Frozen Treats | SideDish

Articles about frozen treats

How to Fry Cotton Candy

posted by Carol Shih | September 7th, 2012 11:00am | filed under frozen treats, Frozen Yogurt, State Fair, State Fair of Texas | 1 Comment »

Tommy Tolls is the Cotton Candy guy. He’s going to be standing inside Cassie’s Frozen Yogurt booth at the Texas State Fair starting on September 28, supervising the cooks to make sure they make the fried cotton candy balls perfectly right. Cassie Uptmore, who started her froyo biz in Grapevine and had her own booth at the Fair for the first time last year, entered in the 2012 Big Tex Choice Awards competition, but she didn’t get a finalist nod. (Abel Gonzales and Butch Benavides ended up taking home the trophies with their deep fried jambalaya and bacon cinnamon roll, respectively.) Still, her fried cotton candy will definitely be making its debut at the State Fair, and I have a feeling it’ll be a big hit among kiddos all over the state.

Jump if you like fried stuff.

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Trader Joe’s in Plano Will Open on September 7

posted by Nancy Nichols | August 31st, 2012 9:35am | filed under 'Burbalicious, cheap wine, cookies, frozen treats, Gluten free, Groceries, Hippie revolutions, I Went to College for This?, ice cream, Merguez Sausage Hunt, restaurant business news, Second coming | 11 Comments »

Thursday, August 30 at 2PM.

The culinarily curious only have to wait until September 7, just one week from today. That’s the date set for the grand opening on Trader Joe’s in Plano. If you want to do more than shop at Trader Joe’s, you can click here and apply for a job.(They offer full benefits and 10% off store items.) Address is 2400 Preston Road Plano, TX 75093. (northwest corner of shopping center at W. Park & Preston Rd)
If you could only purchase three items at Trader Joe’s, what would they be? (They’re listening!)

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Get Your Free Red Bull Float From Mooyah Today

posted by Carol Shih | August 8th, 2012 9:00am | filed under Free Stuff!, freebies, frozen treats, ice cream, Ice Etiquette | 2 Comments »

Mooyah is taste-testing a new Red Bull float topped with vanilla ice cream, and anyone who desires to give this creation a whirl gets a free one today (August 8, 2012) at the Frisco location. The burger chain is trying out this new energy drink-meets-dessert concept, so feel free to give the Mooyah people some of your feedback after you’re wired.

To redeem the offer, just text FLOAT to 30364 and receive a free Red Bull float.

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What to Eat Post-Wisdom Teeth Removal: Peach and Bourbon Ice Cream Recipe

posted by Lesley Mann Lynch | July 23rd, 2012 11:43am | filed under Cooking, frozen treats, ice cream, Recipes | 2 Comments »

Peach and bourbon ice cream (photo by Lesley Mann Lynch)

A few weeks ago, my husband announced that he was going to have his wisdom teeth removed the following morning. Like most of the normal population, I had my wisdom teeth removed the summer after my senior year of high school, but my husband was about a decade late getting the memo. Anyone who’s gotten his or her wisdom teeth removed knows it’s not a fun process to look like a chipmunk with balloon cheeks. And it’s even more miserable when you can’t eat your favorite summertime solids – like BBQ chicken wings and zucchini straight from the grill – for a week or two.

Post-wisdom teeth operation doesn’t mean your life is confined to cans of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup. Being the kind wife that I am, I scrambled to prepare some suitable post-op food for my husband. One of the first treats I made is this peach and bourbon ice cream, since the first two or three days post-op call for foods that can essentially melt in their mouth. Cold foods score bonus points since they act as an ice pack for oral wounds. There’s no way anyone stuck at home with a swollen face could ever say no to this frozen treat.

Jump for this post-op recipe you can make at home.

