The other day, Mac and I were having a serious conversation about how I only had three TV channels growing up. Seems he couldn’t quite, and still can’t, fathom that. I never really gave it much thought until last night when I was scanning the 100+ channels we have now, and still couldn’t fine anything to land on. But, as I was talking about what I watched on those three channels, I shared with him one of my favorite memories that took place every Saturday morning directly after Bugs Bunny.
To give my sweet Mama some time to herself, Daddy would take Hilary and I on a couple errands, and our first stop always would be the Union 76 gas station on Military Road. A guy by the name of Wallace Davis owned the place — or managed it — whatever the case, he was always there. I remember him vividly. He had blond curly hair with some product in it – most likely some VO5; had a bit of a gut and always, always, some dark grease under his fingernails. He was the salt of the earth and just the guy you would want to work on your car. Daddy always said “You pay attention to this man. He works hard and his hard work shows for it.” I have never forgotten those words. Inside of his garage was a Coke machine and next to it was a basket of peanuts. Our Saturday morning snack.
Coke and peanuts. The snack of the South. The combination of sweet and salty with some fizz added in. Heaven. Every Saturday, this was our treat. There was something about Wallace Davis’s Coke machine that popped out the coldest bottles of Coca Cola ever – like, the top of the bottle was almost a Coke-slushy. We’d open the bottle with the bottle opener attached to the Coke machine and plop in the peanuts. If you haven’t tried it, it may seem weird, but when you do you’ll be hooked. Still to this day, it is my favorite snack, and I am proud to say that I have passed this snack down to Mac and Caroline; both of which love it.
So in honor of Wallace Davis and this genuine snack of the South, I have come up with a new version where I am upping the ante. Let’s do this: A Coke Bourbon Float with Peanut Butter Ice Cream.
The bourbon is optional, of course, but it certainly does take the edge off of today’s hectic-100+-channels-kind-of-life.
Really quickly, my goal was for a super peanut buttery ice cream; like, a make no mistake this is peanut butter, kind of ice cream. For this, I added peanut butter to the custard, and then swirled peanut butter in the end, creating a marbleization of vanilla and peanut butter.
I mean, come on!!
The end result — well, who needs more than three channels after trying this float. Let’s get a hallelujah and a little bit of an Amen. The PERFECT treat to serve at your Memorial Day celebration!!
Right about now, you should be hearing the harp…
Click here on for the recipe. You can also click on each image for the recipe.
Sarah says
We didn’t even have a TV until I was in third grade, and yes, channels were limited! Rootbeer floats were favorites for me growing up. We called them Brown Cows.