Food

As the weather heats up, one food item seems to jump into everyone's mind: ice cream. Everywhere from the truck that rolls down your block playing its familiar jingle to your favorite local ice cream parlor to the frozen food aisle at the grocery store offers the frozen treat, and for good reason. According to the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), more than 1.5 billion gallons of ice cream and similar frozen foods were produced in the U.S. in 2011 alone!

Related: The Ultimate Ice Cream Sandwich Taste Test

Our panel of tasters tried each ice cream in a blind taste test and ranked them from 1 to 9 (with 1 being their favorite and 9 being their least favorite), taking detailed notes about the texture, density, vanilla flavor, smell, color, and overall enjoyment level. We also took into consideration products labeled gelato, because even though it might be considered a "super-premium" product due to its higher density, it's still a form of ice cream. There were plenty of su

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Illustration by Jack Kissinger, the author's father

My dad loves Fabio Viviani, the former Top Chef contender who now hosts the Yahoo! web series, Ciao Chow! Dad refers to him simply as Fabio, and makes off-handed comments phrased as though they had just spoken on the phone. "Well, Fabio says you should coat the steak in light olive oil." Or "Fabio is so funny. He doesn't take himself too seriously." From the way my dad talks, you'd think Fabio was a beloved nephew who calls more often than I do.

It could seem odd that of all the chefs my dad might have loved, he chose Fabio, the stereotypically handsome, hair gelled Italian with a disarming accent and expressive gestures, a man who shares his name with the male model on the cover of all those romance novels. But actually, it makes perfect sense. Fabio appealed to my father because Fabio is Italian. Not simply Italian, but quintessentially Italian. He embodies that all-inclusive, overwhelming hospitality, the almost clownish humor. And though my dad is not Italian, he is a red-sauce pas

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Chef and host Megan Mitchell turns the grill into an outdoor pizza oven and makes a quick and easy Grilled Pizza with Grilled Tomato Sauce. Using just five ingredients, Megan creates a delicious homemade sauce and pizza in about 30 minutes. And, the entire meal can be made for about ten bucks!

Culinary tips:

-Preheat your grill to 500°F (hot!) on the grill lid thermometer and be sure to keep the grill lid closed. If you don't have a grill thermometer, if you place your hand above the grill grates, you should only be able to keep your hand above the grate for about a second.
-No special equipment needed. Use the back of a cookie sheet to get the dough onto the grill.
-Make your own sauce out of just grilled tomatoes, salt and pepper!
-This grilled pizza is a meal that can be made for about ten bucks!

Grilled Pizza with Grilled Tomato Sauce
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:

1 ball pizza dough, store bought or homemade
Flour, for rolling and forming pizza

4-5 tomatoes on the vine, cut in

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We traveled to The Banana Split Festival in Wilmington, Ohio where ten chefs battled it out to make the most delicious and innovative banana split. There were some amazing banana splits, but only one could win:

CHEF JENNIFER PURKEY OF THE GENERAL DENVER HOTEL!

The General Denver's banana split was assembled on top of a freshly made banana funnel cake and topped with three homemade sauces and praline bacon.

Banana Funnel Cake

1 cup banana puree

2 eggs

1 1/3 cup of milk

¼ cup sugar

2 ½ cup flour

1 ½ Teaspoon baking powder

1 ½ Teaspoon cinnamon

½ Teaspoon allspice

Blend all ingredients in food processor until incorporated. Funnel batter into a frying pan with 350˚ F oil. When golden brown on bottom, carefully flip to finish cooking opposite side. Drain on paper towel.

Peanut Butter Sauce

1 cup local honey

½ cup creamy peanut butter

½ cup heavy cream

Whip until smooth and pourable, add more honey if you need to thin

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