Archive for December, 2008

FEATURED CUSTOMER EMAIL: A TRUE PARTY CAKE FAN

Wednesday, December 31st, 2008

Turkey Hill’s customer service team receives countless e-mails each day from customers throughout the nation. Thankfully, many of the e-mails are good, including the one below which we’d like to share with you in the first of many featured customer e-mails here on the Ice Cream Journal. Of course, if you ever e-mail our customer service team and we decide to feature your e-mail here, we’ll always ask your permission first. This email comes from Jillian B. of Providence, RI. Jillian is currently an English major at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

To Whom it May Concern:

It is Christmas Eve, and although there are still an unsettling number presents to be bought, dishes to be cooked, and relatives to be visited; I feel compelled to take the time to compose this letter. Last night, I was reminded of my intense partiality for one of your ice creams. I fondly remember the first time I sampled Turkey Hill’s Party Cake ice cream. It was in the summer of 2005, and I picked i up at a grocery store after having been attracted to it’s spunky and enchanting mosaic of pastel coloring – an image that delights my heart and arouses my sailvary glands to this day.

I had tried other cake-flavored ice creams before and since my first experience with the Party Cake, and I can safely say, no others come close.

The milky vanilla base would be a delicious treat on its own, but it is simply the sweet backdrop for an epicurean deluge. The soft, chewy cake pieces provide for a luscious marriage of texture and color when combined with the ineffably ambrosial, buttercream frosting.

This letter may seem ridiculous, but I wouldn’t feel right experiencing such splendor without offering my gratitude to those responsible for it.

When it is available, I have a hard time justifying wasting my appetite on any food other than Party Cake ice cream. Sadly, I have often have difficulty finding it, as I don’t have a car at my college residence, and am limited to grocery stores within walking distance. I will, however, continue to spread the good word to friends and family about this marvelous creation of yours.

I think I may also send a letter in post about this. I just want to show my appreciation to as many Turkey Hill employees as possible. If you could point me to the specific individual(s) who birthed Party Cake ice cream, I would be honored to thank them personally.

With sincere gratitude,
Jillian

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS ON REGIFTING AND OUR ULTIMATE HOLIDAY RECIPE WINNER!

Monday, December 29th, 2008

Before we unveil our Ultimate Holiday Recipe Contest winner, we wanted to thank everyone for your insightful opinions in our last entry. On Saturday we asked what your opinion was of re-gifting gifts that you don’t want and plenty of you sounded off on both sides of the issue. Overall, the consensus was that re-gifting is okay. Of those who gave a definite yes or no on the topic (many were in between), about 30 of you said it was fine to re-gift and 15 said it wasn’t.

Still, our favorite bad gift horror story came from the very first comment on that entry when E.D. shared with us her irregular mohair sweater horror story. If E.D. wants to re-wrap that gift, she’ll have to find someone with an arm that’s three inches longer than the other.

Now on to our big announcement. Several months ago we asked everyone to submit their best recipes using either of our two holiday ice cream flavors: Peppermint Stick and Egg Nog. We received over 150 submissions and all of the sounded delicious, but we finally narrowed it down to four of the best recipes. We prepared the recipes, photographed the results, posted them on the blog and asked you to vote for which one you thought was the best.

And so, after two weeks and 764 votes, the winner of the Turkey Hill Ultimate Holiday Recipe Contest is…Patti’s Chocolate Peppermint Stick Roll! Congratulations Patti! As a reward for her culinary greatness, Patti will receive a one year supply of Turkey Hill ice cream. Each of the other three finalists will receive a one month’s supply of ice cream.

 

Looking back at the contest, it was a hard fought battle between Patti’s Peppermint Stick Roll and Lily’s Christmas Nog Cheesecake. In fact, when the dust settled, only 18 votes separated Patti’s entry (with 261 votes) from Lily’s entry (243 votes). Of course, the real winners in this contest are those of us who made some of these recipes at home and tried them out! If you’re not one of those people, feel free to check out the four finalist recipes (and many others) on our recipes page.

RE-GIFTING: GOOD IDEA OR NOT?

Saturday, December 27th, 2008

Christmas is behind us now. Some of us are admittedly happy about that. Sentimental others are already counting the days until next Christmas (only 363 shopping days left, in case you lost count). No matter which camp you fall into, we all get gifts that, lets face it, we don’t really need. Not that we don’t appreciate the thought, of course! 

