We Made Gelato

When Eddie found out that AF and SMM were going to learn how to make gelato, he thought that we should learn how to, too. Eddie doesn't really eat gelato, so this was a surprising suggestion, but I like gelato so off we went.

The place was small. I had pictured a large industrial kitchen. Instead, we were in more of a galley kitchen, big enough for a long metal table around which about 14 people could stand. Two people to a bowl, we were instructed. Pull your hair back, we were instructed (AF and I already had our hair back). Wash your hands, we were instructed. I like that being clean and hairless was a priority.

 

After getting some history on gelato and learning how it's different from ice cream (it's kind a healtheir but not really), we did our first round of measuring. Since we'd all be pouring our bowls of gelato mixture into a large bucket (not something I thought was a cooking tool, but apparently, kitchen buckets are a thing), we were supposed to tell each other if we went over or under on an ingredient. This required math in the head. Meaning this required Eddie. We went through several rounds of this, and with each round, the evening out of ingredients became less and less, not because we were getting better at measuring but because we were simply not really doing it.

After each round, we got to taste the flavor that the instructor added in, and somehow, despite the very probably mismeasurements, each tasted yummy.

When all was said and done, each of us got to take home a pint of each. That means Eddie and I brought home 8 pints of gelato: 2 vanilla, 2 chocolate, 2 peanut butter, 2, cookies and cream. We went to my parents straight away and put it in their freezer because we did not need 8 pints of gelato that we weren't going to eat, and they know people who would take it.

Before going home, though, we stopped two doors down to grab lunch. When we walked in, I grabbed Eddie and was like, Do you know where we are? He didn't recognize it, but it was the bar where we first met. Not the bar we were in when he first asked me out, but the bar we were in when he came to meet up with his friend who was dating my friend and we barely spoke. Ah, memories. Anyway, the bar was empty except for maybe two people. We asked if they could hold our gelato in the freezer, and they said they'd hold it in a fridge. Good enough.

And then we got menus and the waitress came over and took our orders and we sat and talked about gelato-making and all kinds of things. Then I wondered aloud if the cook had died in the kitchen because it had been at least a half an hour and we hadn't gotten our food yet. If it had been busy, I wouldn't have thought anything of it. It wasn't busy. We could have asked the waitress to check on the food, but she was gone too. At least ten more minutes went by but then it finally arrived.

Eddie had ordered Parmesan truffle fries, but his plate arrived with regular fries. The waitress realized that it was wrong when she put it down, so she grabbed the wrong fries, apologized, and told him it would be five minutes. He shared my fries. We ate our meals. The Parmesan fries arrived when he was almost done with his burger. We had two of them. They tasted what I imagine a wet sock would taste like.

We wanted dessert. Our empty plates sat in front of us. We chatted about ordering dessert. We chatted about other things. About ten minutes later, the waitress came to clear our plates. We got all excited about ordering dessert. Then we saw the waitress with her coat on about to leave.

She then stopped short at the door and went towards the back of the bar. We figured that maybe she'd forgotten that we were still there. Ha ha. So funny. But no, she then came back into view still with her coat on. She'd forgotten her phone which was now in her hand. And she left. Okay then.

I pondered just leaving but then remembered that our gelato was in their fridge. We were captive. Finally, she came back in and SMM asked for two lava cakes and the check along with them. Smart. Very smart.

They waitress appeared twice. She was kind of checking on us, which was weird because after we ordered the lava cake, the cook must have died again because the waiting took forever. So she was checking on us while we were not eating.

About twenty minutes later, we got lava cake. It was not served with our gelato as we'd half expected, figuring they could cut costs by serving us our own dessert. We finished rather quickly but then had to wait for the bill because she hadn't brought it yet. We started to put our coats on anyway, and as we paid, we asked for our gelato. It was all there. And it was still frozen.

We put it in a cooler for the ride home (Eddie's very good idea), and we tasted it when we got to my parents'. They enjoyed a taste of each. I took a small taste of each, too. Eddie watched us enjoy it. Then we waited until Easter to have a gelato feast. Now there are still four full pints and four half pints left, and I don't think they'll last much longer. The instructor said that we could freeze and thaw it maybe three times before it loses its consistency. When that happens, we make milkshakes.