Nothing draws guests to a party than the mention of Ice Cream Cake on the invitation – a proven phenomenon. The great go-togethers pair very well combined in a frozen treat.

But if you’re a DIY type, there are many technique tutorials and how-to’s available to help you create the perfect Ice Cream Cake for your get-together or party. Here are a batch of recipes and tip sheets to get you going:

• eHow’s How to Make an Ice Cream Cake.
• Real Simple Recipes’ Ice Cream Cake.
• Rachel Ray’s Triple Chocolate Ice Cream Cake.
• Nigela Lawson’s Ice Cream Cake courtesy of Food Network.
• Martha Stewart’s Strawberry and Pistachio Ice Cream Cake.

Several sources say the idea for ice cream cake came from the trifle, an elegant dessert  made by layering cream and cookies or cake in a big, glass serving bowl called (what else?) a trifle bowl. Seems anything goes with today’s Ice Cream Cakes.

What’s your favorite Ice Cream Cake, or nomination for the Best Ice Cream Dessert ever?

As the story goes, former President Ronald Reagan in 1984 named July National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday in July National Ice Cream Day. In true populist fashion, he proclaimed the celebration pointing out that a full 90% of Americans love ice cream. Sounds about right.

There are so many ways to celebrate with ice cream from an old fashioned Ice Cream Social to trying new concoctions, like barbecue ice cream. (You read that right.)

The World Dairy Diary Blog recently featured the dessert by self-proclaimed Grillmaster Rick Browne. It’s a version of Baked Alaska you can make on the grill. (Is there anything you can’t prepare on the grill?) Check out the video and try making it yourself. Or, check locally to find ice cream festivities where you live this weekend.

Here’s some ways people are celebrating Ice Cream this year:

• Scope out freebies, like these at Buffalo’s Perry’s shops.
• Go for some artisanal treats. Because we in the U.S. eat more ice cream per person than any other country, every town and city has its own special scoop shop, with specially made Ice Cream, like these in Minneapolis.
• Play Ice Cream Trivia while enjoying your favorite dish or cone. The Great Falls Tribune has posted a good bit of history to get you started.

Remember, you have the whole of the month to celebrate. How will you mark this cool occasion?

What’s the most unusual thing you’ve eaten on top of your ice cream? How about buttered popcorn? It’s perhaps the oddest on this list of weird ice cream toppings.

The best thing about ice cream is the countless ways there are to serve it. It’s the ultimate customizable treat with toppings, mix-ins and variations to please everyone.

But what’s the top ice cream topping? According to WiseGeek, hot fudge, caramel and butterscotch sauces are the most popular, with strawberry sauce and maple syrup following. My favorite, particularly with a bowl of quality vanilla, is homemade rhubarb sauce.

There’s so much more than sauce, categorized like this:  fruits, candies, nuts and other fun other stuff — think sprinkles and whipped cream.

Some of the more unusual toppings listed by Quazen include warmed peanut butter, chocolate-covered coffee beans, green tea and canned pumpkin. I still say the most odd has got to be buttered popcorn. (I’d love to hear from anyone who has tried this – doesn’t the topping get mushy?) Says Quazen:

“Ooooo, gross! Nope. Give it a try. Microwave some buttered popcorn, then sprinkle a handful on top of a bowl of vanilla ice cream (or any choice of your own). It’s fantastic, with a nice mix of sweet and salty.”

If you need new topping ideas find them on Suite101. And if you like from-scratch, try this recipe for toffee sauce from ice-cream-recipes.com. Add texture with this Graham Cracker Crunch topping recipe from All Recipes.

Then, if you’re up for a fun challenge, try this trivia game on Sporcle where you can guess the Top 10 Ice Cream toppings. I scored a six. And buttered popcorn was not on this list.

Ice cream is a favorite of everyone, period. In fact, I’ve never met anyone who does not like it.

Since it’s such a favorite, innovative eaters have come up with many ways to enjoy ice cream, and all of its many forms. Food Network recently posted its top dessert trends for 2010. About half of them include ice cream, and it topped the list in 2009.

