With A Wee Bit Of Luck

Life is short.
Eat dessert first.

I am on a dessert roll with ideas for your consideration. With St. Patrick's Day only a week a way I thought I'd start backwards with menu ideas. Main meals will come next. Besides often dessert is the best part of the meal anyway.  So with a wee bit of luck and one package of Oreo cookies

I was able to make two desserts and in less than one hour using only one package of cookies.

The first one is the easiest.

Minty Ice Cream Squares

Cook’s note: I used a 9-inch square pan for this recipe below. But ½ gallon of ice cream was just a bit too much ice cream for a 9-inch pan. Reserve some ice cream back in container

To adapt for a 13 x 9 pan ½ gallon ice cream would be perfect. The amount of crushed cookie crumbs would need to be increased to 10 more and 1 more TB. of butter. So the downside is will need a bigger package of cookies!!!!
The amount of ganache frosting listed in recipe below works for a 13 x 9 pan. The ganache would just be a little thinner layer than if poured on when using a 9 inch pan. 

Ice cream recipe adapted from Pillsbury Holiday Baking

Ganache frosting from A Taste of Anchuca cookbook by Chris Brinkley page 149

Ingredients:

• Finely crushed 24 Oreo cookies (food processor)
• 2 TB. softened butter
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 TB. Kahula
• ½ cup heavy whip cream plus 1/3 cup (use it as liquid mixture do not whip it)
• 2 TB. butter
• ½ gallon green mint chocolate chip ice cream (softened)
• 16 thin rectangular Andes crème de menthe chocolate candies, unwrapped

Directions:

• Remove ice cream from freezer and set aside to soften
• In a food processor break 12 cookies in half and finely crush cookies pour into a bowl crush 12 more and add to rest of cookie mixture
• Stir in 2 TB. melted butter and pat this cookie mixture into a glass pan
• Put pie pan in freezer to firm crust
• Ganache frosting: In food processor chop 1 cup chocolate chips-in a saucepan heat whip cream just to boiling point and then add cream in a slow stream to feed tube in the food processor-add 2 TB. softened butter and 1 TB. Kahula to this mixture and blend-set aside
• After 20 minutes remove chilled crust from freezer and add softened ice cream on top of cookie crust. Depending how high you want the dessert to be might not use all of the ice cream
• Put pan back in freezer for 15 minutes to get it firm
• Pour ganache icing over the top and return to freezer
• Freeze one hour before covering with foil
• Arrange candies on top like in picture so each serving will have one candy per slice
• Let stand at room temperature about 10 minutes before cutting into squares

Grasshopper Pie

If you are a fan of those wonderful creamy drinks called Grasshoppers than this is the dessert for you!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 package of unflavored gelatin
• 24 Oreo cookies crushed in a food processor
• 2 TB. melted butter
•  1/3 cup sugar
• 4 egg whites
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1cup of whip cream- whipped
• 1/3 cup creme de menthe liqueur
• 1/4 cup cream de cocoa liqueur

Directions:

• Use food processor to make cookie crust-crushing 10 cookies at a time
• Add 2 TB. melted butter and pat crumbs into a glass pie pan
• Put in freezer to chill while making rest of recipe
• Soften gelatin in a saucepan with 1/2 cup cold water-blend well and then add egg yolks, sugar and salt
• Whisk together and cook over low heat with a wooden spoon just till thick. Watch to make sure egg mixture doesn't congeal.
• Remove from heat and whisk in liqueurs-pour into a bowl and put in refrigerator only for 10 minutes just to set
• Whip cream
• Beat egg whites and add a drop of green color (the liqueur mixture not quite green enough)
• Blend beaten egg whites, whip cream and liqueur mixture(may need to whisk liqueur mixture to blend before add to whip cream/egg white mixture  
• Pour into cookie crust  
• Could add green sprinkles to top and refrigerate till serving-also can add a sheet of wax paper across the top while refrigerated 

As a sidenote: I really enjoyed reading all the buzz about the 80 year old North Dakota columnist who reviewed Olive Garden, a new retaurant in her town. The review went viral here is in case you missed it. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/restaurant-review-of-the-olive-garden-goes-viral.html

I thought the description of her dining experience had some poetic lines.  I am sure she will be on a Leno show soon.