Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream to Cool You Down!

This past weekend, my husband and I thought it would be good to bust out our ice cream maker attachment to our stand mixer.  It was hot outside and there were lots of garage sales to go to.  I was able to find some locally grown strawberries from one of the nice grocery stores nearby.  Strawberries like that are hard to come by!  They have so much flavor and are very sweet.  It's too bad that most of the strawberries you get today are mostly flavorless.  I'm not a big fan of strawberry ice cream, but I thought the local berries were just the right tartness.  I got the ideas of the recipe from two other recipes.  I got the strawberry cheesecake ice cream recipe from fakeginger.com on her blog and then the graham cracker crumbles part from Melissa Symington's blueberry cheesecake recipe on allrecipes.com (minus the cinnamon part.  Here's my mash-up on these two recipes:

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

2 egg yolks2 cups heavy cream1/3 cups sugar1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 cup strawberries (diced)2 ounces cream cheese (cut into small pieces)

Crust:

• 1 1/8 cups graham cracker crumbs

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Mix graham crackers crumbs, tablespoon of sugar and butter in a medium size bowl.  Spread over cookie sheet and bake at 350 f degrees for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool and set aside.

Whisk egg yolks in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, heat cream and sugar until sugar dissolves and cream is almost boiling. Pour a small amount of the mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Pour eggs into the cream while you continue to whisk the entire thing. Cook at low heat until the mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Chill in refrigerator.

Once chilled, freeze in ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. About 10-15 minutes in, add strawberries and cream cheese and graham cracker crumbles. Store in airtight container in the freezer.  Ice cream will harden.

Fresh Fruit Pizza

The weather is getting even warmer now and there are many parties going on.  Graduation is coming up for many and some don't know what to make.  Fruit Pizza is simple, sweet and just so gosh darn good!  People have asked me the recipe numerous times and they just die from how simple it is to make.  If you're like me and don't care for cake as much, then you're in for a real treat.  I took the Pillsbury recipe but just didn't add the orange marmalade.  It's fantastic without the marmalade.  I have tried several ways of making the cookie crust by using other brands, homemade recipes, etc.  I still think getting the refrigerated cookie dough from Pillsbury is the best. Here's what I do...


FRUIT PIZZA


1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Seasonal fruits of your choice prepared

Roll out cookie dough (yes it has to be the pillsbury kind, because I haven't had much luck with other kinds) into about a 12 inch circle. Bake at 350 degrees F for 16-20 minutes. Let cookie crust cool down. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until well mixed and easily spreadable. Spread cream cheese mix on top of cookie crusts. Add on your favorite fruit toppings. In this case I used kiwis, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and diced fresh peaches (mango works well too). You want to use what fruit is best in season and go by the more flavorful and tart fruits. Some people put on about 1/2 cup of apple jelly or orange marmalade. I like to let the fruit speak for itself so I leave that out.