Chocolate Macadamia

Another week, another flavor! This morning I was on the phone with my buddy Scott when I walked into Vons. As I walked to the ice cream aisle I said, SWEET! They are 2 for $6. Scott then said…. I wouldn’t know if that’s good or not…is it good? Me: Yes, I am getting two. I now have next weeks flavor in the freezer.

Chocolate Macadamia Verdict:

I have to give Roni credit for this line because she said it perfectly…It’s a classic combination of flavors with a macadamia nut added to the mixture. Then she lost all credibility when she said the following….”I’m surprised no one has told you that you need a tan.” Thank you Veronica…I am fully aware I am pale.

Chocolate & Vanilla Ice Creams with Fudge Covered Macadamia Nuts

Back to what Roni said about the flavor. I agree with her, it’s a mix of a classic flavor with a subtle addition. When I had the first macadamia nut I felt that it was too big for the ice cream. Then the second time around I actually let myself savor the flavor. There was a hint of salt in the macadamia that allowed that great combination of salty and sweet. The chocolate and vanilla ice cream mixed together was a great blend. But then again, a classic is a classic and you can’t miss with a classic. Macadamia nuts are hard to begin with, and they are still hard when bathing in the ice cream. So if you don’t eat macadamia’s alone, don’t eat them in this flavor. They are as hard as you’d think. But that’s what I enjoyed about it. You still got the true flavor and texture of the nut. I could easily just eat the Chocolate and vanilla ice cream, mmmm good. The two mixed together taste just like a Frosty from Wendy’s.

It was very simple this week. Nothing too exciting to go jumping up and down over, but it was a good flavor. I will ALWAYS say this…. Simplicity is sometimes the best.

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Peanut Brittle

This week I entered the grocery store from the opposite side of the store, and I am usually a creature of habit so I don’t know why I changed it up. But as I was walking across the store I checked out how long the line was…. and BAM, this cute guy was the last one standing there. I thought to myself… Hurry up and get that ice cream so I can enjoy some eye candy. Well in my rush I accidentally walked down the wrong freezer aisle, and was like CRAP, get it together. Once in the correct aisle I didn’t think, just grabbed. And I was back in line before the cute guy left. I got to enjoy the sight of him for a about a minute. SCORE!

Peanut Brittle Verdict:

Last weeks discussion was one of wanting a “Holiday” flavor this week. Well since we already did the holiday flavor a few weeks ago I had to think. Then it clicked, in our office we ALWAYS get a box a Peanut Brittle for Christmas from a client. So this was the only flavor that made sense to have today. And guess what showed up today at work? You guessed it…THE PEANUT BRITTLE! Ironic? I think not. But the only reason I knew of this flavor right from the get go was because my cousin Kim had told me about it a few weeks ago after she had the actual Peanut Brittle for the first time.

Peanut Brittle Ice Cream with Peanut Brittle Pieces & a Caramel Swirl

I do enjoy Peanut Brittle, but the DOWN FALL of it all is that I DON’T have self control. Once you have a bite the butter makes it a craving you can’t stop. Then it gets stuck in your teeth so you feel like you need to brush your teeth after. But since I can’t stop eating it, brushing my teeth is pointless until the box is empty. Ok, back to the actual ice cream. I have to say…LOVE this flavor. When I took the first bite I could actually taste the Peanut Brittle pieces and that DAMN butter was still there. Everything about this flavor I enjoyed. The Peanut Brittle Ice cream was mmmm good and once you bit into the Peanut Brittle you just think…Damn this is good. Then I found the caramel…HOME RUN! Who would have thought by just adding caramel it would add the perfect compliment to this sweet treat. Unlike all the other flavors where they believe that chunks are the way to go, this flavor did the opposite. When they say pieces the actually man pieces, PERFECT size.

I do have to say, if you don’t like things too sweet you may not like this flavor. At times it can get a tad sweet, but I enjoy sweet so bring it on.

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Americone Dream & Fair Goodness Cake

This week brings us our FIRST ever Double Scoop Friday. It consists of two flavors in one sitting. I have to say, this may have been one of my best ideas so far. And after a week like this week, a double scoop Friday was well needed. But I will make a confession, when I was picking the Americone Dream out from the freezer section; I kind of dropped some on the floor. It was like a dominos affect. But I put them all back where they belonged. …Or just on shelves, I was in a rush.

Americone Dream Verdict:

This is the infamous flavor that started this ENTIRE journey. When in Vermont in June, we stopped at the Ben & Jerry’s plant on our way back to Boston. It was raining, cold and I was still recovering from the night before after consuming my own personal size bottle of Jack. I went with my cousins, Kim, Andrew, Michelle, Scott (whom some how didn’t get tagged in our check in at the plant) and Ashley. We toured the plant and the grounds. We even got to see the cemetery of flavors that have gone onto a better place. After we toured the plant we got a free sample, and this was the flavor they had that day. I couldn’t of asked for any better of a pit stop with some of my crazy family. Mind you, I had just met ALL these folks the day prior at a family wedding. Kim I met a few days prior when she picked me up at the airport.

Vanilla Ice Cream with a Caramel Swirl & Fudge Waffle Cone Pieces

So I am kind of cheating on this because I already knew this flavor rocked. Everything about this flavor was a grand slam. The caramel swirls were perfect…and the fudge cover waffle pieces were a great side. It’s simple, just go get this and you will enjoy it. This flavor also has a VERY sentimental place in my heart because this is where we all bonded with one another…. Okay, maybe it was the Jack the night before, but this is a great second.

The biggest argument with this flavor comes from Jimmy Fallon who has a flavor called Late Night Snack. And if you have followed me from the start, you know we have already tasted and reviewed that flavor. Jimmy’s rival created this flavor, Stephen Colbert. My note to Jimmy: You can suck a waffle cone.


Fair Goodness Cake Verdict:

I picked this flavor because it was a limited batch, and because it was one of Roni’s top 5 picks. I don’t like German Chocolate Cake, never have and don’t think I ever will. But I have no option but keep on going through the list.

