Jam! Rhymes with D@!n

Or something like that...  I figure that the title of my post shouldn't be cursy.

So I would like to send a thanks and shout out to all the handsome young men at the Hack Family Farm stand at the South Shore Farmer's Market.  They saved eight quarts of strawberries for me last.  And saved is really an understatement.  I mean, between the time they gave them to me, and the time that I spent jibber-jaberring about Star Trek or Wars or Gate or something related - FOUR PEOPLE TRIED TO BUY MY STRAWBERRIES OUT FROM UNDER ME.  I only got to the market an hour and a half late, which is pretty late for me, but I'm fairly certain they were the last strawberries at the market.  Possibly for the whole year.  I probably should have sold them.  Instead, I tried to make jam.

I suck at jam.

I don't think that I have ever successfully made a batch of jam.  I follow the directions exactly.  I have tried multiple recipes from multiple books, and NEVER do I ever get jam.  I get ice cream topping.  Seriously.  The recipe says to cook for 30 minutes or until it sets - I cook it for two hours and it never sets.  If I based my self esteem on my ability to make jam, I would be in a lot of trouble right now.

Anyway, I ended up with 6 half pints each of strawberry and strawberry rhubarb ice cream topping. I also like to use it with some Greek yogurt.  If anyone wants to teach me how to make jam, I would pay you back with pickles.  I'm really good at pickles!

If you are interested in shopping where I shop, and hanging out with my farmers, please come check me out at the South Shore Farmer's Market on Saturday, August 17th.  I will be giving a cooking demo at 9:00 am.  I don't know what I'm going to make (it depends on what will be there that day), but there will be samples!  The after party, like last year, will be at the the Great Lakes Distillery.  The Tasting Room opens at 11:00, and the first tour is at 1:00.

Kate's Strawberry Ice Cream Topping:
(This recipe originally comes from my Put 'em Up book where it is called Classic Strawberry Jam.  Which I guess I'm assuming means it's really safe for canning - even if it isn't safe for jam.)

(Makes about 3 pints)

• 3 cups strawberries, hulled and halved if large
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice

Toss the strawberries and sugar in a large bowl and macerate overnight.

Transfer the mixture to a large nonreactive saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stirring and crushing the fruit regularly.  Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the jam reaches the desired gel, about 20 minutes.  (Alternately, cook for 2 hours while cursing at it to be jam already, then give up, can as is, and tell your friends and blog readers that it's ice cream topping and that you meant it to be that way.)

If you are canning using the boiling water method, process in half pint jars for 10 minutes, then turn off the heat, remove the cover, and allow the jars to sit in the water for 10 minutes.  And, while you may hope it does, this process does not make the contents of your jars any jammier. 

Strawberry Rhubarb "Jam" like liquid
(Originally called Strawberry Rhubarb Jam, from The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and other Sweet Preserves)

(Makes about 3 pints)

• 1 large lemon
• 2 pounds strawberries, hulled
• 3/4 lbs rhubarb stalks, cut into approximately 3/8 inch cubes
• 4 1/4 cups sugar

 Squeeze the juice from the lemon.  Put the seeds into a spice bag, and put the bag and juice into a preserving pan (looked this up on the internet.  It's basically what we common folk call a "pan.")  Add the strawberries, and slice or mash them if they are large and firm.  Add the rhubarb.  Over low heat, simmer the contents until the rhubarb is tender, about 30 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the sugar.  Stir the mixture over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.  Raise the heat to medium-high and boil the jam, stirring and skimming off the foam, until a drop mounds on a chilled dish, or until you are crazy tired and can't remember why you even bothered to do this.  It's not like you like jam that much anyway!

Fish the bag of seeds out of the sticky mess, and wonder why the F you put them in there.  They clearly didn't do anything.  This would also be a good time to reflect on the wisdom of choosing these two recipes that didn't have any store-bought pectin in them, when you've never had a jam or jelly set in your life.

