PeteyBird Goat Cheese and Fig Ice Cream Roll with Short Bread Cookies

Photographing for Amanda at 5280.com means I get to meet some of the greatest chefs and entrepenuers in town.  My most recent assignment was to photograph these amazing mini ice-cream sandwiches from PeteyBird. Pete of PeteyBird uniquely crafted ice cream sandwiches is engineer turned baker which is fabulous for us Denverites. The creatively flavored sandwiches are ideally sized and will melt in your mouth...just in time for summer!  Pete has mastered all things ice cream and cookies during his lengthy R&D process and this was one of his fabulous creations.  Similar to a savory, spreadable cheese log and cracker duo, this sweet version is a perfect dinner party dessert. The recipe may look a bit daunting but Pete swears it's not that bad (it's really not!).  Well worth a show-stopping and interactive dessert. Also, here are a few of his few ice cream sandwiches first talked about on Amanda Faison's Table Talk blog post.

Rock Chalk Cake Pops

Win or lose we still love our Jayhawks...and we will eat cake pops.  Yes, Kansas lost the National Championship on Monday but we had a great season and none of us are fair-weather fans. I made these for our party and they were devoured.  I was lucky to have a few to photograph the next day.  I'm not a baker and I was even successful at these!  I know I'm thinking ahead, but tailgates next fall? You betchya!

Ingredients:


-1 box yellow cake mix
-eggs (however many the box calls for...I needed 3)
-butter (follow box ingredients again)
-1/2 can cream cheese icing
-2 pkgs white candy bark (you can get any color at Hobby Lobby or white at the grocery store)
-sprinkles

Other things needed:

-double boiler (or just two different sized pots)
-Popsicle sticks (also found at Hobby Lobby or craft store)
-Styrofoam blocks or large ring

Maple Brown-Butter Ice Cream

So this isn't exactly ice-cream...it's actually a semifreddo which is why you don't even need and ice cream maker to whip up this amazing dessert.  Semifreddo is a semi-frozen custard that almost has a mousse-like texture.  It's basically made using half ice-cream and half whipping cream which makes the light fluffy texture.  I stumbled upon this recipe in one of Martha Stewart's magazines, Everyday Food, and was dying to try it.  An ice-cream like dessert that was easy and you could keep in the freezer for a couple weeks AND doesn't require baking?  Count me in. It was just as easy as I thought it would be and we had it for weeks with butterscotch caramel sauce and nut topping.

Ingredients:


-2 cups cold whipping cream
-6 Tbsp unsalted butter
-3/4 cup pure maple syrup
-5 large egg yolks

(yes, that's it...)

Optional toppings:


-butterscotch caramel sauce from the jar
-mixed nuts topping

Mini Chocolate Truffle Cheesecakes with Graham Cracker Crust

I don't bake.  I'm talkin'...never! First, because I don't have much of a sweet-tooth but secondly, because I'm awful at it.  It forces me to measure...which I'm not precise with while cooking.  My roommate, Annie, can bake so she took me on as her pupil and we conquered our first recipe together.  Of course, this is not my own recipe since the last thing I need to be doing is making up baking recipes.  I found this in a recent issue of Cuisine at Home.  Some due to accident and some due to person preference it toppings, it's adjusted just a bit.  This is the perfect bite-sized end to your Valentine's dinner at home.

Ingredients:


-2 sleeves graham crackers, 18 crackers
-1 Tbsp sugar
-1 stick melted butter melted + 2 Tbsp not melted
-12 ounces bittersweet bar chocolate, broken into pieces
-2 tsp. instant espresso powder (not just ground coffee)
-1 block (8-ounce) cream cheese
-1 cup sugar
-3 eggs
-1 cup heavy cream
-2 tsp. vanilla extract

Optional Toppings:


-Balsamic reduction
-powdered sugar
-jarred caramel sauce (I found butterscotch caramel sauce)
-pecans
-vanilla glaze from the bottle...yep that's how fancy we got
-shredded coconut

Equipment Needed:


-mini cupcake pan
-food processor
-hand mixer

Valentine's Day: Message Heart Cupcakes

As I've told you all, I don't bake.  So my roommate, Lee, and I bought boxed cake mix and icing in the can.  But we added our own little Valetine's Day touch with the candies my mom sent me.