Chocolate Ice Cream with German Chocolate Cake Pieces & a Coconut Caramel Swirl

Surprisingly this flavor was an enjoyable one. The positives of this flavor were; the cake pieces. I have to say they were moist and added a little substance to the ice cream. Another plus was the Coconut Carmel Swirl. I am picky when it comes to coconut because sometimes it can be over powering. The coconut was perfectly placed with the caramel, and was a perfect attribute to what is usually coated on the actually German Chocolate Cake. Maybe the coconut on the actually cake is what I don’t like. Well I guess I will have to try a slice sometime in the future to figure it out.

Overall I was VERY pleased with both selections this week. But then again, I already knew what Americone Dream tasted like. And yes, I know it is Monday and not Friday when I posted this. But give me a break. Life happens.

This weeks scoring is an accumulative of both flavors. I believe they both deserve top marks this week.

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Cheesecake Brownie

This weeks flavor choice was COMPLETELY out of my hands. My picking privileges were revoked for one week. This week’s scientifically chosen flavor comes from my friend Roni. She gave me her Top 5 list and I had to choose from there. Since here first pick wasn’t at the store this morning, I got to settle for second best.

Cheesecake Brownie Verdict:

I have to say since I DON’T like cheesecake, I don’t have memories that involve this dessert. But brownies on the other side….OMG, YUM! I can eat an entire batch of brownies all by myself. Then I will huddle in a corner and cry knowing that I just ate enough calories in one sitting for the entire week. But it’s so worth the tears.

Cheesecake Ice Cream with Cheesecake Brownie Chunks

Again I will stress how I DON’T like cheesecake…. and from that I will try and not be bias on my own review. But then again, it’s all about me so I can do what I please. My dislike: Cheesecake. My likes: I enjoyed that it was smooth flavored. But the TRUE savers for me were the brownie chunks. That was about the extent to this flavor.
Lesson of the week: When I pick flavors I pick to my preference and interest in a flavor. Roni obviously didn’t take into account ANY of my interests. I am not sure why she thought it was all about her this week.

On that note I will allow Roni to give you all her own review on the pint.

Hey Y'all, Roni here. All I have to say is I ♥ Cheesecake & I ♥ Brownies...This ice cream in my opinion is the best of both worlds. It's not a WOW flavor though, but still great enough to satisfy a craving of cheesecake & brownies.

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Crème Brulee

Well, this morning was the first morning in two months that I had to actually go pick out a new flavor. I was told that I needed to pick a good flavor from Veronica (aka my design executive, and Friend) Well let’s just put it this way…. She is going to be picking the flavor next week.

Crème Brulee Verdict:

One of the memories that resurface when I think Crème Brulee is from my Zia Nice. I just remember the first time I had it she made it. Was it the actually first time? I couldn’t tell you. But my first memory is hers. And all I can say is MMMMMM good.

Sweet Custard Ice Cream with a Caramelized Sugar Swirl

My biggest concern was…how are they going to account for the sugary top that makes Crème Brulee, Crème Brulee? And my concerns were put to the test with the first bite. I am still trying to figure out why they called it Crème Brulee and not Flan. The “caramel sugar swirl” was absent for the most part except when you got a small piece every once in a while. Do I think this was Crème Brulee? NO! Do I think it was Flan? YES! So when you do taste this don’t expect that explosion you get when you bite into a freshly torched Crème Brulee. But I wouldn’t discount the flavor as a whole. Was it sweet? Yes, but I like the sweetness.

I feel they needed to take a better approach on attacking the caramelized sugar swirl that should have been spread throughout the ice cream. Even thought I dislike the flavor for the name, I actually did enjoy this flavor for once again being FLAN. I just couldn’t think of anything else when I ate it. Another highlight was that it was SOOO smooth when I scooped it. It was like butter. And we all know how I like to have scoop friendly ice cream.

Over all I would say, give this a try. Just don’t expect Crème Brulee. This flavor wasn’t a complete bust, just not what I had expected.

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Vanilla Caramel

Well this is the last pint that I have left from my “stash” that I bought two months ago. Starting next week I will have to use my scientific method of picking my flavor of the week…. and I am talking about the ice cream, not boys.

Vanilla Caramel Fudge Verdict:

When I think anything Caramel I always think of my youngest sister Juliann aka Jewels.. When we hit up Starbucks she always gets a Caramel Frappuccino, with EXTRA caramel. Now that I write Caramel, I realized it is one of those words that people usually ask… How do you say caramel? I pronounce it Care-a-mel!

Vanilla Ice Cream with Swirls of Caramel & Fudge

I have realized along this journey that I enjoy the simplicity in things. The simple, right to the point flavors are the ones that I enjoy most. We sometimes get caught up in the moment that we need to have this and that in something in order to make it enjoyable. But like the saying says, too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the soup. And I think that can be said as well for ingredients. We don’t always need the hoopla of so much. The things I enjoyed so much about this flavor is the fact that it’s simple. It showcases the two main flavor caramel and fudge in a very artistic way that the taste buds enjoy it.

I have to say that I love that I can relate, so far a majority, of the flavors to some type of memory. I am one of those people who always put a scent, a taste or an image to a memory. I think food is so much more than just there to eat, it’s there to bring people together, make memories and traditions. In our family all the important things happen in the kitchen. When my brother said he was getting married, when I came out to my parents and where we find ourselves when cooking and baking is happening in the house. Oh and if the walls could talk, they would have A LOT of go

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Banana Split

This morning as I was about to leave the house I realized that I forget to grab my Ben & Jerry’s…It was almost a sad day.

Banana Split Verdict:

So when I think of Banana Splits I always think of Baskin Robins. Mostly because one of my friends, Kristina, use to work there in high school and we visited it a lot during the summer. Not only did we get some ice cream on hot nights, but we also go a “discount”.

