Salty Caramel

Jeni's Icelandic Inspiration

  

Early next month, Jeni will unveil five new eye-popping, cake-saturated ice creams—ice creams derived from the sights and sounds of far-flung lands, including Iceland.

Iceland—home of Bjork, viking descendants, and skyr ("skeer")—is also home to Human Woman, a duo with a trippy little electro-pop song enhanced by a psychedelia-drenched video (above).

At Jeni's headquarters, a new collection of flavors on the horizon always means it's time to compile a set of songs that jibe with the collection's vibe. Human Woman makes the cut, as does a cast of others we'll share today through the new collection's debut Friday February 3.

Enjoy!

P.S.

For the record, and for all music geeks everywhere, Human Woman includes Gisli Galdur, of the Icelandic band Trabant, and producer Jón Atli Helgason, a.k.a. Sexy Lazer (!). 

We Have No Beef with the Piglet People

 

Well, if Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home is going to be knocked out of the running to win Food52's 2012 Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks battle, we're honored to read today that the responsible party is The Art of Living According to Joe Beef: A Cookbook of Sorts. We've been passing that great book back and forth since it landed on Jeni's desk.

Many thanks to Food52 for including Jeni's in the tournament and to judges Dorie and Josh Greenspan who wrote:

"You need these books. Both of them! These two books are completely, fundamentally, never-the-twain-shall-meet different from one another, but they're both must-haves.

"Note to the Piglet people: At some point in our lives we may forgive you for assigning us books that are both so good that choosing between them caused family feuds and sleepless nights."

Read the Greenspans' entire report here.

For more information about the great Joe Beef book, check out this video.

So Long, Clarmont

  Above: The Clarmont, which closed today after 65 years in business. Photo by R. Gust Smith.

It's with a collective heavy heart that all of us at Jeni's are reading today's news about the closing of the 65-year-old Clarmont—that long-running German Village shrine to no-fuss cocktails, cottage cheese-stuffed honeydew melons, and Saturday morning steak-and-egg breakfasts under dim lights.

Jeni and her husband Charly knew the Clarmont well. Former residents of nearby Merion Village, Jeni and Charly have always had a soft spot for the restaurant, which in recent years had made simple, quiet, and affordable sit-down-and-read-the-paper breakfasts its niche.

The throwback sight of cottage cheese plopped into the scooped-out middle of a melon always made an impression, Jeni says, as did common scenes of local movers and shakers holding breakfast meetings. But the long-term memory she will keep is the day Charly picked her up at home for breakfast—after leaving baby Greta with Jenny, the trusted Clarmont waitress.

"Charly and Greta had been at breakfast and Charly thought I was meeting them there, but we'd gotten our wires crossed," says Jeni. "One of us had probably lost our cell phone or something—who knows?

"So, after 20 minutes of waiting, Charly decided to just had off Greta to Jenny until he came back. He didn't think anything of it and I didn't either when he told me Greta was waiting for us at the Clarmont because who couldn't trust Jenny? There just aren't places like that anywhere anymore."

So, tonight, let's all raise a glass—or a melon stuffed with cottage cheese—and say cheers to the Clarmont. Here's to 65 years of providing people a unique place to eat, drink, and be merry.

A Sneak Peek at the "Super" New Collection

Above: the makings for a delicious flavor available in Jeni's "super" new collection available nationwide Friday Feb. 3.

The official name we'll share when the time comes, but rest assured the new cake-saturated collection to make it's debut Friday Feb. 3 is super.

Drawing from the cuisine, climates, and soundtracks of five colorful spots from around the world, each flavor encapsulates the magical moment when a scoop of ice cream and a slice of cake melt together and deliciously become one.

Our shops will also receive a makeover in the coming weeks, so ready yourselves for decor that is bright in color and shimmering in tone.

Until then, here is handful of photos from a recent day of mixing, blending, chopping, slicing, and baking in Jeni's kitchen:

Above: Jeni Britton Bauer, taste testing one of the flavors in a new collection she calls "cake-saturated."

Above: Something heavenly this way comes—via the American South.

Above: An eye-popping pink is what we all need to stave off the winter drearies. 

Above: honing the hue with all-natural colorings (beet and black carrot powders).

Above: bananas awaiting a sweet date with ambrosial Ohio honey and luscious, grass-grazed cream from Southeast Ohio's Snowville Creamery.

Above: airy, made-from-scratch, hand-piped meringues. 

Above: One of five new mouthwatering flavors headed your way early next month. Stay tuned for more information about the new cake-saturated collection, which will be available nationwide Friday Feb. 3.

The 2012 Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks

Above: the coveted Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks trophy.

It's time for the 2012 Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks, which is orchestrated by the great site Food52.

What in the name of all that is porcine is the Piglet Tournament?

Piglet is the food world's NCAA-style competition in which Food52's staff seeds the 16 best cookbooks from 2011 into brackets and faces them off. Each pair of books is then passed to Food52's expert judges who cook from the books then write up their decisions.

In the first round, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home is battling The Art of Living According to Joe Beef in a showdown judged by Cookie Bar owners Dorie and Josh Greenspan.

