Make Regular Ice-Cream Gourmet w/ these Perfect Pairings

Today my friend, Jesse Draper (The Valley Girl), and I attended an ice-cream presentation on “Real California Milk.” As a native Californian, you don’t need to tell me to buy Californian dairy.  But in case you don’t know it, California has some of the most strict regulations on dairy farming, not to mention, it’s one of the greatest places on Earth- so you know, Happy Cows, Happy milk.  It’s the good stuff. Look for the seal! As they say~

That all aside, we got to taste some yummy and creative flavor combinations originated by Danielle Keene of Top Chef: Just Desserts. Yummers! Who knew you could escalate regular ol’ store-bought ice-cream to such a gourmet level by adding a few simple ingredients!?

Take these Chocolate diddies above. What looked like regular scoops of Chocolate ice-cream were actually a sophisticated experience, thanks to the addition of these special ingredients below.

Yep, Pink Peppercorns and Smoked Salt along with some bitter chocolate syrup in Humboldt’s Organic Ice-cream was Divine! The title of this concoction is Grown up Chocolate Sundae. Yum!

We also enjoyed the Kyoto Sundae made with Vanilla ice-cream here (but Green-tea ice-cream is also recommended), with sweetened Asuki Beans, Black Sugar Syrup, and a delicious Sesame Cookie.

Finally, the Peach Melba with Thyme, pictured above, delighted me with it’s Peach ice-cream on a disc of Thyme flavored Meringue, and roasted Strawberry Sauce.  Mmmm- the meringue really made this treat special.

Wow- how unoriginal have I been with my ice-cream all these years?!  Have you ever spruced up your Sundaes with fancy ingredients like these?? Do tell!

XOXO