Ice Cream

"We all scream for Ice Cream..." but what flavor and from what shop and why? National Ice Cream Month begs the eternal question, "What's YOUR favorite kind?" One for the Table asked some of our favorite scoop fans to reveal their guilty pleasures....

Andy Warhol Ice Cream Cones w/ Tray

Mine is the caramel gelato at the Piazza Del Popolo -  when in Rome there is NOTHING better - Or was it the gorgeous young purveyors seductive,"Bella, Signorina!!!"

I always order toasted coconut almond.  Not because I like toasted coconut almond. In fact, I hate toasted coconut almond.  I just order it because I feel sorry for it because everyone hates toasted coconut almond.  So I order toasted coconut  almond, dump it in a trash can when no one's looking, then go back to the store and order cherry vanilla which I really like. – Alan Zweibel, writer

"You haven't had ice cream till you've had Graeter's. The butter pecan is Stedman's favorite, and mine, too." — Oprah Winfrey from her O list

A Tin Roof Sundae ! ! French Vanilla Ice Cream is topped with warm heavy chocolate syrup mixed with some finely ground black pepper and the roof, of course, are salted peanuts. Go way! Get your own! – Marilyn Lewis, owner of Kate Mantillini.

Sadly, not available to the public. My husband's freakish devotion to our Masso Gelato maker helped him churn out "Earl Grey Tea with Honey" gelato. The best thing I've ever eaten! – Eva Ein, co-owner of Stella Mare restaurant in Montecito

Stephen Colbert believes the Ben & Jerry's flavor made in his honor, AmeriCone Dream, can make a difference. “I’m not afraid to say it. Dessert has a well-known liberal agenda. What I hope to do with this ice cream is bring some balance back to the freezer case.”

My favorite flavor is, and has been for forty years, 31 Flavors Jamoca Almond Fudge. I get it on Cerrillos road, in Santa Fe. – Brooke Palance Wilding, artist

There is absolutely no question that the best ice cream is made on Nana's terrace in the back garden in Waco, Texas. We still use the old fashioned rock salt and real cream but have finally acquiesed to an electric turning handle. When the fresh peaches reach their ripest that is the time for an ice cream party. Everyone gathers. The mint julieps flow and ice cream becomes the flavour of the evening. – Alice Faye Cleese, Radio Host

During summer, I take every opportunity to make ice cream or sorbet. (If you look in my freezer, you'll find a reserved space for the ice cream maker container.) There really is no better time to make frozen treats than on the hottest summer days. And who wants to bake anyway? (Though I still bake summer pies and cakes.) Sorbets are my favorite because they're easy to make and full of fruit flavor. And you can pretty much make sorbet out of any fruit. There's no custard to cook as with ice cream, and in most cases the fruit goes in raw—keeping the best fresh flavor.

Since sour cherries are in season right now, I couldn't help not making a sorbet out of them. I love it when sorbets are more like palate-cleansers than overly sweet icy desserts. And what fruit could do the duty better than sour cherries? Only one cup of sugar goes into taming the sour cherries' tartness, ensuring a little tang lingers. A little bit of lemon juice in the mix helps keep the color bright more than making the sorbet sour. This dessert has everything going for it flavor-wise—you really taste the cherries. It's not laden with any unpronounceable ingredients. It's just pure and natural.

Start with oatmeal cookies (the homemade variety, of course), add ice cream, make sandwiches, then sit back and watch the enjoyment as happy people eat them.

Kids love ice cream sandwiches, and adults feel like kids as they eat them.

Raisins are always a great addition to oatmeal cookies, but when they are frozen, they can get hard and difficult to chew. It seems the perfect way to get their sweet flavor in an ice cream sandwich is to puree them before incorporating them into the dough.

I discovered, too, that giving raisins the puree treatment fools those who dont' care for those little dried grapes. My husband is a good example. He won't eat anything that involves raisins. I offered him one of these cookies, still warm from the oven. After he ate about three of them, he asked, "What is that flavor that I can't quite pinpoint? Dates?" (He likes dates – hates raisins). I thought it safe to share the secret with him. How could he say he didn't like them after already wolfing down three with great gusto? He gave me a sheepish little grin and grabbed another cookie.

For the past two months, my children and I have been trying all kinds of ice cream places in and round the city. After Eli’s post on finding the best hamburger in Los Angeles over at my other site, BigMouthLA, he made his own editorial calendar of what foods he wanted to critique next. Ice cream, pizza, macaroni and cheese, and burritos are at the top of his list.

Here is his list of favorites:

Milk
This place is Eli’s obsession. Since his first taste over 2 years ago, according to him, nothing beats Milk. The extensive menu of both sweet and savory has something for everyone (and ironically their salad’s are some of the best). From a Milky Way Shake to a Warm Ooey Gooey Chocolate Sundae, to the Citrus Vanilla Float, everything is off the charts good! The Mint Chocolate Crunch Shake was his latest tasting; mint ice cream, chocolate chips, and crunch malt balls. For a 13 year old that is one heck of a cocktail. Milk is one of our family favorites. For me it is always the Scooter Pie (marshmallow sandwiched between two cookies and covered in chocolate), but it is their logo that sends me to the moon and back!