Continue reading "What to Eat Post-Wisdom Teeth Removal: Peach and Bourbon Ice Cream Recipe"

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Free Ice Cream Today at Norma’s Cafe

posted by Carol Shih | July 23rd, 2012 8:29am | filed under freebies, frozen treats, Hot dogs are the new hamburger, ice cream | 1 Comment »

Lots of freebies today. On Friday, I mentioned that The Stand in Uptown is giving away 100 free hot dogs starting at 11 a.m. Now I’m happy to inform you guys that, because it’s still National Ice Cream Month, Norma’s Cafe is also serving up free Blue Bell vanilla ice cream in three oz. cups for all its guests (until supplies last).

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Good Asian Grub: Shaved Ice in Chinatown

posted by Carol Shih | July 18th, 2012 11:10am | filed under Ethnic Food, frozen treats, Good Asian Grub | 9 Comments »

Shaved ice with pudding, red beans, and ai yu jelly (photos by Carol Shih)

The ladies and gents of the Web Team crowded around my desk area as soon as I uploaded the above photo into Photoshop. Jason Heid thought it looked like “rotten mashed potatoes.” Liz Johnstone called it “caviar.” Best of all, ShopTalk Editor Raya Ramsey dubbed it “old lady food.”

No, my good people. This here is shaved ice with a large helping of pudding, red beans, and ai yu jelly from Tapioca House in Chinatown. Shaved ice, a popular dessert in East Asia that we eat in the summertime, is just crushed ice with syrups (like condensed milk), fruit toppings, and other random Asian junk with weird textures we like that other people don’t (mochi, jellies, pudding, you name it.) You can put anything you want on it, and usually you select from a multitude of toppings for your favorite shaved ice mixture. It’s extremely important to pick strong combos so when the ice melts, you still have this tasty goodness at the bottom of your bowl to slurp up.

And when the Texas sun sucks up your soul – nothing, not even Henry’s Ice Cream or Paciugo – combats the heat like a cold comforting dessert like shaved ice.

Jump for ice.

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Oh, Thank Heaven: Get Free Slurpees Tomorrow (July 11) at 7-Eleven

posted by Carol Shih | July 10th, 2012 12:05pm | filed under Free Stuff!, freebies, frozen treats | 1 Comment »

My conquest tomorrow.

Every year, July rolls around and I count the days until it’s Free Slurpee Day at 7-Eleven. No joke. My life is that pathetic. I’m telling you guys this because I know that some of you, gasp!, have never tried a Slurpee before. Please correct this offense, pronto. It’s 7-Eleven’s 85th birthday on July 11, and you should celebrate by getting a free 7.11 oz. cherry cola Slurpee. In case you still need convincing, here’s why:

It’s FREE. Even though slurpees are actually pretty cheap every other day of the year, how many times do you get free drinks outside of college? Take advantage of every free opportunity, I say. Like this World Bazaar ticket giveaway. (Even if you’re not participating, you should read the comments. I’ve been laughing my head off all morning.)
It’s summer. It’s scorching. You want an icy Slurpee.
You get to skip work. I’m pretty sure your boss would understand if you left your desk for thirty minutes to get a free Slurpee. The conversation would go like this:

You: Hey, I’m leaving work.

Boss: Why?

You: Free Slurpee Day.

Boss: Alright, I’m coming with you.

Skip the Slurpee Lite crap and go straight for the sugary stuff. That’s my plan, anyway.

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Southwest Foodservice Expo Holds Ultimate Barista Frappe Challenge

posted by Erin Ahlfinger | June 26th, 2012 10:45am | filed under Beverages, Coffee, Contests, frozen treats |

Duncan's strawberry chocolate frappe

Any Barista will tell you that there’s more to creating delicious frozen coffee than pouring your leftover morning joe and milk into the blender, but no barista in town knows it better than Mike Mettendorf, General Manager of The Pearl Cup. Yesterday Mettendorf packed up his portafilters and headed to the Ultimate Barista Challenge at the Southwest Foodservice Expo for the Frappe Challenges.

