Key Lime Cheesecake Ice Cream

If you scream for ice cream, double-take cheesecake, and think Key Lime is sublime, then you might have trouble resisting our Key Lime Cheesecake Ice Cream.  Tomorrow is a very hallowed holiday, National Ice Cream Day, and we're sharing this recipe as our gift to you!
Inspired by our recent July 4th outing to Savory & Sweet in Truro (for a little of the best pizza and ice cream on Cape Cod and some P-town fireworks),  we had to try our hand at making the incredible Key Lime Cheesecake Ice Cream we indulged in on the Sweet side.  After some experimentation, we have come up with a recipe that satisfies my Key Lime lust.

Gather your gear!  We're celebrating National Ice Cream Month with all the tools you need to indulge your cold, creamy passion.

What you'll need to make this homemade ice cream treat: 

• Ice cream maker (we love our Cuisinart ICE-20)
• Key Lime Juice (we recommend Nellie & Joe's)
• The best ice cream scoop by Zyliss
• Cream Cheese, half & half, heavy cream
• Shortbread Cookies (optional) - our shortcut from making graham pie crust as used by Savory & Sweet
• Pizzelle Maker for cones

Key Lime Cheesecake Ice Cream in Pizzelle Cones

Key Lime Cheesecake Ice Cream 

Ingredients:

16 oz cream cheese

1 cup heavy or whipping cream

1/2 cup half & half

1 1/8 cup sugar

6oz Key Lime Juice

Zest of 3 Key Limes

12 shortbread cookies, crushed into pieces

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, cream, sugar, and Key Lime juice with an electric mixer until creamy.  Turn on electric ice cream maker and pour mixture into bowl.  Gradually add lime zest.  Gradually add chunks of shortbread cookies.  (Savory & Sweet used a graham cracker crumble as their mix in.) It should take about 20 minutes to set up.  Scoop into ice cream dishes or pizzelle cones.  Transfer any extra to a freezer safe container.  Enjoy!

Beach Plum Meatballs & Andouille Sausage

Sweet, Hot and Spicy!

5 Steps to Delish

Throw 4 ingredients into a slow-cooker.
Take-off for the beach (or, in our case, work).
Come home to a mouthwatering-aroma-filled kitchen.
Pour into a take-out carrier.
Head for the party.
Dig in!

My dad comes from a long line of Irish cooks (boil it---actually he isn't that bad), and surprised us all one holiday with delicious meatballs.  When it was revealed that his dish used only grape jelly and ketchup, we were further impressed by his prowess.  With an invitation to a family reunion, and little time to cook, Joe decided to 'one-up' Grampy with his own take on this American party favorite...

Gaspars Andouille Sausage

To spice things up, Joe decided to add his favorite andouille sausage made by Gaspars to the mix.  Traditionally used in jambalaya and gumbo, andouille sausage makes a sassy counterpoint to the traditional meatballs and the unusual flavor of the Beach Plum Jelly he intended to use in place of grape jelly.  In place of ketchup, Joe chose his favorite BBQ sauce, Sweet Baby Ray's.

Beach Plum bushes grow in the sandy soil of Cape Cod.  These wild bushes grow profusely in the dunes and off the beaten paths.  Cape Codders are tight-lipped when it comes to revealing their secret spots for collecting Beach Plums. 

Ready-to-be Picked Cape Cod Beach Plums

Bumper crops of Beach Plums are rare, making the coveted Beach Plum Jam and Jelly produced from it, even more prized.  But enough ado about Beach Plums, let's get to the recipe!

Click on the link below for a printable recipe:

Joe's Beach Plum Meatballs & Sausage

This super-easy, crock pot recipe blends the beachside jewels of Cape Cod with the Cajun flair of Louisiana!

Ingredients:

2     10 oz jars Beach Plum Jelly

1     18 oz bottle Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce

2     16 oz packages frozen cooked Italian style meatballs

1     16 oz package cooked andouille sausage

Directions:

In a slow cooker, combine Beach Plum Jelly (or jam) and BBQ Sauce.  Slice andouille sausage into bite-sized pieces.  Add sausage and meatballs to the cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 4 hours, and set to hold until you make it home.  That's it!  Make sure you have a supply of frilled toothpicks or appetizer forks, or beach shovels, whatever suits you and your guests!  

Fluffernutter Pops for the Fourth!

What's more American than peanut butter & fluff? Fluffernutters are an American original and so are cake pops, so last night, while listening to the fireworks sounding off on Rock Harbor, we were inspired to make Patriotic Fluffernutter Pops to celebrate the 4th of July. This recipe is so fun, so easy, and simply eyes-roll-back-in-your-head-yummy, you'll be celebrating with Fluffernutter Pops every chance you get.  If you've got 15 minutes, you've got time to make fantastic Fluffernutter Pops, and here's how you do it:

Once you have your supplies together, begin by melting your peanut butter and vanilla candy melts (separately) in the microwave.

 First, you have to insert your pop stick into the marshmallow.  We recommend dipping the stick into the melted candy then into the marshmallow.  The candy melts act like glue to keep your marshmallow secure while it's being dipped.

Once you've inserted your lollipop sticks, you're ready to start dipping your marshmallows.

We use a styrofoam block to hold our dipped marshmallows while they set up.  After dipping and scooping the peanut butter on to your marshmallow, sprinkle with red, white, and blue jimmies.

We also used vanilla candy melts for Red, White, & Blue Patriotic Pops.

Then we went really

crazy and swirled together the peanut butter and vanilla melts for dreamily delicious Vanilla Fluffernutter lollipops.  Mmmmmmmm

We also just found these ceramic egg trays which double as a handy pop making stand and lollipop serving caddy.

                                                  Sanddollars make a nifty seaside Patriotic Pop display.

If you're not serving your Patriotic Fluffernutter Pops right away (or you have enough self-control not to inhale them as quickly as you make them), package your Fluffernutter Pops into treat bags with twist ties or colorful ribbons.

Hope you get a chance to make these and have a wonderful 4th of July!

-Colleen