Maple Ice Cream

When it comes to Ice Cream, every day is a good day. I'm one of the only people in my immediate circle who can go to the store on a bitterly cold below zero degrees day and still want Ice Cream when I see it in the freezer display. I have David Lebovitz's Perfect Scoop and Ciao Bella's Gelato Book and I gaze up on them as fondly as I suspect I might with the White Sox winning another World Series (Next Year...For Sure).

This was beyond good for me (then again, I'm the one who is always happy when someone brings those maple leaf candies to work even if it is pure sugar). The only thing that would have made this better would have been the addition of some walnuts, or as the recipe suggested toffee bits,  but as I was in a hurry (read I needed a sugar fix bad) I didn't have the time to toast or carmelize the walnuts or go to the store for toffee bits both of  which would have made this so over the top I would still be in a sugar coma after having eaten the entire quart in one sitting.


MAPLE ICE CREAM
from About.Com

Ingredients:

• 1 cup grade B maple syrup, or dark amber
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 6 large egg yolks
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup skim or low fat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to a simmer. In a bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, cornstarch, and egg yolks. Pour about one third of the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly, then stir the egg yolk mixture into the remaining cream into the saucepan. Stir to blend well. Lower the heat to medium-low and heat, stirring constantly, until hot and slightly thickened. Do not boil. Pour through a mesh strainer into a clean bowl. Stir in the milk and vanilla. Cover and chill thoroughly.

Freeze in your ice cream machine following manufacturer's directions.
Makes 1 quart of maple ice cream.

Pecan Brown Sugar and Bacon Ice Cream

Yes, it is true.

Bacon and I are back together.

Granted they're a bit tricky to include in Weight Watchers on a regular basis unless you decide to use your sister as a Guinea Pig for a bacon blow out weekend. And even then, you will eat too much and then sit down with yourself to have the "This has to stop...beginning Monday, we will eat like a grownup" speech said in a very firm no nonsense voice.

So I have had in one weekend way too much Ice Cream and Bacon and Caramel but I am okay with that. Just as long as I weigh in on Saturday instead of Thursday and be a very good girl the rest of the week.

Just a word of warning. This is a very sweet tasting ice cream. If I were to make it again (which would be dangerous unless I had more guinea pigs to eat most of it up for me) I would definitely cut back on the amount of sugar. The recipe called for 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar but I think you could easily use 1 cup, maybe even of light, and still have a delicious recipe. The book called suggested using  a caramel bacon sauce but I think this recipe would do better with a different sauce..one perhaps with a bit of spice in it to contrast with all the sweetness in the Ice Cream.


Pecan Brown Sugar and Bacon Ice Cream

3 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar(I highly recommend cutting this back to taste)
4 egg yolks
1 cup chopped pecans
1 pound bacon cooked until crisp and chopped fine

Combine milk, cream and sugar in heavy sauce pan...it will froth up quite a bit so I would recommend going with a deeper saucepan than you might think you need. Cook over medium high heat until hot and sugar is completely dissolved, stirring occasionally.

In small bowl, beat egg yolks until smooth. Slowly whisk in one cup of hot cream mixture. Return yolk mixture to saucepan, stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture coats back of wooden spoon. Do not let boil.

Strain mixture into clean bowl and let cook completely, Stir in pecans and bacon and freeze in Ice Cream maker. Savor and enjoy!

Honey Ice Cream

Behold, homemade ice cream.

This batch turned out better than the last one I had tried some months back, which had more to do with improper chilling and cooking. Sort of a mushy, slushy mix that turned out quite well as a shake.

Now, bear in mind, I went through a massive fixation of Haagen Daaz's Lehua Honey Flavor, which I can (fortunately/unfortunately) no longer find in stores. So, this may or may not be a good thing. Fortunately, it's a lot easier to go buy a pint of ice cream instead of making it, as my sister will attest to listening to me telling the saucepan of milk "will you thicken already."

So, 45 minutes to cook, 2 hours to chill, and another 25 minutes to blend in the ice cream maker make it easier not to indulge too easily in homemade ice cream. End result. It was okay. Not great, although that may not have been the recipes fault. I only chilled the ice cream for 1 1/2 hours instead of two. What I didn't like about it was the fact that the honey didn't blend with the ice cream, leaving instead chewy bits that had a strange texture. The flavor of the ice cream itself was good and apart from the chewy honey bits which did not taste all that great after cooking and freezing, the texture was nice. I'd probably try this again, just with another flavor or strain the cooked mixture before putting in the fridge to cool.

UPDATE: Turns out the ice cream was better than I thought...I'd forgotten the chewy bits had been scraped off the side of the Ice cream maker so I could get every last bit. Apparently the bits can be lived without. The not scraped stuff was pretty good.

Honey Ice Cream Recipe

Custard Style

Prep Time: 7 minutes
Chill Time: at least 2 hours
Ice Cream Maker Time: Approximately 20-25 minutes
Makes: 1 1/2 quarts
Servings: Ten 1/2 cup servings

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks
2/3 cup honey
1 cup milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Whisk eggs until they are light and fluffy.

Slowly stir in honey and whisk until well blended.

In a saucepan, bring milk to a slow boil.

Pour hot milk over egg mixture and combine.

Pour mixture back into saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture begins to thicken and stick to the back of your spoon.

Cool and then chill in fridge for at least 2 hours.

Stir heavy cream and vanilla into cooled milk mixture.

Pour into ice cream maker and mix about 20-25 minutes or according to manufacturer's instructions.