This is part of an ongoing series to celebrate bodegas (and their owners) in New York City—each week, we're highlighting recipes from food writers and chefs made entirely from ingredients purchased in bodegas. Today: Chef, writer, and brain behind The Inherited Plate blog, Danielle Rehfeld delivers yet another way to use pints of ice cream creatively.
One of the many reasons New Yorkers love their locale is the breadth of culture, music, food, and the 24-7 availability of pretty much anything you need. Being a native New Yorker and chef who has cooked with people from around the world, bodegas have always held a special place in my heart. Whether getting bacon, egg, and cheese on a roll at 6 a.m. or a six-pack for a late night party, you can always depend on hard-working bodega owners to be open, accessible, and, often times, the nicest people to interact with on a daily basis. A pint of ice cream or a pack of Advil is often just 4-5 blocks away, at most. Different neighborhoods around the five boroughs cater to various ethnic and socio-economic demographics, so some will be schmancier than others, or offer ingredients more marketable to the people in their ‘hood (see: konjac noodles). One thing all bodegas have, hands down, is ice cream. Here’s a special, 4-ingredient ice cream cake (which can be cut into bars) that I share in honor of Chelsea’s Alaska Market and the beautiful Naha, from Bangladesh, who works all day at the store and goes home to cook her own family a meal at night. If you love Good Humor strawberry shortcake ice cream pops, available at some bodegas, you’ll love this make-at-home version!
| 13.5 | ounces Lorna Doone shortbread cookies (54 snack size cookies or 4 cups crushed cookies) |
| 4 | ounces unsalted butter (1 stick), melted |
| 1 | pint Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream, softened slightly* |
| 2 | pints Häagen-Dazs strawberry ice cream, softened slightly* |
| 13.5 | ounces Lorna Doone shortbread cookies (54 snack size cookies or 4 cups crushed cookies) |
| 4 | ounces unsalted butter (1 stick), melted |
| 1 | pint Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream, softened slightly* |
| 2 | pints Häagen-Dazs strawberry ice cream, softened slightly* |
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