Ladle the jam into pint or half pint mason jars.  Add lids and rings and process the jars for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Christmases Two and Three

Christmas number two: Christmas Eve at my In-Laws at their house. Christmas number three: Christmas Day with my dad and stepmom at my house.

Christmas Eve dinner is kind of set.  It's basically been the same since long before I came around.  And my family has traditions that I would shit bricks if someone tried to mess with, so I keep my mouth shut.  Besides, it's good food, and I'm happy to not have to contribute.  I love cooking, and usually I get cranky if I'm not asked to bring something (or if I'm just asked to bring salad.  Or worse, fruit.  I'll bring salad AND fruit, but let me bring something I cooked, too.)  But Christmas is stressful, and I'm usually rushing around the day before Christmas (and Christmas Eve... and the day after) trying to get some last minute gift finished, so I'm happy to sit one out.

However, Jeff's mom did give me a great opportunity.  She and I share an Oberweis account (a local dairy that delivers milk, yogurt, etc).  She let me know that she was disappointed that they didn't offer any Christmas-y ice cream.  I love, love, LOVE making ice cream... so here we go!

Two out of three of my ice creams were perfect.  The third was delicious, but ugly.

The thing about ice cream is you can't try too hard.  It's not like pasta; you can't throw everything in it and expect it to work out somehow.   I've found that simpler is generally better... and that's where I went wrong.

My ice cream flavors are (starting at the top): Candy Cane Hot Fudge, Egg Nog, and Cranberry.

They all tasted delicious, and in the picture above you can't really tell that anything is wrong, but the candy cane was not what I wanted it to be.  For some reason, I thought that if I drizzled hot fudge into the ice cream while it was at the end of it's freezing process, it would swirl streaks of hot fudge in.

Not so much.  Really, it just turned the ice cream unevenly chocolaty, and left clumps of hot fudge at the bottom of the ice cream container.  Blah.  Next time I'll save the hot fudge for topping the ice cream when I'm ready to eat it.

The egg nog was absolutely perfect.  The best thing ever.  Egg nog is so creamy, and is quite possibly my favorite beverage in the whole world.  (I actually bought a few extra quarts from Oberweis and stuck them in my freezer so I can enjoy them all year round.  Egg nog ice cream in the summer might be perfect.  With a brandy old fashioned on a hot summer night... mmmm.... drool).

The cranberry was good.  It was cranberry ice cream.  Nothing new or exciting, but good.  Don't be afraid of the large quantities of booze in the cranberries.  It actually is really important, because it keeps the cranberries from turning into little frozen rocks inside the ice cream.  They become more of a cranberry slush.  I used honey, and I didn't use a lot of it, so my cranberries were very tart.  I like that, but you could use more sugar if you prefer sweetness throughout... or if you have someone elses kids that you want to sugar up!

Christmas day - dinner at my house - was the absolute opposite of Christmas Eve.  Everything was on me.  But I knew that I would be heading over to my Grandparents' house earlier in the day, and I didn't want to stress.  So I picked dishes that could be made in advance and baked with minimal effort while I finished cleaning the house.  The meal was warm, and filling, and made me want to take a great big nap.  I think it would be perfect for any winter dinner party, and I personally thought it was impressive, too, which is always a plus!  Fancy and Easy.  Just like me.  Wait, what?

This was a heavy meal, though.  I did cheat, and made a salad full of non-local veggies (local greens, radishes, and mushrooms, but also some non-local tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers) and I was glad I did.  Without something light and green and crispy, I could easily see this meal giving someone the meat and cheese sweats.

The potatoes, I thought, were a little liquid-y for my taste.  Okay, they were a lot liquidy.  I think I would skip all of the half and half in the recipe, and maybe use 1/4 cup of sour cream.  I'm writing the recipe as I found it on Epicurious, and as I cooked it this time around, but you might want to make that change if you're trying it out.

One note:  I have been doing a LOT of cooking with Oregano.  That's because I moved a large pot of oregano into the house and am growing it in a window.  I don't generally see oregano in a herb window box and I don't know why.  It's a weed, and will grow anywhere.