Now, this is where you come in.

When each day's outcome is reported, you—as Food52 puts it—"can weigh in with your yay or nay on each day's outcome until only one remains—the 2012 Piglet winner."

The first match-ups are under way as of today (Jan. 18), so be sure to check out Food52 tomorrow to comment on decisions by Food52's illustrious cast of expert judges, which includes:

• Roz Chast, staff cartoonist for The New Yorker
• Caitlin Freeman, pastry chef for Blue Bottle Coffee, and James Freeman, founder and owner of Blue Bottle Coffee
• Ina Garten, cookbook author and host of Food Network's Barefoot Contessa
• Dorie Greenspan and Josh Greenspan, co-owners of Cookie Bar
• Carla Hall, a host on ABC's The Chew and owner of Alchemy by Carla Hall in Washington, D.C.
• Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer, founders of The Canal House
• Sara Jenkins, owner of Porchetta and Porsena in New York City
• Nigella Lawson, cookbook author and host of Food Network's Nigella Feasts
• Hunter Lewis, food editor at Bon Appetit
• Anita Lo, chef and owner of Annisa in New York City
• Celia Sack, owner of Omnivore Books in San Francisco
• Kim Severson, Atlanta Bureau Chief for The New York Times
• David Tanis, cookbook author, New York Times columnist, and chef at Chez Panisse in Berkeley
• Alice Waters, owner of Chez Panisse in Berkeley
• Jacob Weisberg, editor-in-chief of Slate

Jeni's Goat Cheese with Cognac Figs Ice Cream

Above: Goat Cheese with Cognac Figs ice cream, available through April.

From luscious, grass-grazed cream to made-from-scratch marshmallows, we take a lot of pride in what we use to make the ice creams Time magazine called "the best in America."

When it comes to the goat cheese we use in the winter favorite, Goat Cheese with Cognac Figs, we look no further than Mackenzie Creamery in Northeast Ohio. Our long-time source for mild and supremely creamy goat cheese, Mackenzie Creamery produces a goat cheese (made with 100% hormone-free milk) that packs undiluted and naturally tart and tangy flavor.

Paired with warm-you-all-over, Courvoisier cognac-soaked sweet fig sauce, Jean Mackenzie's goat cheese puts the ice cream in perfect balance. “(Jean) brings it to us the same day it’s made," Jeni says in a recent interview. "It’s very mild, the best goat cheese,” Bauer says. “It really makes a difference with you make it fresh...especially in ice cream, where every off or on flavor is evident.”

Elegant, visually-stunning—Goat Cheese with Cognac Figs is a truly distinct Jeni’s offering available now through April. Try it today and let us (and the world) know what you think on our Facebook page. Above: Goat Cheese with Cognac Figs. Handmade by Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, the cold-weather favorite features goat cheese from Mackenzie Creamery in Northeast Ohio.

All photos by Kelsey McClellan. See more of Kelsey's work at kelseymcclellan.com.

Jeni's Splendid Wedding Parlor

  Above: Ty and Lauren Debevoise—the first couple to tie the knot in one of our shops.

2011 was a year of firsts at Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, including Jeni's debut book, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home, making the best-seller lists of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

But Dec. 30 marked another significant milestone in the history of Jeni's—the first-ever wedding ceremony held in one of our scoop shops.

Just after 4 that afternoon in the back of our Short North shop, Lauren Flaum and Ty Debevoise of Columbus exchanged vows in front of a handful of beaming friends and family.

A few minutes later, with the happy couple having been pronounced husband and wife, cones of ice cream were raised and toasts were made.

Lauren, who met Ty by chance nearly three years ago in a Columbus bar, said the couple chose Jeni's "because we spend a lot of time here.  We're the kind of people who go out for dinner, but come here for ice cream and get too full to go to dinner."

Lauren added that she and Ty also knew they "didn't want have a traditional wedding.  We wanted a place that worked logistically and was going to be fun for everybody.  This place always looks great, it's intimate, and it's already decorated really minimally, which we like. It's was great."

Above: Flowers, rings, license—ingredients for a sweet little wedding in the Short North shop.

Above: Lauren Flaum and Ty Debevoise preparing for their big day in the back of  our Short North shop, a.k.a. Jeni's Splendid Wedding Chapel.

Above: Just pronounced husband and wife—Ty and Lauren Debevoise.

Above: After the wedding, a dance for two spirited young revelers.

Above: Lauren and Ty moments before an ice cream toast.

Above: Ty and Lauren (in the shadow of Jeni at work making ice cream macaroon sandwiches) share a celebratory sugar cone topped with Pistachio & Honey and Wildberry Lavender ice creams.

 

Vice President Joe Biden Visits Jeni's in the North Market

Above: Jeni Britton Bauer, in the North Market (where she began making ice cream 16 years ago), talks ice cream with Vice President Joe Biden and Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman.

It wasn't exactly business as usual this afternoon at Columbus' North Market, where Jeni began making ice cream from scratch in 1996.

Just after 3:30 Vice President Joe Biden, in Columbus to address the high cost of college tuition, as well as audiences at two other speaking engagements, stopped by during a break for refreshments.

