How NOT to Eat the Best Ice Cream

Fleur de Sel Caramel by Haagan Dazs became my new favorite flavor of ice cream a couple weeks back, but I didn't follow the instructions to achieve the product's full potential. The touch of salt gives a punch to the sweet caramel and oh so fatty Haagan Dazs ice cream that my taste buds go into epileptic shock. Then, as if to deliver a knock out blow, itty bitty dark chocolate covered caramels can be found throughout, really sending me over the edge.

This flavor is one of those "reserve" items from Haagan Dazs, which may challenge traditionalists (see the Toasted Coconut Sesame Brittle flavor, which is also good, but in small doses). According to the HD website, this variety comes with recommended "Wine Pairings and Food Pairings." Let's skip the wine and get to the ridiculous part:

After a bucketful of fresh salty oysters, take the empty shells and scoop on dollops of Fleur de Sel Caramel ice cream.

Gourmet foodies can take things too far sometimes. Don't you think? A little salt with your sweet, yes. But to scoop ice cream onto a seashell that's still glistening with the membranes of quivering a slimy oyster? Well, I'll drop that in the fois gras category of "something else is clearly going on here and I think I'll pass." In case you've still got your appetite, Kroger in Carytown is one of the few locales to carry the salted caramel pints. Oyster shells are optional. Spoons work fine too.


Here's a little bonus:
Today, we're staying in and watching movies and baking coconut-chocolate chip cupcakes. Karen was all worked up to make these before the gestational diabetes diagnosis and sugar became contra-ban in our house. Everyone keeps telling me that the baby being born means that my life is changed forever (or as the more obnoxious like to phrase it "your life is over now"), but in many ways, for Karen and me, life is finally getting back to normal.

Second bonus:
On his one-week birthday, Jasper Diego woke from a nap, stretched his arms, and neatly interlaced his fingers on his chest. He doesn't have the muscle control to reach or grab for things, but he has pulled off the contented philosophical look. By the way, they say that you can tell if you're left-brained (a linear thinker) or right-brained (a global thinker) when you interlace your fingers, because the dominant thumb will be on top (do this and look at your thumbs). If that's the case, then Jasper is a super big-picture guy who thinks outside the box cuz his right thumb AND forefinger are on top in this picture. On the other hand, if the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then maybe it's the other way around and Jasper is a linear left brained baby. Considering his erratic sleeping schedule, I don't think he's too structured at this point.