The Westside Drive-In in Boise Idaho has been serving locals and curious tourists since 1957. Chef Lou Aaron bought the retro-designed diner 1993 with the goal of bringing quality food and service to this cool and relaxed setting. The people of Boise loved the revamp and one item, in particular, made this spot famous. I'm talking about The Ice Cream Potato.
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The restaurant (and the Idaho ice cream potato) has been featured on Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" and "Man vs Food". Chef Lou Aaron has been tweaking and perfecting this faux spud recipe for over 40 years and he's not alone. Martha Stewart and Sandra Lee have come up with their own variation. The Westside Drive-In sells more than 1,000 ice cream potatoes per month.
When we hear the name of the great state of Idaho, we instantly think about potatoes. Some of us are just always thinking about potatoes without a mention of Idaho necessary. Idaho produces 13 million pounds of spuds every year. What better way to honor this important starch than with a dessert?
There is no actual potato needed to serve this dessert which will delight kids and grown-ups alike. The ingredients you will need to make this trompe l'oeil (French for "fool the eye") sundae are sweet and fun.
Make an Ice Cream Baked Potato
This is Chef Lou Aaron's recipe from the Westside Drive-In. Get creative with your own variations!
You'll need one quart of vanilla ice cream, one cup of cocoa powder, one cup chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and half cup of crushed oreos and chopped nuts of your choice mixed together.
Divide your quart of ice cream into four equal rectangles and mold into a baked potato shape. Put the cocoa powder in a shallow bowl and roll the ice cream potato in the cocoa powder to give it the "potato" color. Place your potatoes in the freezer to harden for about an hour.
To serve, take a shallow bowl or dish and spoon chocolate syrup on the bottom. Place the frozen potato on top of the syrup and split it down the middle carefully to reveal the white vanilla inside. Decorate with whipped cream to look like a dollop of sour cream. Sprinkle with the oreo/nuts mixture to look like bacon.
Ice Cream Maker
Here's where you can get creative with the carbohydrate illusion. Try a yellow Starburst to look like a pat of butter!
Martha Stewart's version of this ice cream recipe calls for dark-green sprinkles to give the illusion of chives. Sandra Lee uses yellow frosting to look like whipped butter. Some fans of this spud-like dessert have suggested using yellow food coloring with shredded coconut to look like shredded cheddar cheese. Add some chocolate shavings to add to the illusion of dirt. You can even substitute chocolate ice cream for vanilla. Just use the toppings to cover up the inside of the faux potato.
No matter how you top your ice cream potato, it's guaranteed to taste delicious and give you great photos for Instagram.
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