Buster Bar Dessert - A Favorite Memorial Day and Summer Dessert

This is so easy and always a favorite of kids and adults alike. Mix it up, put it in the freezer and pull it out for dessert on Memorial Day, the 4th of July, or as a summertime birthday cake!

1 (15 oz.) pkg. chocolate sandwich cookies

1 stick butter (melted)

1/2 gal. vanilla ice cream

1-1/2 c. Spanish peanuts

1sm. jar caramel topping

Frosting

2 c. brown sugar

1-1/2 c. evaporated milk

1/2 c. butter

2/3 c. milk chocolate chips

Crush cookies, add melted butter, press into 9x13 pan. Add 1/2 gallon ice cream. Choose a good quality ice cream. Spread over crust. Cover with peanuts and caramel topping. Freeze.

Frosting: Melt all ingredients together and boil 8 minutes. Cool. Cover ice cream mixture with frosting. Cover and freeze until ready to serve. If desired, sprinkle peanuts over ice cream. Pour sauce over peanuts and return pan to freezer. Cover and freeze for 4-6 hours until firm.

Rose Petal Ice Cream drizzled with Orange Honey

When the Garden Club or Bridge Club come for lunch, surprise them with some special ice cream. It's delicious, makes a fabulous presentation, and roses are high in vitamin C. Freeze rosebuds in water to make ice cube roses for your tea, cocktails, or water - it just makes people smile when they see them.
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 cup sugar
5 large egg yolks
1-1/2 cups loosely packed, very fragrant rose petals, washed and spun dry (These should be from flowers in their prime, neither in bud, nor fading. Petals should not be damaged. Petals should be picked while warm and dry. To preserve the oil that gives them their delicate flavor, handled as little and gently as possible.

1) Prepare an ice bath by placing ice cubes in a large, flat-bottomed container that will hold the bowl where the ice cream will be chilled.
2) Place the sugar and the rose petals in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and make paste.
3) Place the heavy cream, milk and sugar paste in a medium sized saucepan and place on medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a simmer and turn off heat.
4) Place the egg yolks in a medium sized bowl. Whisk yolks until light; add the hot liquid slowly, while whisking until the mixture is homogenized. Return liquid to saucepan and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it reaches a temperature of 180 degrees on a candy thermometer or it coats the back of the spoon. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a clean container and place in the ice bath. Once completely chilled, freeze in ice cream machine, following the manufacturer’s instructions. Serve in parfait or champagne glasses; drizzle with honey; adorn with a few fresh petals.

Ciao Baby - Barefoot Cocktails and You'll Be Skipping - Contessa or Not

Last night I was in Memphis, planning a party, dining on the patio of the Majestic, listening to classics by the likes of Rosemary Clooney, watching the sunset on the Mississippi River from a penthouse balcony, giggling with dear friends, and enjoying Barefoot Cocktails. Now can you just imagine the fun we had – 5 Southern gals who are unstoppable when they put their mind to any project or cause. Watch out world, we’re inviting 140 of our closest friends to a sunset supper the last Friday in May.

We sampled one of the drinks we’ll be serving that night and I hope you’ll give it a try! Mix some juice from the mango, “the apple of the tropics,” which is rich in vitamins, with my favorite – champagne and voila, it’s a Barefoot Cocktail. Sip three or four of these and you will be skipping barefoot on the beach, down the street, or around the room – CONTESSA or not!

Use whatever bubbly you have on hand. Dry bubbly topping off sweeter cocktails enhances the flavor by adding balance to the drink rather than bringing in more syrupiness. Mango gives this classic great flavor twist, energizing the cocktail.

Barefoot Cocktail

1 part mango juice

2 parts Champagne

Fill a champagne flute one-third full with mango juice. Top with champagne and stir gently. Serve in champagne flutes.