Caffeine Is My Friend

It's no secrect that coffee and I are best friends. I love it and it loves me. I don't like paying $5 per coffee drink but every now and again I need a fix and give in. We generally like to make espresso at home in our stovetop espresso pot, but that's usually only on the weekends with breakfast. When we do drink it, we like it lightly sweetened with raw sugar and half-n-half. It hits the spot every time. That's really the only time I can drink hot coffee, especially in this heat! When cooler weather comes, it'll be a different story but for now I'll stick to the sweet, cool and icy coffee drinks.

Keeping with the same theme of how I like my coffee, I decided to make David Lebovitz's Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream. Now I've never had a traditional Vietnamese coffee (strong coffee with sweetened condensed milk), but if it's anything like this ice cream, I'm quite sure I'd like it. There are only 3 ingredients in this ice cream- brewed espresso, sweetened condensed milk and half-n-half. That's it! Well actually you can add a fourth ingredient, a pinch of ground coffee, but I left that out since I wanted the ice cream to be completely smooth.

This ice cream could not be simpler. It comes together in a matter of minutes, you chill it thoroughly and put it in your ice cream maker. Mr. H is even more of a coffee junkie that I am and while he thought the espresso flavor really came through, he thought it was a little too sweet. It was sweet but if you savor it one spoonful at a time, not only will it last longer but it will fulfill your cravings and your sweet tooth. Blend a little ice cream with milk, ice and chocolate syrup and you have an awesome Mocha Frappe. Add caramel sauce in lieu of the chocolate and you'll have a Caramel Macchiato Frappe- yum!

Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream from The Perfect Scoop

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• 1 1/2 cups sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 cups brewed espresso or very strongly brewed coffee
• 1/2 cup half-n-half
• Big pinch of finely ground dark roast coffee (I omitted this)

Whisk together the condensed milk, espresso, half-n-half and ground coffee. Chill the mixture thoroughly (overnight) then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.