Christmas Day Dinner: Braised Lamb Shoulder with Figs and Goat Cheese Scalloped Potatoes

For the Lamb:
(recipe modified from William Sonoma)
 

 

• 1 bone-in lamb shoulder, 4 to 4 1/2 lb.,
   rolled and tied, 
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• All-purpose flour for dredging
• 4 to 5 tsp. olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 4 large garlic cloves, crushed with the side of a knife
• 1/2-inch-wide strips of peel from 1 lemon
   (with no bitter white pith)
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves 
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 Tbs. tomato paste
• 8 oz. total dried figs, hard stems
   trimmed, figs halved or quartered
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh oregano

Preheat an oven to 325°F.

Pat the lamb dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Put the flour in a shallow bowl and dredge the lamb in the flour, shaking off the excess.

In a large heavy pot over medium-high heat, warm 4 tsp. of the olive oil. Add the meat and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer them to a platter. Reduce the heat to low and add the onion, garlic and lemon peel to the pan along with the remaining 1 tsp. oil, if needed. Cook, stirring frequently to incorporate some of the browned bits, until the onion starts to wilt, about 3 minutes.  Add the spices and saute until fragrant - about 1 minute more.

Lay the meat on the onion mixture and add the wine, stock and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook until the meat is very tender, about 2 1/4 hours, adding the figs during the last 30 minutes of cooking.

Transfer the meat and figs to a platter, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Skim the fat from the sauce. Set the pot over low heat and simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened, flavorful and reduced to about 1 1/4 cups, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.

Discard the strings from the lamb, slice the meat across the grain and arrange the slices on the platter, surrounded by the figs. (Reserve the bone to use in a stock later).  Spoon the sauce over the meat and sprinkle with the oregano.  Serves 6 or more.

For the potatoes:

• 1 cup half and half
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 cup crumbled soft fresh goat cheese (about 5 oz)
• 2 to 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 ground nutmeg
• 1 cup grated white goat cheddar
• 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 400°F. Generously butter 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish. Whisk first 7 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Arrange 1/3 of potatoes in bottom of prepared dish, overlapping slightly and covering completely. Pour 1/3 of cream mixture over. Top with 1/3 cheese.  Repeat layering potatoes, cream mixture, and cheese 2 more times. Bake uncovered until potatoes are tender and top is golden brown in spots, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Christmas Eve: A Trio of Christmas Ice Creams

The trick to ice cream is to have everything ready ahead of time.  Especially your bowl full of ice.  Everything moves really fast, and you don't want to fall behind because letting the custard sit without cooling it will ruin it.

Yes, all of the directions here are exactly the same.  That's how you make ice cream!


Candy Cane Ice Cream

• 1 1/2 cups half and half
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/8 cup crushed candy canes

Combine the egg yolks, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until the yolks lighten in color and increase slightly in volume.  Add 1/2 cup of the cream and whisk until well combined. 

In a heavy saucepan, combine the half and half and remaining one cup of cream.  Add the peppermint.  Cook over medium heat until bubbles form around the edge of the pan: about 5 minutes.

Remove the cream mixture from the heat.  Turn the stand mixer on low, and with the whisk  running, slowly pour the cream mixture into the egg mixture.  Return to the sauce pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon - about 6 minutes.  DO NOT let the custard boil.

Immediately strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl nested into a larger bowl filled with ice water.  Whisk constantly until the custard is cooled.  Cover with plastic wrap, placing the wrap directly onto the custard, and refrigerate at least three hours - preferably overnight.

When you are ready to freeze the ice cream, do so according to your ice cream maker's directions.  When the ice cream is almost set, add in the candy cane and let the ice cream maker incorporate it throughout the ice cream.

Freeze until firm.

Egg Nog Ice Cream

• 1 1/2 Egg Nog
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar

Combine the egg yolks, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until the yolks lighten in color and increase slightly in volume.  Add 1/2 cup of the cream and whisk until well combined. 


In a heavy saucepan, combine the egg nog and remaining one cup of cream.  Cook over medium heat until bubbles form around the edge of the pan: about 5 minutes.

