The Gourmet Cookbook's Ice Cream #10 {Prune Armagnac Ice Cream} And My Top Favorites From the Gourmet Ice Cream Series!

This is almost the ice cream that wasn't. I was slated to make it three weeks ago and was under the impression that I could just walk right into my local liquor store and buy a bottle of Armagnac. Boy was I mistaken! After three weeks of trying to source Armagnac, I finally gave up and decided I was making this ice cream with a substitution, Brandy! It is what it is, folks.

This recipe was a little more time consuming to make, simply because the prunes need to macerate in the brandy for at least 12 hours! Then the macerated prunes get blended with a cup of the ice cream base before being adding back into the ice cream based and stirred. Please feel free to see the picture below where I stirred the macerated and blended prunes into the ice cream mixture. I had high hopes for a beautiful deep plum colored ice cream, but this is when I realized this was not that, as they say.

 

 

Look! My ice cream is a beautiful shade of peanut butter with prune chips running throughout! From this point on, I will now refer to this as Prune Chip Ice Cream, thank you very much!  

 

In The Gourmet Cookbook, Ruth Reichl states "The brandy prevents the ice cream from being too sweet and keeps it slightly soft, with a consistency closer to that of gelato than of ice cream. This recipe comes from the Mapotel de France in the lovely Gascon town of Auch, via Gourmet reader Robert White.

 

The ice cream is in fact soft, with a whipped consistency, and little baby bits of prune chips scattered throughout, kinda remind me of how chocolate chip ice cream in appearance, but not in taste.This is most definitely an adult ice cream. You can definitely taste the alcohol and the little bits of prune chips contribute some texture and a mild prune flavor. The ice cream itself has some carmel notes, but is on the whole quite mild. I didn't mind this ice cream and it wasn't bad, but it also wasn't delicious. It is not my favorite ice cream, but I am very happy to have finally experimented with these flavors.

 

And now for the top favorite ice creams in the series! Over the past ten weeks I made ten ice creams: Vanilla Bean Ice Cream; Burnt Orange Ice Cream; Cream Cheese Ice Cream with Blueberry Swirl; Italian Lemon Ice; Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream; Chocolate Velvet Ice Cream; Lemon Meringue Ice Cream; Maple Walnut Ice Cream, Brown Sugar Rum Raisin Ice Cream; and Prune Armagnac Ice Cream. 

All of the recipes were good but my all-time favorite was the Maple-Walnut Ice Cream. I love all things maple-flavored and the flavor of the maple with the texture of the walnuts was simply irresistible. Plus, the ice cream base was smooth and velvety. Our second favorite was the Chocolate Velvet Ice Cream. It was so rich and chocolatey and did indeed have a velvety texture. And, the third favorite was the Cream Cheese Ice Cream with Blueberry Swirl. It was summery and refreshing and so easy to make. I loved the cream cheese ice cream base and the possibilities on different swirls and variations.

Runners up would be the Italian Lemon Ice...on a hot day that would be the most refreshing treat there is and it is so lemony it'll make your mouth pucker. And also, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Brown Sugar Rum Raisin Ice Cream. That brown sugar base was really something special.

I had a very fun time trying out lots of fun ice cream recipes and will experiment with more at a later date. For now, we all need a little break from ice cream.

Prune Armagnac Ice Cream

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

by Ruth Reichl

Makes 1 quart

3/4 cup (about 6 ounces) pitted prunes

1/3 cup Armagnac

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup half and half

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise

6 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

Pack prunes into a 1/2-pint jar and add Armagnac; it should just cover them. Cover jar and let prunes macerate at room temperature for at least 12 hours.

Combine cream, half and half, and salt in a 2 quart to 3 quart heavy saucepan. With tip of a knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean into cream mixture, then drop in pod. Bring mixture just to a boil and remove from heat.

Whisk together yolks and sugar in medium metal bowl. Add hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly, then pour into saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until custard is thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170 on thermometer; do not let boil.

Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into cleaned metal bowl; discard pod. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, then refrigerate, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours.

Pulse prunes with macerating liquid in a food processor to a thick, slightly chunky puree. Add about 1 cup cold custard and pulse just until well combined, then whisk mixture into remaining custard.

Freeze custard in ice cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.

From The Orchard @ I Heart Cooking Clubs!

The Gourmet Cookbook's Ice Cream #9 {The Best Brown Sugar Rum Raisin Ice Cream}

I know, I know. Right now you're thinking, Rum Raisin Ice Cream? And I am here to tell you YES, WE HAVE BEEN MISSING OUT FOR WAY TOO LONG!

Imagine a brown sugar ice cream base...I bet you've never had that, because I know I haven't. Well, imagine this deep rich flavorful brown sugar ice cream base with hints of boozy rum flavor and raisins that give a very chewy caramely kinda vibe. 

I can't vouch for those other vanilla ice cream-based rum raisin recipes, but I can vouch for this one with it's brown sugar ice cream base. I'm telling you right now...this ice cream is giving SO MUCH FLAVOR AND TEXTURE! It's giving fall vibes in the best way! Deep, dark notes of brown sugar, rum, caramel...it's just heavenly.

I imagine this ice cream at all the fall festivals, on all the apple pies, and every other fall dessert and/or occasion.

DO NOT CONTINUE TO MISS OUT ON THIS!

 

 Brown Sugar Rum Raisin Ice Cream

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

by Ruth Reichl

Makes 1 quart

1/3 cup dark rum*

3/4 cup raisins*

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup half and half

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

Heat rum in a small saucepan until just warm. Remove from heat, add raisins, and let stand, covered, for 1 hour.

Combine cream, half and half, and salt in a 2 quart heavy saucepan and bring just to a boil.

Meanwhile, whisk together eggs and brown sugar in a large metal bowl. Add hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly then pour into saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard is thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170F on thermometer; do not let boil.

Pour custard through a fine mesh sieve into cleaned metal bowl. Add rum and raisins. Cool completely, stirring occasionally, then refrigerate, covered until cold, at least 3 hours.

Freeze custard in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 6 hours.

 Potluck Week @ IHCC!

The Gourmet Cookbook's Ice Cream #8 {Maple Walnut Ice Cream}

 Who doesn't love a good Maple Walnut fudge or ice cream? Especially once the weather has started to turn a little cool in the mornings and evenings? 

The Gourmet Cookbook says that to get the full impact of the maple flavor, you need to seek out Grade B syrup, which is less refined and far more powerful than the easier-to-find Grade A. It also says DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT USING PANCAKE SYRUP! I found a great bottle of Grade B available online at my market, but then I sent my husband to the store with instructions, and a picture, and explicitly said Grade B, and he still bought Grade A. At least it was a good brand and it did have a very dark color and robust flavor. You will need one whole bottle of syrup, or 8 ounces.

This particular recipe was contributed to Gourmet by Ann Patchett, the novelist! I do enjoy her books, particularly The Dutch House, and I am a lover of all books, so I was happy to see this contribution. It states that "Patchett brought us this old-fashioned dessert from a vacation at the Keeper's House, an inn on Isle au Haut, Maine." That gives me a cozy and rather authentic maple feeling!

The maple syrup gets boiled down and reduced prior to adding the cream, milk and salt. When the maple syrup is boiling down it almost has the aroma of molasses - deep and very concentrated syrupy flavor. Do not worry if this is the case for you, because during my interim of making ice cream; I've noticed that ice cream flavors are very pronounced or strong prior to freezing in an ice cream machine. Once the ice cream freezes the flavors tend to mellow out a bit!

