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The ultimate ice cream book has finally arrived! And just in time for summer and the onset of the ice cream season (is there ever not a season for ice cream?) David Lebovitz, former pastry chef at Chez Panisse, hilarious and articulate blogger of davidlebovitz.com, cookbook author of several highly acclaimed books on desserts, and frequent commenter on Simply Recipes, has written a gorgeous, informative, delicious book about ice cream, sorbets and granitas. The Perfect Scoop has over 150 recipes and over 50 stunning photographs. Ice cream recipes include the basics such as chocolate, vanilla, and butterscotch pecan, and branch out to aztec "hot" chocolate, apricot-pistachio, and lavender-honey. Papaya-lime sorbet and mojito granitas make appearances as well.

One of the things I love about David's work is that he takes the time to instruct us on the basics of whatever it is he is cooking. His Room for Dessert book has saved me over and over again with his explanations of the "whys" as well as the "hows" of doing a recipe. In The Perfect Scoop David describes right up front the methods you'll need to employ to make creamy, perfect ice cream. Using a custard base is what is usually called for, but can be a bit tricky for first timers. David's explanation makes it easy. David includes a section on the equipment needed, describing the pros and cons of the different kinds of ice cream makers that you can use.

I've been reading David's blog at davidlebovitz.com for a couple of years. It's better than Comedy Central as David takes his readers on a never-ending tour of what's it's really like to live in Paris. Somehow, through all his blog writing and chocolate tours, David managed to write this book, which included developing and testing all of these recipes. Yikes! He must have eaten nothing but ice cream and sorbet for a year, and had to walk 10 miles a day just to work off the calories. But he did it for us, so that we might make the best of our frozen creations. So if you love ice cream and want to try your hand at making your own, get yourself an ice cream maker and a copy of The Perfect Scoop.

P.S. Adam Roberts, the Amateur Gourmet, took this video of David on a trip to Paris. It's a hoot!