Hardware

• 9-inch springform pan
• A few large zip-lock bags
• Oreo’s – somewhere between 30 and 45 count.
  • We actually use double-stuff, but of course any kind would work fine.
• 1 to 1.5 sticks butter, melted
  • And we always use salted butter, because it just tastes better, right?
• 2 quarts of ice cream (though each full quart won’t be used).
  • As above, any flavor works fine. We usually do one chocolate, one vanilla (always French vanilla in our house).
  • I usually get the ice cream out when I start the process, so it’s soft, but not completely melted, when it’s time to work with it.
• Chocolate chips or frosting, or marshmallows, or chocolate syrup – anything fun to top & decorate.

Software

1. Smash about 15 Oreo’s a time in a zip-lock bag. You might use a rolling pin to help with this, or just your hands. I like to leave a few larger crumbs (say, 1cm diameter) and try to avoid making the whole bag into a powder.
2. Dump the bag into a medium mixing bowl, and stir in a half-stick of melted butter.
3. Dump the buttery-Oreo’s into the pan, and form into a crust that covers the bottom of the pan. If you feel like your crust isn’t thick enough or covering the pan well enough, then you’ll probably want to make two more bags of 15-Oreo’s with a half-stick of butter, and use however much of that you want to get your crust to a satisfactory level. But, if you think this layer is good enough from the one bag, then just prepare one more bag of Oreo’s and butter, to use in step 5.
4. Scoop about 3/4 of the first quart of ice cream onto the Oreo crumbs, and spread it into an even layer, around an inch thick. Again, more or less to taste.
5. The next layer is the remaining Oreo crumbs.
6. Then it’s time for about the same amount of the other ice cream.
7. Finally top with whatever toppings or decorations you’re using. If your ice cream is too soft, you might want to put the cake into the freezer for an hour or two, to get it good and solid again, depending on your topping plan (e.g., it can be hard to spread frosting onto melted ice cream (you can ask me how I know this ;)).
8. Once you’re all done, cover with plastic wrap (if you can stand using it… it’s really my least favorite thing to use in the kitchen) and freeze for at least a few hour before serving.

Notes

• I’ve found that the springform pan I have tends to let some ice cream leak everywhere when it melts, so this time I put the springform pan into a 9″ round silicon cake pan. In the past sometimes I would just keep it sitting on a cookie tray to contain any melty mess.
• It can be quite hard to get the first piece out, especially when the cake is frozen hard. Just know you’ll make a mess – either from dealing with a cake that’s too hard, or if you let it melt. It’s messy, but fun and delicious either way!

But at the store this weekend, my little Vanessa saw all of the sweet potatoes that they had out for Thanksgiving, and she asked what they were, saying that they looked strange. So I grabbed one, knowing that I like them, but not knowing how I’d prepare it.

Now when I was a kid like she is now, I didn’t like sweet potatoes (for some reason!). My mom always made them very well, but they were a taste that I just didn’t like. Lucky for me though, I did somehow acquire a taste for them as an adult.

Anyway, I just googled for mashed sweet potatoes, and it was pretty easy to make one: I peeled it and cubed it, then boiled it for about 15 minutes, until I could smash it with tongs. Then mashed it with a fork, mixing in a little milk, butter, and (real) maple syrup. Then I made a little crumb topping with melted butter and brown sugar, and voila!

It was so easy, and pretty much just as good as the frozen ones I used to love, so I think I’ve got a new regular menu item for cooking. Which is nice.