Melt away wedding planning stress

Let’s face it, planning a wedding is stressful! 

Add to that the summer heat, it’s’ a recipe for a summer meltdown! 

Lucky for you as a bride there is relief. Can you say ICE CREAM!!!

I have screamed all month for ice cream (yeah, July was National Ice Cream Month!), and what better way to cool off from all the wedding day planning than with ice cream. Better yet, how about making it an ice cream party with you and your bridesmaids.

One of my favorite ice cream brands growing up was Breyers Ice Cream. Yes, Butter Pecan and Mint Chocolate Chip were my all time top picks. What I love about them now is their milk and cream come from farmers who don’t use artificial growth hormones with their cows (yuk!).  If you’re a plain Jane and head straight for Vanilla, good news, Breyers Vanilla (the little black specks, yum) come from Rainforest Alliance Certified farmed sources.

So what does all that mean? Breyers Ice Cream is darn good! To get your ice cream started, we’ve got some great recipes from Top Chef All-Star Antonia Lofaso, who was inspired to create these recipes from her childhood memories.  My top two favorite recipes are: Pound Cake & Peaches Sundae and Toasted Almond and Vanilla Arancini. Here are the recipes:

Pound Cake & Peaches Sundae 

Serves: 4 
Prep time: 10 minutes 
Ingredients: 
2 fresh summer peaches, diced 
1T granulated sugar 
2T lemon juice 
2 tsp thinly sliced basil 
4 (1/4-inch thick) slices of plain pound cake, toasted in the toaster until golden 
1 cup of Breyers Natural Vanilla Ice Cream (1/4 cup each scoop) 
Instructions: Mix peaches, sugar, lemon juice and basil in a small bowl. 
Assembly:  To make each sundae, place a slice of toasted pound cake on a plate, then top with a scoop (1/4 cup each scoop) of ice cream and cover generously with macerated peaches.

Toasted Almond & Vanilla Arancini

Serves: 2
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients: 
4T mixed, chopped, toasted whole unsalted almonds and hazelnuts
1T toasted and crushed amoretti cookies
½ cup of Breyers Natural Vanilla Ice Cream (1/4 cup each scoop) - placed in the freezer for 10 minutes to harden on a baking sheet
Instructions:
Mix toasted, chopped nuts and amoretti cookies together in a bowl. Dredge the frozen Breyers Natural Vanilla Ice Cream balls in nut/cookie mixture and refreeze for another 5 minutes before serving

*May be made and stored in advance

Now that you have your ice cream, bring some more fabulousness to the setting by using your favorite sparkly bowls and funky spoons, blow up a few balloons and put on your favorite playlist. Relax, laugh, and enjoy these last day of July and National Ice Cream month.!

Happy Eating!

Samala

P.S. For more wedding day planning stress relieving tips, check out my free Snobbish Guide Sanity Guide above!