Do you ever feel like you never have plans but then suddenly in the same weekend everyone is free and wants to hang out? That's how I felt this weekend and over the next upcoming week. This weekend was productive and fun and felt particularly long because summer Friday's are now in effect! I arrived at a 45 minute spin class right after work Friday to get a healthy start to the weekend and as I clipped in the instructor announced it was actually a one hour class and we would be listening to rock the entire time. Definitely not my favorite two things to hear.
Then on Friday night we double dated in the East Village and had really good pizza, which followed afterwards with a short walk to St. Marks Place to get sweets at Spot Dessert Bar. We even got a free dessert because our punch card was full, which was awesome--but also embarrassing because then our friends could see the true fatties we were and how many times we had been there. Oh well it was delicious!
Sunday we had a delicious brunch and while I can never decide between savory or sweet I ended up getting blueberry pancakes and was not disappointed. We went with a few of our friends and while the wait was long for six it was so worth it.
What else did I eat this weekend? Oh yeah we had meatballs from the Meatball Shop (Upper West Side location), Kyle made scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast, and I made this ice cream!!!
My sister and I have a tradition of making ice cream every summer, and every year it has kind of been a disaster. One year we made a chocolate one with egg yolks and the eggs slightly scrambled in the ice cream. Ew. Another year, we bought half and half for vanilla ice cream and I think it was expired because it came out really weird and made the ice cream consistency really, uh, strange. But, this time, it turned out wonderful!! I did tons more research than previous years and maybe it was the strawberries I used (they were super fresh) but it came out wonderful. I will have to make it with my sister this summer so we can finally break our failing tradition.
Strawberry Black Sesame Ice Cream (makes about 1 quart)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 lb. fresh strawberries, diced small
- 2 tbl. black sesame seeds
Directions: Using a small skillet, toast sesame seeds over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn! Remove from heat and pour into a small bowl. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine diced strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar, and cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until strawberries break down into more of a sauce. Slice vanilla bean pod, and scrape out the caviar. Add to the simmering strawberry-sugar mixture. Stir until combined, and let simmer for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat, and pour into a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the black sesame seeds to the mixture. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, combine milk, heavy cream, 1/2 cup of sugar, and salt. Pour into prepared ice cream maker, and follow manufacturer's directions for making the ice cream. (For my ice cream maker, I set mine to stir on low for about 10 minutes.)
Add strawberry mixture about halfway through, and continue to stir for another 10 - 15 minutes, or until ice cream reaches desired consistency. Pour into a loaf pan or ice cream container, and freeze for 6 hours, or overnight.
Scoop into bowls, and top with the rest of the toasted black sesame seeds for added texture!
I'm participating in #IceCreamWeek with a few other bloggers! Make sure to check out their creations below!
Coffee Chocolate Ripple Ice Cream via An Italian in my Kitchen
Unicorn Ice Cream via The Tip Toe Fairy
Tahini Ice Cream with Chocolate Chip Cookies via The Floating Kitchen
No Churn Honey Nut Ice Cream via Honey and Birch
Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Praline Crunch Ice Cream via Heart of a Baker
Peanut Butter Lovers Ice Cream via Cookie Dough and Oven Mitt
Cotton Candy Ice Cream via Homemade Hooplah
Butter Pecan Ice Cream via Zagleft
Bourbon Vanilla Bean Ice Cream via Vanilla and Bean
Mint Mojito Coffee Ice Cream via The Little Epicurean
Strawberry Banana Ice Cream via The Bitter Side of Sweet
Peanut Butter Ice Cream via Pretty Simple Sweet
Vanilla Rainbow Ice Cream via Go Go Go Gourmet
Lychee and Cherry Swirl Ice Cream via My Food Story
Brigadeiro Ice Cream via Olivia's Cuisine
Salted Pretzel Ice Cream with Chocolate and Peanut Butter via Cake Over Steak
Strawberry Black Sesame Ice Cream via Madeline Marie Blog
No Churn Caramel Chip Ice Cream via Fearless Dining
There is also a giveaway! You can enter here!