Banana & Strawberry Ice Creams with Walnuts, Fudge Chunks & a Fudge Swirl

I like all the ingredients in the flavor, and does it resemble a Banana Split? Yes! But what it reminds me of is the melted remains at the bottom of your cup. The banana ice cream is a little over powering and the strawberry ice cream wasn’t prominent enough in what I had. The walnuts were big, got to have big nuts and the fudge chunks were perfectly proportioned along with the fudge swirl. But when you mix it all together it just didn’t mix well with my taste buds. Would I say this is the worst flavor, NO, but I also say it’s not the best by far. I know some of you will hate me for not enjoying the American dessert, but it won’t be the first thing that I don’t like that you some like.

This weeks review is blah, just how the flavor makes me feel. Now I need to go to the gym and work it off because I feel like they are empty calories this week. And as my friends said…He likes bananas and nuts…me too, but that doesn’t mean they always deserve to be put in your mouth.

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Mud Pie

I am FULLY aware that I didn’t blog last Friday. I did have a regular flavor, but something was just off so I didn’t write my thoughts on that day. But in the near future we will have a Double Scoop Friday. We won’t be falling behind schedule, don’t worry. But with the “special” flavors I have come across, this journey will pass the original 52-week game plan. But don’t worry all the flavors will be tasted and reviewed.

Mud Pie Verdict:

The memory for this flavor is all too familiar; it’s called…DUBLIN MUDSLIDE!!!
Chocolate & Irish Coffee Liqueur Ice Creams with a Chocolate Cookie Swirl
Does this combination of flavors and ingredients sound familiar? It should and this is why: Irish Cream Liqueur Ice Cream with Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies & a Coffee Fudge Swirl. If you CAN’T find the MINOR differences I can’t help you. I am going to call Mud Pie the younger brother of the more exciting, experienced older brother Dublin Mudslide.

I am now removing myself from the “repeat” flavor and will unfortunately have to compare the two. Where Dublin Mudslide was focused more on the Liqueur, Mudslide is focused more on the Coffee. Not going to lie, I do like this flavor, but I feel like it’s a rip off. I did enjoy the chocolate flavor and the cookie swirl it incorporated, so this flavor wasn’t a complete bust. All together the flavors combination was a treat to my pallet. If you like chocolate, you’ll like this.
After hanging out with both of the brothers I prefer the more mature, experienced one. If you want a calm evening in the slow lane you want to hit up Mud Pie. But if you want a more exciting ride in the fast lane and all over the road I would definitely hit up Dublin Mudslide.

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Imagine Whirled Peace

Made the journey to the outside freezer once again this week to pick our flavor. I had my 11 month-old nephew with me to help. He was no help at all; he just looked at me like I was crazy. I know what he was thinking…. It’s 7am, why are you in the freezer looking at ice cream? Even though he completely judged me I still love him.

Imagine Whirled Peace Verdict:

Sadly this flavor doesn’t spark ANY type of memory for me. I didn’t grow up listening to the Beatles, so their music isn’t part of my childhood. I grew up on good ole country music. But I have to give Ben & Jerry’s and the creative team an A+ on the name resemblance of whirled and world.

Caramel & Sweet Cream Ice Creams Swirled with Fudge Peace Signs & Toffee Cookie Pieces

So the last two weeks theme has been, simplicity. Well this flavor is simple all right. It’s so simple that I think they forgot to put as much attention into the ingredients as they did with the name. This shows that sometimes you need more than packaging and a great idea to have a good flavor. The mixture of it all seemed promising, minus the peace signs. I just couldn’t figure out where they would come into play. And my suspicions were correct; they never really came into play properly. Everything with this flavor choice was mediocre. I am going to blame my nephew on the bad flavor, after all he was sending me those bad vibes when I was selecting.

On the up side of it all…we discovered there is a designed message on the inside of the carton. That gives my family incentive to finish the pint once I take it home tonight. Oh and Michelle, I didn’t blame you either. You’re moving on up.

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Boston Cream Pie

My stockpile in the freezer at home is still going strong. This morning as I was drinking my morning smoothie I excused myself from the kitchen and told my sister, I’ll be back I am going shopping. I walked to the garage freezer and stood there and analyzed each flavor and chose the one that most fit me today.

Boston Cream Pie Verdict:

I was fortunate enough to have been able to visit Boston this past June. I had intentions of staying 5 days. Well that turned into 7 days and I LOVED it. I had the GREATEST tour guide, my cousin Kim. The great thing about having a local as a tour guide is that you get to see everything and more. Plus you don’t get lost along the way. SCORE! I could go on for a few pages of how great the trip was, but I will keep it simple. I not only got to meet my cousin Kim for the first time when she picked me up at Logan International Airport, but I got to meet a few new friends along the way. Some I don’t talk to anymore (only facebook stalk now) and a few that I still communicate with. One of my most memorable appropriate memories of the trip was on the first day there. We went into the city to grab some coffee and Kim informed me that Bostonians are not the friendliest people, and wouldn’t talk to you. Well while on the patio drinking our drinks not only did I get our picture taken, but I also got tour advice from the so-called “unfriendly” Bostonians. Yes, I rubbed that one in as we walked away after finishing our drinks.

Boston Cream Pie Ice Cream with Yellow Cake Pieces, Fudge Flakes & Swirls of Pasty Cream

Even though I didn’t have Boston Cream Pie while in Boston, this flavor fueled the memories of the trip. Going along this journey I have found that I like ice cream that is easily scoop-able from the container. This is a sure winner; it came out like butter. Once again I am going to stress how sometimes simplicity is the best. The yellow cake pieces are perfect…when mixed with the ice cream it’s like you’re eating an ice cream cake. The fudge pieces and the swirls of pastry cream add the perfect amounts of sweetness. With some of the other flavors the ingredients were too dominant, to chunky and too difficult to scoop. Boston Cream Pie has the perfect combinations of everything. I have been spoiled two weeks in a row now; I don’t want to go back to those days of misfortune of bad flavors.

Michelle: I know you are anxiously awaiting this review for you own tasting later…but I am going to step out on a limb and say you will enjoy this flavor. Will you enjoy it as much as I did? I don’t know. But I don’t want to be verbally abused, or have to call my lawyer on behalf of deformation coming from you. You may be family, but we are both feisty Italians so use caution.