In the gift-giving world, these well-intentioned but misguided gifts are prime candidates for “re-gifting,” or the act of giving the gift to someone else, either for a birthday or saving it for next Christmas. Some people think the practice of re-gifting is a great idea. After all, if the gift isn’t right for you, and someone else can get some use out of it, isn’t that a good thing? Others believe you should keep your gift, even if you’ll never use it (or at least try to find a use for it).

Now we know that any ice cream-related is a gift we’d all cherish, but we wanted to test the waters by asking what everyone else thought of the re-gifting concept. Good idea or bad idea? We’ll even take it one step further by asking if anyone received any gifts this year that they’d like to pass on to someone else. It’s okay, don’t be afraid to admit it!

12 DAYS OF ICE CREAM (DAY 11 AND 12): HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Thursday, December 25th, 2008

This is it – the last day of our 12 Days of Ice Cream celebration. On behalf of everyone here at Turkey Hill Dairy, we hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday with friends, family and, of course, a bowl of your favorite ice cream! Speaking of ice cream (don’t we always?), don’t forget to vote in our Ultimate Holiday Recipe Contest in the poll on the right. To view each finalist, click on the links in the paragraph at the top of this page.

We have to admit, the last two weeks have been some of the best ever here on the Ice Cream Journal and we’re so happy to see so many new readers. We hope all of you decide to stick around and become permanent members of our ice cream blogging community.

As promised two weeks ago, we’re going to choose one comment from all of the many comments left here on the Ice Cream Journal to win our grand prize: A one year supply of Turkey Hill ice cream for you AND a one year supply of Turkey Hill ice cream for a friend! We’ll choose the winner in the next few days and let you know who it is. Good luck!

TODAY’S PRIZES: Since we missed a day somewhere in the craziness of the last two weeks, we’re giving away TWO prizes today. Being Christmas, it only seems fitting.

The first is the HO Ike Ice Cream Truck, a true 1:87 scale, hand-painted and “realistically weathered” replica of the real thing – including tiny people! That’s it on the right. One commenter at random will be chosen to receive it PLUS a couple of coupons for some free Turkey Hill ice cream.

And we’ve saved the nicest daily prize for last. At least we think so. It’s a set of four colorful ceramic ice cream bowls and one matching three-section serving bowl to hold a trio of your favorite sundae toppings (we suggest diced walnuts, crushed pineapple and sprinkles). Leave a comment here to be in the running to win this party-starter.

12 DAYS OF ICE CREAM (DAY 10) – ASK ERNIE: YOU SAY GELATI, I SAY GELATO

Wednesday, December 24th, 2008

CYNTHIA G. OF COLMAR, PA, ASKS:  I took the opportunity to “sample” lots of gelato (with whipped cream) while on a recent trip to Italy. The flavors and texture seem very different from ice cream. What makes them so different?

Italy?! I’m jealous. Gelato (or gelati) is delicious and you’re right, the texture is a lot different. Gelato is denser than ice cream because it contains less air. It’s also made with whole milk with less butterfat than most ice cream, which can also affect the feel and texture.

If you like gelato, you might like our Duetto! The soft serve ice cream in Duetto is inspired by gelato and the flavored ice in Duetto is patterned after Italian ice! It might not compare to REAL Italian gelato, but it’s the next best thing!

Thanks!
Ernie

TODAY’S PRIZE: Here’s another prize for the kids (or the grandkids) for one commenter chosen at random from this entry. Tots will love playing the role of the helpful ice cream scooper with the Deluxe Ice Cream Parlor Set. The set comes with four magnetic ice cream scoops, two cones and two magnetic scoopers in a playful freezer storage case.

12 DAYS OF ICE CREAM (DAY 9): WHICH STATE EATS THE MOST ICE CREAM?

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

Here’s a question guaranteed to stump your friends: Which state consumes more ice cream per capita than any other state in the nation?

It’s gotta be a warm weather state, right? After all, summers are the best time of year for some frosty treats. Maybe Florida? California? Hawaii, perhaps? Or maybe it’s one of those dairy producing states like Wisconsin or even good ol’ Pennsylvania. You’d be wrong with all those guesses. In fact, we’d give you 20 guesses and you probably wouldn’t answer correctly.

