Hello there! Per an in person request I am finally getting around to posting the "after" pictures of those Ray Ray (that's Rachael Ray for those not in the know) brownie ice cream sandwiches. Have I mentioned that I am an amateur baker/cook? That I have no traditional culinary training? That while I like making delicious (note I did not say yum-o) food that sometimes, often times, I make mistakes? I have? Good! Then we can get on with it!

So these ice cream sandwiches gave me a bit of trouble. Who knew a Ray Ray recipe could be such a challenge? Not I peoples. Not I. One of the reasons (see part one of this post) that I love Ray Ray is the simplicity of her recipes. And while I may have a bachelor's from one of the premier public universities and am on my way to a master's at the same institution I do not have an architectural degree... At this time me thinks that is what one would actually need in order properly assemble these ice cream sandwiches. Either that or a sub-zero freezer and I don't have one of those. Going into this experiment I thought... "Hey I make an awesome savory sandwich. Adding ice cream instead of layers of fixin goodness should be an easy substitution." Those were the blissful thoughts of me in my more innocent days- roughly 3 weeks ago. In short... I tried making these brownie ice cream sandwiches 3 times (THREE TIMES!!!). And I have yet to get the perfect combination. So I'm giving you a reprise of the process and the best post production picture I've got!

Ok... from where I left off in the video you bake the brownies for 10-15 min. until they are still a little soft to the touch. You don't want them to be totally firm b/c you don't want dry brownies AND there will still be some residual heat that will result in residual baking once you pull them out of the heat. After letting the slab cool for 10 min. at room temperature you want to invert the baking sheet and pull off the foil/parchment paper you so dutifully lined it with. As the brownies cool to room temperature you should intermittently press them flat with the baking sheet to get them nice and..... well, flat. (Neo Griot tip #1: While it doesn't call for it the second time I made these brownies I also set the brownie sheet in the fridge to cool and get a bit more solid/firm prior to filling.) Once the brownies are completely cool the path forks....

Neo Griot attempts #1 & 2: Per one of the suggestions on the Ray Ray website I cut the slab in two and tried to fill one half to make on giant sandwich. Then I topped it with the other half and put it in the freezer. I let the super sandwich set for about 1 hr then i took it out and cut it into individual servings. (Neo Griot tip #2: Even if you are tempted to speed up this process because you're so excited for ice cream sandwichy goodness do not soften the ice cream in the microwave. This seemed like a good idea b/c I do this at times with a pint of Ben & Jerry's if it's too hard. But it was not... I just ended up with ice cream soup and soggy brownie halves! Not portable. Not sandwichy. Messy... but still edible.)

Neo Griot attempt #3: Once the brownie slab is cool individually cut out matching sandwich halves to be filled with ice cream. Wrapped in wax paper and then frozen for flavours to meld prior to serving.

Here's the deal.... you need the ice cream to be somewhat soft in order to smoosh it onto the sandwich halves. However, ice cream outside of the freezer can get soft pretty quickly (even without putting it in the microwave). So each time I tried to make these sandwiches I ended up at some point either with ice cream too hard too smoosh OR too soft and liquid-esque to stay in place. Thus I was not able to get a nice smooth layer of ice cream inside the sandwich. Some attempts to level the entire sandwich resulted in a cracked crust (not cute) or leaky sides. One scientific expert suggested I get some dry ice to super freeze things into place. But I am not that adventurous yet. In fact the suggestion just led me to think about that scene in "A Christmas Story" where the kid gets his tongue stuck to the pole on the playground. In my over active imagination this scenario would then end up with me in my itty bitty kitchen, with my hands stuck to a block of dry ice, and unable to call 911 nor Bill Nye the Science Guy for help! So I didn't try it....

Instead after the third attempt I took my imperfect brownie ice cream sandwiches to a Memorial Day BBQ. However, I was too afraid to eat one in public let alone share them.... So, I sat in my friend's house and had a private tasting of one. I did leave a couple for my friends to try once I'd slunk away. My friend Mosaic Geek... being a good friend let me use her camera to take a picture for you all. She also reported that she, "ate the hell out of the one [I] left.... VERY tasty btw..." (that is a direct quote). I enjoyed my sandwich as well but I was a little sad b/c I didn't get the ice cream to brownie ratio quite right... This was a direct result of the melting ice cream dilemma previously mentioned. I had heavy boots (was sad) about this imperfection for a while. After mentioning my epic fail to another friend of mine he explained how he'd been watch "Private Chefs of Beverly Hills" and one two occasions the profession chefs on that show tried to make ice cream sandwiches and had similar issues... So if professionals weren't able to pull it off I was able to forgive myself for it as well. Then I went to therapy and talked it out for a couple of sessions.... and now I'm sharing the picture with the public as my final attempt to "work through" this issue and have some closure. Okay, so maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration but I bet you've attempted to do something before and had the results not be as awesome as you'd hoped. Afterward your awesome friends told you you're knitting wasn't uneven, or you're picture was hung level, or the manicure you gave yourself totally looked professional.... I have friends who tell me my cooking isn't bad. I am thankful for their mercy. Oh... and here's the picture (finally)!