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Oatmeal Cookie Chunk

his weeks flavor sat in the freezer at work since last Friday because I found that flavor we won’t talk about EVER again at the grocery store on my way to work. And thank God it was still there when I opened the freezer today. If you know our office, you know sweets are found in no time and devoured even quicker.

Oatmeal Cookie Chunk Verdict:

Growing up my mom would always make homemade cookies…chocolate chip, oatmeal and many more. My mom makes amazing oatmeal cookies and I love them. MHHMMM good. We still have the same cookie jar that we have always had for as long as I can remember. When cookies were made, my dad would come home from work and crab a cup of milk and eat the cookies directly from the cookie jar. Coming home to a house after school that smelt like cinnamon from oatmeal cookies baking in the oven was a highlight of my youth. Okay, coming home to the house smelling AMAZINGLY was the highlight of my youth and current age. It’s one of the MANY memories that I have growing up.

Sweet Cream Cinnamon Ice Cream with Chunks of Oatmeal Cookies and Fudge

When they say simplicity is the best at times…. this flavor is the perfect example of that saying. Nothing about this flavor is overwhelming in my opinion, perfect combination of everything. When I took the first bite it truly tasked like I was eating an oatmeal cookie. But do make sure you get a piece of all the incidents to fully enjoy the taste that I am trying to describe. This flavor isn’t the best of flavors, or the worst of flavors. It’s the perfect medium to what I would call a perfect evening. It’s that calming flavor that reminds you that you don’t always have to be all balls to the wall or the hermit on a Friday night.

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Schweddy Balls

Disclaimer: Janna, please read this before you relay it onto mom this week. If you find it appropriate for her viewing pleasure then read it to her. ...If not, make something up. My sister reads the blog to my mom every week and they anticipate my arrival home Friday nights

Well this weeks challenge was that…a challenge. I went to TEN different grocery stores trying to find this holiday special. I’ve walked up and down so many different freezer sections I feel like I should enter some sort of rehab. But I did feel special as I entered the aisle every time because as I walked down the aisle all the lights in the freezers turned on. Every few steps lit up another section. It was like I was a celebrity, lights flashing everywhere.

Schweddy Balls Verdict:

I know a thing or two about balls…. And I am going to tell you from the get go… I’ve had better. I mean come on! This Saturday Night Live skit was built around inappropriateness and underlying humor. So when I heard of the new flavor, I couldn’t wait to get Pete Schweddy’s balls in my mouth. I expected more with his balls…but then again, I have been disappointed before.

Vanilla Ice Cream with a Hint of Rum & Loaded with Fudge Covered Rum & Malt Balls

Honestly feel like I drove all around God’s green earth for nothing. You know that empty feeling you have after you did something you shouldn’t had done…yeah, that’s how I feel right now. The vanilla was surprisingly strong and not what I expected. Then when you mix the ice cream and the malt ball together into one combination in your mouth, it tasted like you were eating a more solid form of eggnog. Don’t get me wrong, I like my seasonal eggnog addiction, but it shouldn’t be included in my ice cream.

The only logical way I can sum this up in one statement is…. You know when you see someone and think; DAMN they are going to be good in the sack! And then after your roll in they hay you think…. That was BELOW par. Yep, that’s Pete Schweddy’s Balls in a nutshell.

If you can’t find this limited batch don’t worry, you’re not missing much.

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Dublin Mudslide

This week was like Christmas in September. I went to the store and walked out with EIGHT different pints of ice cream. I want to do a post a day, but I will contain myself. Due to security measures at my house, I had to send a mass text out to ALL my family members. And it read; Dear Family…just a warning. There are a lot of Ben and Jerry’s ice creams in the outside freezer. They AREN’T yours…DON’T eat them. You can take our milk…. But don’t touch my ice cream. Thanks. Love you all.

Dublin Mudslide Verdict:

FIND THIS FLAOVR AND GET IT! Disclaimer: I may be drunk…just saying.

Irish Cream Liqueur Ice Cream with Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies & a Coffee Fudge Swirl.

If my memory serves me correctly, this will be the third flavor that I LOVE! First was Willie Nelson Country Peach Cobbler, Second was Half Baked and this marks the third. When I first opened the container I instantly smelt the Liqueur…and luckily the bad memory of soaked pastries didn’t rush to my memory. A more pleasing memory came to mind after the initial introduction.

In my teenage years one of my best friends at the time, and to this day Kristina, mom made homemade Kahlua. After a long week, because life was so difficult back then, we would go over to her house and have vanilla bean ice cream covered with Kahlua. Well sometimes covered and other times drizzled; it all depended on who put it together. I still enjoy going over for the same treat.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this Cookies-N-Cream with a kick. I have to say that it’s the perfect mix of everything in the description. Not one flavor stands out too much over the other…It’s the perfect marriage between Liqueur, cookies and coffee fudge. If you aren’t a fan of Kahlua, I would stay clear. But the Irish know what they are doing, and this tribute from Ben & Jerry’s was a homerun.

Side note…I am not drunk, but I was hoping I would be. It would have been the first time I was drunk at work…Hung over, not so much. But I was told from Veronica some great words of advice at work; you can come to work hung over, just don’t come drunk.

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Blueberry Cheesecake

I have once again stumbled upon an “Exclusive Flavor”…. The thing I have learned so far in the process is that there are exclusive flavors at different locations. Have I found a list of these flavors? No! Hence the reason I keep stumbling across them. This weeks flavor was found at Wal-Mart. I even found where not to buy Ben & Jerry’s, RALPHS! They are too damn expensive. Target is a good store as is Vons.

Blueberry Cheesecake Verdict:

I am not a fan of cheesecake, so this was one of those flavors where I wasn’t going to expect much. And luckily I kept my expectations low.

