people know that i love to host parties and i like to serve fun food that looks pretty. next month i am going to have an end-of-summer ice cream party, and i have been having a lot of fun planning it.
when you have an ice cream party, you need lots of fun toppings and different ice cream flavors...and you need to have a lot on hand, because people love to pile up their ice cream sundaes with candy, whipped cream and toppings.
Smart & Final is my go to store for party shopping. it's my secret oasis…because it has great items…not only food, but candy, drinks, unique paper goods and party supplies. and what's great about Smart & Final is, that it carries warehouse sized items but has the feel and convenience of a neighborhood grocery store. this makes shopping easy because you can buy everything from fresh produce to bakery items in large and small sizes. and there's NO club fee. i always find unique food and serving ware items. i also love to shop at Smart & Final for my camping trips and family barbecues.
i was able to buy all the items i needed to make homemade ice cream and host my guests to a fabulous summer ice cream party.
i got ice cream cones, sprinkles, fresh baked cookies, sprinkles, chocolate syrup, nuts and not pictured; whipped cream, whipping cream, half & half, peaches and strawberries. these items were all a part of Smart & Final's private label line "First Street".
by using fun serving dishes and some jelly jars, you can create a fun set-up for a summer ice cream party that is great for kids and/or adults.
for the ice cream, i thought it would be extra special to make homemade ice cream. i could have bought it in bulk at Smart & Final, but i have been dying to try out my ice cream maker (that i got at our wedding 15 years ago...LOL!).
i started out making traditional vanilla. it turned out perfectly.
then i added fresh strawberries to a batch of the vanilla…
and fresh peaches to another.
if you like other flavors, you can pretty much add whatever fruits or even chocolate syrup to the ice cream maker. check out this great sundae! i can't wait to dig in.
ingredients
2 cups whipping cream
3 cups half & half
4 eggs
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
plus…ice cream maker, ice and rock salt
directions
in a sauce pan over medium heat, whisk the whipping cream, half & half, eggs, salt and sugar until heated through. add vanilla and mix thoroughly. place mixture in the refrigerator until chilled. once chilled, pour into ice cream maker and chill according to the ice cream maker directions. once soft ice cream is formed, place into freezer until ice cream has fully hardened. serve and enjoy! makes 8-10 servings
variations
Strawberry Ice Cream: add 3 cups chopped fresh strawberries and a couple drops of red food coloring (optional). add to vanilla mixture before placing into the ice cream maker.
Peach Ice Cream: heat 3 cups chopped fresh peaches (4 peaches) and ¼ cup sugar in a sauce pan until the peaches are soft. place into the refrigerator until cool. add to vanilla mixture before placing into the ice cream maker.
Chocolate Ice Cream: add 1 cup of chocolate syrup to vanilla mixture before placing into the ice cream maker.
Cookies and Cream Ice Cream: add 3 cups of crushed Oreo cookies to vanilla mixture before placing into the ice cream maker.
Find more fantastic recipes at the Smart and Final Social Circular
follow Smart and Final on social media
Twitter | Facebook
Leave a Reply