Recipe Fridays: Fancy Root Beer Float

Ok, so it’s a huge cop out.  I’ve got a lot going on this week, and want to get back to posting about my awesome ‘licious Birthday Week, and… well, take what I give ya 😉

I’ll confess here, though, that I tend to be a very plain and boring gal when it comes to certain things.  For example, root beer floats (did I mention I love root beer to bits and pieces and bits and pieces?  It’s one of the few caloried drinks I can’t keep myself from indulging in).  Root beer floats are made with vanilla ice cream.  Root beer has this awesome kick ass flavor already.  Why butcher it with competing flavors?  Vanilla is the perfect foil for lots of flavors; I rarely even consider a different mix when it comes to, say, a sundae that involves plopping tons of toppings on top.  Coffee ice cream topped with – eek – crushed pineapple, strawberry topping, and bananas?  No, thank you.

Okay, sorry, I have this strict rule about not saying food is disgusting.  It’s rude and just disrespectful and unnecessary.  If you like something that I don’t, I might say, “I don’t like that,” or “I haven’t tried that before,” whichever is more true.  But a few occasions – this is a true pet peeve of mine – someone has heard what I was eating and actually physically recoiled in horror and responded, “EWWW!  That’s disgusting,” I have been truly offended and told them politely that I don’t appreciate them talking about my food that way, and I’ll thank them very much to take their offense elsewhere or keep their mouth shut while I enjoy my meal, thanks.  But anyway.

I don’t generally keep root beer in my fridge because that means I’ll drink it (and get fat).  But BF and I both love root beer, and a few weeks ago, he came over, bringing with him a 4 pack of Stewart’s, our favorite easily-accessible root beet (there are other brands I think have better flavor than Stewart’s, though usually it’s not by that much, but they are more regional/more difficult to find, whereas Stewart’s is now in nearly every supermarket I go to).  A few days later, I found a lone bottle straggling around in my fridge, and decided I wanted a root beer float.  But I didn’t have any vanilla ice cream, only mint chip (Haagen Dazs). 

Well, here goes.  Fancy Root Beer Float (even though I forgot to take a picture of the final end product for full effect)

Bottle of delicious root beer
Wine glass (preferably one with a wide mouth)
Ice cream (any flavor you like)
Whipped cream
Maraschino cherry (or plural, I usually pop a few extra into my mouth before they make it there 😉
Decoration cookie (since I had mint chip ice cream, I dug out a box of chocolate covered mint Oreos)

This isn’t rocket science, people…

1- Scoop ice cream into wine glass.
2- Pour a little root beer into wine glass over ice cream – make sure it doesn’t run over.
3- Squirt (or, if you’re like me, spoon, because you made your own whipped cream and it is ohhh sooo luscious) whipped cream on top.
4- Plop a cherry or two on top.
5- Add a cookie in a complementary-to-your-ice-cream flavor to the side of the glass, or crumbled on top.
6- Take a spoon out, carry the wine glass & root beer bottle with remaining root beer inside to the living room, sit on the couch, prop your feet up on the coffee table, turn the TV to the Food Network and lean back, dig in, and ENJOY THE HECK OUT OF YOUR DESSERT!!! 

Extra props if you don’t even have dinner before making this 🙂

HAPPY EATING~!!!