The upside to not having a working oven at the moment is coming up with no-bake desserts.  With NYC's recent 100F/40C muggy weather, I've been craving frozen treats like ice cream and gelato.  I decided to make gelato since I only had whole milk on hand.  (Gelato contains less fat than ice cream as it's made with more whole milk and less cream).  The rest of the ingredients came from whatever I had in our pantry (making gelato one of my favorite pantry-clearing items!)

This was my first time making Chocolate Peanut Butter gelato and I was so happy with how it came out!  I based my recipe on one of Giada's, but used less sugar, added a touch of salt, and didn't add cream at all.  Instead of Nutella (which I also love), I used . The gelato had that addictive sweet and salty intense flavor that we both love.

When summer comes to NYC, we rush out to the nearest patio. But lately with the temperatures reaching nearly 100F/40C,we've been rushing back inside seeking the cool comfort of air conditioning.  Dining at Bar Basque, however, lets us enjoy the feeling of being outside with the cool breeze of A/C.  This restaurant on the second floor of the Eventi Hotel is a beautiful space.  There's also an outdoor movie screen that adds to the trendy nightspot feel to this place (and overlooks the newly opened FoodParc outdoor space).

I always love going home to Toronto.  Back in May, we got to visit with my family and friends. But one of our fond memories was going to a friend's house, being treated to a home-cooked meal, and enjoying this tiramisu that another friend brought.  This tiramisu was so luscious, sweet, and creamy. It was light, airy, and oh so addictive.  Of course, we had to have the recipe and happily she's shared it with us (after the jump).

When our oven broke, we discovered that we could easily cater a party without it!:  Patriotic jello shots, dessert table, Caprese salad with fresh burrata, tomatoes, and basil.