A Dream Fulfilled

For years, I have wanted an ice cream maker. I just wasn't willing to spend $100 or so on buying one, so I kept hoping one would fall into my lap, needing a good home. You know, like a lost puppy or something. It didn't happen. I asked for an ice cream maker on freecycle. That didn't happen. Two weeks ago, things changed. I was working at a charity event called Put Up Your Dukes. Part of my job was to help out on the silent auction table, and wouldn't you know it... there was an ice cream maker up for bid.

I knew it was destined to be mine. Now I just had to let the other bidders know it. And let them know, I did. I had to outbid a few people, but I felt in my bones that it was meant to come home with me.

And it did.

Now what the hell do I do with it?

As it happened, I had just watched Chef Michael's Kitchen and he made brown sugar vanilla ice cream. I decided to make that. Now it would have helped if:
A) I had read his recipe fully before running to the store, instead of just skimming it, and
B) I had read the instructions provided by the machine.

Had I read those things, I would have realized I needed whipping cream instead of 10% coffee cream, and that part of the machine needs to be frozen for 6 hours before you use it.

Oh well. Ice cream making had to wait for another day. Since I had already bought the cream, I wasn't about to get more. I decided to bastardize Michael Smith's recipe and sort of make up my own, based on the ingredients at hand.

In my stand mixer, I whipped 7 egg yolks and two cups of brown sugar.

I froze the 7 egg whites. For what you ask? I have no idea. Until I need them. This time at least, I remembered to write "7 egg whites" on the tupperware I froze them in, so 32094899765847 months from now when I find them again, I will know what they are.

7 Egg whites:

Back to the yolks. I whipped them until they were pale yellow in color.

In a good sized pot, I gently heated 4 cups of homo milk with 2 cups of the coffee cream. I added a good splodge of vanilla extract and added a vanilla bean to simmer. Once the yolks were nice and light, and the milk/cream mixture was hot and bubbly, I tempered the egg mixture slowly with the hot milk, until half was in the eggs. I then added the egg/milk/cream mixture to the rest of the milk/cream and started heating it again, whipping all the while.

I whipped and heated the mixture for what felt like forever. In reality, it was about 30 minutes; but I still didn't feel that it was thickening enough. Finally I said "screw it!" I strained it through a mesh strainer, and discovered at the bottom that it had thickened along the sides where the whisk didn't actually reach into the pot, and I had sweet and tasty scrambled eggs. Straining it took care of that little issue, but the kids thought the bits that remained were delicious creme brulee and wanted more. I had to beat them off from the rest of the egg mixture with sticks.

Once I cooled the mixture down, I was able to get the piece of the machine that I had frozen for 6 hours and set the machine up. Its quite loud, but what it does is continuously stir the mixture while freezing it.

As you can see, I had a very interested party watching the happening. It is not as interesting as watching popcorn pop though. After about half an hour, I came back and it was "thick and zesty", as my dad would say. I scooped the whole thing into a tupperware (unlabelled this time!) and tossed it into the freezer for the night.

Tonights dessert was predictibly ice cream. It was either that or have my children maul me to death in search of some *other* confectionary.

I think they liked it. Now, I'm setting my sights on a pasta maker. Anybody got one mouldering away in their cupboards? Let me know! I'll be GLAD to take it off your hands!