Meltdown ice cream and a few Shade Tree sauces

I get inspiration from a lot of places, be it beer, music, or family. When I meet somebody else who is inspired to cook, the feeling is contagious and it makes me want to play off their creations.

Meltdown Lemonade Sorbet with Rooibos Caviar

My first exposure to Meltdown, Susan Warrell's upstart ice cream business here in Bowling Green, was through my priest. I was doing a dinner for him, and he had gotten some Chocolate-Covered Strawberry ice cream from her and asked me to work it into our dessert. Had he said vanilla or chocolate something else like that, I may have been tempted to relegate it to a mere garnish, a topping for whatever-pie a la mode. Instead, and fortunately, I decided to let the ice cream be the main player - without having even tasted it - based on the intriguing flavor we were given. The addition of a simple sauce and some fresh berries was all it needed to be the star of the meal, and to make me anxious to try what else Meltdown had to offer.

I've gotten to try a couple of other flavors since that night, and quite honestly they could all stand alone. But I can't help but experiment when the inspiration hits me, so here are three recipes, all using different flavors of Meltdown ice cream, to liven up your summer afternoons.





Lemonade Sorbet with Rooibos Syrup
1 pint Meltdown Lemonade Sorbet
2 tea bags Rooibos Tea
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

The combination of lemonade and sweet tea (the "Arnold Palmer" in the parlance of our time) was the secondary inspiration for this pairing. I considered using a black tea, then thought that the floral notes of the Rooibos would pair better with a dessert. I may try this again, switching out one of Rooibos tea bags for a black tea. You could also do this with something like Earl Grey or even a Pomegranate White Tea for a different effect, but the Rooibos really is superb.

Boil the water, remove from the heat, and steep the tea for 4-5 minutes. Remove bags and whisk in the sugar. Return to heat and boil, stirring occasionally, until reduced by about 1/4. Chill well and serve over sorbet with some Rooibos Caviar.*

* I'm not going to get into making "caviars" on this post, though they aren't terribly difficult. If you are interested in caviars, foams, and the like, I recommend Molecular Recipes as a good starting point. I'll save the molecular stuff for another day.

Black Raspberry Chip Coconut Float

Black Raspberry Chip Coconut Float
2-3 scoops Meltdown Black Raspberry Chip ice cream
2 oz coconut water, chilled
5 oz club soda, chilled

There are a lot of flavors going on here, considering how few ingredients we are using. This is a refreshing treat, with the bonus that half the chocolate falls to the bottom of the glass, waiting for your spoon to rescue them. Leave them down there until you finish the float, and it is like having a dessert for your dessert!

Add 1-2 scoops ice cream to a tumblr. Pour over coconut water, followed by club soda. Float one more scoop of ice cream on top.

This float really benefits from sitting a few minutes to let some of the ice cream melt and the flavors meld together. Make a few of these, wait a few minutes, then top with the remaining scoop of ice cream just before serving.

Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Ice Cream with Black Pepper Caramel

Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Ice Cream with Black Pepper Caramel
1 pint Meltdown Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Ice Cream
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk
4 tbsp butter, cut in cubes
1 tsp black pepper
Pinch of salt

When I first posted this picture a few weeks ago, I had some people wondering if I'd gone daft. Truth is, it may have been a fever dream more than an inspiration that caused this creation, but I'll stand by it after having tried it. For anybody that is wondering, pepper actually works well with strawberries, and cooked into a caramel sauce it becomes very subtle and works more to cut through the sweetness than to be overtly piquant. The buttermilk is in this recipe for the same reason, to help tame the sugar a bit to pair with the ice cream without being overwhelming.

Mix sugar and water in a saucepan and heat gently until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a full boil and watch. I'm a big advocate of multi-tasking, but not when making caramel. As the water boils off, you'll have a molten pan of sugar. You'll notice that the bubbles are lasting a bit longer and seem a little more elastic. At this point, watch the edges. As the sugar starts to caramelize, the edges will start turning brown, then darker brown, then black. If you get to black, you've definitely gone too far. Aim for light brown at first, and pull the sugar off the heat as soon as you start to see it appear. Carefully whisk in buttermilk and butter. If your sauce starts to crystallize or get lumpy, put it back over low heat to melt it again, and keep whisking until it is smooth. Whisk in salt and pepper. Pass through a fine mesh sieve and serve warm. You can also make this a few days ahead and warm it up when you are ready to serve.