Just grin and bear it...and then eat ice cream (Recipe: White Chocolate Thin Mint Ice Cream)

It only took a little over 2 1/2 years to finally receive unsolicited advice from a stranger regarding child rearing.  There we were standing in the baking aisle at the grocery store as I was rummaging through white chocolate for this lovely ice cream when the Baking Toddler decided to unveil his true two year old self.

"I WANT A TREAT!"  "TREAT! TREAT! TREAT!"  I responded, "Sorry buddy, we'll go find a treat as soon as Mommy finds her stuff."  At first I thought he had recovered, but then his arms started to flail and his body began to thrash and then the screams that would put any banshee to shame surfaced from that tiny little body.  I quickly turned to him and corrected him.  I gave him a warning, told him I'd find him a corner and that he would be getting NO treat for throwing tantrums.  I didn't yell but was stern, in fact the next aisle over probably didn't hear me (I know they heard Baking Toddler.)  I shot a look at the man standing a few feet from us.  It wasn't a bad look, maybe apologetic and more likely a "he's two" kind of look.

I want 'chocky' NOW!

The man approached me, introduced himself as a professor of music and kept apologizing for his broken English (he knew very little English.)  Then he proceeded using expressive body language, "You no shush children," he said in a heavy Italian accent, gesturing his finger pressed to his lips and then motioned toward my son.  "You, women, no (I'm guessing no discipline) for the children...men its OK...its psychology-children need to shout, scream and yell.  They need to run and play and be expressive."


If the man had better English I may have said something.  But I thought what's the point, he won't understand me anyway.  So there I was, standing in an aisle listening to this man tell me not to correct my child (all the while Baking Toddler was still moaning, whining and chanting "Chocky, chocky, chocky") and all I did was take it with a stupid grin on my face...and then I went home and made ice cream.

White Chocolate Thin Mint Cookie Ice Cream
serves 1 quart

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 8 oz white chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 sleeve of Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies (about 20)

1. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until they turn pale yellow, about 3-5 minutes. In medium saucepan, mix the milk and cream with egg yolks and sugar, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and holds a line on the back of a spoon.
2. Place white chocolate into a large bowl. Pour hot custard through a strainer into bowl with chocolate, and stir carefully until chocolate is fully melted and incorporated.
3. Let ice cream base rest at least 4 hours and up to overnight in refrigerator.  Meanwhile, place cookies into a Ziploc freezer bag and pound them into pieces.  Place cookies into freezer.
4. Spin the ice cream base in your ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions.  Add frozen cookie pieces during the last 5 minutes of churning. Put medium mixing bowl in the freezer to chill. When ice cream is finished, scoop it out of machine into chilled bowl. Freeze until hardened, 1 to 2 hours.