Last week I picked up a large bag of cherries at the farmers’ market. As much as I love to just stand over the sink and spit pits as I eat, I have managed to hold off on demolishing the bag (read: I only eat every third cherry while I’m pitting them) long enough to make this simple, delicious dessert.

Balsamic Cherries over Ice Cream

This is an adaptation of a healthy dessert idea from Ellie Krieger. Unfortunately, it does not include ice cream in its original form. To practice portion control, I use the small party cups of vanilla ice cream I used to eat at birthdays. The balsamic cherries lend a slightly sweet and tart topping, and making them is a snap.
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After stuffing ourselves on the usual Christmas feast of gumbo, turkey, ham, and more starchy sides than I care to mention, my brother Vincent and I decided to go check out a new pizzeria near our house, Oscar’s Ice Cream & Pizza Joint.

Oscar's Ice Cream & Pizza Joint

Oscar’s is occupying two suites of what used to be Heads ‘n’ Tails Seafood on Perkins Rd, one suite housing the ice cream shop, and the other the main restaurant. When Vincent and I stopped in for lunch, the small main dining room was not full, but had two or 3 larger parties dining in, a pretty good sign for a holiday afternoon. Oscar’s has a number of really interesting pizza combinations, and we decided to split a 12″ D&A Gumbo (Smoked duck, alligator sausage, andouille sausage & green onion on a roux based tomato gravy):
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(Update: Check after the jump for the difference between gelato and ice cream!)

After a day of outlet shopping with the family, I suggested we stop at a new gelateria I’d heard of through Baton Rouge blog Cuisine Rouge. Latte e Miele (Milk and Honey) is located on Highland Rd right outside the Baton Rouge country club.  They’re apparently new enough to not have a permanent sign up yet, but the place was bustling when we stopped in.

Latte e Miele Flyer

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Mario and I visited Morelli’s Ice Cream Saturday afternoon for a sweet treat.  I’ve read a few other blog posts about Morelli’s, and since ice cream is one of my favorite foods (lol), I knew I had to try it out.  Morelli’s real draw is its unconventional flavors, like coconut jalapeno, sweet corn, and ginger lavender.

Morelli's

Morelli’s is located on Moreland Ave about 2 miles south of I-20. Quite honestly, it’s smack in the middle of the hood. At one point, Mario and I actually had to check and make sure we were headed in the right direction. However, the shopping center it’s located in is really nice, and it seems that the neighborhood to the west may be a little more ‘burb and a little less hood. On my first visit, I stayed fairly inside the box with Dulce de Leche Chunk, while Mario had Sweet Potato Pie.

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