Remove the cream mixture from the heat.  Turn the stand mixer on low, and with the whisk  running, slowly pour the cream mixture into the egg mixture.  Return to the sauce pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon - about 6 minutes.  DO NOT let the custard boil.


Immediately strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl nested into a larger bowl filled with ice water.  Whisk constantly until the custard is cooled.  Cover with plastic wrap, placing the wrap directly onto the custard, and refrigerate at least three hours - preferably overnight.


When you are ready to freeze the ice cream, do so according to your ice cream maker's directions.


Freeze until firm.

Cranberry Ice Cream

For the cranberries:

• 1 cup frozen or fresh cranberries
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 1/4 cup honey

Combine ingredients in a sauce pan and cook until cranberries begin to pop and soften.  Transfer to the fridge and allow to chill overnight.

Strain out any liquid before adding cranberries to the ice cream.

• 1 1/2 cups half and half
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
•  1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Cranberries from above

Combine the egg yolks, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until the yolks lighten in color and increase slightly in volume.  Add 1/2 cup of the cream and whisk until well combined. 


In a heavy saucepan, combine the half and half and remaining one cup of cream.  Add the vanilla.  Cook over medium heat until bubbles form around the edge of the pan: about 5 minutes.

Remove the cream mixture from the heat.  Turn the stand mixer on low, and with the whisk  running, slowly pour the cream mixture into the egg mixture.  Return to the sauce pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon - about 6 minutes.  DO NOT let the custard boil.


Immediately strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl nested into a larger bowl filled with ice water.  Whisk constantly until the custard is cooled.  Cover with plastic wrap, placing the wrap directly onto the custard, and refrigerate at least three hours - preferably overnight.


When you are ready to freeze the ice cream, add the drained cranberries and freeze according to your ice cream maker's directions. 


Freeze until firm.

More Delicious Ice Cream

This recipe again came from having too much of something - in this case sour cream.  In trying to keep my food budget as manageable as possible,  I try as hard as possible to stay on top of the contents of my refrigerator and not let things go bad.  So what do you do when you have a full pint of sour cream that's going to expire in a week?

Probably make a chocolate cake.

The number one rule of ice cream, according to Alton Brown, is to only use the best, freshest ingredients.  I can't find that on the interwebs anywhere, but I'm confident I heard him say it one time.  The theory is, if I remember correctly, that the ice cream is just going to intensify the flavor of whatever you have, so it is not the time to use less than fresh eggs or heavy cream.  Also you don't really cook the custard that much when you make it, so if there were something funky going on, you wouldn't really be giving it the opportunity to cook out.

But sour cream...?  I've always wondered what to say is wrong with my old sour cream.  Is it too sour?  I mean, sour cream is just cream that has gone bad, right?  (I Googled a recipe for sour cream and came up with this.  Basically, you just mix some heavy cream with a little bit of sour cream or buttermilk and let it sit out for 24 hours.  Gross, but pretty much what I figured.)  Shouldn't old sour cream just be "sharp"?  Sour cream, cheddar, same difference right?

Anyway, this sour cream was not bad.  It was totally unopened, foil top still in place.  It smelt and tasted fine.  So I used it.  And the ice cream turned out fine.

Great, actually.  I was really surprised.  I kind of expected the ice cream to be thicker or creamier, but it was basically a normal ice cream.

Except it tasted like cream cheese frosting.

No idea why.  I didn't put any cream cheese in it - although now I'm thinking I could and that would be really good too...  But I love cream cheese frosting, so this was an awesome discovery for me.  This is a very easy ice cream recipe:

Sour Cream Ice Cream

• 2 cups half-and-half (L)
• 1 cup honey (L)
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 8 large egg yolks (L)
• 2 cups (1 pint) sour cream (L)

Fill a large bowl half full with an ice bath.  Place a smaller, non-reactive, heat proof bowl into the first bowl, and set a fine mesh strainer on top.  You will want to have this ready at the end of these directions, and you will be busy up until that point, so just do it right away.

