Sasha loves ice Cream!

One of Sasha's favorite
treats is ice cream.
So she has decided that
on her Web site,
she will reveal her
"flavor of the month."

Enjoy!

August: Century Sundae

Megan enjoys some Century Sundae ice cream.

Congratulations Megan!

Megan picked Century Sundae ice cream for the flavor of the month.
“Century Sundae consists of vanilla ice cream, peanut butter and cookie chunks,” wrote Megan.

Megan picked Century Sundae from among the flavors offered at her local Hershey’s Ice Cream store.

Many of you have e-mailed me with your favorite ice cream in the past, and I thought it would be fun to let you select the flavor for August.

I definitely will try some of the flavors, but let’s remember this is the Olympic season and I will have to watch my ice cream intake! At least until after the Olympics!

I didn’t realize how many responses I would get so I’m going to let you pick the

September flavor, too. Some of the flavors are so good and some recipes I am going to try.

Thanks for your overwhelming response and I’m looking forward to seeing your selections for September.

Megan’s prizes of autographed pictures and skating pins are on their way.

I have to believe it’s because it’s probably the hottest month during the year and a lot of families are vacationing and buying ice cream treats for the family.

I think every month should be an official flavor ice cream month!

I like key lime ice cream for the July flavor. This is a refreshing ice cream during the summer. It all depends where you buy it. but some places include crust in the key
lime ice cream to give it a key lime pie flavor.

Since almost everybody has some kind of break from school this month, I thought it would be fun to feature Ben & Jerry's new Chocolate Therapy Original Ice Cream.

I think a lot of us take some time off in the summer for fun therapy. I know I did when I went on vacation.

This ice cream has a chocolate base with chocolate cookies and chocolate pudding ice cream swirled inside. The chocoholics will like this a lot and most others will like the cookies and pudding ice cream that is mixed in.

I didn't get a chance to taste this particular ice cream while I was in Moscow at the World Championships. But I thought it was so unique I would add it to my favorite flavor list.

This is a cherry-flavored ice cream created by a Russian dairy company. It's called UFO for its ability to avoid melting. When the ice cream is left out of the freezer for a while, it doesn't melt, it turns into semi-solid jelly.

It's a new product introduced earlier this year so I don't know how well it was received by the Russian people.

If I would have seen it while I was in Moscow, I would have tried it!

Now that I'm done competing this season I can have a little extra fun. That means I get to explore more different ice cream flavors. But I always eat in moderation.

Traveling with Champions On Ice gives me an opportunity to try new flavors and return to some of my favorite ice cream shops in cities I've visited in the past.

I recommend Ben & Jerry's flavor called Half Baked. If ice cream has cookie dough you know I will eat it. There's chocolate chip cookie dough in Half Baked. It's chocolate and vanilla ice creams and has fudge brownies with big helpings of the chocolate chip cookie dough.

Half Baked is part of its Body & Soul™ brand. It's made with all natural ice cream ingredients. It has 25 percent less fat, sugar and calories than its regular ice creams.

A special tip -- Free Ice Cream!

You can have all the free ice cream you want on April 19.

That’s right. All the free ice cream you can eat!

Ben & Jerry’s is celebrating their 27th Annual Free Cone Day April 19. That means from noon until 8 p.m. you can enjoy a free cup or cone of their favorite flavor.

You might want to check Ben and Jerry’s Web site to see where the nearest shop is to you and if it is participating. Some won't be serving free ice cream.

We will be performing in Pensacola, Fla., that day. So don't be surprised if you see a bunch of skaters eating ice cream.

I like to drink coffee, especially different flavors. The next best thing to coffee is some delicious coffee ice cream.

The coffee ice cream Oreo pie recipe, below, looks delicious and is one I’m saving to make when I get some time off and settled in my new house.

I found the recipe on the Internet, searching for some new recipes. I hope you like it.

It looks very easy to make.

If you get a chance to make this before I get back from Worlds and COI please e-mail me and let me know how it turned out.

Coffee Ice Cream Oreo Pie

Ingredients
24 Oreos
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 quart coffee ice cream
Bitter chocolate, shaved

Process
Make crust of crushed Oreo’s and melted butter. Press into a 9-inch pie pan. Chill until firm and fill with softened coffee ice cream. Garnish top with shaved chocolate curls. Freeze. Remove from a freezer for a few minutes before cutting.

For February we must have something with red in it, since Valentine’s Day is this month!

