Guys, I’ve (basically) finished 1.5 months of living in NYC, and two weeks of working as an architectural/interior designer here in NYC. How have I been? I’ve been everything: shocked, terrified, frustrated, and totally blissed by my new life in NYC. I am struggling to adapt to my new office because I’ve realized I suck in AutoCAD more than ever (CADing real buildings like bars and restaurants for people is a bajillion times harder than CADing food) I am overall going on a crisis to figure out how to properly balance my health, work, blog, and finances in this insanely cold weather that is just going to continue to drop…. So I guess I’ll talk about happier, more flavorful and exciting things like this  buttery, soft french toast ice cream sandwich topped with pomegranate seeds… AKA “ICE CREAM FRENCH TOAST SANDWICH.” Yes, I created this recipe when I was working at Salt and Straw in LA…. YES, I worked there after I lost my job as an architect and wanted something fun to do that could inspire my blog. YES,  I miss bringing home free tubs of ice cream like their sea salt with caramel ribbons  one every week.

I had so much ice cream that I had to figure out something to do with it rather than just put it on a cone. And lately, I’ve been in love with eggs and baguettes. They’re so simple, and when together – it becomes magical. Sandwich these hefty toasts with ice cream and wow, you’ve got an ice cream sandwich. Top it off with confectioner’s sugar AND pomegranate seeds and HELL YUH. We get an appropriately festive soft, crunchy, creamy, and juicy sandwich.

Not sure if you’ve also heard, but I have been living at my brother’s (until Feb?) and am pleasantly surprised by how I sleep like a baby on a couch here (yay for warm homes and blankets!) If you hadn’t heard, I’ve also lost a ton of photos…I am quite devastated that all other images of this recipe and all of my Stockholm trip have vanished (I swore I used the right memory card!) yet I am  looking forward to overcome this obstacle and find my own new ways to photograph and execute new recipes. A few weeks ago, I met with my designer/blogger crush: Alice Gao, who suggested that I invest in a beauty dish, but I have no idea how all of that works (do you know?)  and what I could do considering that the kitchen I’m going to be using until February is my brother’s. PLEASE DM me if you have any suggestions of how I can continue my food photography. I’ll bake you a happy batch of cookies – promise! Stay sweet and warm ya’ll.

Ice Cream French Toast Sandwich

Ingredients

Preparation Time

10 min.

Cooking Time

10 min.

Ready In

20 min.

• 1 baguette
• 1 egg
• 1/4 C milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp butter, divided
• 1 quart raspberry or strawberry ice cream
• 1 tbsp confectioner's sugar
• 1/3 C pomegranate seeds

Directions

Step 1.

Slice the baguette into 1/2″ thick slices.

Step 2.

Crack the egg into a bowl and whisk it well with the milk together with the sugar and vanilla extract in a wide shallow bowl. Dip the bread into the egg wash, rotating to soak evenly.

Step 3.

Heat a non stick pan  with 1/2 tablespoon of butter. When the pan is hot, fry the egg-soaked bread in batches of 4 or 5 slices on low-medium heat on each side until golden. Fry remaining batch until golden and repeat coating with remaining toasts.

Step 4.

Allow toasts to cool slightly. Take one french toast and top it with a scoop of ice cream. Place another toast on top. Gently press the top down to adhere the toast to the ice cream. Top it with confectioners sugar and pomegranate seeds. Serve immediately!

My god. What an experience. Caroline…CAROLINE! (outkast reference) I don’t think I’ve ever studied so much for a recipe and been on the edge of a terrifying fail yet  hope for the best. I thought making ice cream was simple – you just dunk all the ingredients and magic happens, right? NO. There is  SO much that goes into ice cream for a fail free ice cream recipe.

Through the various fails (after desperately texting my ice-cream-machine owner friends and gluing my eyes to Youtube/various ice cream blogs), I’ve  learned to followed a bunch of tips:

1) Change the freezer temperature to 0, and put the ice cream maker freezer bowl in a bag (to prevent odors), place in the back and freeze it all for at LEAST 24 hours.

2) Chill the batter in the freezer for a few hours.

3) Use everything FAT. You think you can diet and eat ice cream by substituting with low fat? HELL NO. Get the fattest creams and milks for the creamiest textures.

4) Put the dry ingredients out LAST.

Rose Saffron ice cream with Pistachios

Ingredients

Preparation Time

15 min

Cooking Time

15 min

Ready In

12-24 hrs

• 1 1/2 C whole milk
• 1 C heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp saffron
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 tbsp rose syrup
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 C shelled pistachios
• 1/4 C edible rose petals

Special Equipment

Ice Cream Maker

Directions

Step 1.

In a sauce pan, add the sugar, milk, and vanilla extract.

Step 2.

Add the heavy whipping cream and heat until lightly boiling and the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from stove top.

Step 3.

Place 1 tsp of sugar with saffron in a small mortar or dish and grind it until it’s a fine powder.

Step 4.

Add the sugar and saffron into the milk mixture. Stir in the rose syrup and allow it to cool down. Pour it into a container and refrigerate for a few hours.

Step 5.

Crack the eggs and separate the egg yolks into a separate bowl. Slowly taper in the egg yolks to prevent the egg yolks from cooking, while gradually stirring until the mixture thickens (about 10 minutes) Pour into the same container and refrigerate for overnight.

Step 6.

Once mixture is chilled, pour into ice-cream maker. Follow the instructions of your ice cream maker and begin churning, about 20-30 minutes.

Step 7.

When done churning, transfer the thickened, creamy ice cream mix into a container and freeze for at least 6 hours to solidify.

Not sure if you guys heard me lip-rap Outkast’s “Roses,” but you should follow my Instagram and check out my Instastories for the next lip-rap. While the ice cream was churning and I was anxiously waiting with so. much. anxiety, I preoccupied myself by memorizing the whole damn rap by Andre 3000 AND Big boi. The big boi one is my favorite and goes like this:

“Well, she’s got a hottie’s body but her attitude is potty
When I met her at a party, she was hardly acting naughty
I said “Shorty, would you call me?”
She said, “Pardon me, are you balling?”
I said “Darling, you sound like a prostitute pausing”
Oh, so you’re one them freaks
Get geeked at the sight of an ATM receipt
But game been peeped, dropping names she’s weak
Tricking off this bitch is lost, must take me for a geek
A quick way to eat, a neat place sleep
A rent-a-car for a week, a trick for a treat
No go on the raw sex, my AIDS test is flawless
Regardless we don’t want to get involved with all them lawyers
And judges just to hold grudges in a courtroom
I wanna see your support bra, not support you
(Not support you, not support you)”

Quite inappropriate but pleasantly G of me, right? Basically the story of my college years. Jaykayyy. Anyway, it got me through this tough ice cream recipe. I’m proud to say I’ve made something refreshing and not overly sweet that stopped my mom from yelling at me for wasting money on an ice cream maker I bought.. Any suggestions for uses of the rest of the dried roses I got? COMMENT BELOW. Yuh, I got a new comment box finally working below!! Thank you so much Benson from GoodAfternoon for activating it and helping me with all the html/web design crap I failed miserably in learning.