Accompanied by a small army of Secret Service members and Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman and his entourage, Biden strolled the market, shook hands and said hello to any and all. After a stop for coffee at A Touch of Earth and chats with several merchants, V.P. Biden and company made their way to Jeni's.

As they leaned on the counter and peered into the dipping cabinets, Mayor Coleman, no stranger to Jeni's, said to Mr. Biden, "This is the best ice cream. I'll put this ice cream up against any ice cream in the country."

"Do you have chocolate chip," Vice President Biden asked Jeni.

"No, you're in the wrong place for chocolate chip," said Jeni and laughed.

"Oh. Well, okay, then how about vanilla?"

Clearly the Vice President was in for a quick Cliffs Notes lesson on the finer points of the new American ice cream movement.

Jeni suggested Salty Caramel.

Turns out the Vice President isn't a fan of caramel in general.

In the end Jeni served Mr. Biden a scoop of Dark Chocolate and Ugandan Vanilla Bean in a waffle cone and Mayor Coleman a scoop of Ugandan Vanilla Bean in a cup.

Despite the lack of chocolate chip on the menu, the Vice President seemed more than pleased with his ice cream. "That is good," he said, then listened intently as Jeni answered his questions about how she imports free-trade vanilla beans direct from Ndali Estate in Uganda and other elements that set her made-from-scratch ice cream apart.

As Jeni and the Vice President spoke, Mayor Coleman quickly protested when Mr. Biden presented the cash to cover the duo's ice cream tab, but Mr. Biden insisted: "No, no, you got the coffee back there. I've got this."

Above: Jeni talks Ugandan Vanilla Bean ice cream and more with Vice President Joe Biden and Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman in Columbus' North Market. 

ROASTED CHERRY CHEESECAKE PARFAIT

Above: The exquisite Roasted Cherry Cheesecake Parfait. Available in all scoop shops.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Roasted Cherry Cheesecake Parfait, which is available in all shops: lovely layers of Ugandan Vanilla Bean ice cream, sweet-tart roasted red Michigan cherry sauce, naturally tangy cheesecake sauce, and nutty Graham cracker crumble—all adorned with a sprig of fresh peppermint and a singular ruby-red cherry.

“This is inspired by a sundae I had at MoMA," says Jeni, "but it tastes better and is more breath-taking than the one I had at MoMA. The Cloverton Cheese Sauce, the homemade Graham cracker crumble, Ugandan Vanilla Bean ice cream, those cherries that explode with the perfect sweet-tart flavor—this thing is good."

ROASTED CHERRY CHEESECAKE PARFAIT:

• Cheesecake Sauce
• Ugandan Vanilla Bean ice cream
• Roasted Cherry Sauce
• Graham Cracker Crumble
• Whipped Cream
• Garnish: sprig of peppermint and a single cherry from the Roasted Red Cherry Sauce

Cheesecake Sauce: made with Cloverton Cheese from Laurel Valley Creamery in Gallipolis
(“Gal-eh-police”), Ohio, and Philadelphia Cream Cheese. We make this heavenly, tangy sauce in our kitchen.

Laurel Valley’s Cloverton Cheese is a soft, fresh, naturally-aged raw-milk cheese made with milk from grass-grazed cattle.  Because the cheese is made on the same farm as the one the cows roam, the cheese is called “farmstead cheese”.

Ugandan Vanilla Bean ice cream: made with vanilla we import direct from Lulu Sturdy’s Ndali Estate, a fair-trade* farm in Africa; it is among the highest-quality vanilla in the world.  Ugandan Vanilla Bean ice cream also is made with honey from Ashland County, Ohio.

Roasted Red Cherry Sauce: It's the same sauce we use in Goat Cheese with Red Cherries ice cream, which is available every May through October. (Goat Cheese with Cognac Figs ice cream is available every November through April.) We make the sauce with a superb cherry puree and whole, tart Michigan cherries.

The Graham Cracker Crumble: is similar to the buttery, nutty crumble we use in Brambleberry Crisp, and includes Graham flour (a kind of wheat flour) we buy direct from an Amish farm near Mount Hope, Ohio, in the northeastern part of the state.

The new Roasted Cherry Cheesecake Parfait—try it today at any of our scoop shops and let us know what you think.

Above: The new Roasted Cherry Cheesecake Parfait. Available in all scoop shops.

Jeni's Cookbook: Among the Tops of the Year

Above: Jeni's Make-At-Home Pack + (Autographed) Book ($40)—all you need to make and package your very own ice creams.

 

We have a lot to be thankful for in 2011, but continuing to see Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home in lists of the top cookbooks of the year truly is special.

Here's our list of top sources that have proclaimed Jeni’s book to be one of 2011's best:

David Lebovitz

EatTheLove

TheKitchn

WashingtonPost

Thebestcookbookslist

Epicurious

Bittersweetnotes

A big thanks, too, to everyone who bought Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home and continues to spread the word about it.  We've all really loved reading about the ice cream-making results you've shared on Facebook, Twitter, and the Forum.

Cheers—and here's to a 2012 filled with even more delicious ice cream.