Cherry ice cream is delicious and you can add almost any ingredient you want at ice cream shoppes that offer you side add-ins.

One of my favorites is cherry ice cream with cherries (halved) and slithers of almonds.

For a special treat I was searching the Internet for ice cream shakes and came upon this one you might like to try.

Cherry Almond Ice Cream Shake

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups dark, sweet cherries
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 qt. Vanilla ice cream

Instructions

1. Puree almonds in blender. Add cherries and blend until smooth. Add ice cream and almond extract and blend until smooth and creamy.

2. To top it off, add whipped cream and more cherries, whole or halved

I found another ice cream that gives me a little of the coffee kick in Mocha Almond Fudge. The Mocha and chocolate tastes great and combines to give it a coffee flavor. The roasted almonds and fudge chunks are some delicious extras!

I know Haagen-Dazs makes this ice cream. There are some specialty ice cream shops that have mocha flavors if your're looking for a coffee tasting ice cream.

I like to stay within seasonal flavors.

This year I’m suggesting White Chocolate ice cream. You can buy it at almost any ice cream shop or grocery story. You know how much I love chocolate but that’s not the real reason I chose White Chocolate.

You can do a lot of decorating with this ice cream. You can use cherry pieces, red or green chopped mints, colored candies, nuts or almost any holiday garnish.

Presto! I get my chocolate taste plus I can have fun creating a variety of toppings and looks.

I go on the Web to search for recipes to make homemade ice cream. A lot of the recipes are also found in popular cookbooks. This is one I found on the Web.

Ann's White Chocolate Ice Cream
You might want to try Ann’s White Chocolate Ice Cream recipe. It was one of the few I saw that used vanilla bean in its ingredients.

Ingredients
1 quart heavy cream
8 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/2 large vanilla bean, split open lengthwise
1/2 pound white chocolate, chopped

Directions
Scald 2 cups of the cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat, just until the milk gives off steam and bubbles begin to form around the edge. Remove the pan from the heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until they have a pale lemon hue. Add the sugar and continue to whisk until dissolved. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup of the scalded cream. When the mixture is thoroughly blended, whisk it into the scalded cream in the saucepan. Add the vanilla bean. Return the saucepan to low heat and whisk the cream constantly for about 5 minutes, until it has thickened and reached a temperature of 178 to 180°F, as registered on an instant-read or a dairy thermometer. Remove the pan from the heat.

Remove the vanilla bean from the pan, then whisk in the white chocolate, until it is melted and thoroughly incorporated. Scrape out the inside of the vanilla bean with the back of a knife and add these flecks to the pan.

Whisk in the remaining cream. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Prepare the ice cream in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.

Store the ice cream in the freezer, where it has a shelf life of about 1 week.

What more appropriate ice cream for November than New York Super Fudge Chunk made by Ben & Jerry’s?

It’s a catchy name and since I’ve moved into my own apartment in New York it also adds special meaning.

I like this ice cream because it’s got a lot of chocolate. It’s chocolate ice cream with white and dark fudge chunks. It has pecans and walnuts and more chocolate – fudge covered almonds.

I think you'll like this month's flavor -- Orange.

Last year I chose Pumpkin ice cream for October. I wanted to stay with the orange color because of Halloween and it's a nice fall color. The taste of orange ice cream is also refreshing.

You can find it at a lot of ice cream shoppes and in grocery stores.

I’ve included a simple recipe if you want to try to make it yourself. It’s easy and quick.

Orange Ice Cream

Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups orange juice
1 cup thin cream
Sugar
Process
Add cream slowly to orange juice, sweeten to taste, and freeze. Serve with canned strawberries or fresh fruit mashed and sweetened.

Ben and Jerry’s makes one of the best butter pecan ice creams I’ve tasted. I like the creamy taste of ice cream with half pieces or chips of pecans.

There’s a Butter Pecan Ice Cream Pie I encourage you to try. The recipe is below.

Did you know: Proceeds from Tom and Jerry’s Butter Pecan ice cream benefit the Tom Joyner Foundation’s scholarship program for students attending historically black colleges and universities.

Butter Pecan Ice Cream Pie

Ingredients
Crust
1 cup crushed graham crackers
1 cup crushed soda crackers
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
Filling
1 1/3 cups milk
1 large box instant vanilla or French vanilla pudding
1 quart butter pecan ice cream, softened
Topping
Cool Whip
1 cup pecan pieces

Process
Mix crust ingredients and pat into bottom and up sides of two 9-inch pie tins or the bottom only if using a 13 x 9-inch pan. Bake for 8 minutes at 350°F. Cool.

