Grilled Lemon-Basil Chicken Breasts, Heirloom Tomatoes with Balsamic Glaze, Focaccia Rolls

Grilled Pizzas: Margherita and Arugula-Fontina-Prosciutto

Broiled Halibut with Lime-Cilantro-Honey Butter, Grilled Potatoes, Mustard Greens

Grilled Chicken Thighs, Carrot and Cauliflower, Potatoes

Korean-Style Beef Brisket, Apple Cole Slaw, Corn

Astounding Non-Blizzard Combinations

It's been a long time since our last Blizzard review here at Astounding Blizzard Combinations.  I am spending most of the summer in a location that unfortunately has no Dairy Queen nearby, so I thought I would continue posting with some Astounding Non-Blizzard Combinations that I've been preparing lately.

Blizzard Quote of the Week

“pull a string, a puppet moves ...
each man must realize
that it can all disappear very
quickly:
the cat, the woman, the job,
the front tire,
the bed, the walls, the
room; all our necessities
including love,
rest on foundations of sand --
and any given cause,
no matter how unrelated:
the death of a boy in Hong Kong
or a blizzard in Omaha ...
can serve as your undoing.
all your chinaware crashing to the
kitchen floor, your girl will enter
and you'll be standing, drunk,
in the center of it and she'll ask:
my god, what's the matter?
and you'll answer: I don't know,
I don't know ...”

― Charles Bukowski, Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame

The Twelve Tribes of Blizzrael

Tonight I continued my banana theme with an Oreo and banana combination.  This was a great ABC, and I think it would be an excellent entry-level option for those who are looking for an introduction.  While there were some solid Oreo chunks in there, this ABC did suffer from some sub-par mixing (they were incredibly busy at the Old Saybrook DQ tonight so I won't hold it against them), and I would have liked a more even banana/Oreo ratio. 

Another big development is that I went for a mini size instead of my usual small.  This was my first experience with the mini and I think I'll stick with it.  Maybe if I'm really hungry I'll get two separate minis to try to different ABCs in one outing.

Rating:7.8

        

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Blizzness Report

It's been almost 50 days since we started, so I figured I'd compile a list of our rankings so far:

9.5 - Chocolate, Banana, Reese's

9.0 - Hawaiian, Heath Bar

8.0 - Vanilla, Banana, Heath Bar 

7.0 - Hawaiian, Cookie Dough

6.5 - Chocolate, Coconut

6.0 - Choco Cherry Love, Midnight Truffle

5.0 - Banana Split, Heath Bar

3.0 - Vanilla, Oreo, Butterfinger

Beyond the Blizzouri Sky

I kept it simple with this one: chocolate ice cream with just toasted coconut from the Hawaiian option.
I was picking one up for the Ghost Blizzard at the same time and decided to give him an opportunity to try out a Confetti Cake based ABC, the current special flavor of the month at DQ, so look for review of that "flavorway" soon.
My minimalist approach with the chocolate coconut ended up being mediocre.  The coconut added some texture but not a whole lot of flavor and this Blizzard didn't exactly pack a punch.  It did earn some bonus points for reminding me of some Easter Basket candy from my childhood - the infamous Russell Stover coconut nest. 

 Rating: 6.5

Blizzard Quote of the Week

“The day, a compunctious Sunday after a week of blizzards, had been part jewel, part mud. In the midst of my usual afternoon stroll through the small hilly town attached to the girls' college where I taught French literature, I had stopped to watch a family of brilliant icicles drip-dripping from the eaves of a frame house. So clear-cut were their pointed shadows on the white boards behind them that I was sure the shadows of the falling drops should be visible too. But they were not.”

Vladimir Nabokov - The Vane Sisters

Blizzkrieg Bop

Hello Blizzard fans.  I apologize for the lack of posts lately, but hopefully we'll be able to get our priorities straight and focus on consuming and reviewing ABCs for you.
I was lucky enough to have an Astounding Blizzard Combination delivered to me a couple days ago: chocolate ice cream, bananas, and Reese's cups.  Bananas have become a staple ingredient in my Blizzards these days, so much so that I almost can't imagine ordering one without.  The chocolate base brought the richness and made this a truly decadent experience.  With the Reese's I got a hint of salt, which is something I enjoy in a dessert and had heretofore been absent from my Blizzards

The only reason I'm stopping at a 9.5 on this one is my desire to leave a bit of room for improvement, although I'm not sure that's even possible.  For now, this is my hands down favorite, but of course the ABC team and I won't stop experimenting until all of the possibilities have been exhausted.

Rating: 9.5/10