The second step is boiling the concentrated syrup, cream, milk, and salt and then slowly incorporating that mixture into the eggs. I'm not gonna lie here, I was very worried about what my mixture looked like when I added in the boiling liquid to the eggs. It looked a little bit like the eggs were starting to scramble and the texture was completely different than the other ice creams, but never fear because the final texture of this ice cream was so silky smooth and wonderful!

The ice cream base needs to chill for 3 hours and during this time I went ahead and toasted my walnuts. Chop the walnuts if you want to, but we opted for some whole or larger pieces of walnuts. Also the 1/3 cup called for in the recipe would be a little too sparse for us, so I toasted more to add on top!

This ice cream is so smooth and silky and delightful! The maple flavor is total perfection, not too little and not too much. The contrast of the silky smooth ice cream with the crunchy nuts is rather addictive and I found myself wanting to go back for more. I am somewhat biased to these flavors, but I can easily say this will be one of my favorite recipes from my Gourmet Cookbook Ice Cream series. I will definitely be making this again - with Grade B maple syrup that I buy with my own two hands! Ha-ha!

Maple Walnut Ice Cream

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

by Ruth Reichl

Makes 1-/2 Quarts

1 cup Grade B maple syrup 

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1/3 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Boil syrup in a 2 quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat until reduced to 3/4 cup, 5 to 10 minutes.

Stir cream, milk, and salt into syrup and bring to a boil over moderate heat.

Meanwhile, whisk eggs in a large metal bowl. Add hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly, then pour into saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard is thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170F on thermometer, 1 to 2 minutes; do not let boil.

Pour custard through a fine mesh sieve into cleaned metal bowl. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, then refrigerate, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours.

Freeze custard in ice cream maker until soft frozen. With motor running, add nuts, and continue churning ice cream until frozen. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.

 Summer Snacks @ IHCC!

The Gourmet Cookbook's Ice Cream #7 {Lemon Meringue Ice Cream}

My family has a history with Lemon Meringue Pie. Everyone in the family loved it, but my Gramps loved it most! He used to ask for it on his birthday and then ask for it again any time we had a family holiday like Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. My mom would make two Lemon Meringue Pies, one for us to eat on the occasion, and one for my Gramps to take home with him.

Each and every time I see anything having to do with Lemon Meringue Pie, it becomes rather sentimental and makes me think of Gramps. I get a vision of him sitting at the head of the table taking the first bite of Lemon Meringue Pie and leaning his head back and closing his eyes to savor it. Then he would immediately begin singing my mom's praises over the pie.

I knew without a doubt when I started my ice cream series that I had to try my hand at Lemon Meringue Ice Cream. I kept putting it off because I knew it would be tedious and time-consuming, and it was! First, you have to make the meringue, which bakes for an hour, rests for an hour in the oven, and then rests and cools on the counter for another hour.

Once the meringue cools, you cut it into bite-size pieces and set it aside. Now it's time to make the lemon custard which consists of warming milk and cream with lemon zest and sugar before mixing it into 6 egg yolks and gently warming it on the stove until it reaches 170F. Once the mixture cools you add in the lemon juice and everything gets nice and tart! Then the custard has to chill for 3 hours.After the lemon custard chills, it's time to freeze it in your ice cream machine! Once the ice cream is frozen, you add it to a bowl and stir in the meringue pieces and then put all that into an airtight container and freeze until it hardens for at least 3-4 hours!

This Lemon Meringue Ice Cream is dead on Lemon Meringue Pie! The lemon ice cream gets a nice yellow color from the lemon zest and the eggs and it tastes almost exactly like the lemon curd in the pie. The meringue pieces are both crunchy and crispy and also chewy. They add so much fun texture to the ice cream! I'm not sure this is an ice cream for everyone, as you really have to love lemon, but I do love lemon and I enjoyed this SO MUCH! The ice cream is incredibly creamy and smooth and those meringue pieces are simply amazing and add so much crispy-crunchety texture to the ice cream. It is a delight for the senses and I think ol' Gramps would've just loved it!