Blueberry & Cheesecake Ice Creams with a Thick Graham Cracker Swirl

As I sit here, trying to recall a time in my life where blueberry cheesecake came into play, I'm blank. It doesn’t exist in my world of memories. I have a memory of blueberry pancakes in Vermont, but that’s about as far as I can get. So I will give you that memory instead…it’s a fun one at that.

While in Vermont this past June I attended a family wedding where I enjoyably consumed what I am going to call a “personal” size bottle of Jack Daniels. Luckily for me, I don’t get hung over, but I was HUNGRY. After calling to the room across the hall to see if my cousin Kim and her boyfriend Andrew wanted to go get food, and getting no answer I took matters into my own hands…. I meet people all over the place, and I met a friend out there and we met up for breakfast at this little café down town. I stayed with the safe bet of an omelet and he got a side a blueberry pancakes. Well the pancakes looked DAMN good, so I stole some off his plate. MMMM good. So I know blueberry pancakes and blueberry cheesecake are COMPLETELY different, but whenever I see blueberries it brings back that memory. And I guess that’s what food is all about, bringing back the memories connected to a certain food or scent. And I can oddly remember the smell of those blueberry pancakes smothered in syrup.

Ok, so here is my final say. Stay clear of this carton. The blueberry was WAY overpowering and even though refreshing, it was just blah. Quick, simple and easy. Sorry to disappoint if you were looking for a better review, but with something as simple as this flavor there isn’t much to say except, DISLIKE!

Thank God my memory of blueberry pancakes was way better than this blueberry cheesecake flavor.

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Peanut Butter Cup

Last night I went into the store with FULL intentions of getting a flavor without chocolate. I read all the descriptions to each flavor and found this one that had no chocolate in the breakdown…. I was about 4 minutes from work this morning when I had a vision…PEANUT BUTTER CUPS HAVE CHOCLATE!!! I so failed in my mission. But the failures didn’t stop there.

Peanut Butter Cup Verdict:

You know when you have too much of something and you get sick of it after a while? Well that is this flavor in the first bite. I had fears that I would feel like a dog when you give them peanut butter…Licking, licking, licking. Damn, I was correct. Where’s my milk?

Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Peanut Butter Cups

I honestly wish I could blame someone on this flavor…where is Michelle and her bad recommendations when I need her? I love all things Reesee’s…the cups, the pieces and everything in between. This ice cream ISN’T one of them. It’s like the red headed stepchild in the family…you don’t really want to acknowledge it as part of the family, but you don’t have an option.

Where to start? UGH! First, the cups portions are too BIG. They literally took the mini cups, cut them in half and threw them in. While scooping the ice cream, well let me restate that, while attempting to scoop the ice cream I hit ever Gosh Darn cup and couldn’t scoop it. Now for future non-friendly scooping flavors: Don’t get between me and my ice cream, you’re red headed cousin almost got thrown across the kitchen. Okay, now they peanut butter ice cream…just WRONG! Stay in-between my PB&J sandwiches, my celery sticks and cookies…STAY OUT of my ice cream.

This week I have decided to include some commentary from my friend Roni. She eats the ice cream with me and manages my blog… “I guess I should give it a try even though I don’t like peanut butter. I mean this could make me like peanut butter.” * She takes a small bite * “Okay, I still don’t like peanut butter.” I died of laughter, I knew she didn’t like peanut butter, but give her an A for effort.

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Volun-Tirsmisu

From the moment I picked this flavor out of the frozen desserts section, I was unaware of the gem I had stumbled upon. When I went to cross this flavor off the list was when I realized one thing…IT WASN’T THERE. I didn’t know what to do. So my friend Veronica logged on the good ole’ Internet and got to the bottom of it. This is what she found, “Volun-Tiramisu and (mystery flavor for another week). Both are intended to promote volunteerism.” And are ONLY sold at Target. If I was paid in Ben & Jerry’s I will volunteer under most circumstances.

Volun-Tiramisu Verdict:

I am trying not to let all the excitement from finding this flavor impair my reviews. I get overly excited with the small things in life…ok, not all small things, but in this instance I am. I have to say that I am only fond of my families Tiramisu that comes from my grandparent’s kitchen…and some cousins. So I started with the normal interpretation of any Tiramisu…I smelt it. Yes, smell is a big factor. For me it allows me to estimate the amount of Rum and espresso. Too much Rum scares me because when I was 14 visiting family in Italy we had a rum soaked dessert. We thought it was just normal pastry. And since it was given to us (after multiple No Grazie) at the dinner table my cousin Phillip and I, 13 & 14 respectively, had no other choice then to attempt to finish it. Well we couldn’t. I literally was about to vomit all over the table…and after many pleas to our grandpa who wasn’t going to let us leave that table until it was done…he let us leave. We were even telling our grandpa that we would give them money for wasting food. He just kicked us out of the house and said, go, get out of here. We walked out with our head handing low and got the hell out of there before he changed his mind. And that memory will live with me forever…. as will all the memories on that trip.

Coffee Mascarpone Ice Cream with Coca Dusted Coffee Rum Lady Finger Pieces
Now the real tasting had to cross all those barriers before I could even think happy thoughts of it. Well I do have to say that I have had some B-A-D Tiramisu in my days. But luckily this was not one of them. Obviously they couldn’t give me the same texture that I so love, but they sure got the flavor. Some positive features where that they didn’t over soak the ladyfingers, and they WEREN’T soggy. I hate soggy ladyfingers…yuck! And the coffee flavor ice cream would have been great alone. I have to say, with the flavor, non-soggy ladyfingers and the message it brings I have to say, GOOD JOB!

I know for some it takes you out of your comfort zone by having to journey to a specific store to purchase this flavor…. but I say step outside the box and go to Target. You never know what the journey may bring you. And if you ever come across a rum soaked pastry, take my word, and RUN and run FAST!

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Cinnamon Buns

Earlier this week I stumbled across the Ben & Jerry’s Euphori-Lock…I have to say, it basically made my entire week. I no longer will have to worry about placing my pint in the freezer at home, because I can now safely lock it up and walk away. But my mom and sister told me, “Your lock can’t stop us…we’ll just go through the bottom of the carton”…Game on ladies.