The Competition: The Ultimate Barista Challenge is a travelling competition locals can enter for a chance to unseat the current title-holder, Ultimate Barista James Duncan. Duncan has been a barista for four years, and has held on to his title for the last three. He has faced challengers across the country, and as far away as Shanghai. Duncan and Mettendorf had two chances to wow the esteemed panel of judges, who would evaluate each beverage on technique, presentation, and taste. The panel of judges included Chef Heather Karima of The Culinary School of Fort Worth, Chef Kevin Kelly of Kevin’s Travel, former barista Jae Duncan, and Danny Johns of WholeCup Coffee Consulting, who also emceed the competition. The only recipe requirement was that each frappe incorporate at least 1.5 ounces of freshly brewed espresso.

Jump if you like frappes.

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Dallas Farmers Market Friends Hosts 6th Annual Mama Ida’s Ice Cream Social

posted by Nancy Nichols | June 7th, 2012 12:07pm | filed under Dallas Must-Do List, Events, Farmers Markets, frozen treats, fundraiser, ice cream, Local/Slow Food, Nostalgia | 8 Comments »

Mama Ida and the winning team of Joshua Webster, Elvin Westbrook, Charles Miller, and Aaron Cessac at the Third Annual Mama Ida's Ice Cream Social in 2008. (Photo by Nancy Nichols)

Life in Dallas hasn’t been the same since Mama Ida Papert passed away in January 2011. She was a driving force behind the Dallas Farmers Market for nearly 60 years. Her tireless efforts to make the Farmers Market a vibrant venue in downtown Dallas are well-known among food lovers, farmers, and bureaucrats alike. In 1991, she formed the Dallas Farmers Market Friends, an advocacy group that boasts more than 400 members, and, in 1993, she joined forces with the American Institute of Wine and Food to start cooking classes in the Resource Center.

She also initiated Mama Ida’s Ice Cream Social, an event that benefits local culinary students and participants of the nutrition and culinary arts program at the Dallas County Youth Village. Ida loved this event. This Next Saturday (June 16) you can fall in love with it too.

The 6th Annual Mama Ida’s Ice Cream Social takes place from 9 a.m. – 11 and for $5 you can sample the ice cream made by the kids and cast your vote. The ice cream social ‘Public Choice’ winners will be awarded $250 for first place, $150 for second place and $75 for third. It’s a hoot. And as long as you’re at the market, load up on fresh fruit and produce. It’s prime time. More information here. Miss you, Mama Ida.

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Coolhaus Ice Cream Truck is Heading to Dallas

posted by Carol Shih | April 23rd, 2012 10:54am | filed under Food Trucks, Foodie People, frozen treats | 2 Comments »

photo from Coolhaus

My favorite ice cream truck that-I-have-never-actually-eaten-at is making its way to Dallas, just in time for the heat wave. I spent most of last summer in Austin staring at the elusive Coolhaus‘ website, cursing the Ice Cream Gods for never allowing my schedule to make room for a gourmet ice cream sandwich. Now it’s finally going to happen. I’m finally going to pair ginger molasses cookies (available in vegan) with fried chicken and waffles ice cream! (Don’t ask me why this appeals, but it does.)

Coolhaus also offers other funky flavors. There’s the ever-popular double chocolate chip with sea salt, oatmeal, red velvet, and potato chip & butterscotch cookies. Signature flavors like dirty mint chip and brown buttered candied bacon ice cream fill the middle between two soft cookies that have already made people in LA, Miami, NYC, and Austin swoon. Thank goodness Natasha Case and Freya Estreller, the young entrepreneurs behind this ice cream truck sensation, have decided on DFW as the fifth location for their expansion. I need something to help me survive the impending sweatfest that is summer.

Coolhaus’ debut party will be at Frisco StrEATS on April 28 from 3-7 PM. See the rest of you ice cream fanatics there??

[George's update: The local CoolHaus Dallas Truck is being run through a partnership with CoolHaus and our favorite banh mi truck, Nammi Vietnamese. That brings the Nammi Empire of owners Teena Nguyen and Gary Torres up to 3 trucks: Nammi 1, Nammi 2, and Coolhaus.]