Lemon Meringue Ice Cream

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

by Ruth Reichl

Makes about 1-1/2 Quarts

For The Meringue

2 large egg whites

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sugar

For Ice Cream

1-1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

4 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 large egg yolks

2/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Make The Meringue: Put a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 250F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat whites and salt in a medium bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until whites hold soft peaks. Add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, beating at medium speed, then beat at high speed until meringue holds stiff; glossy peaks, about 1 minute. Spread meringue into a 9-inch round on parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake until firm to the touch, about 1 hour. Turn off oven and let meringue stand in oven for 1 hour. Transfer meringue, on parchment, to a rack to cool completely. Peel off parchment and, working over a bowl, break meringue into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces.

Make The Ice Cream: Combine cream, milk, sugar, zest, and salt in a 2 to 3 quart heavy saucepan and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, whisk yolks in a medium metal bowl until smooth. Add hot cream mixture to yolks in a slow stream, whisking constantly, then pour back into pan. Cook custard over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard is thick enough to cat back of spoon and registers 170F on thermometer; do not let boil.

Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into cleaned metal bowl and stir in lemon juice. Cool custard to room temperature, then refrigerate, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours.

Freeze custard in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to a bowl and fold in meringue then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 4 hours.

Cook's Notes: The meringue can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. The custard can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. The ice cream can be made up to 1 week ahead. 

Beat The Heat @ IHCC!

The Gourmet Cookbook's Ice Cream #5 {Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream}

We're moving right along with the summer ice cream challenge, cooking our way through the Gourmet Cookbook's Ice Cream recipes! Up this week is Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream.

I was excited about this recipe because it's cream cheese based and therefore much easier than the standard custard-based ice cream. Just a quick blend of strawberries, cream cheese, sugar, milk, lemon juice, salt and then you stir that mixture into the cream. Let chill and then freeze in an ice cream maker.

It really couldn't be more easy and I do tend to love a cream cheese base. I had high hopes for this one and I gotta say it just didn't deliver. It was okay, certainly edible, but I've made another Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream years ago (click here) that we absolutely go crazy for and I prefer that one to this recipe, by far!

This Gourmet Cookbook version was harder than I'd like and also quite a bit icy. If I had to guess, I'd say the hefty amount of strawberries in this version lent the ice cream quite a bit of iciness and took away from the creamy factor. I think the hefty amount of strawberries also made the ice cream freeze harder, making it hard to scoop. All in all, it was good and refreshing, but the recipe I linked above is far superior with just the right hint of strawberry flavor and superior creaminess. I will stick with that recipe going forward!

 

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

by Ruth Reichl

Makes 1 quart

1 pint (12 ounces) strawberries, hulled and coarsely chopped

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup heavy cream

Combine strawberries, cream cheese, sugar, milk, lemon juice, and salt in a blender and puree just until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in cream. Chill completely.

Freeze mixture in ice cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.

July IHCC Potluck @ I Heart Cooking Clubs!
 

 

 

The Gourmet Cookbook's Ice Cream #4 {Italian Lemon Ice} So Cold and Refreshing!

Here at Stirring the Pot, we absolutely go crazy for lemon desserts! I wanted to take a break from the cream-based, egg custard ice creams and go with something lighter this week so I selected the Italian Lemon Ice!

I've made granitas and ices in the freezer before, by putting the mixture in a tray and scraping the ice every so often over the course of a few hours, but I wanted to try my hand at making an ice using my ice cream machine. Boy, am I glad I did!

This Italian Ice is so, so easy! You just make a simply syrup, boiling water and sugar and then add in lemon juice, zest, and salt. Let it cool in the fridge and then add to the ice cream machine.

There is no milk or cream in this recipe but the end result is somewhat creamy! The ice is supremely cold (colder than ice cream) and bursting with zingy zippy lemon flavor. So much so that it will make your mouth pucker. This is the perfect cool refreshing treat to give you a refresh on a hot summer day. It also makes for a really good palate cleanser! And, lastly, a little goes a long way. One scoop will have you nice and refresh in no time!

