Holy Cow!

Does it get better than this??  I'm seriously in an ice cream phase. And they had an absurdly good Breyer's ice cream sale at our grocery store so I bought two tubs and then when I told Ruchir about it, he went and bought two tubs also!  So now we have 4 huge tubs of ice cream and I'm lovin' it!  I really like sauces on my ice cream so I decided to spoil myself and make 2.  The first is a chocolate sauce, basically just chocolate ganache.  I melt chocolate chips in the microwave, but just barely, so that they still hold their shape but they are melted inside.  Then add some non-microwaved chocolate chips and stir briskly.  The heat from the microwaved chocolate chips will melt the other ones and they will all meld together.  Adding in some non-microwaved chips is basically what's called "tempering" and it keeps the chocolate shiny and glossy.  Then mix in some heavy cream to make it more of a sauce - and that's basically ganache.  And boy is it delicious!  I also made some homemade whipped cream (easy, just cream and sugar plus a splash of vanilla) and some homemade caramel sauce.  Now this was not as easy, but boy is it worth it!  Plus I wanted to try out my new sauce pan that Mom got me for my birthday.  The trick is to not stir once the sugar comes to a boil - otherwise you'll get crystals in the caramel and it won't be smooth.  I've used different recipes in the past but this is the one I used today.

http://marzipanmom.blogspot.com/2010/03/homemade-caramel-sauce.html

Caramel Sauce

adapted from Classic Stars Desserts by Emily Luchetti

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

1 cup heavy whipping cream

In a heavy nonreactive saucepan, stir together the sugar and water. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil.

Doesn't the new sauce pan look beautiful?

Increase the heat to high and cook, without stirring, until the mixture becomes a golden amber color. Remove from the heat and let the bubbles subside for a few seconds. Stir in the cream, very slowly and carefully.

YOWZA! Add to the above ice cream picture and thank your lucky stars that you live in a world with such deliciousness.