Food Network’s trends this year  include:

Ice Cream Mixer: The root beer float gets company as ice cream gets mixed into all sorts of beverages to make new forms of shakes, floats, malts and coolers. The trend follows research showing an uptick in a return to the past.  Says Food Network:

“Nostalgia is certainly part of this trend. Sweets connect us to pleasant childhood memories, and those of us old enough to remember fondly the old drugstore soda fountains will enjoy the new twists on those old favorites.”

Newfangled sandwiches:  I’ve noticed this trend taking shape in scoop shops and restaurants across the Dairy State in recent years as ice cream sandwiches have gotten an upgrade. New flavors of premium ice cream between artisan cookies, brownies or mini brioche have emerged.

Try making some of these fancy ice cream concoctions at home (with gThanks to Food Network and Rachel Ray Magazine):

• Sherbet Float Food Network
• Coco Chocolate Chai Milkshake
• Goat Cheese Ice Cream Sandwich
• Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Enjoy these and other ice cream treats, during Memorial Day weekend, and throughout Ice Cream Season.

Soup is the reason I prefer bone-in hams. There’s a good reason why so much meat clings to those bones. It just begs to be made into soup! In its recipe for Ham Stock Epicurious says a shank will yield a meatier broth base. But I’ve had good results with all types. And if you need a pot of ham and bean soup and have no bone, you can always throw in a ham hock and get a great flavor, too.

Growing up, my mom always made Split Pea with Ham soup after our big holiday meal. In my mind, it remains the best  ham and bean soup. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of cooking plenty of other varieties, too. Here’s a sampling of what’s out there, plus some good, basic references:

• Uncle Bill’s Split Pea with Ham from RecipeZaar
• Kalyn’s Kitchen has a good tutorial on Ham Stock
• Chowhound’s What to do with a Ham Bone
• Ham & Lentil Soup from 101 Things Every Cook Should Cook
• Ham Bone Soups from Old Fashioned Living

Perhaps my favorite reason for cooking ham and bean soups is that it’s actually better to make it ahead. The soup freezes well and actually develops more flavor if you serve it the next day (or day after) it is made. Enjoy a pot today, or tomorrow.

Likewise, I have favorite recipes I pull out annually following the big Holiday Ham Dinner. I make ‘em once a year and they’ve become almost as much a tradition as what we do on Easter itself.

In my estimation, there are probably about 101 ways to use up a bone-in ham. Boneless, too – although I favor a ham bone to make a rich soup stock.  Here are the dishes I rotate from year to year:

• Nueske’s Black Beans with Smoked Ham and Rice
• Build-it yourself Ham Quiche
• Substitute any leftover ham in Jamie Oliver’s Rolled Bread with Ham
• Eat like a Senator with this versatile Senate Bean Soup
• For leftover eggs, you can’t beat this Curried Egg Salad a la Martha Stewart’s daughter Alexis

Send in your family favorites. Bet there are about 101 of them.

It may be urban legend, but a statistic widely reported a while back stated many don’t know what they’re serving for dinner that day by 4 o’clock. If that’s true, I have to believe that, even now, those same people haven’t really planned what they’re cooking for their holiday dinner – let alone know how they’ll execute the meal.

As a public service, we here at gThankYou have decided to put together this no-fail plan (and menu suggestions) to get you started as this week’s Recipe of the Week.

Most big dinners that involve a roast of some sort needn’t be fussy to be spectacular. But it does take a bit of maneuvering if you don’t have a larger-size oven. Follow the same set of rules for cooking a Ham Dinner as other holiday meals, or dinners that include a big roast.

1. Plan a simple, yet elegant menu with family favorites or recipes you’re comfortable cooking. Too many new things will become overwhelming.
2. Include quick sides or those that be made ahead and reheated.
3. Write it down. Simply putting in writing the order your dishes need to go in and out of the oven, and how long they need to cook, will help things go smoothly.
4. Have fun and enjoy your meal!

