I can't believe that I'm thinking about ice cream when it is so chilly outside, but the flavor combination that Dagmar, from A Cat in the Kitchen, used in her Rhubarb and Caramelized Almond Semifreddo is very hard to resist. A semifreddo is an Italian term that literally means "partially frozen" and is often similar to a frozen custard or ice cream, although cakes and some fruit desserts can also fall under the term. Their distinguishing feature is that that are lighter than other frozen desserts. Unlike ice cream, whipped cream and/or egg whites are folded in before freezing and the dessert a mousse-like texture, but no churning is involved. They are often molded and sliced for serving.

This dessert has crunchy caramelized almonds and sweet, tender rhubarb in a vanilla base. One of my favorite things about this photo is the pink syrup. If you have ever cooked rhubarb, you will probably recall that it looses a bit of its pinkness during cooking or baking. You need to be extremely selective in the stalks you choose if you are going for color, since the greenish stalks will still have a good flavor, but will simply dull to a pale gold when heated.

• 53% of all American households use frozen dinners at some point.
• They are most popular with 18-24 year olds, those over 75 and single people. Roughly 400 new frozen-food products, from toaster waffles to turkey dinners, are introduced each year by more than 300 companies.
• Despite the fact that they are so popular with singles, there are more 2-person and family-sized meals available than ever before to get in on the "busy family" market.
• Mexican frozen food is extremely popular right now, whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Ice cream in the winter - why not? It's warm indoors, so there is no reason not to indulge in a frozen treat. This Peppermint Ice Cream was made by Elise, of Simply Recipes. She made the ice cream base herself and flavored it with some peppermint extract before folding in crushed up candy canes. The advantage, as Elise points out, to making the ice cream base yourself is not just in the fact that you can flavor it in any way you see fit, but that you know exactly what you are getting and aren't limited to what you can buy at the store. For example, there are no emulsifiers or preservatives in homemade ice cream, so even though it is very rich and contains a generous number of egg yolks that provide the "divinely creamy" texture, you can still feel good about eating it.

I suspect that this ice cream would also make fantastic ice cream sandwiches if softened and spread in between two chocolate chip cookies.

That's right, you're hearing it here first. Hershey's scientists announce cold fusion is here (no, not that kind of cold fusion) with the first in frozen energy concoctions: Banzai Energy Ice. Hershey's Ice Cream has gotten together with the popular Banzai Energy drink to create and co-brand the revolutionary, first frozen energy confection.

This will be a "smooth, refreshing ice with a delicious citrus taste" in a 4 oz. size to be released in January 2007. The ice will be in "an easy squeeze-up container... it is convenient and mess free." Other Banzai Energy Ice flavors will be released soon after the original version hits the market. So now you can cool off, and heat it up with instant energy, all at the same time.

Just keep it out of your kids hands, or else sugar rush will take on a whole new meaning as your kids blast off to the moon. Baaanzaaai!

Actually the opposite is true. Premium, fresh, refrigerator and frozen soups are the new big thing to hit supermarkets in the US. Lately soup has been increasing on the restaurant scene because consumers feel that soup has a healthy image. Even the Chains are jumping on the bandwagon; an example is the unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks special at Olive Garden.

Of the new pre-made supermarket soups, most notorious is the Original Soup Man products produced by Al Yeganah who was disparagingly spoofed as the "Soup Nazi" in the TV show Seinfeld. Mr. Yeganah's International Soup Kitchen was renowned in NYC for the amazingly delicious soups that Al served, also for the long lines and swift but curt service. Personally I thought Al was a culinary genius and I would drive from the NYC 'burbs on a regular basis to get his soup, especially the Seafood Bisque, with each quart having a whole peeled lobster, assorted fish, clams, mussels, and more. Sadly his global vacations to research new soups each year were longer and longer, until finally he didn't bother opening anymore. At least he is now back in business. His Soup Man soups are available frozen in five varieties in many supermarkets. The varieties are: Al's Garden Vegetable, Turkey Chili, Seafood Bisque, Chicken Vegetable, and Jambalaya, which sell for $4.99-$6.99 for a 15oz bag. Personally I think the ones I have tried are a bit salty but I like my salt levels low, but I noticed at in store tastings that many folks love his products.

If chicken fried steak ice cream sounds like a bad idea to you, rest assured that it sounds bad to me, too. If it actually sounds like a good idea to you, I am sorry to be the one to tell you that you are mistaken. In either case, the rather unusual combination doesn't live up to the promise, whatever small amount there is, of its name. The concoction was dreamed up and skillfully put together at Dallas Food, who reported that "Flavorwise, this was hands down the most disgusting ice cream I've ever had the misfortune to taste."

They were going for something that would approximate the flavor of cream gravy, with a thick and rich consistency, but in a frozen form. After all, similar things haven been done with bacon (not necessarily to general success, however). Flavor issues aside, I really think that Dallas Food did a fantastic job putting this together, frying the steak and carefully putting together the ice cream, which was flavored with pepper, thyme and CFS drippings. It's too bad that it didn't turn out to be a winner, but as DF points out, it will be on hand to serve to that "one deserving guest" at the next barbecue.

[Thanks, Slow Crow!]

Ice cream headaches, a.k.a. brain freeze, are caused when quickly-eaten cold foods come into contact with the roof your mouth. Since the mouth doesn't have time to warm up when eating or drinking quickly, the nerve center there panics and sends signals to your brain that indicate the body is freezing. Blood rushes to the brain and the eater feels a sharp, stabbing type of pain that lasts anywhere from 30-60 seconds in most people.

Strangely, ice cream is the most commonly cited cause for head pain, but it can be avoided easily. Most people feel that positioning the cold foods at the sides of your mouth will prevent brain freeze. This allows the food to warm up slightly before coming into contact with the roof of your mouth. If you're drinking something frozen, like a smoothie, don't aim the straw directly at the roof of your mouth, either. The other "cure" is simply to eat more slowly.

I love popsicles, although I do tend to keep away from the overly sugary day-glo variety I preferred on hot days when I was 6. Times and tastes change, but one thing about popsicles does not: they drip. Skilled popsicle eaters will navigate their way around and catch all drips before they fall, but usually kids aren't so resourceful and end up with sticky hands. Parents might want to take note that sticky fingers can be avoided with DripCatchers, which are thin cellulose sponges that catch drips before they can leave the popsicle. The expand as they get dripped on, so they'll never miss a drop. They all have different designs on them (and can be custom done, too), so they're fun enough to appeal to kids and not just to parents who want less-sticky children. They're $6.95 for 24.

Breyers released their Double Churned ice cream this week. If it sounds like something you've had before, you're probably confusing it with the Dreyers/Edy's Slow Churned variety. In any event, more churning in commercial ice cream is supposed to make it creamier (though there are proponents of homemade ice cream who aim to keep their churning to a minimum no matter what), so the ice creams should be a hit.

Breyer's just did a survey on American ice cream eating habits. From their "Real Dish on Ice Cream" study, they learned that 87% of Americans have ice cream in the freezer and 71% have at least two kinds or more. A very crafty 20% try to hide their favorite flavor where other family members won't find it. They also said that men and women are equally likely to crave ice cream when they are happy.

The only question left to answer is whether the happiness was ice cream based, or whether being happy just made them want ice cream.