In a saucepan, combine half and half, 3/4 cup honey, and vanilla bean.  Heat over medium low heat until bubbles just start to form around the sides of the pan.  Remove the vanilla bean, and scrape the seeds into the half and half.  Meanwhile, whisk together egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup honey.  Whisk about 1/4 of the warm milk into the eggs then add this mixture into the pan with the rest of the warm milk, whisking constantly.  Return to the heat and cook over moderately low heat until the custard coats the back of a spoon, again stirring constantly and making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan.

Remove from heat and pour through the strainer into the non-reactive, heat proof bowl, resting in the ice bath.  Add the sour cream, and stir continuously until cooled.  Then, place plastic wrap directly on the top of the custard, and put into the refrigerator.  Chill at least several hours, preferably overnight, before freezing in your ice cream machine according to the machine's directions.

I made served this in two different ways.  The first was with a sour cream and rhubarb upside down cake.

Frankly, this cake pissed me off.  I made it because it used rhubarb and sour cream, which I seem to have a ton of.  And I found the same recipe in several places on the internet.  I'm pretty sure no one actually made the recipe before posting it, though, because it took TWICE AS LONG to cook than what the recipe said.  I don't have time for that.  My husband and I eat late as it is is, I don't have time to wait for cake to cool when it hasn't even come out of the oven by the time we're done with dinner!

And, as you can see from the picture, we didn't wait.  The cake was still hot, it fell apart when I tried to cut it, and it melted the heck out of my ice cream.

And it didn't even taste that great.  I am not going to post a recipe here.   I will come up with my own recipe for upside down rhubarb cake, and, once I have mastered it, I will share it with you and it will be awesome.

The second way I served the ice cream was with peaches.  I actually had intended to grill the peaches, but then it started to pour so I cooked them in a pan instead.  It actually worked out better, because I used maple syrup, and when the maple syrup poured over the ice cream it hardened and turned into delicious sticky candy.  I will be making that again and eating the crap out of it as soon as I get my braces off!

Maple Syrup Peaches

Serves 2 or 3

• 1/4 cup maple syrup - do NOT use the fake stuff.  Seriously.  Just make a different recipe (L)
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 tbsp minced candied ginger

• 3 peaches

Combine all ingredients except peaches in a small glass baking dish.  Cut peaches in half and remove the pit.  Place cut side down into pan, and refrigerate for an hour (or longer.  We just let them sit while we were eating dinner.)

Remove peaches from the pan, and pour syrup and all spices into a small frying pan, over medium low heat, and heat gently until bubbles just start to form, stirring with a rubber spatula.  Add the peaches, cut side down.  Cook, spooning the hot syrup over the tops of the peaches until the peaches are soft and warm throughout. 

Scoop two bowls of sour cream ice cream, place three peach halves on top of ice cream in each bowl, and pour remaining syrup over the top.  

Enjoy!

Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream

I have an over productive rhubarb plant.

You may have noticed by the abundance of recipes featuring rhubarb such as this one, and this one.  I don't know for sure, but I would guess I have about 20 cups of rhubarb in my freezer right now.  I'm not complaining, mind you.  It freezes well, and it's always a nice treat in the middle of winter.

I had intended to make a pie.  I kept planning to make a pie "that night," and then something would come up.  It doesn't take a lot to distract me from making a pie, though.  I fear pie.  Too much can, and usually does, go wrong.  I've gotten a lot better over the past year or so, but there was a long string of pies that came out wrong.  Really, really wrong.  It's a crust problem.  The crust is either too thick and stays raw, or too thin and gets soggy.  Sometimes it all breaks off of the edges.  Once all the top crust sunk to the bottom of the pie.  I'm not sure exactly how this happened, as it was a fruit pie and it seems impossible that the crust would travel THROUGH the fruit to get to the bottom.  Perhaps there was a tiny wormhole in my oven.

Anyway, I'm a little tentative, and I've gotten really good at coming up with reasons why I can't make a pie.

