Blue Bell Mardi Gras Ice Cream Review

Potato skins are a natural topping for any kind of potato soup. [Addie Broyles/American-Statesman]

Blue Bell now selling Mardi Gras-inspired king cake ice cream

Blue Bell’s seasonal flavors have been spot-on beforehand 12 months. Last summer season season, we utterly cherished the necessary factor lime mango tart ice cream, and ultimate fall, I went gaga for the Christmas cookie style, which my mom was so intrigued to attempt that she paid $7.50 for the ultimate half gallon of it at her small grocery retailer in my little Missouri hometown.

Reading: Blue bell mardi gras ice cream review

Most of us are nonetheless putting away our trip decorations, nevertheless Blue Bell has launched its latest limited-release style: Mardi Gras King Cake.

Mardi Gras continues to be two months away, nevertheless the style will be hitting retailers this week. Blue Bell says this style was initially accessible in Louisiana and Alabama, nevertheless this 12 months, it decided to extend distribution to all markets the place Blue Bell is purchased.

It’s a cinnamon cake-flavored ice cream with pastry objects and a inexperienced cream cheese swirl, topped off with candy sprinkles, and I tried it in my weekly Fb livestream ultimate week. It was merely as sweet as a result of the Christmas cookie ice cream, as a consequence of that thick stream of inexperienced icing that runs by way of every flavors. The cinnamon ice cream speckled with sprinkles was a delight, significantly the bites that included little bits of the pastry cake. While you identical to the icing on cake, you’ll like this dessert. When you don’t, skip it.

— Addie Broyles

Read more: Ice cream gift basket ideas

It’s formally Girl Scout cookie season, and there’s a model new style this 12 months

Sorry to anyone whose New 12 months’s resolution is to eat fewer sweets, on account of in all probability probably the most nice time of the 12 months is true right here. That’s correct, it’s Girl Scout cookie season.

To make it much more sturdy to say no to cute kids in inexperienced sashes slinging cookies open air of grocery retailers, the Girl Scouts are rolling out a model new style this 12 months: Caramel Chocolate Chip. The model new style is made with caramel, sea salt and semi-sweet chocolate chips, and the cookies are gluten-free.

In even increased info, standard favorites aren’t going anyplace, so you’ll refill on your whole favorites. The entire lineup consists of S’mores, Skinny Mints, Caramel deLites/Samoas, Peanut Butter Patties/Tagalongs, Shortbread/Trefoils, Do-si-dos/Peanut Butter Sandwich, Lemonades, Savannah Smiles, Thanks-A-Lot and Toffee-tastic.

Undecided the place to buy your cookies? Strive the cookie finder on the Girl Scouts web page.

— Katey Psencik

Don’t throw these potato skins away! Make crispy potato pores and pores and skin chips as an alternative

Hotter local weather is throughout the forecast, nevertheless it certainly’s been a cold, moist and gloomy first week of January. Which suggests you’re possibly craving soup.

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I’ve been making each type of soups given that first hint of fall arrived in October, and my favorite new trick so far has been making additional crispy potato skins to crumble as a topping for potato-based soups and stews. This discovery just isn’t exactly as revolutionary as, say, figuring out that the water from soaked chickpeas will be utilized as a thickener to alternate eggs, nevertheless I am of the opinion that every culinary discovery is worth celebrating, no matter how seemingly small or insignificant.

Potato skins, significantly on russets, are so filled with style and weight loss plan that I nearly always depart them on, significantly on baked potatoes, so I can savor their robust texture and earthy style. Twice-baked potatoes capitalize on the hearty development {{that a}} baked potato pores and pores and skin can add to a dish, nevertheless what must you isolated the skins all by themselves? That was the idea a few weeks prior to now as soon as I received right down to make a creamy, straightforward baked potato soup that didn’t comprise any skins throughout the soup itself.

After smothering the russet potatoes in olive oil and salt and baking them at 425 ranges until I’d poke them merely with a fork, I scooped out the fleshy insides and added them to a stock pot with sauteed onions, garlic, butter and hen stock. As I continued to arrange dinner the soup, I turned my consideration to the scooped-out potato skins sitting on the baking sheet.

I rubbed a bit of additional olive oil on them, added one different sprinkle of salt and put them once more throughout the oven for a further 10 minutes until they’ve been even crispier. To interrupt the skins into large, flaky objects that may go on the soup, I used kitchen scissors to keep up the potato skins from flying in all places within the vary and put them in a bowl alongside the other toppings: shredded cheese, scallions and bitter cream.

As my family gathered to profit from the comfy meal collectively, all people went straight for the potato skins, which have been nearly like potato pores and pores and skin chips at this stage.

You’ll be able to take this potato pores and pores and skin chip thought and apply it to each type of dishes and potatoes. While you’re peeling potatoes for a dish, you’ll be able to toss them in olive oil and salt and bake by themselves. Sweet potato chips are even hardier than russet potatoes and would make an excellent topping for a casserole or macaroni and cheese. You’ll be able to even use crispy potato skins on a salad, very like tortilla strips or croutons.

Speaking of potatoes, the nationwide Potato Expo commerce current is coming to Austin this week, bringing 1,800 of us throughout the potato commerce to downtown Austin. I will likely be livestreaming from the expo spherical noon on Wednesday on the Austin360 Fb internet web page with Phil Lempert, aka the Grocery retailer Guru, and we’ll talk about my favorite carb and yours and the most recent developments he’s monitoring throughout the grocery commerce in the meanwhile.

— Addie Broyles