Give up? It’s Alaska. Alaskans eat more ice cream per person each year than any other state, but don’t ask us why, because we really don’t know. If anyone has any theories (or happens to know for sure), please enlighten us with a comment!

TODAY’S PRIZE: It’s a blast from the past with this vintage-looking tin toy. Just wind this little guy up and he peddles away, selling his ice cream for nickel a scoop. As always, we’ll choose one comment at random to receive this little distraction.

12 DAYS OF ICE CREAM (DAY 8): THE WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE SUNDAE

Monday, December 22nd, 2008

The vision of gleaming, golden indulgence you see above is the world’s most expensive ice cream dish: the $1,000 Golden Opulence Sundae from the New York City restaurant, Serendipity 3. It was created in 2006 to celebrate the eatery’s 50th anniversary (the golden anniversary, of course). Here’s the official description, just in case you’re thinking about ordering one:

“Five scoops of the richest Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla and covered in 23K edible gold leaf, the sundae is drizzled with the world’s most expensive chocolate, Amedei Porceleana, and covered with chunks of rare Chuao chocolate. The masterpiece is suffused with exotic candied fruits from Paris, gold dragets, truffles and Marzipan Cherries. It is topped with a tiny glass bowl of Grand Passion Caviar. It’s sweetened and infused with fresh passion fruit, orange and Armagnac. The sundae is served in a baccarat Harcourt crystal goblet with an 18K gold spoon to partake in the indulgence and topped with a gilded sugar flower by Ron Ben-Israel.”

Believe it or not, Serendipity 3 actually sells about one Golden Opulence Sundae per month, although they do require 48 hours’ notice if you plan to partake. The good news is, you get to keep the goblet…but you have to give back the spoon.

TODAY’S PRIZE: No, it’s not a $1,000 sundae, but you can make your own out-of-this-world ice cream treats with it! It’s the Play-Doh Magic Swirl Ice Cream Shoppe and it’ll belong to one commenter chosen at random from this entry. We’ll also throw in a month’s supply of real ice cream to satisfy your sweet tooth.

12 DAYS OF ICE CREAM (DAY 7): MILLIE THE CAT

Sunday, December 21st, 2008

Many of you may have noticed that we forgot to post an entry yesterday. Sorry about that. But the good news is, that means we’ll be posting THREE entries (which means three prizes) in the next 48 hours in order to get all of our 12 Days of Ice Cream entries published before December 25!

Thanks to Lee C. from Philadelphia, PA, for sending us this photo of “silly Millie” enjoying some Cherry Duetto. Lee says licking the bottom of the Duetto carton is one of Millie’s “favorite things to do.” Funny thing is, for a lot of us here at the office, it’s our favorite thing to do, too!

NOTE: Because some dogs and other pets are prone to lactose intolerance, care should be taken when feeding your pet ice cream. Like most “people food” treats, moderation is the key. Talk to your veterinarian if you have questions about your pet’s ability to eat ice cream.

TODAY’S PRIZE:  The soft and cuddly little guy on the right is today’s prize for one commenter chosen at random from this entry. He’s the Ice Clown Plus from a company called Evil Ice Cream. The name may sound ominous, but they actually make a variety of very cute toys!

12 DAYS OF ICE CREAM (DAY 6): SING ALONG WITH THE 12 DAYS OF ICE CREAM!

Friday, December 19th, 2008

Inspired by a few comments from Ice Cream Journal readers, we’ve re-written the lyrics to “The 12 Days of Christmas” in a song we call The 12 Days of Ice Cream. Enjoy!

THE 12 DAYS OF ICE CREAM
(Sung to the tune of “The 12 Days of Christmas”)

On the first day of ice cream,
my true love gave to me,
a scoop of Turkey Hill ice cream!

On the second day of ice cream,
my true love gave to me,
two bowls of sherbet
and a scoop of Turkey Hill ice cream!

On the third day of ice cream,
my true love gave to me,
three hot fudge sundaes,
two bowls of sherbet,
and a scoop of Turkey Hill ice cream!

