The Epi Log

Summer is in full swing, and as we ready to slide into July, we've got one thing and one thing only on our minds: ice cream. The frozen snack is our favorite way to cool down when temperatures rise. But now we're turning that scoop into a slice with 20 crave-worthy ice cream cake recipes featuring every flavor from mint chip to Mexican chocolate.

The nearly two dozen recipes includes a summertime classic in the form of a Red, White, and Blue Ice Cream Cake that layers moist vanilla cake with fresh raspberry and blueberry fillings. The result is a festive sweet finale to your July 4th bash. Ready to click, drool, and repeat? Head on over to our ice cream cake slideshow for 20 reasons we all scream for ice cream (cakes).

Practically every food on the planet has its day of recognition, and the classic combination of peaches and cream is no exception. Today happens to be National Peaches and Cream Day, as if we needed any reason at all to indulge in one of our favorite fruity desserts. 

While simple sliced peaches and homemade whipped cream are definitely something to celebrate, we're taking the festivities up a notch with eight creative takes on the classic peaches and cream pairing:

- Peaches 'n' Cream Eclairs with Bourbon Caramel Sauce (pictured above)

- Peaches and Cream Yogurt Pops

- Peach Baked Alaskas with Spiced Peaches and Raspberries

- Honey-Glazed Peach Tart with Mascarpone Cream

- Peach Ice Cream Pie with Amaretto Cookie Crust

- Peaches and Cream Shortcakes with Cornmeal-Orange Biscuits

- Peaches in Brown Sugar with Rum Sauce and Ice Cream

- Whipped Cream Cake with Peaches and Raspberries

What's your favorite wait to enjoy fresh peaches?

The Fourth of July is just a few weeks away, and we're getting you ready with everything you need for a festive summertive bash, from red, white, and blue recipes to all-star entertaining tips.

In search of the ultimate crispy snack to kickstart your cookout? Look no further than our new recipe for Red, White, and Blue Potato and Beet Chips. And then keep the colorful cuisine theme rolling with the ultimate Independence Day dessert: a Flag Cake. But our flag cake isn't your ordinary vanilla sheet cake. It features a moist chocolate cake topped with cream cheese frosting and fresh berries.

Ready to plan your menu? Check out our complete Fourth of July guide for burgers, hot dogs, ribs, and more flame-kissed favorites, plus endless inspiration for adding a patriotic twist to your party.

Manhattan-based pastry chef Dominique Ansel shot to stardom in recent weeks, all thanks to the invention of a confectionery hybrid known as the cronut. Part-doughnut, part-croissant, the cronut has attracted a cult-like following among pastry enthusiasts near and far. 

The layered sweet is only the latest food mashup to make headlines, which inspired us to round up a full list of haute hybrids, from cronuts to pizookies and every taste in between... 

- Cronut: Laminated, fried, and glazed croissant dough in the shape of a doughnut

- Flagel: A two-fer most simply described as a smashed bagel that takes on the characteristics of a flatbread

- Donut Bacon Sandwich: Sweet meets savory in Dunkin Donuts' hearty breakfast option that sandwiches bacon and eggs between a split, glazed doughnut

- Pizza in a Cone: Marinara sauce, cheese, and traditional pizza toppings served in a cone-shaped crust

- Double Down Chicken Sandwich: KFC went low-carb in 2010 with the launch of its now infamous sandwich that replaces the bun in a chicken sandwich with two breaded, fried chicken fillets

- Doritos Locos Tacos: Chips and taco fillings collide in this recent Taco Bell creation

- Pretzel Croissant: Made famous at Manhattan's City Bakery, the pastry features light and flaky pretzel dough baked in the shape of a croissant 

- Cheeseburger Pizza: The traditional burger toppings make their way onto (or into) a classic pizza crust

- Waffle Tacos: Taco Bell's fork-free solution to your first meal of the day that tucks a sausage patty and scrambled eggs inside a folded waffle

- Pizookie: Cookie dough baked in a pizza pan, served warm and topped with ice cream

What conclusions did we draw from this foray into the world of hybrid foods? Most notably, fast food chains have driven the food mashup movement, up until Dominique Ansel introduced a haute hybrid no one's embarrassed to be spotted snacking on.

What's your favorite two-in-one food?

Photo: Dominique Ansel Bakery

A few months ago we shared with you the Top 10 Most Frequently Misprounounced Foods, from espresso to gnocchi, bruschetta to quinoa. While pronouncing such words proved to be a challenge, it turns out the team over at GrubHub discovered that spelling such words isn't exactly an easy task either.

GrubHub, which provides a location-based takeout and delivery service for online restaurant orders, analyzed their site's search results from more than 500 U.S. cities for the month of April. The result? A list of the most frequently misspelled food words that diners typed into their search bar, plus a few fun facts about the prevalence of the misspellings. And so, without further ado, the top 10 most frequently misspelled food words, according to GrubHub:

10. Macaroni - misspelled more than 3 percent of the time

9. Barbecue - misspelled almost 3 percent of the time

8. Chipotle - misspelled almost 4 percent of the time

7. Tomato - misspelled almost 5 percent of the time

6. Reuben - misspelled more than 7 percent of the time

5. Sandwich - misspelled more than 7 percent of the time

We're ready to kick off Memorial Day weekend with a menu full of summery favorites, from barbecue chicken and smoky ribs to seasonal salads and fruit-filled desserts. But of course no summertime cookout would be complete without a grill full of good ol' hot dogs. 

While hot dogs are a popular food year-round, there's no denying that they reach their peak popularity during the summer months. Curious about just how popular this summertime staple really is, we turned to the American Meat Institute to get a better sense of hot dogs by the numbers. According to the trade association:

- Americans will eat an estimated 7 billion hot dogs from Memorial Day to Labor Day

- Of those 7 billion, 150 million hot dogs will be consumed during the Fourth of July holiday alone

- Baseball fans will eat an estimated 20.4 million hot dogs at Major League ballparks during the season

That's a whole lot of hot dogs with a whole lot of topping options. Fire up the grill this Memorial Day and find inspiration for classic and creative hot dogs toppings with a few of our favorite recipes below:

- Cheddar Hot Dogs with Braised Leeks and Apples

- Garlic Mojo Hot Dogs

- Muffuletta Hot Dogs

- Manchego Cheese and Garlic Hot Dogs

- Beer-Braised Hot Dogs

What's your favorite hot dog topping?