I know I just posted a chocolate ice cream recipe less than two months ago, but oh my, this one must be written about.

It is The King of all chocolate ice creams. It is more svelte, more creamy, more chocolate-y, more luscious, more divine than any other chocolate ice cream PERIOD. It is THE BEST CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM EVER.

Chocolate ice cream has never been this sexy.

It’s like eating a soft chocolate bar that’s cold, or so says my husband. And he’s right. This is ice cream that you can almost chew. It has substance and heft, yet it’s creamy soft.

And it’s so rich that after eating one little scoop I feel like my eyeballs are spinning in their eye sockets like some overly-excited-yet-simultaneously-knocked-out cartoon character.

The recipe comes via the latest Bon Appetit magazine, and I should warn you, it has some odd steps. First, it calls for a homemade caramel to be added to the base. And second, the base must sit in the fridge for two days before churning, after which it’s supposed to sit in the freezer for three more days before eating.

A five—FIVE!—day wait? What in the world?

Nowhere in the magazine did it explain the reasoning behind such madness, so I emailed Bon Appetit to get the whole scoop. You tell your readers that it’s important to start the ice cream five days before serving but no explanation is given, I wrote. Could you please explain the necessity of the (excruciating) wait?

I have yet to hear back from them but surely they will answer my question somewhere, somehow, sometime? I have a hard time believing that I’m the only reader who is flummoxed.

Flummoxation aside, the ice cream is top-of-the-line. Whether or not it’s because of the caramel syrup add-in and long wait time, I don’t know. But it’s good, so I’m not about to change things up.

The Best Chocolate Ice Cream Ever
Adapted from the June 2011 issue of Bon Appetit magazine

A word about how this recipe is different from the other chocolate ice cream. The other base is like a thin pudding; this base is like a thick pudding. In fact, the base was so thick I was afraid it would burn up my ice cream maker—I turned the machine off when the ice cream was about five minutes shy of done.

The original recipe calls for 70-75 percent chocolate. I used 53 percent and the ice cream was almost black. I can only imagine the profound intensity that 7 ounces of 75 percent would deliver.

I used 7 egg yolks instead of 6. It was an accident (the recipe calls for 7 tablespoons of sugar and 7 ounces of chocolate, so I just assumed it was 7 yolks). It turned out delicious which leads me to believe there isn’t anything magical about the exact number of yolks. I could be wrong, of course. Tell me if I am.

7 ounces chocolate (53-75 percent, according to your tastes)
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
6 large egg yolks
13 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Set aside to cool.

Whisk together the milk and cocoa powder in a sauce pan and bring it to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with 7 tablespoons of sugar for about 2 minutes, or until thick and satiny. Gradually add the hot cocoa-milk mixture to the yolks, whisking steadily. Return the mixture to the saucepan and add the melted chocolate. Stir over low heat till slightly thickened, or the mixture reaches a temperature of 175 degrees. Pour the mixture into a bowl to cool.

Put the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of water in small saucepan and cook on medium high heat, swirling occasionally, until the mixture has turned a dark amber. Off heat, gradually whisk in the whipping cream (it will bubble and spit madly). When the caramel is smooth, add it to the chocolate mixture. Strain the ice cream base and put it into the fridge to chill for 2 days.

Churn the ice cream and freeze for 3 days before eating. (Or not.)

I’m feeling a little frisky today so I took a picture of me in my new nightie for you to see.

(Please pay no mind to the piles of clothes and sheets and pillows and books—I was in the middle of dunging out when I paused to let you in.)

Isn’t it lovely? It’s wispy and playful, just like the cottony clouds that have been tumbling across the fabulously blue skies.

I got it at a thrift store for four bucks thinking I’d wear it over a flowy summer skirt, or jeans, perhaps. Only it was so flimsy that it bunched up whenever it touched any other fabric, so a nightie it is.

I’d been wanting a large throw-on tee, or some such thing, to, you know, throw on after my evening shower. A shirt that would be lightweight and yet modest enough to wear around the rest of the family. A shirt that passing drivers could catch a glimpse of through our windows and not crash.

This little dress more than fits the bill. All day long I look forward to the evening when I’ll get to wear it.

This same time, years previous: sour cream ice cream, radishes for breakfast, hypothesizing (my theories on learning to read)

I posted a picture of this dish well over a year ago and promised you the recipe but then never—woe is me—delivered. I am so sorry.

Let me say right up front, the orzo was a grave mistake. My husband, who liked the dish, called it Maggots on Spinach and all I could do was laugh because he was so right. The recipe calls for small pasta, like orecchiette or small shell, so do that, okay?

Disgusting analogies aside, it really is a delicious meal. It’s kind of impossible to go wrong with bacon, pine nuts, Parmesan, spinach, and a balsamic vinegar reduction. (Though the kids were noticeably absent from the peanut gallery for this meal.)

The vinegar reduction might sound all fancy-schmancy, but it’s not. Put a half cup of vinegar in a small saucepan and simmer it till it has reduced by half—it takes all of 5 minutes. What you get is a sweet vinegar syrup, that, when drizzled over the pasta, is the icing on the cake, er, pasta.

Of course, you could leave it off, but I don’t recommend it because the vinegar is what makes this dish. (I’m thinking it might also make a whole lotta other dishes—like how about a drizzle on a lettuce-radish salad?—just that much better.)

The dish improves with a little age, making it the perfect thing to take to a potluck (which, come to think of it, is where I was when I first tasted it), or for a cool meal for a hot summer evening. I had the leftovers for my lunch the next day—just a brief blitz in the microwave to take the chill off and I was swooning all over the place.

Small Pasta with Spinach and Bacon
Adapted from the December 2008 issue of Cuisine at Home via Helen, a woman who puts the luck into the pot (‘cause she brought the dish to the potluck, get it?)

This is a wonderful dish to make during the height of the spinach season (use baby spinach [I didn’t], if at all possible). There are a number of steps, but none of it is complicated and much of it can be made ahead of time.

Also, treat this recipe as more of a formula. You can leave out the anchovy paste, sub toasted almonds for the pine nuts, and use all pasta water in place of the chicken broth.

Just don’t forget the vinegar.

½ cup balsamic vinegar
11 ounces (about 3 cups) small pasta such as orecchiette
4-6 slices (about 6 ounces) bacon, cut into smallish pieces
3 tablespoons minced garlic
½ teaspoon anchovy paste
½ cup chicken broth
1/3 to ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
6 ounces fresh (baby) spinach
a handful of chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
salt (if not using anchovy paste) and black pepper, to taste
black pepper

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta, reserving ½ cup of pasta water, and set aside.

Put the vinegar in a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until it has reduced by half. It will be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Set aside.

Fry the bacon in a large pot. Transfer the bacon to a plate to cool and discard all but two tablespoons of the fat.

Into the hot fat, toss the garlic and anchovy. Once the garlic has started to brown, add the chicken broth and reserved pasta water and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the bacon, pasta, and Parmesan—stir to combine. Add the spinach, parsley, vinegar, and a couple grinds of black pepper. Toss gently until all the spinach has wilted. Sprinkle the pine nuts on top and serve.

This same time, years previous: three reds fruit crumble