Mix Filling ingredients until smooth using electric mixer. Pour into cooled crust. Put into freezer until firm.

Remove from freezer and cover with a thin layer of Cool Whip and the pecan pieces. Return to freezer. Cover if you will not be using it immediately.

I like the summer because of the fruits that are available at no other time of the year.
Peaches are a good summer fruit and it makes a great ice cream that is traditional in the south.

We’ve had some excellent summer fruit this year and we’ve made some great desserts.

This is one of the easiest peach ice cream recipes I have found.

I like to eat peaches plain and they also make a great pie that tastes great warmed with homemade peach ice cream.

Homemade Peach Ice Cream

Ingredients
1 cup chopped fresh peaches
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon Vanilla
2 cups half and half

Process
Combine the peaches with 1/4 cup of sugar and chill.
Combine 1 cup of sugar with the cornstarch and salt. Blend the milk in gradually. Microwave on high (100%) for about 8 minutes or until thick, stirring two to three times. Slowly whisk the hot milk mixture into the beaten eggs. Microwave, on high (100%), about two minutes or until thick and creamy. Chill thoroughly.
Add the vanilla and cream to the mixture. Stir in the peaches. Freeze in an ice cream maker (in batches if necessary) following the manufacturer's directions.
Makes about 1 1/2 to 2 quarts.

Caramel ice cream has been a great alternative to some of the more creative flavors available in the summer.

I like visiting ice cream shops that serve real caramel in its ice cream.

When I go to places that serve ice cream with fix-ins, I sometimes like to add walnuts to add extra flavor to caramel ice cream.

There’s plenty of recipes for homemade caramel ice cream. It might take a little longer than you want.

I suggest you do an Internet search to see if you can find a homemade recipe that fits into your time budget.

I’m sure you know by now my affection for cookie dough and cake batter.

Those are two ingredients I can eat plain. When I’m baking I roll up little bits of cookie dough and eat them. I run my fingers along the left over cookie batter bowl when making a cake or lick the spoon clean!
Put either of these ingredients together with ice cream and it’s so wonderful.

There are several places that offer cake batter ice cream, C old Stone Creamery being one.

With cake batter ice cream you can also add other favorite ingredients such as M&Ms, Snickers or Reese’s Cup bits among many others offered. Or just add some sprinkles on top. It’s as good as it looks.

I wanted to wait until I got back from the Tour to tell you about my May flavor and how I was the first customer to get ice cream at the new MaggieMoos in West Hartford.

I have been to some MaggieMoos and love their Yellow Marshmallow ice cream. I couldn't wait for MaggieMoos to open near me. The night before I was going on Tour we saw the lights on, and I asked my dad to drive up and let's get some ice cream. It was about 10:45 p.m. and my dad was saying it was closed and I was saying it couldn't be because the lights were on.

My sister and I got out of the car and walked in; it looked like it was open. But there was only one person there, and he was fixing some lights and other things. We asked if he could sell us some ice cream and he said no, the store wouldn't open until the next morning at 11 a.m.

I pleaded with him and told him the next day would be too late because I was flying out for the Champions On Ice Tour early in the morning. I told him how long we have waited for MaggieMoos to open and just couldn't wait a month until I got back to get some ice cream. He kept saying he couldn't help me.

I guess I pleaded enough because he finally gave us each a chocolate cone of ice cream. We were so happy and that's how we became the first customers to taste the ice cream at MaggieMoos near our home!

They have fixins you can have folded into your favorite flavors. It's a fun place to go. I'm putting the Web address here in case you find one near you. http://www.maggiemoos.com

I like coconut and eat ice cream with coconut as an ingredient or topped with toasted coconut. If you don’t want to make the recipe below just soften vanilla ice cream and fold in fresh or toasted coconut. You can toast coconut and put it on other ice cream flavors like chocolate. Or you can simply buy coconut ice cream!

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups canned cream of coconut
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
Pinch of salt
1 cup shredded fresh coconut, toasted
plus additional for serving

To Toast Coconut
Place coconut on shallow baking pan and bake in 325-degree oven, 12 to 15 minutes, stirring often to prevent burning.

Process
Combine cream of coconut, milk and cream in a large bowl. Sprinkle salt over mixture and whisk until well mixed. Sprinkle toasted coconut over all and gently fold in. Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze until firm according to manufacturer's instructions. Serve with additional toasted coconut on top if desired.

