Saturday, August 20, 2011

Day 20 - Date Shakes - Happy Birthday Dad

I did add some walnuts to this date shake!

From the Women’s Day Encyclopedia of Cookery Cookbooks, Volume 6, 1966 on ice cream.


Ice Cream – “America’s favorite dessert is a frozen food made from milk products, sweetening, flavoring, and other ingredients, depending on whether it is homemade or made commercially…..”
I thought for my father’s birthday I would make one of his favorites, Date Shake.  There were a few times we would drive into the desert in the summer time and go by a place called, ‘Hadleys’. 
They sold fresh dates and dad and I would order date shakes. Everyone else got the flavors they liked. We always brought home some dates and nuts. I sure enjoyed that store, especially after a hot drive to get there, didn’t have air condition at that time in the cars. With six of us in a car, it was hot, even with the windows down.
Each time I make a date shake, it reminds me of those trips. So dad, for you, it is a French Vanilla Ice Cream with dates thrown in to make a shake. Dad would have been 85 years old today. 
He kinda looks like  James Dean here.

We all sure miss him.

French Vanilla Ice Cream

6 egg yolks
2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
In top part of double boiler beat egg yolks and milk with rotary beater (electric mixer). Add sugar and salt; cook, stirring constantly, over hot, not boiling water until thick enough to coat a metal spoon. Let cool, then add cream and vanilla. Freeze in a crank-type (electric) freezer, using 8 parts cracked ice to 1 part rock salt. Makes about 1 ½ quarts.

Date Shake
With a couple of scoops of French Vanilla Ice Cream and about ¼ cup milk and about 4 dates (with pits removed), blend in a blender until the right thickness you prefer. And drink up, oooohhhh, so good!

Enjoy!

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