Outdoor Entertaining: Host an Ice Cream Social, and Put On Your Sundae Best
Getting friends together for an impromptu gathering is what summer is all about, but it doesn’t mean you need to prepare an entire dinner party. Sometimes simple is better, and I can’t think of a better reason to gather outside on a warm August evening than to celebrate summer’s favorite treat, ice cream. Whether because of the nostalgia or the sweetness, ice cream makes everyone a little happier. In fact, often ice cream seems to be more of an activity in summer than merely a dessert, so let’s make it a party – a good, old-fashioned ice cream social, with a few new twists.
First, let’s consider décor; it needs to be simple and seasonal. A bright tablecloth on your picnic table – maybe pastel stripes or polka dots – would be fun. A strand of coordinating ribbons in a few colors fluttering in the summer breeze would be cute over the serving table. Just wrap ribbon pieces around a white rope or cord and staple to secure them. Tassels rather than ribbons would be fun, as well. If you have some pretty summer flowers in the garden, cut a few and place them in shot glasses inserted in empty ice cream cones. Cake cones with flat bottoms are best since they can stand on their own. One small peony, hydrangea or summer rose would work well. For serving the ice cream, unless you have a nice selection of ice cream bowls, stacks of bright paper bowls will do, and I prefer the decorative wooden spoons to plastic ones – they are plenty durable for ice cream. If you want to be fancy, you can dip the ice cream cups/bowls in melted white chocolate and dip in sprinkles. You’ll also need a large bowl or buckets of ice for keeping the ice cream cold, and some scoops, of course.
Now, we need to make some menu decisions before we proceed. Do we serve cones, sundaes, ice cream sandwiches or all three? I think we certainly need to go the sundae route with an interesting selection of toppings. Because there’s not a lot of cooking necessary for this gathering and we are still in fruit season, let’s prepare some fresh fruit sauces. Peach and strawberry would be nice, and both should still be readily available. Besides the fruit and maybe the cornstarch, you probably already have everything in your pantry to make both. Add chocolate and caramel sauces to the lineup, and you’re all set for sauce. The fun begins with the toppings. Of course we need the requisite chocolate chips, cookie pieces, cherries and sprinkles, but let’s add some new choices. Try M&M’s, animal crackers, pretzels, granola, slivered almonds, marshmallow fluff, crushed gingersnaps, graham-cracker crumbs, crushed peanut brittle, coconut, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. You’re limited only by your imagination. Time for ice cream. Clearly we need to have vanilla and chocolate for those who want a base for the many toppings, but let’s add one more interesting flavor and, for those die-hards who want them, have some cones, as well. A list of the top 10 ice cream flavors shows cookies ‘n’ cream in first place. But since we can make that by adding crushed Oreos to our vanilla, we’ll go with the second place, mint chocolate chip, for our cones. Have separate bowls of sprinkles for cone dipping – one for rainbow and one for chocolate.
What about ice cream sandwiches to top it all off? We can do this, particularly if we make them ahead of time. A selection of chocolate-chip, oatmeal and peanut-butter cookies will work for this, along with pint-sized vanilla or chocolate ice cream for easy ice-cream slicing. Sandwich slices of ice cream in between cookies, then dip one end of the assembled sandwich in melted chocolate and let set. For a splash of color, dip the chocolate end in rainbow sprinkles before the chocolate sets.
For the drink selection, either vintage sodas or lemonade – or both – would be nice for an ice cream social. Some may even use the soda to make a float, so be sure to include root beer. If you’d like to offer an adult beverage, a little Baileys Irish Cream or Kahlua would be nice with a little vanilla ice cream added. You can also nicely pair ice cream with wine. Try a rosé or some Prosecco. Delicious!
Finally, how about engaging guests in a “name your ice cream sundae” game? If you have some creative friends, this can be really fun. Of course, a sundae with Oreos, ginger snaps and animal crackers can be the “Cookie Monster Sundae,” but a little patriotic vanilla ice cream with only cherries, blueberries and whipped cream can be the “Old Glory Sundae.” Of course, any ice cream makes everything great again. You get the idea.
Summer parties really are the best. This one is simple and fun. With little cleanup, you’re free to enjoy the rest of the glorious summer evening with family and friends while basking in the glory of one more outdoor-entertaining success, and you owe it all to ice cream!
STRAWBERRY OR PEACH SAUCE
Ingredients:
• 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries or peaches
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ¾ teaspoon cornstarch
• ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon if using peaches
Directions:
Combine the strawberries and sugar in a small bowl; cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Drain, reserving juice. Set berries aside. Add water to juice to measure ½ cup; pour into a saucepan. Stir in cornstarch until smooth. Bring to a boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in extract. Pour over berries; fold gently. Chill. Serve over ice cream. Makes ¾ cup.
ICE CREAM COOKIE SANDWICHES
Ingredients:
• Large peanut-butter, oatmeal or chocolate-chip cookies
• Pint-size ice cream of choice
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• Rainbow or chocolate sprinkles
Directions:
Slice one pint of ice cream into four or five slices and sandwich each slice between two large cookies. Melt chocolate chips and coconut oil in microwave, stirring after each 30-second interval. Dip one end of the ice cream sandwich in chocolate and then dip in sprinkles. Place sandwiches on wax paper, then on a cookie sheet, and freeze until serving.