When I was visiting with Robin last month I found a new flavor when we were shopping at the grocery store. It’s Peanut Butter Marshmallow -- Frozen Yogurt made by Turkey Hill.

I love peanut butter and marshmallow. Best of all I love cookie dough! It has little pieces of cookie dough mixed into the ice cream. I even eat plain cookie dough when I’m home baking!

I found a recipe called "Brooklyn Bridge" at the Turkey Hill Web site. It’s a great recipe that’s fun to make and the name is special to me because of my love for New York. It's as much fun to make as it is to eat.

BROOKLYN BRIDGE

Ingredients
Two scoops of your favorite ice cream.
Chopped pecans (optional)
Whipped cream
Mint syrup
Half slice of orange

Process
In an oblong dish, place a scoop of your favorite ice cream at both ends. Scatter a few chopped pecans over each scoop and top with whipped cream, being careful to leave the space between the ice cream vacant. Fill that space with mint syrup. Connect the two dips with a half slice of orange.

This is a great month to choose a red fruit-flavored ice cream since Valentine’s Day is celebrated.

Strawberry ice cream has a great taste, can be made easily if you want to try it fresh. And by using a cookie cutter you can make a great Valentine design.

Strawberry ice cream can easily be found at food stores and ice cream specialty shops, and strawberries are also a healthy fruit.

You can create some fancy shapes with cookie cutters in the shape of a heart.

Whipped cream, wafers and mini marshmallows will help dress up the ice cream.

I like to use Williams Sonoma recipes and there is a strawberry ice cream in its Ice Cream book.

STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM

Ingredients
2 cups heavy (double) cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup (6 ounces) sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups fresh strawberries, stemmed and coarsely chopped (extra for optional garnish)

Process
In a bowl, combine the cream and milk. Add the sugar and salt and whisk until the sugar begins to dissolve. Stir in the vanilla. Set aside, stirring occasionally, to allow the flavors to blend, about 15 minutes.

Cover and refrigerate the mixture until chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 8 hours.

In a bowl, using a fork or potato masher, mash half of the chopped strawberries: they should break down into small chunks. Add the remaining coarsely chopped strawberries to the bowl. Cover and refrigerate the strawberries for about 1 hour.

Pour the milk mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When nearly frozen and the consistency of thick whipped cream, add the strawberries. Churn or stir until just blended. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days, before serving. If desired, garnish with additional chopped strawberries before serving.

I like cookies, and you know how much I like ice cream. That’s why this month I have selected cookies and ice cream for the flavor of the month.

There are several companies that make it. I will also let some ice cream soften and will mix in cookies. I’ve used several different flavors. Vanilla is one of the easiest to work with, but chocolate is one of my favorites.

Try the recipe below to make your own easy cookies and ice cream pie.

OREO ICE CREAM PIE

Ingredients
1/2 package Oreo cookies (10 ounces)
1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened
1/2 point whipping cream, whipped
1 (12 1/2 ounces) jar caramel sauce

Process
Crush Oreos and spread on bottom of pie plate. Fill with softened ice cream. Freeze, then spread caramel sauce on top. Let caramel harden, then top with whipped cream. Store in freezer.

I can’t think of anything better than peppermint ice cream for the holidays! I love the smell and taste of peppermint. And when its flavor is added to ice cream it’s awesome.

It should be pretty easy to find at most ice cream stores and at the grocery.

I’ve added some recipes I’ve found. Of course I had to add one that included chocolate!

I learned something in the Williams-Sonoma book you should know. Homemade peppermint ice cream will be enjoyed as a soft ice cream. It won’t harden as much as others because the high sugar content from the candy inhibits hard freezing.

Ingredients
3 cups (24 fluid ounces) heavy (double) cream
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (essence)
About 36 hard peppermint candies (6 ounce)

Process
In a bowl, stir the cream and sugar together until the sugar dissolves. Add the vanilla and stir to combine. Set aside for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, to allow the flavors to blend.

Cover and refrigerate until chilled at least 3 hours or up to 8 hours.

In a food processor, grind the peppermint candies by pulsing 2 or 3 times. Some of the candies will be more finely ground than others; small chunks of candy will add texture and interest to the final ice cream.

Pour the cream mixture into an ice-cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When nearly frozen and the consistency of thick whipped cream, add the ground peppermint candies. Churn or stir just until mixed.

Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container. Cover and transfer until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days, before serving.
Courtesy of Sonoma-Williams

Chocolate-Covered Peppermint Ice Cream

Ingredients
30 chocolate-covered peppermint candies
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
6 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
6 cups heavy cream – whipped

Process
In top of double boiler, heat peppermint candies until melted.

In a saucepan, combine sugar and water. Boil for 5 minutes.

Beat egg whites with electric mixer until stiff. While beating egg whites on high speed, slowly add hot sugar syrup to egg whites.

Add vanilla, whipped cream and melted candy to the egg white mixture. Mix well.
Still-freeze.
Courtesy: The Complete Book of Homemade Ice Cream

I like cinnamon in ice cream and one of my favorites I discovered this summer was Oatmeal Cookie Chunk by Ben and Jerry’s. It’s a sweet cream cinnamon ice cream with chunks of oatmeal cookies and fudge.

It’s a new ice cream that was introduced this year. I love chocolate and Ben and Jerry’s put in fudge chunks instead of raisins with this flavor.

I recommend eating it with plain cones so the taste of this unique ice cream is not disguised. Or just put a couple of scoops in a bowl and enjoy!

Sasha has appropriately selected Pumpkin Ice Cream, as the flavor of the month. Sasha likes holidays and making recipes out of seasonal flavors. Pumpkin ice cream can also be enjoyed with pecans added.
Below is a recipe from MakeIceCream.com if you want to make your own pumpkin ice cream.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups light cream
6 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups canned solid pack pumpkin

Process
Scald cream in heavy saucepan. Whisk yolks, sugar and vanilla in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the cream, add the spice. Return to saucepan and stir over
medium-low heat until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes; do not boil. Remove from heat. Whisk in the heavy cream and the pumpkin. Strain into bowl. Refrigerate until well chilled. Transfer to ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's instructions.

Sasha doesn’t hold anything back on this flavor. She loves the ingredients to ice cream as much as the ice cream itself.

Everything but the … includes chocolate and vanilla ice creams with HEATH Bar Chunks, white chocolate chunks, Peanut Butter Cups and chocolate-covered almonds.

Ben and Jerry described how they came up with the idea on their Web site. "Whenever we visit our scoop shots we notice our friends combining their favorite flavors to create cool new combos. And we thought what a great idea! So we took your favorite Ben & Jerry’s and swirled them together to invent some twisted new flavors. Now you get more of everything!

Ice Cream Sandwiches

Here’s a recipe idea you can do with this flavor or any other of Sasha’s favorites. They are also great for skating parties or when you have friends over.

Ingredients
24 freshly made cookies (any kind you like)
1 quart ice cream of Ben and Jerry’s Everything But The …
12 sheets (12 inches by 9 inches) of aluminum foil

Process
Place about a scoop of ice cream between 2 cookies
Gently press together
Wrap each sandwich in foil
Freeze for at least 4 hours until they are firm
It makes about 12 sandwiches

I couldn’t believe Starbucks had ice cream until one day I saw it while traveling with Champions On Ice.

I like the smell and taste of coffee. Java Chip combines one of my favorite drinks with ice cream. What can be better?

Java Chip features chunks of chocolate into creamy coffee ice cream. It smells so good it’s like smelling fresh coffee in your ice cream!

Java Chip Pie

Here’s an ice cream recipe Starbucks features using Java Chip ice cream.

Ingredients
1 graham cracker crust
1 quart of Java Chip ice cream
Dark chocolate shavings
Whipped cream

Process
Let the ice cream soften slightly until it reaches a spreadable consistency.
Carefully scoop ice cream into piecrust and use spatula to smooth top of pie
Shave your favorite dark chocolate on to top of pie
Freeze at least 1 hour before serving

"I am really into peanut butter flavors," says Sasha. "There's several out there I really like. It's a good summer taste."

Sasha says Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup is an excellent flavor. Moose Tracks is a flavor that Sasha favors because it combines peanut butter cups with vanilla ice cream.

If you want to try to make your own Peanut Butter Ice cream, here’s one popular and simple recipe:

Ingredients
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups milk

Process
Whisk together the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the peanut butter and whisk until smooth. Mix in the whipping cream and milk. Transfer the mixture to the ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Sasha and her dad, Roger Cohen, get ready for a tasty treat.	Sasha and Timothy Goebel enjoy an ice cream break while on the COI tour.
Sasha's love for ice cream began at an early age.	With a little help, she could easily devour a cone.