Cinnamon Buns Verdict:

Zia Shawn recommended this weeks flavor to me and I wanted to say thank you from the get go. We spent A LOT of time over at her house growing up and have a lot of fond memories at their home… I have to say that one of my fondest memories with Zia Shawn would have to be when I was around 15-16. She took my cousin Krissy and I to the mall and I remember we were sitting in the back seat of their van driving through the parking lot when all off a sudden she rolled down her window. As we looked out across the parking lot we saw kids around our age walking with their pants sagging way too low for Zia Shawn’s liking. Out of the blue she yells out the window, “Hey boys, pull your pants up!” That’s all it took for me an Krissy to quickly slide down in our seats and pray we could just get out of there. Love you Zia Shawn!

Caramel Ice Cream with Cinnamon Bun Dough & a Cinnamon Streusel Swirl

I can only compare this to the mall phenomenon of the “bakery” known as CinnaBun. It’s difficult to walk by that place anytime I walk by the food court because the smell of the warm-gooey frosting, flowing down the sides of a cinnamon bun is heavenly.

After I ate more of the ice cream I was able to compare it to my favorite cereal growing up…Cinnamon Toast Crunch. My favorite was after I finished the cereal, I got to drink the milk that had all the cinnamon sugar that came off the squares. And when I want to indulge, I do still fancy myself a good ole bowl on Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Ok done going down memory lane, the final verdict.

I have to say, if you removed the Cinnamon Bun Dough this would be the perfect flavor. My one and only complaint about the bun dough would have to be the granulated sugar that got stuck between your teeth after eating it. I did enjoy it, but I feel like I need to go brush my teeth now because I know my dentist wouldn’t be happy. If you are not a big sugar person I would stay clear. For some it may be too sweet…and honestly, I will eat it again, but after just that one scoop I have a stomachache from all the sugar. But the Caramel Ice Cream with the Cinnamon Streusel Swirl is amazing on its own. Unlike the cookie dough, where that’s the highlight in Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, I would have to say that the Cinnamon dough doesn’t follow in its footsteps. I can manage to easily eating 3 at the most.

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Half Baked...

This morning was one of those mornings where I thought to myself…you know what, this is going to be a great day. I know, how giddy. So there I am standing in the checkout stand and the guy in front of me is asking about getting cash back. I heard $120.00, and thought he must have some good plans for tonight. Then after he gets his money back I hear the change machine drop change…I was a little confused… the cashier then preceded to hand him a dollar. This fool wanted a $1.20 back in cash. I was just speechless and dumbfounded. Now it’s my time to check out and the teller tells me, you’re the first to buy ice cream this early in the morning…. It was 7:20am and it was ice cream, not alcohol. I could have a worse addiction.

Half Baked Verdict:

Thinking back about the incident at the checkout stand, and eating this ice cream, I don’t think I was the only one “half baked” this morning.

Chocolate & Vanilla Ice Creams with Fudge Brownies & Gobs of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Half Baked puts a twist on the traditional Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough…Well I love the new twist of an outdated combination. I enjoyed CCCD, but I will officially be divorcing the “old” and be adapting to the new version of a classic. And I am not going to lie; I favor brownies in a lot of different desserts, and it’s necessary to include brownies with a name of Half Baked. And the cookie dough, it ACTUALLY tastes like the cookie dough that I use to eat out of the bowl when my mom made homemade cookies.

Once again, I find myself praising a great flavor. The one thing I have to say about Ben & Jerry’s is that they don’t skimp on any incidents. When they say brownies, they mean BROWNIES, and when they say cookie dough, they put chunks of cookie dough in there. After having ice cream that includes good-sized portions of incidents, I may never go back to that crap that makes you salvage through the ice cream looking for any form of chunks. This carton may find itself in my freezer when I am in times of need and stress.

Oh and before I forget…. this carton may NOT make it home tonight. I am not making any promises to my family members who wait patiently for me to bring home my newest flavor.

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Chunky Monkey

Well this week I had a mission when I walked into that grocery store…and it was my next victim of the Ben & Jerry’s family. This weeks flavor was recommended from my friend Veronica. And knowing Roni so well, I was a little surprised when she recommended this flavor. To know Roni you would know that she has amazing taste in food and desserts, but her likeness to Banana is VERY limited. Banana, Peanut Butter and lemon all have that love/hate relationship with her.

Chunky Monkey Verdict:

I like all the ingredients in this carton…I like bananas, fudge and walnuts…it’s kind of like an ice cream Sunday in a 1-pint jug. And who doesn’t love the All-American Sunday?

Banana Ice Cream with Fudge Chunks & Walnuts

First, and foremost, I can’t complain about this at ALL. The texture, flavoring and just simplicity of the whole idea was a home run. Banana can sometimes be extremely overwhelming, but the tone of the flavoring was kept to a minimum and it truly tasted like you were eating a banana. And once you added in the fudge chunk and the walnuts, it tasted just like you were eating banana nut bread. And I know banana nut bread; my mom makes amazing banana nut bread. We will sometimes let the bananas get too ripe to eat just so she has to make some. She is a smart woman, I am sure she has caught onto our schemes by now.

If you are looking for a refreshing cold treat on a hot summer night I would recommend going to your local grocery store, walking directly to the freezer section and picking up a carton. But do use caution, all those flavors may spark a little bit of curiosity and you may be walking out with multiple flavors.
Thanks Roni for a great selection this week. And I should have known not to be surprised when you suggested this flavor. After all, you have good taste. But then again, I wouldn’t expect anything less from an amazing baker. I have been fortunate enough to have MANY of her creations over the years, and lets just put it this way…THEY’RE AMAZING.