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National Frozen Yogurt Day

posted by Carol Shih | February 6th, 2012 10:43am | filed under Free Stuff!, freebies, frozen treats, Frozen Yogurt, Holidays | 4 Comments »

Photo courtesy of Yogurtland

It’s National Froyo Day, which means you can get FREE frozen yogurt at any Yogurtland location between the hours of 4 and 7 pm today. I’m only posting this in case there are any weirdos out there obsessed with Yogurtland’s spoons. Yogurtland is giving out special edition collector spoons and cups that would look great in my, uh, growing collection.

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Mi Cocina to Replace Matt’s Rancho Martinez in East Dallas. Matt’s Moves Down the Street!

posted by Nancy Nichols | January 9th, 2012 11:00am | filed under Closings, frozen treats, margaritas, Mexican Revolution, Openings/Closings, Restaurant News | 9 Comments »

Oh, how we all got our pancakes in a wad when we learned that Mi Cocina was taking over the Matt’s Rancho Martinez space when their lease was up in next month! Tim called it an upgrade! Eso es sandeces! Longtime Matt’s fans cried at the loss. Well, nobody has to cry any more and Tim can stop gloating: Now you can have a Mambo Taxi and Matt’s soul-soothing chiles rellenos too! Mi Cocina will take over the Matt’s space in March and Matt’s will move barely a half mile away into ACROSS THE STREET FROM the space formerly known as Molly Maguire’s on Live Oak. I love happy endings.

UPITTY DATE: Mark this day down. Tim was WRONG!

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Let’s Talk Boxing Day in Dallas!

posted by Nancy Nichols | December 21st, 2011 10:56am | filed under Bacon, beer, Boxing Day, Dog Friendly, frozen treats, Holidays, How About This Weather?, I Went to College for This?, I'm a sucker for a man in flannel, I'm about to get fired, Ice Etiquette, Procrastination is part of the creative process, questionable judgment, Really stupid joke, Silly Reasons to Celebrate, Slow News Day | 9 Comments »

Hey, hosers! How’s it going, eh? What are your plans for Boxing Day? Betcha Yanks a toonie you didn’t know SideDish is freakin’ huge in Canada! Yep, it’s true, eh? Last time I was in Toronto (Toronnah) I spied some Canadian idiot sporting a toque (two-k) with a big red D on it! My brother-in-law went all Don Cherry on me and said the D stood for Detroit (dee-troi-e-ot). What else would you expect from a pansy Red Wings fan? (Q: What do you call 5 Detroit Red Wings players standing ear to ear? A: A wind tunnel!)

I love Boxing Day, the first business day after Christmas. All of Ontario closes and we sit on the chesterfield and chow down on donuts, beer, macaroni and cheese, and watch hockey. The NHL pretty much owns Canada on Boxing Day now. They have TEN GAMES scheduled. My friend’s mum puts out (uhoot) a hellofa buffet (boo-fay). And k.d. lang always sends me a fruit cake. Go Leafs! (Q: Why don’t the Leafs drink tea? A: Because the Canadiens have all the cups.) And hello Peterborough!

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Eat This Now: Pie Shakes from Scrumbscious Pie Company in Mesquite

posted by Daniel Walker | October 14th, 2011 12:45pm | filed under Beverages, cheap eats, dessert, Diets are stupid, Eat This Now!, frozen treats, ice cream | 3 Comments »

Nestled in the shadows of the towering stadium of the Mesquite High School fightin’ Skeeters, sits a humble family-owned pie shop with owners every bit as sweet as their glorious cherry pie. Dallas needs more pie shops like Scrumbscious. Sure, plenty of places offer a handful of pie flavors, many of which are honorable in their own right, but when an establishment is willing to dedicate their lives to the creation of an American icon, you can rest assured they are going to do things right.

Choosing your slice of pie can be a daunting task indeed for the indecisive and scatterbrained among us, but luckily you are safe enough just throwing a dart at the menu board and ordering whatever it lands on (Note: do not throw darts in the store, they do not appreciate this). I could ramble on about my favorites, the silky smooth coconut cream, the rich, aromatic fresh pecan pie, but really, just go with your gut on this one.

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