice (by Dan) to round out the savory part of our meal this time around.



Now, on to the desserts! We started with one of Nana's (from Cecile Dyer of Pies ’n’ Thighs) frozen bananas with crushed almonds, coconut, and sea salt.  The woman who applied the toppings said it was only the second frozen banana she had made, so she was clearly new to the stand. Her technique wasn't great, and most of our coconut, nuts, and salt blew away on the wind (the photo above is of our banana's "best side"). When she was finished, she asked the woman training her, "How was that? Good, right?" and the trainer actually said no. But we still had to pay $6 for it, so...that was a bummer. Not worth the price (though I expect she'll get better at making them). One thing I did like about it was that the banana wasn't frozen solid. I've gotten them before (from other vendors) and find them really hard to eat if you have to saw at the banana to bite through it.

 

A "Strawberry Supreme" ice cream sandwich. Visiting The Good Batch to see what they're offering has become a tradition. This excellent ice cream sandwich featured brown butter cookies, strawberry semifreddo, fresh strawberries, and Adirondack Creamery vanilla ice cream. It was good, but that salty lemon cookie ("Laughter and Lemon") of a few weeks ago still haunts my dreams...


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Today at Smorgasburg - April 21, 2012

Asian-Inspired tacos (the crispy-shelled spicy tuna was my favorite; also pictured: short rib) and peach tea from Takumi Taco.




Porchetta sandwich and intriguing Skytown flatbread with feta and spinach pesto. Mint lemonade also from Skytown.




Laughter and Lemon ice cream sandwich (holy cow, good!  Salty lemon cookies!) from The Good Batch. I'll be back, The Good Batch. Overheard in the line: "Is this ice cream sandwich going to be worth $6?" My answer: yes, and it's a competitive price, though I'd rather it be $4.

Also eaten: New York Naturals kale chips with vegan cheese. They were great. And I do NOT generally approve of vegan cheese. Thanks go to Nick's mom for sharing them with me. The baby liked them, too.

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To Have and to Hold

Ben & Jerry's Clusterfluff is peanut butter ice cream with caramel crunchies, plus peanut butter and marshmallow creme swirls.  Speaking as a true peanut butter fiend, it's kind of the living end.  I mean, if I were Prince or Jimmy Fallon, this is the ice cream I'd want named after me. 

Now I want to take it with me wherever I go.  It might not last long in blazing heat, but I carried it 6 or 7 blocks to a cat-sitting gig without incident...then ate the entire pint.




p.s. These shoes (Payless) only look decent from the top.  They're so ugly from the side! Good thing they were cheap.

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Grownups get married; I feel like a kid again.

I attended Steph's luau-themed bridal shower last weekend, out on Long Island.  Steph's mom is a Snackreligious-approved hostess, by virtue of the event's charming backyard setting and resplendent repast (not to mention the tiki napkins).









I never turn down an ice cream sundae bar.  I even requested (and was granted) a brownie sundae bar for my own wedding shower, back in 2001.  This one was primo, with two types of ice cream and many toppings available, including fresh and maraschino cherries, marshmallows, sprinkles, chocolate chips, gummy worms, and more. 

Thanks, Mrs. Steph's Mom!


p.s. I know her name.  ;)

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Ice Cream, Man.

My friend Nick keeps making delicious homemade ice cream. He sent me home with a jar of chocolate peanut butter cup (homemade peanut butter cups!) a few weeks ago, and we demolished it in one sitting.



I'm encouraging Nick in his idea to run a "CSI" (Community Supported Ice Cream) program in the neighborhood this summer.  At the very least, I think I need to commission some flavors when I start receiving fruit from my CSA.  Nick, I'll happily pay for more jars of ice cream.  Take my money, please!

Apple Dumpling Gang of One

Before leaving The Green Dragon, I considered buying an apple dumpling.  I'd tried to get one at Reading Terminal Market on our last trip to Philadelphia, but the booth selling them had closed early that day.  I didn't buy a Green Dragon dumpling, though (pictured above), because it looked so juicy I was worried it wouldn't travel well (and I wasn't hungry enough to eat it on the spot).