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S'mores

Sometimes I want ice cream on Fridays, and sometimes I want to indulge on Thursdays. Well this week I wanted to start my weekend a little early. Yes, I still have to work tomorrow, but we are almost there. When I saw this flavor my first thoughts flashed back to my visit with my cousin Jen and her AWESOME family in Swansea, Massachusetts…Literally a jump and a skip across the Rhode Island state border. Even though I was only there for the night, and the following day, they sure did treat me to a lot of delicious treats. I do have to say that my favorite memory was when we were roasting marshmallows and making s’mores with my little cousins James and Lukas. Lukas kind of abandoned the whole s’more making process and just attacked the chocolate while carrying a marshmallow in his hand. I think he figured, if I have parts of the s’more in my hand I could eat all the chocolate I want. Lol. But even when Jen went in the house to clean up she specifically told Steve, her husband, no more chocolate for Lukas. Well your secret is safe with me Steve, and I wont tell her you allowed him to have more.

S’mores Verdict:

Where to start? S’mores are a universal campfire treat…Just the basic ingredients of a marshmallow, a square of chocolate slammed between two graham crackers halves. Roast the marshmallow to your own preference of tenderness and let the chocolate melt….MMMM good. It’s gooey, messy and just a remembrance of childhood.

Chocolate Ice Cream with Fudge Chunks, Toasted Marshmallow & a Graham Cracker Swirl!

I LOVE Chocolate so when I opened the container to find that it was chocolate heaven I was super stoked to jump in. I do have to give a fair warning, if you aren’t fond of chocolate, on chocolate, on chocolate I would pass this in your freezer section. And after a previous flavor, Karamel Sutra, which was truly “chocolate overkill” this was over board too, but I LOVED it. Was it the flavor that we have all grown to love? Sadly it wasn’t…It was missing the marshmallows and the graham crackers. I know they were in there, because the labels said so. But give me a break; those fools need to put more marshmallows and graham cracker swirl in. Occasionally I would get a taste of the graham cracker within the chocolate, and I enjoyed it, but the marshmallows were completely absent. MORE MARSHMALLOWS & GRAHAM CRAKERS!

Minus the “missing” ingredients, I would allow myself to get lost in this carton anytime I needed chocolate in my life. Ok I lied, I would allow this carton a home in my freezer anytime it found its way into my grocery cart.

Thanks Jen and Steve for the great memories. And even though I know Lukas probably doesn’t remember who I am anymore…. and I know this because after his nap and bedtime I had to treat the kid like he had amnesia. He acted like he had never seen me before. So we would start with a high-five and go from there. And I am sure James remembers who I am, because he got to camp out in his brothers room when I took over his room for the evening.

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Pistachio Pistachio

Well this week marks a special week in the office world at work because it marks our managers ump something birthday. The only stipulation with the flavor this week was that it COULDN’T include chocolate. She doesn’t eat chocolate. So I had a flavor in mind and handed over the list of flavors to my co-worker to choose the flavor of the week. And go figure, the flavor I had picked she picked too. SWEET!

Pistachio Pistachio Verdict:

I have been anticipating this flavor because I fell in love with the pistachio flavor when I was 14 and went to Italy for the first time. I realize that NOTHING compares to pistachio gelato, but I always love trying to find something that comes close. My addiction is luckily limited due to the lack of gelato creameries in Southern California. If there were I would be in BIG trouble, because when I was there a few years ago we had no issues have gelato multiple times a day. And yes, I would always include a scoop of pistachio on the pile of goodness. I think I need to make a trip to Italy just for it now. And we completely know where the gelato creamery is in Roma…. right down the alley from the Trevi Fountain. If you are ever in the area it is called Blue Ice.

Starting this week I am going to include the description on the carton because a few weeks back when I did Karamel Sultra, I mistakenly stated it was vanilla ice cream, when in fact it was caramel flavored…. My bad.

Pistachio Ice Cream with Lightly Roasted Pistachios…. I was sold at lightly toasted nuts. With the first bite I was in heaven, and wanted more. The mixture of the pistachios, which were full and not chopped, was great. I wanted more, but the more I ate the more overwhelming the pistachios came. I luckily only had a regular size scoop of it this week. I am not discounting the flavor because the nutty flavor was a tad much, I would actually like to try it with a mix of vanilla. I think the mix would calm the nutty taste and be a great compliment for my pallet. Hell, I will even just eat the pistachio flavored ice ream without the pistachios. It was so good. Will I be having this again, yes! I love pistachios, so I will be returning to this again.

Upon final review, it doesn’t come close to pistachio gelato, but it’s a good find for the need to fill that void. My heart still belongs to the gelato version. It has had a hold of my heart since I was 14 and hasn’t let go yet. I love you pistachio gelato, and we will meet again.

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Cherry Garcia

We are back to our regular blog day of FRIDAY! This weeks flavor was a request from my cousin Kathy from East Providence, Rhode Island. I was fortunate enough to have met the Moniz family last month on my East Coast vacation. My cousin Taylor (Kathy’s son) introduced me to Hot Wieners and Kathy has now introduced me to Cherry Garcia.

Cherry Garcia Verdict:

This week I went in with low expectations because I am not a fan of maraschino cherries. And another reason why I started with low expectations was because the last two weeks flavors were just not up to par. And honestly, when I get comments like, “It’s the best!” I tend to not believe it anymore. Yes, “It’s the best!” is way less extreme as, “I would leave my husband for this flavor” from Michelle, but I just couldn’t grasp the idea of this flavor.

The one thing about having no expectations is that you are not left disappointed. I just opened this carton and took a deep breathe before taking my first bite. The first words out of my mouth were, “This is refreshing”. The combination of the cherry chunks and the chocolate chunks were just PERFECT. When you first bite into this ice cream it is just like AWWWW. My biggest issue, and yes I have a lot, was that distinctive flavor that I oh so love of the maraschino cherry. I NEVER eat the cherries on top of banana splits, if they happen to get into alcoholic beverage and DEFINITELY not out of the jar. I sadly went into this today with all the hopes of hating this flavor. Not going to lie, acted like a 5 year-old who was having broccoli for the first time. After having my portion-sized scoop of ice cream I wanted seconds. Did I go back? No. But it honestly crossed my mind to just grab my spoon, the carton and just go to town. Lesson learned this week; you truly can’t judge an ice cream by its carton.

