Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato

I have been lazy lately. Not with cooking, but with blogging. So now I have a backlog of entries to put in...so maybe I can be lazy with cooking for a few days? I get like that in the summer sometimes, when I am too hot to cook, or would rather be outside playing. Lately, I have been coming home from work, heading to the pool for a few, eat dinner, and watch a movie or play scrabble with my husband. It's been wonderful, until I get online and wonder why my blog isn't going anywhere. Oh well.

I do not own an ice cream maker, and probably never will...it just sounds like trouble. When I was in culinary school and interned for a while as a pastry chef (mentioned in a previous post of my distaste for it) I made crazy-cool ice creams and sorbets. Tomato Basil Ice Cream, Cantaloupe Sorbet, Salted Chocolate Pretzel, a different flavor every day. This is a gelato you can make in the blender, freeze, and enjoy...no tempering egg yolks and listen to an ice cream machine hum for hours while you wait. I will warn you-this is SUPER rich, like one of those death by chocolate type things. I made this as dessert for our Father's Day dinner for my father in law. Everyone enjoyed it, and it lasted forever since you only need a little scoop at a time.

Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato

1c semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2c Nutella or another chocolate hazelnut spread
1/4c Frangelico or Amaretto
1/4c sugar
1/4t salt
1 1/2c whole milk
Chopped hazelnuts to garnish (it really makes it!)

Place chips, Nutella, Frangelico, sugar and salt in a blender. Blend until fairly smooth. Heat milk in a pot over medium high heat until it just begins to boil. With blender running, slowly stream in hot milk. Blend until completely combined and smooth. Pour into a chilled container and freeze for 8 hours. Serve with chopped hazelnuts on top.

Liquid gelato, I forgot to take a picture of the finish product...bad blogger.