One of the many things I love about food is the seemingly never-ending wealth of possibility. Like with any artistic medium, each person can come up with their own interpretation or idea for a new dish. It is always such fun to come across different or unexpected ways to use classic flavors. Jeni Britton Bauer of Jeni’s Ice Creams smashing success is one such culinary mind who does this incredibly well. I had the privilege of hearing her speak at an event I attended last summer and it was fascinating and inspiring to hear the story of her business, how it started from next to nothing and eventually grew into the awesomeness that it is today. I’m telling you, this woman is brimming with excellent ideas.
Recently I was paging through her ice cream book and came across a little footnote that suggested a berry crisp ice cream. I was so on it. Essentially, this is a deconstructed or rearranged crisp a la mode. Instead of serving the usual fruit crisp alongside ice cream, it is mixed right in. In this case I opted for cherries because they are clearly the best, but other fruits would work as well. The crumble topping that is mixed in is absolutely to die for – a perfect salty sweet combo that continues to stay crisp even after it is mixed into the ice cream. I can’t tell you how glad I am that someone thought of this. It is genius, just like Jeni.