Later in the day, though, we visited the Farmer's Market in Bird-in-Hand, PA.  It's quite a place, with plenty of good eats displayed wall to wall in the market's permanent building.  There, I found a "drier-looking" dumpling and made it mine.



I ate my dumpling the next day, warmed in the microwave and topped with vanilla ice cream.  I expected the dough to be a bit more delicate and/or flavorful, but the sweet, baked apple was very nice.

I'd like to find a good recipe and try making some apple dumplings myself at home.

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Suggested Use-By Holiday

On St. Patrick's Day, I bought the last carton of Mint Chocolate Chip at the corner store. It didn't turn out to be green, but it did seem an appropriate flavor. As a nod to the drunken drunkenness going on at bars around the nation, I ate some for dessert with a little Bailey's poured over the top (not my idea). Unfortunately, all we had in the cabinet was caramel Bailey's. Weird. But I ate it. I am nothing if not a slave to thematic-slash-edible follow-through.

Just as I suspected, this ice cream (without topping) is still good long after the holiday. I ate more straight from the carton last night, to preserve resources. Washing a bowl wastes water, right?

Happy, Ryan?

I am at Ryan's house, enjoying Sam's lively Chinese New Year birthday party as I type this. There's a lot going on.

The woman next to me is speaking rapidly in French, some crab rangoons are frying in a dangerous amount of oil heated over a turkey burner in the back yard, Chuck Norris (in The Octagon) is having flashbacks on the wall, several ladies are dancing like mad, and I just ate something tasty with noodles.

It has come to my attention that some of my friends fear that if I do not write a blog post about a party they've thrown or a meal they've fed me, it must mean I was disappointed by it -- and, by extension, the friend in question.

However, just for the record, it's often too dark for a good photo. See the top of this post for blurry phone photos I'd rather not have posted. I don't like using flash, either. The results aren't much better. Believe me, I mean no offense if your party does not end up on Snackreligious, especially if the lighting is dim. It doesn't mean I didn't enjoy myself, or your refreshments, immensely.

Other reasons I might not blog about the awesome snack you gave me include:

• No camera/phone on hand.
• I ate the thing too quickly (because it was so good, was melting, was in danger of being eaten by someone else) to get a photo.
• I plumb forgot to write the blog post.
• I just don't write about everything I eat. Something's going to be left out.
• I've already blogged about it in some other context and don't want to repeat myself.
  

At this party, however dimly lit, I made a special effort to put the ice cream cake under a lamp to take a better picture. Bought at the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, it was layers of green tea, black sesame, and pandan ice creams. Superb!





Fun party, too.

This evening of exercise and high-calorie eating made possible by the TSA.

How tragic for Vincent that he couldn't fly home to Kansas with this jar of Sundae's Best (Jean's Java) hot fudge sauce in his carry-on luggage.

How awesome for us.



Thanks to Vincent's sauce-ditching, Ben and Dan and I were able to enjoy an impromptu evening of Wii Fit games and banana splits. Having 4 kinds of nuts in the house (pecans, walnuts, peanuts -- I know, they're technically a legume, and almonds) only made it more exciting.

Active! Delicious!

Very Pear-y.

I bought a new flavor of ice cream -- Caramelized Pear and Toasted Pecan by Häagen-Dazs -- because it looked like a nice departure from my usual selection of "Anything with Chocolate and Peanut Butter and Cookie Dough and Fudge and Crunchy Bits."

This was a good decision; the flavor changed my pace. The pear and pecan pieces ring true throughout. There's something festive and warm about it, which works well during this winter holiday season, but it's light enough to work year-round. Usually, I like my ice cream to hit hard, but I appreciate a subtler sweet in the right moment.

Pear and pecan together aren't overwhelming or bossy. They're honest. I guess I'm saying this frozen treat tells it to you straight.

Poetry Tuesday: I didn't mean to do two song parodies in a row.

"Monday Sundae" Sing-Along



Monday Sundae, so good to me,
Monday Sundae, it was all I hoped it would be
Though waffle coning, waffle coning couldn't guarantee
That sundae eating you would so much make me pleased.