I can see why Kathy enjoys this flavor so much now. I imagine Kathy eating her ice cream on the couch zoning out to a tropical beach somewhere. The only person that I am not sure that is on that island is her husband Dave. This flavor finally brought hope back to me with this experiment. Thank you, Kathy.

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Late Night Snack

This week I decided to mix it up and do the tasting on a Thursday. Ok, so I didn’t mix it up on purpose. I did it because I do it at work and my co-workers enjoy the journey with me and they will be gone tomorrow. And I know eating ice cream alone is not like drinking alone, but I just couldn’t do it. So this flavor was recommended to me from my friend Jeanette. She has raved about it before so I thought, she knows the type of guys I like, the food I will and will not eat and what I like to drink, she must now what kind of ice cream I will enjoy too.

Late Night Snack Verdict:

After last weeks debacle of having such high hopes for a flavor I decided not to get so crazy over flavors anymore. Thanks Michelle you have ruined the excitement for me. But don’t think I am letting you off the hook for my plane ticket at Thanksgiving. I may forgive you, but I won’t forget what was already promised to me.

So as I was reading the description I was like….YES…this is going to be good. I like the mix of Salty & Sweet just like I like the mix of Jack & Coke. Then I read chip clusters and I thought, like potato chips? So here I am about to eat this thing they call a chip cluster and I scoop it up and just go for it. I should note that I have texture issues when it comes to food and can’t eat certain foods that I deem as texturally damaging. So I bit into this cluster and all my childhood fears came rushing back to me like it was the first time I ever ate raisins. It was salty (guys get your thoughts OUT of the gutter), is was soggy and just tasted like a stale chip. And once I hit that wall it was over, I just couldn’t wrap my head around the idea that someone thought this salty soggy cluster was a good idea. I say we petition to have the cluster removed from the flavor and all would be well in the world. I am going to call the cluster the appendix of this flavor because it’s just sitting there waiting to burst. And once it bursts we all know you then need to be rushed to the hospital, put in emergency surgery to have it removed then you need to heal. Well I need to heal from the pains that all came back to me from when I was a child and raisins, this is not a good feeling. But if you remove the clusters and just keep the remaining flavors it’s a grand slam.

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Karamel Sutra

So this week kind of snuck up on me and before I knew it, it was Friday again. I again went to the same store, same time with the same routine. But the only difference was the flavor of ice cream had already been chosen. A few days ago I got a comment on Facebook from my cousin Michelle in Rhode Island; “So I tried the "Karamel Sutra" yesterday....I couldnt wait for you to get to it anymore! Let's just say that I would leave Scott Lewis & marry it if I could....SOOO GOOD!!!! :)”

After reading this post I had one BIG concern…Her current husband Scott, the one she would leave for Karamel Sutra, told me while I was there in June that if Michelle didn’t have her regular freak out that she had around the holidays for the BBQ she had in my honor, he would fly me out for all the holidays. Well I must have had some good karma, because she was calm, collective and didn’t burn the house down. And me spiking her drink with some Jack probably didn’t hurt either. So thank God she can’t leave Scott for this ice cream, because I will be there for Thanksgiving when he buys my ticket. And even though Facebook had technical difficulties when I checked into the Ben & Jerry’s plant for our tour, and some how it didn’t include him in the check in, he still likes me.

Karamel Sutra Verdict:

To be honest, I had high hopes for this flavor. When I first opened the carton, which I had to pry apart because of the caramel, it looked promising. I first looked at it and thought out loud to my friend Veronica, where do I start? It was split down the middle, chocolate on one side, vanilla on the other with a funnel of caramel shot right down the middle. It was the perfect storm of chocolate, vanilla and caramel…well the perfect storms sometimes are not so perfect with a closer inspection. It’s hard to explain how I felt about this flavor. It was like a threesome that looked great from the outskirts, but when you put them all in the sack together, they just didn’t know how to function with one another. The chocolate over powered the vanilla, with is flavor and the surprise of chocolate chunks in the middle. I love chocolate, but it was OVER KILL. Here I go only taking about the chocolate and vanilla I nearly forgot about the caramel. Easiest way to explain the caramel, some are just meant to have threesomes and caramel is one of them with this combination. I am sorry caramel, but you were totally out of place.

Thankfully Michelle can pick a better husband then ice cream flavor. See you guys in November. I will send you my mailing address so you can have the airline ticket sent directly to me.

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Willie Nelson's Country Peach Cobbler

Well, there is no better time to start this adventure then on a FRIDAY. I decided that I was going to stop at the grocery store on my way to work to pick my first flavor. But first let me tell you how my Friday’s go down. Every Friday I go to my dads work and have coffee with him before I start my day. Here is the problem, how to keep the ice cream frozen? So I called my dad to make sure he had a freezer….SCORE!

I walked into the store around 7:40am and found my way, naturally mind you, to the ice cream isle. So there I am, standing in front of the Ben & Jerry’s section and I took a look up and down the isle and realized that I am the only fool standing in the ice cream isle that early in the morning. It felt so good, I didn’t have any annoying people/kids in my zone as I was trying to decide on which flavor to embark on.
So as I was in my trance I realized that I had no clue where to start…logically I would do the list alphabetically because I am neurotic that way. But all off a sudden this face appeared to me, he looked like Jesus and I knew that was the flavor. As I got closer his face became more clear and Jesus turned into Willie Nelson…. it was a sign from above. How could I not start this journey with any other American Icon then Willie Nelson himself?

Willie Nelson’s Country Peach Cobbler Verdict:

My biggest concern was the whole idea that you have cobbler with ice cream, usually warm while the ice cream melts down the sides. Now that the cobbler and ice cream were mixed I was afraid the flavor and enjoyment would be gone. I was W-R-O-N-G! Oh my, I was completely shocked when I had the creamy peachy flavor burst in my mouth. One of my favorite parts is the crust crumble, and miraculously I can taste what my taste buds are telling me are the crumbles. It’s so light and refreshing, and on a hot summer day like today it was great.

I knew Willie wouldn’t let me down.

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