The thing that prevented me from making the pie most recently was ice cream.  Specifically, we didn't have any!  And what's the point of rhubarb pie without vanilla ice cream?

Ice cream, at least the way I make it, takes about three days, so this was a very good stall technique.  I was personally quite proud of myself.

So I started making the ice cream.  Cooking of non-dinner items always gets the husband's attention:

Husband: What'cha making?
Me: Ice Cream.
Husband: Strawberry Ice Cream?

I paused.  We don't have an abundance of strawberries, but I have been picking about a cup or two a day.  Plus, I don't really like strawberry ice cream.  I mean, I'm not opposed to it, I just wouldn't ever pick it.  It seems dull to me, and I associate it with a fake strawberry flavor.  PLUS, I don't know if I want to admit to my master plan of making a pie.   The husband likes pie, and, as mentioned above, I don't make them very often...

Me: I wasn't planning on making strawberry ice cream.  Do you want strawberry ice cream?
Husband: It's my favorite.

I take the plunge.

Me: I was planning on making vanilla ice cream, and then making a rhubarb pie.  But I can make strawberry ice cream instead if you want.
Husband: Either sounds good.

HA!  Now I don't have to make a pie!!  YAY!!!!

I ended up not having quite enough strawberries to make strawberry ice cream, so I decided instead to make strawberry rhubarb ice cream.  It is SO good.  Not at all fake tasting (why would it be?  I didn't use anything fake) and not too sweet.  I may have to re-evaluate my stance on fruit ice cream.  I guess there are desserts that aren't chocolate that have value...

If you have lots and lots of free time, and don't fear pie crust the way I do, I think this would make an amazing ice-cream pie.  Just bake out a pie crust and fill it with the ice cream.  If anyone (mom) wants to make me an empty pie crust, I will make more and turn it into a pie!  In fact, I bet it would be good with a gram cracker crust too...


Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream:
Total Time: about 1 to 3
Active time: 30 minutes

• Two Cups Strawberries (L*)
• 2 Cups Rhubarb, sliced into about 1/4 inch pieces (L*) (make sure they're not too big or they get weird when frozen)
• 1/3 C + 4 tbsp honey (L)
• Splash vodka
• 1 cup heavy cream (L)
• 1 cup half and half (L)
• 4 large egg yolks (L)
• Pinch salt

Hull strawberries and slice in half.  Place in a medium bowl and mash with a fork or a potato masher.  I like chunks in my ice cream, but if you don't you could also use a food processor.  Mix with 2 tbsp honey and allow to sit for about 1 hour.

Place rhubarb into a medium sauce pan with 2 tbsp honey and a splash of vodka.  Cook on low for about an hour, until rhubarb is well broken down.  Again, if you want no chunks, you could put it into the food processor.  Allow rhubarb to cool.

Place rhubarb and strawberries into a large, heat proof bowl.  Rest bowl in an ice bath, and place a wire strainer on top of the bowl (this will get you all prepped for when your custard is done and you have no time!)

In a medium sauce pan, combine cream and half and half, and heat over medium low heat until bubbles just form around the edges.  Do not allow to boil.  Meanwhile, combine egg yolks, remaining honey, and salt in a large bowl and beat on high until yolks are pale yellow and double in size.  I recommend using a stand mixer for this, as you can do other things while the yolks are being beaten.  If you don't have a stand mixer, go buy one!  Or use a hand mixer.

Once eggs are whipped and milk is hot, slowly pour a small amount (1/4 to 1/2 a cup) of the hot milk mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly as you add it.  Then, slowly add the resulting egg/milk mixture back into the hot milk in the pan, again whisking constantly as you pour.  Cook this mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until it just thickens enough to coat the back of your spoon.  Remove the custard immediately, and pour through the strainer into the bowl with the fruit in the ice bath.  Stir constantly until cooled.  Cover with a piece of plastic wrap placed directly on to the top of the custard and refrigerate for several hours, up to overnight.  The colder the custard is, the better it will freeze up.

Freeze the ice cream using your specific ice cream maker's directions.  At this point, I like to freeze the ice cream for another 24 hours before eating, because it's always so soft right after being made.