On the fourth day of ice cream,
my true love gave to me,
four ice cream cakes,
three hot fudge sundaes,
two bowls of sherbet,
and a scoop of Turkey Hill ice cream!

On the fifth day of ice cream,
my true love gave to me,
five golden spoons!
Four ice cream cakes,
three hot fudge sundaes,
two bowls of sherbet,
and a scoop of Turkey Hill ice cream!

On the sixth day of ice cream,
my true love gave to me,
six Duetto flavors,
five golden spoons!
Four ice cream cakes,
three hot fudge sundaes,
two bowls of sherbet,
and a scoop of Turkey Hill ice cream!

On the seventh day of ice cream,
my true love gave to me,
seven banana splits,
six Duetto flavors,
five golden spoons!
Four ice cream cakes,
three hot fudge sundaes,
two bowls of sherbet,
and a scoop of Turkey Hill ice cream!

On the eighth day of ice cream,
my true love gave to me,
eight waffle bowls,
seven banana splits,
six Duetto flavors,
five golden spoons!
Four ice cream cakes,
three hot fudge sundaes,
two bowls of sherbet,
and a scoop of Turkey Hill ice cream!

On the ninth day of ice cream,
my true love gamv to me,
nine ice cream sandwiches,
eight waffle bowls,
seven banana splits,
six Duetto flavors,
five golden spoons!
Four ice cream cakes,
three hot fudge sundaes,
two bowls of sherbet,
and a scoop of Turkey Hill ice cream!

On the tenth day of ice cream,
my true love gave to me,
10 cones a-melting,
nine ice cream sandwiches,
eight waffle bowls,
seven banana splits,
six Duetto flavors,
five golden spoons!
Four ice cream cakes,
three hot fudge sundaes,
two bowls of sherbet,
and a scoop of Turkey Hill ice cream!

On the eleventh day of ice cream,
my true love gave to me,
11 chocolate milkshakes,
10 cones a-melting,
nine ice cream sandwiches,
eight waffle bowls,
seven banana splits,
six Duetto flavors,
five golden spoons!
Four ice cream cakes,
three hot fudge sundaes,
two bowls of sherbet,
and a scoop of Turkey Hill ice cream!

On the twelfth day of ice cream,
my true love gave to me,
12 pints of Moose Tracks,
11 chocolate milkshakes,
10 cones a-melting,
nine ice cream sandwiches,
eight waffle bowls,
seven banana splits,
six Duetto flavors,
five golden spoons!
Four ice cream cakes,
three hot fudge sundaes,
two bowls of sherbet,
and a scoop of Turkey Hill ice cream!

 

TODAY’S PRIZE: No tree is complete without the official Turkey Hill ornament (available from our online store). We’ll give it away to one commenter from this entry and throw in a coupon for some free Egg Nog ice cream to help complete the festive mood.

12 DAYS OF ICE CREAM (DAY 5): ANOTHER NEW ADDITION TO THE TURKEY HILL FAMILY

Thursday, December 18th, 2008

Like Romeo and Juliet or peanut butter and jelly, cake and ice cream are meant to be together, which is why ice cream cakes are pretty much the perfect party food. That’s also why, after several years of considering the idea, Turkey Hill has developed its very own ice cream cakes!

The new ice cream cakes are made with swirled chocolate and vanilla ice cream, loaded with chocolate cake crunchies and topped with a special ice cream icing. They’re available in an 8-inch round size ($18 and serves 12 to 14) and a quarter sheet cake ($28 and serves 16 to 20). The cakes also come with a customizable top, to allow you to create your own personal message.

Right now, the treats are only available in select Turkey Hill Minit Markets in the Lancaster and York, PA area and at all Shoprite locations, but we’ll be expanding distribution into grocery stores wherever our ice cream is sold later in 2009. Check this page for specific information about where you can find them.

In the meantime, go ahead and start thinking about things to celebrate and reasons to buy an ice cream cake. How ‘bout celebrating the arrival of ice cream cakes? Seems like a good enough reason for a party to us!

TODAY’S PRIZE: While you’re enjoying a slice of ice cream cake, you can play today’s prize: Ice Cream-opoly! Game pieces include a sundae, a banana split, a scoop and, of course, a cow. One commenter chosen at random from this entry will win this sweet game. Don’t forget to pass “SCOOP” and collect your $200.