full bellies | warm welcomes
Failure is part of life. I’ve learned that failing is one of the best ways to learn something new, and the best way to get better at something. People often think of failure as a bad thing, but for me, it’s important, and necessary and a sign that I’m taking the right risks.
And thank goodness, because I fail in the kitchen A LOT.
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I told my Instagram friends that this week is Fig Week here at MoG… and today I bring you almost a too-good-to-be-true Fig, whiskey, and bacon ice cream.
Why? Well..
1) Because it’s fig season in Mississippi, duh. How can you NOT take advantage of figs that you can pluck from neighbors’ trees or buy at produce stands and farmer’s markets all over the place? The season feels so short, and so special.
2) When my mama was going through chemo last summer and no food would stay down, I found some figs (her favorite) at one of aforementioned produce stands. They were one of two things I remember her wanting to eat during that hard time. Fig season will always, always always remind me of how strong my cancer-surviving mama really is. I decided that figs will now forever represent mama’s tenacity and strength.
3) At a 2 year old birthday party last weekend (we’ve been going to one of these fun, adorable events every weekend this summer… apparently all of Dub’s buds got born in June & July. :)) a pretty mama asked me if I had a fig ice cream recipe. I didn’t…but at that moment I knew I wanted one real bad. so bad in fact, that I posted a facebook plea to help me find more figs.
4) Thanks to said Facebook plea, I now know where all the figs in Jones county are. All of them. 
5) Lastly, um, Because figs, whiskey and bacon. Really. Did I really need to explain all those other things to get to this one?
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When I was a kid, the ice cream truck (called The Bootsy Wagon) would drive around our neighborhood maybe once a week in the summer, and I would FREAK OUT. I never had money–I mean, I was outside playing in the dirt. What seven year old has money in that situation?– and it would inevitably speed by my house too fast for me to get it to stop, but when I did catch it I’d get a mickey mouse bar or chocolate-vanilla ice cream sandwich and eat it as it dripped down my fingers and chin.
Pure summer kid joy.
Brett would giggle and didn’t believe that the Ice Cream truck company was called the Bootsy Wagon, (He thought my references to it were some folksy, Mississippi way of saying “Ice Cream Truck” like I say “buggy” instead of grocery cart.) Then he read in a corporate donor report that The Bootsy Wagon was a Mississippi Black Owned Business based in Ellisville, Mississippi. Vindicated.
Anyway, since I started making my homemade ice cream six years ago, I’ve been nursing this crazy unlikely dream that one day I’ll own a tiny ice cream truck and be able to bring joy and happiness to children in the summertime.
I don’t know about all that (yet.) but I DO know that I’m having some progress on the portable ice cream sandwich situation… This chocolate-mint ice cream sandwich is WHERE it’s AT. Make them knowing full well you’ll want to eat them all in one sitting.
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I had this crazy idea that what I needed in my life were more ice cream sandwiches. Not like regular old ice cream sandwiches but like, creamy, sweet but maybe tangy buttermilk ice cream madness in between huge, chewy, slightly salty chocolate chip cookies. I’m not sure how this idea struck me, but once it had taken hold there was absolutely no turning back. I couldn’t stop thinking about it or talking about it… and if you make these I’m pretty sure you’ll feel EXACTLY the same way. These babies are like the ice cream sandwich version of heaven and every twist and turn on my journey to making them was worth it. Come with me!
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Since we moved away from the Delta, I’ve been following Sweet Magnolia on Instagram and just wishing
Image by Rory Doyle Photography
I could get my hands on some of their really innovative frozen treats… brown sugar and bourbon, salted pork fat caramel, buttered pecan, and Miss Mary’s lemon pound cake gelato, for example. Or you know, I’d settle for just some sweet cream or chocolate chip once in awhile. THEN Instagram told me I could get some in Jackson at the Whole Foods. Y’all, even though we’re still an hour and a half away, this is AMAZING news.
How, how, how did this tiny ice cream/gelato/sorbet company in the Mississippi Delta become an incredible, delicious, truly rich delicacy? And since I care about small towns and community, what has this business meant for Clarksdale? For entreprenuership? What’s the guy who runs it like?…
Let me tell you about something wonderful and a little crazy. Last summer (i know…but i had a 6 month old baby. and a full-time job!) our friend John Mark– who is btw, literally the nicest, most wonderful, most thoughtful guy in the whole Delta– brought us a giant paper sack of sweet corn from his farm. He’s also the friend who supplied us with a raised garden bed full of the best soil for growing things ON EARTH, but I digress.
After we’d eaten enough corn on the cobb to turn us yellow on the outside, I decided I should try something a little adventurous. I mean, I love making ice creams, and I had Jeni’s ice cream at home cookbook full of savory flavors and creams mixed with alcohol and herbs, so why not attempt a sweet-corn version? Luckily, there were some recipes out there that I could draw on to get the sweet-corn flavor while I used my favorite custard base. Also, I made an AMAZING blueberry sauce for this (I mean, seriously, blueberries and sweet corn…what’s MORE summer than that?) The recipe’s not on this blog but if you want it, leave a comment. But back to the ice cream…
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I LOVE Banana pudding. If you gave me the choice between plain old banana pudding and oh, I don’t know, double chocolate whiskey bread pudding with caramel sauce, I’d choose the banana pudding every. d*mn. time. Even if it was just the cold jello-pudding version and not the warm homemade baked custard kind that my mama and grandmother always made… if it’s on a menu (or the buffet), I’m going to eat it… Which is why it’s ALSO one of my mostest favoritest flavors of bluebell ice cream.
Which is ALSO why I’ve been more than a little heart broken that I haven’t been able to lay my hands on Blue Bell since April. So, I figured I needed to attempt my own batch of Banana Pudding ice cream just to, you know… tide me over.
Well y’all. This stuff is dynamite. heavenly. as good as the Blue Bell kind (if not a teeny bit better…but probably only because I made it with my own two hands and eggs from friends). If you find yourself in the same fix I’m in without Blue Bell..or you just want to knock the sock off of a guy or gal with an amazing homemade dessert, this is your recipe. for serious. Also, it’s basically homemade banana pudding (the boiled custard kind) thrown into an ice cream freezer. What could be better than that?
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There’s one thing every good southerner knows… know matter how you take your bourbon, it’s going to be so good.
Some people like it in a pecan pie, others on the rocks… my friend Shelton introduced me to a Bourbon and Ginger cocktail a few years ago and something about that combination is dynamite. In fact, it’s my winter go-to cocktail. But then, there’s this other summertime combination that really knocks my socks off… bourbon and peaches. The sweet juiciness of the peaches is just complimented so beautifully by smooth, warm bourbon and this is definitely true when they come together in a silky, simple custard-based ice cream .
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I was taking dinner to a friend with a new baby, and figured that dessert was the best part of any meal. I had a ton of peaches and Louisiana strawberries, and had a huge mint patch in the backyard, so i figured I’d see what happened if I made a mint-fruit combo. I didn’t want to risk making it too wild and crazy since it was for someone else, so I made a mint base, then made two separate combinations… and it was one-thousand percent worth it. Something about the mint ice-cream base brings out the summery-ness and freshness in the fruit. After tasting this, I’m not sure that I’ll ever make strawberry ice cream again without it. Or peach.
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And all this cold made me wish for a recipe I made over Labor Day weekend that oozed summer…I can’t say it’d be particularly fun to make right now since it depends on grilling-weather, but just remembering it’s flavor makes me think of warmer days and green grass.
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