Italian Lemon Ice

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

by Ruth Reichl

Makes about 1 quart

1-1/2 cups water

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar 

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh lemon zest

1 cup fresh lemon juice

pinch of salt

Bring water and sugar to a boil in a 1quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in zest, juice, and salt. Transfer to a metal bowl and cool syrup to room temperature. Refrigerate syrup, covered, for at least 1 hour.

Freeze syrup in ice cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

Summer Fun @ I Heart Cooking Clubs!
 

The Gourmet Cookbook's Ice Cream #3: {Cream Cheese Ice Cream with Blueberry Swirl}

 

This is a thick and dreamy ice cream that is perfect for first time ice cream makers, or beginners, as you can blend up all the ingredients in a blender, chill, and then freeze in your ice cream maker! There is no worry with making a custard. You can have this recipe ready in mere minutes!

Ruth Reichl says, "the perfect recipe for anyone who thinks that making ice cream is complicated, this delightful shortcut came to us from the French chef Michel Richard, of Citronelle, in Washington D.C., who was fascinated by American cream cheese. This ice cream is rich, creamy, and taqngy- absolutely unlike anything you can buy in the store."

I loved the tang of this ice cream and found that it is, in fact, very unlike anything any other ice cream I've ever had before. This ice cream would be great as is, but also as a topper for any homemade fruit pie and/or brownies! However, I wanted to experiment with adding fruit to the ice cream and I just happened to win a jar of homemade blueberry jam from my local farmer's market so I went with that! It was so, so delicious! I went ahead and froze the ice cream in the ice cream maker, then put it into an airtight container, then I took about 1 to 2 tablespoons of the blueberry jam and swirled it into the cream cheese ice cream. The results were so, so good! This might just be my favorite ice cream recipe so far and I will definitely be making it again!

Cream Cheese Ice Cream with Blueberry Swirl

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

by Ruth Reichl

Makes 1 quart

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional: items to stir into the ice cream, such as jams or fruit or anything you like!

Combine cream cheese, milk, lemon juice, sugar, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in cream and vanilla. Chill completely.

Freeze mixture in ice cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container (this was when I took about a tablespoon or so of my blueberry jam and swirled it into the ice cream, making a pattern), put in freezer to harden. Let ice cream soften for 5 minutes before serving.  

Gourmet Fun @ I Heart Cooking Clubs

The Gourmet Cookbook's Ice Cream #2 {Burnt Orange Ice Cream}

 This is THE ice cream recipe that started me on my ice cream path! Burnt Orange Ice Cream, meaning essentially caramelized orange ice cream. Hello? I mean if that doesn't sound supremely delicious then I don't know what does!

This Burnt Orange Ice Cream is infused with orange zest and orange caramel. Initially the cream and milk steam with bits or orange zest, which imparts a lovely aroma to the milk and cream mixture. Then you combine fresh orange juice and sugar and cook it down, without stirring, to create a deeply colored orange caramel. Now we've got two mixtures both infused with the heady aroma of orange!

We combine the milk, cream, and orange zest mixture with the orange caramel, then mix it slowly with the egg yolks and remaining sugar. This mixture cooks until it reaches 170F and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Then we finish the mixture with vanilla extract.

The result is an ice cream that is delicious and unique. It is pale orange ice cream with bits of orange zest and it is heady with orange flavor and aroma. The orange caramel, or burnt orange, gives the ice cream a depth that isn't there with other ice cream recipes. Just a hint of caramel, a hint of depth, something deep. The six egg yolks provide a thickness and density to the ice cream that sets it apart from other recipes. It is somewhat exotic and enticing. It feels luxurious and addictive and you keep going back for one more bite...