Monday Sundae, Nutella-lined,
Monday Sundae, your whipped cream collar mighty fine,
Oh Monday morning, you gave me no warning of what was to be
By Monday four-ish, I would have you inside of me.

Every other day, every other gay,
Every other Gay (Big) Ice Cream is fine, yeah
But whenever Monday comes, but whenever Monday comes
He can salt my ice cream all of the time

Monday Sundae, so news to me,
Monday Sundae, twist ice cream, how yum you could be
Inside my sundae, topped with caramel and salt of the sea,
And Monday evening you were still so loved by me.

Every other day, every other gay,
Mostly other Gay (Big) Ice Creams are fine, yeah
But whenever Monday comes, but whenever Monday comes
I would lick this sundae all of the time

Monday Sundae ...

One more thing about St. Paul...

I haven't finished talking about my trip to St. Paul, MN until I've mentioned our trip to get ice cream at Izzy's. It was, in a word, splendiferous.




Izzy's was packed with people patiently waiting in a line that wrapped up and then back down the length of the store. The regulars seemed to know that the ice cream would be worth their patience. And it looked like every local had brought 2 or more family members visiting from out of town.

In the photo above, you can see the circular ice cream signs that announced the night's available flavors. I could have happily chosen almost any one of them. There was incredible, tempting variety.




My nephew, who couldn't read the signs, announced that he wanted vanilla. "Vanilla!" he yelled every time his mom asked him if he was sure he didn't want her to read the list of flavors available. So she casually worked into conversation with the rest of us that it was too bad her son didn't want to know the flavors, as she was pretty sure he'd like to try the cotton candy ice cream. Wouldn't you know it -- someone happened to overhear that comment. That someone immediately changed his order from, "Vanilla!" to shockingly blue cotton candy ice cream (with a malted milk ball on top). And that someone ended up with a bright blue cotton candy face.





I had salted caramel ice cream. For my "Izzy" (that's the name they've given to the mini scoop on top of most of the adult-sized cones and cups), I tried their Norwegian chai flavor. Both managed to taste warm, despite being cold ice cream. They were rich and impressive flavors. Splendiferous.




As a bonus, we got to peek into a side room. There, on the wall, were hints of other flavors to come on other days. If I lived in St. Paul I would be stalking this place with a list of these names, trying to collect them all. Yum.

SSI: Saint Paul

(SSI = Snack Scene Investigator)

The snack packaging you left in the parking lot (in St. Paul, MN) tells me so much about you. First off, you're a litterer...

Big Gay Ice Cream; Small Gay Let-Down.

I stopped by the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck for the first time this week. The BGICT is one of the popular mobile food and treat trucks in New York City. It has its own website, as well as a Twitter Feed that lets fans know where it's roaming.

I was surprised that the truck itself was not more festive. Not because gay people have to live up to that stereotype, but because the name is a bit sparkly and the website is covered in sprinkles. I didn't expect to "see the Gay" on the truck, as I don't subscribe to the idea that there are limited "ways to be gay" in the world, but I did think I'd see something "Big." Yet there was just one small sign (on only one side of the truck; earlier, friends had walked right by) and a hand-lettered list of toppings declaring the vehicle's difference from any other ice cream truck in the city.

My "small gay" disappointment was more related to the ice cream. Though the toppings are intriguing (they change every day and have included pickle, olive oil, Trix cereal, Nutella, etc.), the ice cream is just fine -- nothing special. I had not realized that my only ice cream option would be regular, fast-melting soft-serve (chocolate, vanilla, or twist). It's a small truck, so Paul guessed that there isn't room for a freezer that would allow transportation of homemade or premium ice cream flavors.





I wish the ice cream offered could match the cleverness behind the toppings, but there's nothing wrong with taking what you can get. I had a twist cone rolled in Grape Nuts and really enjoyed it. And the man in the truck (the Big Gay Ice Cream Man?) was friendly and funny. Soft-serve or not, he's providing a great service in selling his nontraditional, delicious, and oddball toppings.

I'll be back! I'd even buy the t-shirt.