I C E    C R E A M    S A N D W I C H E S : When my girlfriend Margot told me I should try this recipe, I saw the ingredients and thought, I don’t think so.  I probably never would have made them if the recipe had come from someone else.  But this is a smart girl, a wonderful cook, and a BFF.  So I did it.  They turned out SO good I call them . . .

F I R E W O R K S !!!

Because, in the best possible way, they explode your taste buds and shock your understanding of what cooking can be.  Everyone loves them.  Joe loves them!  These are the ones you eat leaning against the kitchen counter, barefooted, in front of the fan.   These are the ones you serve at a summer dinner party.  You might even serve them as appetizers if you’re of the “dessert first” ilk. I love to surprise people with them.  ♥

These are them, they look OK, don’t you think? That’s because they haven’t exploded yet. I know you’re a little suspicious, what is that pink stuff?

Here we go: the cooky part is important, they need to be the thin, wafer-type. I’ve found them in all kinds of flavors, these (in the photo) have tiny chocolate chips in them.  It doesn’t really matter, but they shouldn’t be all chocolate; look for vanilla, coconut, or ginger.  They come stacked on their sides in a long box.  Buy two boxes, because some of these cookies are bound to be broken. I love the flower-shaped ones for summer. ♣

Next.  Pineapple-Coconut ice cream.  If you can find it, Haagan Dazs makes a delicious one.  If not, then either Pineapple, OR coconut.  If not, then vanilla. A pint if you are timid, a half gallon if you think this might turn out OK.

Next: freshly ground black pepper, large grind.  Stay with me.  I PROMISE these are so good!

And last, here’s the biggie, the one that will furrow your brow, you will need a jar of pickled ginger; the kind they give you with sushi, make sure that’s what you are getting, mine actually says “sushi ginger” on the jar.

On a flat plate, lay out the number of cookies you want, pretty side of the cooky down. Use a wide flat knife or spatula and cut through ice cream to form basic patties about the size of the cooky, maybe an inch thick.  Carefully put the patty on the fragile cooky, flatten carefully, thumbs work well here, and spread a bit to the edges.  Grind pepper over the ice cream (Yes, I’m sorry, but this is how it’s done).  Cover ice cream with good-sized piles of chopped pickled ginger (courage girlfriends); then put a small dot of ice cream on the top of the ginger pile, and stick on another cooky, flower-side up.  You can eat one now, and keep the others in the freezer (after they’re frozen, you can wrap them individually in waxed paper to keep them).  I don’t know how long they keep because the longest we’ve managed to keep them in the freezer without eating them was six hours. Up to six hours, I can vouch that they’re great.  We’re going to bond over this, I just know it….it’s the ice cream sandwich version of a Skip-and-Go-Naked!  Deceptively fabulous. BUT, in case you can’t see your way to pepper and pickled ginger with your ice cream, I have an alternative.  I come bearing gifts . . .

These delicious Ice Cream Sandwiches are good for a crowd, because lots of them together inspire ooohs and aaahs.  The colors are so perky!  The cooky is the same thin Nabisco famous chocolate wafer cooky you make that old-fashioned (and delicious) ice box cake out of …. for the insides, choose every color of ice cream (and sherbet).  Fill them as described above.  You can roll some of the edges in nuts, shredded or toasted coconut, tiny candies, or chopped up Reese’s Pieces. Be as creative as you like. When frozen, the cooky softens and becomes cake like.  Lovely for children.  Lovely for you. ♥

Freeze some green grapes, have them with a glass of cold wine and an ice cream sandwich for dinner tonight . . . and remember . . .

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