Ice cream is not hard.  I know it sounds like a lot of work, and for about 10 minutes it is, but mostly it's just waiting and not overcooking the custard.  Maybe I'll make a video on that, too.  Right after my omelet video...

Ice Cream for Mom

So, around Christmas time, I had major reconstructive jaw surgery.  As a gift, my wonderful troupe director, Jennifer Nolan, gave me an ice cream machine.  I will admit that, during the recovery time after my surgery, I did not use it once.  All I could eat was ice cream, pudding, and other sweet, soft nonsense.  What I really wanted was protein.  That, and toast.  I really wanted toast.  Not sure why, but toast was my number 1 craving!

Anyway, I didn't use the ice cream maker then, and it sat with my other large kitchen tools (stand mixer, bread machine, crock pot) pretty much all winter.  I made some fancy ice cream for valentines day, but that, I think, is it.

I hauled it out again for mothers day, and have officially decided that ice cream should be my new thing.  I can get eggs from the market, and I can find local dairy products at the grocery store... I love ice cream... Making it myself almost makes it feel healthy!

So, for mother's day, I went to my mom's house for dinner.  Her husband, who is in culinary school made dinner, which was great, and I brought this for dessert.

Raspberry Champagne Ice Cream:

For champagne:

BEST SNOW CONE EVER!

Take about 1/2 bottle of the lowest alcohol content sparkling wine you can find (I used Asti), and pour into a glass baking dish.  Do not pour more than 1/2 an inch into the dish.  I actually ended up using two dishes, since my bigger baking dishes were being used for brunch.  Allow to freeze, breaking up with a fork every couple hours.  Because of the alcohol, this will not freeze solid, but you should end up with an icy slush.  I ended up doing this overnight.  You could, in theory, end here and have the best snow cone ever!



For custard:

• 2 cups half and half (L)
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (L)
• 1 vanilla bean, cut in half, seeds scraped
• 8 egg yolks (L)
• 3/4 cups honey (L)
• 1/4 tsp salt

Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl, and nest a heat proof bowl inside.  Have a fine mesh sieve near by.  You will not have time to set this up once you've started making the custard, so do this ahead of time!

In a heavy saucepan, combine half and half, cream, and vanilla bean pod and seeds.  Warm over medium high heat, stirring regularly, until the mixture barely comes to a simmer - about 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a heat proof bowl, combine the egg yolk, sugar, and salt.  Whisk vigorously until the mixture lightens in color and doubles in volume: about 2 minutes.

Once cream mixture is at a bare simmer, remove from heat.  Whisking constantly, pour about 1 cup of the mixture into the egg mixture and whisk until smooth.  Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the cream, whisking constantly, and place over medium heat.  Using a wooden spoon, stir constantly until the mixture forms a custard thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.  DO NOT allow the mixture to boil.

Ice cream churning

Pour the custard into the fine mesh sieve, into the heat proof bowl in the ice bath.  Discard the vanilla bean.  If you have any chunks that resemble scrambled eggs, you overcooked the custard.  Throw it out and start over.  Sorry.

Stir the custard in the iced bowl constantly until the custard has cooled.  Remove the bowl from the ice wrap and cover with plastic - resting the plastic right on top of the custard.  Refrigerate at least overnight, up to 3 days. 

Pour the cold custard into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturers directions.  While the custard is churning, add in the champagne slushy and about 1/2 cup frozen raspberries.  Spoon into a freezer-safe container, cover tightly, and freeze until firm.

If you really like a smooth ice cream, this might not be for you.  The champagne is little ice crystals, so there is definitely a crunchy ice component to the ice cream.  I thought it was good, but I did get a comment that the texture was "interesting."  (Define interesting: Oh God, oh God, we're all going to die?)  Once I explained what was going on, though, people seemed to like it... or at least they said they did.  Jeff did tell me that he prefers Ben and Jerry's, but I don't think that's a fair comparison unless I make some Chubby Hubby.  Maybe that should be my next ice cream experiment.