Spumoni Sundaes with Hot Fudge and Amaretto Cherry Sauce

Sundaes always make me think of long summer days growing up in the midwest.  At the peak of summer in Ohio, the sun sometimes didn't dip below the horizon until almost 9:30pm, which meant lots of daylight hours to laugh and play, especially after school was out for the summer.  Those days, it was pretty safe to roam around the neighborhood, and I spent my time playing kickball in the street with the boys or riding bikes with my girlfriends.  My mom always told me I had to be home by the time the streetlights came on, and I would grudgingly drag my feet back home to end the day.  

Other evenings, my mom would load us up in the minivan (oh yeah, we did have two minivans in my lifetime) and we would head to the ice cream shop for cones or sundaes.  Hands-down, my favorite places to go were Honey Hut Ice Cream and East Coast Custard, and if you grew up in Cleveland, I really really hope you have been to one or both places.  (It is no coincidence that the Yelp review for Honey Hut has 5 stars for reviews.)  

Ghiradelli chocolate for Espresso Hot Fudge Sauce. (Can you read upside down?)

When my family would go for ice cream, sometimes I would be in the mood for just a cone (with two scoops of course), but often I would want a sundae.  Thinking back, might have just wanted the sundae for the maraschino cherry on the top, but the hot fudge sauce on the frozen ice cream didn't hurt either.  Actually, I think I gravitated towards the sundae because aside from a banana split, it was the most indulgent thing on the menu.  Even as a child I was a smart girl. 

Now I don't know if it was these childhood memories or just the appeal of chocolate, cherries, and ice cream, but when I saw this Spumoni Sundae with Hot Fudge and Cherry Sauce in Bon Appetit last summer, I swooned.  

Plus, I can rarely turn away chocolate.    

I cannot resist this. 

Espresso hot fudge sauce?  Warm amaretto cherry sauce?  Pistachio and vanilla ice cream?  Check, check, and check.  Yes, I would like them all please.  And if you can serve them to me in a pretty sundae glass that would be great.  I can even say please and thank you if you want.  Pretty please...? 

This warm amaretto cherry sauce is to die for.

Shredded Red Cabbage Salad with Pistachios

So.  After my less-than-appetizing, injury-inducing attempt at kicking off So Cal Summer Salads, I am here to present you with a true winner.  Oh yes, this salad is Delicious (and I meant to use that capital D). 

In fact, this salad is so delicious, that I am eating it right now as I am writing this.  And I am not eating it for the first time, or the second time; but rather, I am eating this salad for the third time in as many weeks because it is so simple to prepare, and is such a welcome departure from the norm of lettuce-based salads.  And did I mention yet that it is delicious? 

I found this recipe while paging through James Peterson's Cooking.  The recipe seemed to jump off the page at me, because I was just so shocked at seeing the bright purple cabbage combined with beautiful green pistachios.  They seemed like unlikely bedfellows there on the page (in full color photograph of course), and I was intrigued enough to try out the recipe.  It also helped that I only needed to purchase two ingredients, the cabbage and the pistachios, and I happen to adore both of them already.  Separately, of course.  I mean really, cabbage and pistachios together?  

Arugula, Fennel and Apricot Salad: Not Worth the Pain

I can't understand how it is the middle of June!  It seems like March and April were here just yesterday, and now June has snuck up on me with July in tow.  With warmer weather on its way, clothing becomes smaller and bikini season officially starts.  This means that I put on a bathing suit and instantly feel the urge to cut back on calories and desserts.  (Notice I said 'cut back' not 'cut out.'  Please, lets be real here.  No one should ever cut desserts out of their diet.)  Plus, healthy eating is always a good thing in my book, bikini season or not. 


So it was in this mindset, that I decided I would post a set of So Cal Summer Salads.  I had no real plan for this, other than that I wanted veggies, lots of them, and maybe a sprinkling of fruits, a little bit of nuts, and possibly some cheese.  Nuts and cheese can be included in my salads because they are good fats, of course. :)  As I was thinking this, fate intervened.  Almost as if on cue, the June issue of Bon Appetit appeared in my mailbox chock full of great summer salads.  Each salad looked tastier, fresher, and more colorful than the next; to me, these are the great powers of the almighty salad. 

When I was leafing through the magazine (translated: obsessively pouring over each recipe with drool running down my chin), this salad with arugula and fennel really appealed to me.  Arugula runs neck-in-neck to tie with butter lettuce as my favorite, and fennel has made a delicious debut in my life in recent years.  I wasn't entirely sure about the tangy apricots, but the lovely pale orange color is too beautiful to resist!


I bought all the ingredients to make this salad, but then decided to make an impromptu drive out to Las Vegas for the weekend to visit a good friend from college.  So naturally, I packed up all the salad stuffs, plus my trusty 7" Shun, and drove out to Sin City.  Maybe this seems weird to you, but I think most of us would agree that given the choice to cook only for ourselves, or to cook for others, the latter would undoubtedly win.