To get you started, here’s a sample Ham Dinner menu that’s simple, yet satisfying and splendid:

• Awesome Baked Ham with a gThankYou to Recipezaar.
• gThankYou to Simply Recipes for this tasty Roasted Asparagus.
• Food Network posted this straight-forward Potatoes Au Gratin recipe (gThankYou).
• gThankYou to Epicurious for this Big Green Salad .
• If you want to make your own, these No-Knead Dinner Rolls are a big winner. gThankYou to Everyday Food.
• You have to crack a lot of eggs (a full dozen!) to make this fabulous Angel Food Cake, gThankYou to Martha Stewart. We serve ours with fresh strawberries and hand-whipped cream (yum!).

No need to scramble with this menu. Use it as is or as a launching point for your own fabulous Ham Dinner.

I remember, for instance, my aunt doing a grape jelly and ketchup glaze that, as kids, we thought was great. Today, I wouldn’t put that concoction on anything – edible or otherwise (sorry Auntie Barb!).

For some years, I’ve been in the no-glaze camp when cooking our Holiday Ham, choosing to serve au natural. But some of the following glaze recipes —  this week’s Recipe of the Week –  could convince me to try glazing this year.  gThankYou for each and every glaze recipe!

• If you love citrus flavors, try this Tangerine Glazed Ham, a recipe by celeb chef Tyler Florence  posted by AptDweller.
• Simple recipes containing borubon and pineapple are main ingredients in glazes offered up by Rachel at A Southern Fairytale. Try Bourbon Brown Sugar and Pineapple Chipotle Honey glaze.
• Frugal Fine Living offers a Gingerale-based glaze with brown sugar and spice .
• And Steamy Kitchen has a six-ingredient Mango-Ginger Glaze.

Try a variety with Ham Steak to see how they taste to you. Like me, you may be a glaze convert.

This week’s recipe: Green Eggs and Ham.  It’s become our favorite way to celebrate St. Patty’s since we started  marking the birthday of children’s literary limerick genius, Dr. Seuss. While Theodor Geisel’s birthday is actually earlier in March, schools, libraries and literacy groups across the country mark the occasion throughout the month with reading activities. It’s a natural tie-in to cook up some Seuss’ most famous food.

Green Eggs and Ham can be dressed down or made into a special concoction served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. gThankYou for all these variations on the theme:

• Classic Green Eggs and Ham
• Pesto-topped Green Eggs and Ham
• Or, top your eggs and ham with this yummy Avocado Remoulade

Enjoy a bit o’ these types of green with your ham this year. And if you need a Seuss fix, check out this Green Eggs and Ham video and fun Dr. Seuss site.

Many Hams come pre-cooked and, really, need no cooking at all. But most Hams will benefit from baking. And if you don’t make big roasts that much (like me), you may need some reminders and tips.  Why bake? It brings out the natural juices and allows you to customize with a glaze, if you choose, to fit your dinner.

For a primer on Ham (the USDA recognizes four distinct classifications of Ham based on water to protein ratio), view this video from Alton Brown’s Food Network show, Good Eats.

After you’ve decided on which type you want to serve — city or country, fresh, bone-in, spiral sliced, etc. – follow these simple steps for the Best Baked Ham Dinner.

1. Buy a quality Ham: Choose well by knowing what you’re buying. Alton Brown does a good job explaining it, but there’s good information on Ham at Wikipedia, too.
2. Read the package: Most Hams you buy in your grocer’s case will come with some basic guidelines and instructions for cooking right on the label.
3. Decide on a glaze: To glaze or not to glaze is a matter of personal taste (and some intense debate). Options range from fruity peach and pineapple, to adventurous honey mustard and hoisin sauce. Experiment with recipes from CDKitchen and Recipetips.com or go with a family favorite.
4. Bake and check for doneness: One of my favorite kitchen tools is a digital probe thermometer. It is readable from outside the oven and alerts me when food is done. Consumer Reports rates them here.
5. Enjoy! Slice and serve with your favorite sides. That’s another post, but please share your top picks with us.

While not exactly a no-brainer, it is easy to make a memorable Ham Dinner, whether it be holiday-related or for Sunday supper.