Yes, ice cream has its scary side. Like poison ice cream cones. Like contaminated street cart ice cream.
I talked on Halloween to gluten-free guru Jean Layton about ice cream’s underbelly, plus some ice cream history I unearthed in my book, Ice Cream: A Global History.
New Orleans ice cream lovers! Come to my book signing and talk, sponsored by the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, at the fabulous Creole Creamery We’ll be talking about NOLA ice cream history. Plus, I’ll throw in some fun facts from ice cream’s storied past as it evolved into the world’s favorite treat. Hope to see you there! Here’s the info:
Ice Cream: A Global History Book Signing and Talk
When: Wednesday, February 27 from 5 to 7 PM
What: Book signing from 5pm to 7pm. Discussion at 6:00
It’s way too cold to eat ice cream, at least it’s too frigid for me! So why not buy yourself—or an ice cream loving friend—some ice cream kitsch? It comes in many forms–ceramics, bath towels, even Elvis ice cream cone Christmas tree ornaments! Read about it here:
It’s winter and few people are thinking about that delicious, but frosty dessert, ice cream. So I was shocked to learn that ice cream-themed kitsch seems to be everywhere. For much of its history, ice cream was a dessert only rich folks could afford. There were even elaborate ice cream dishes and utensils for serving and eating the treat. But ice cream sandwich costumes and ice cream Christmas tree ornaments? That’s definitely a recent trend. There are also ice cream towels, ice cream bowls, ice cream costumes and ice cream items that look like Elvis. It may be cold outside, but ice cream novelties are definitely hot! So you don’t need to wait until summer to make a gift of ice cream. Here are some items—some wacky, some useful— that will be sure to please every ice cream lover:
Kids’ Ice Cream Sandwich Costume. For Halloween or any time, your child can dress up as an ice cream sandwich in this polka-dotted suit.
Ice Cream Cone Towels. These colorful towels in chocolate, strawberry and blueberry are rolled up to resemble ice cream cones.
Lighted Ice Cream Shop. Hand-painted, this porcelain piece looks like an old-fashioned ice cream parlor.
Photo: Hamilton Conservation Authority via Flickr.
Yes, I know, summer’s over. So what am I doing talking about ice cream? I should be talking about pumpkins. Or maybe turkeys.
Well, ice cream’s one of those treats that people love 24/7, 365 days a year. So even though it’s almost Halloween, I’m doing two events in the coming weeks where I’m talking about ice cream history and reading from my book Ice Cream: A Global History.
The event’s from 12pm-4pm. I’ll be perched in a booth amongst the ice cream folks signing books from 1:30pm-3:30pm. Probably won’t have a whole lot of time to sample the ice cream. So…I hope someone brings me a few tastes.
Here’s who’s scooping and the scoop on tickets, hours, etc.
Gabrielle Carbone of THE BENT SPOON
Joseph Roselli of DREAM SCOOPS
Amy Miller of EARLY BIRD COOKERY
Tracy Obolsky of ESCA
Keren Weiner of IL BUCO & IL BUCO ALIMENTARI & VINERIA
Ashley Whitmore of MARLOW & SONS
Fany Gerson of LA NEWYORKINA
Catherine Oddenino of LUCA & BOSCO
James Distefano of ROUGE TOMATE
Forbes Fisher of STEVE’S ICE CREAM
Ben Van Leeuwen of VAN LEEUWEN ARTISAN ICE CREAM
TICKET INFORMATION
EARLY BIRD ADMISSION $30 – Starts 12pm
(10 Tasting Tickets, redeem for 10 miniature cones)
GENERAL ADMISSION $20 – Starts 1pm
(8 Tasting Tickets, redeem for 8 miniature cones)
At the door: $35 for Early Bird and $25 for General Admission