 Burnt Orange Ice Cream

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

by Ruth Reichl

Makes about 1-1/2 Quarts

1-1/2 cups heavy cream

1/12 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest (from 3 large navel oranges)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup strained fresh orange juice

6 large egg yolks

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Equipment: instant-read thermometer and an ice cream maker

Combine cream, milk, and zest in a 2 to 3 quart heavy saucepan and bring just to a boil. Remove pan from heat, cover and let stand for 30 minutes.

Combine 1/2 cup sugar and orange juice in another 2 to 3 quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring, swirling pan occasionally, until syrup becomes a deep golden caramel. Remove pan from heat, carefully add 1/2 cup cream mixture (mixture will bubble and steam), and whisk until smooth. Add remaining cream mixture in a steady stream, whisking. Cook caramel mixture over very low heat, whisking, until caramel has dissolved and mixture is hot. Remove from heat.

Whisk together yolks, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and salt in a medium metal bowl. Add hot caramel mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Return mixture to a saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard is thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170F on thermometer; do not let boil.

Pour custard through a fine mesh sieve into cleaned metal bowl and stir in vanilla. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours. 

Freeze custard in ice cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden. 

 Fruity Fun @ I Heart Cooking Clubs!

The Gourmet Cookbook's Ice Cream #1 {The Most Amazing Vanilla Bean Ice Cream}

I am in my Ice Cream Era at the moment. It's summer y'all and I am going through some ice cream. I happened to be looking through my tome of a cookbook, The Gourmet Cookbook, and I found SOOOOOOO MANY ice cream recipes I wanted to try; namely, Burnt Orange Ice Cream (made with a caramelized orange sauce); Cream Cheese Ice Cream; Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream; Raspberry Ice Cream; Lemon Meringue Ice Cream; Maple Walnut Ice Cream; Prune Armagnac Ice Cream; and then even some delicious sounding sorbets like Green Apple Sorbet; Roasted Apricot Sorbet; Kir Royale Sorbet, and many more.

So, I'll see how far I get with all those delicious sounding recipes! But, in the meantime, it's been awhile since I've made ice cream and used my ice cream maker, so I'm starting basic with Gourmet's Vanilla Bean Ice Cream! 

Making custard can be tricky as we don't want to overcook or boil the cream and we definitely don't want to scramble the eggs, but I succeeded on the first try and the custard base was thick and tasty. If you're a first time ice cream maker, or even if it's been awhile since you've made ice cream, I suggest buying extra cream and milk, just in case things go astray and then you can just start over and try again!

This Vanilla Bean Ice Cream is total perfection! It is smooth and rich and thick and creamy and velvety with lots of vanilla bean flecks throughout and just the right amount of vanilla flavor. I think it may be the best ice cream I've ever made! We all loved it.

Things are off to a great start, can't wait to see how next week's ice cream turns out! 

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

by Ruth Reichl

Makes about 1 quart

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 vanilla beans, halved lengthwise*

2 large eggs

Equipment: an instant read thermometer and an ice cream maker

*Note: If you don't have vanilla beans, use 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.

Combine cream, milk, sugar, and salt in a 2- to 3 quart heavy saucepan. With tip of a knife, scrape seeds from vanilla beans into cream mixture, then drop in pods. Bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, whisk eggs in a large metal bowl. Add hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly, then pour mixture into saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard is thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170-175F on thermometer (Note: my ice cream mixture was already at 160F when I added the egg and hot cream mixture back into the pan - it did not take very long at all for the mixture to come to 170-175F - just a minute or two); do not let boil.

Pour custard through a fine mesh sieve into cleaned metal bowl; discard pods. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, then refrigerate, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours.

Freeze custard in ice cream maker. Note: I have a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker and it took 20 minutes to freeze up and harden. With my Cuisinart machine the ice cream usually has to finish sitting up overnight to harden completely. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.

Barbecue Fun @ I Heart Cooking Clubs