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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Ice Cream Recipes

I scream 
You scream 
We all scream 
for Ice Cream!  
Everybody knows that saying right?


We almost missed that this is officially national ice cream month, being too busy with the Ultimate Blog challenge.

Sunday the 15th was the specific celebration day.
Years ago I was wandering through the grocery one day. I spotted an ice cream maker. It was on sale for $20. We snapped that up and thus began a glorious few months of homemade ice cream.
What never ceases to amaze me is how boring and unimaginative people seem to get at this stage of the game. 

Vanilla seriously? I mean ok maybe French Vanilla and for all those people who like their soggy desserts mixed together.

For the rest of us who do not eat anything Ala Mode why stop at vanilla? Drop in some fruit, add in some spices, bring on the nuts!
My basic recipe was simple but heavy.
 
Milk 2-6 Cups
Sugar 2-3 Cups
Heavy Cream 4-8 Cups
Dashes of Salt 
To create various flavors I would add

Coconut milk and Grated coconut
Cream Cheese plus Homemade Jam
Instant coffee or super strong coffee liquid
Banana Chocolate with Walnuts
Chocolate and Grated Coconut
or Strawberry Mix

Then winter rolled around. Eggnog came out on store shelves. I did not grow up drinking eggnog so it is not an acquired taste of mine. I wanted to do an ice cream spin off of it however.

That starts with a custard base
3 Eggs
1/3 Cups Sugar
Dash of Sea Salt
2 ½ Cups Milk
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Mix the first four ingredients in a sauce pan and heat. Use low heat for 15-20 minutes stirring constantly until the mixture will coat the back of a metal spoon.

Remove from heat and add in vanilla.

To this I would add a tablespoon or two of the Pumpkin Pie spice. Let it cool and mix with 4 cups of heavy cream. Taste and add brown sugar if sweetness is needed. 

Add a cup of chopped pecans of sliced almonds and place into your ice cream maker.

These concoctions were delightful! So much so I call them gourmet. Another favorite flavor option was cream cheese and coffee. Adding the cream cheese just made an incredibly rich ice cream. Smooth and dense most of what we made did not last very long in our freezer.

Banana I did not care for. Chocolate can be a bit tricky depending on what you use and how you like it. It was a challenge as I made up my own recipes to know how much of each nut I wanted to add to get just the right crunch.


Maybe I should try some of the non-machine methods now that my ice cream maker is gone. Either that or invest in another one. It is a great unique treat to share with dinner or afternoon guest.

If you try any new recipes or have some suggestions please link up and share your results.

7 comments:

  1. Ok, now I'm too hungry to meaningfully comment on this post...(great one Johnson)!

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    1. I want a doughnut and am resisting the urge to eat ice cream because it is hot before I eat something more substantive for lunch. You are welcome! hahahaha

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  2. When I was a kid, we had an old fashioned wooden ice cream maker, complete with a crank that only my dad was strong enough to turn with any consistency. Banana walnut was the flavor of choice (though I picked out the nuts), and I still have wonderful memories of that being the best ice cream I've ever eaten. Hubby and I picked up a newfangled model early in our marriage, but it was cheapo, and lasted less than two summers. :-( Now we just stick mostly to Breyers (and I have to admit, as an ala mode fan, I mostly stick to vanilla!)

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    1. My mother loves ala mode. She will also eat bread pudding and I will not. I like commercial ice cream but the flavors leave me wanting so much more! Thanks for sharing your memories with us.

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  3. I did not realize that it was National Ice Cream Month. We started off the month with a home-made ice cream fundraiser event - raising money for a local Youth Group. I have ice cream in the summer more so than any other time of the year because there are different 'favorite' places to go and of course it's so refreshing during the warmer months. Ice cream is a family favorite at our home.

    Congrats on completing the Blog Challenge!

    Vicki

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    Replies
    1. My mother who likes to be bundled up in the winter can eat ice cream all year round as can I. lol

      Yes another challenge down!!!

      Thanks for dropping by.

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  4. Hi ToscaSac,
    It's a great recipe!
    Don't you know that you can store and share your recipe with more than 13,000 foodies around the world?
    We have an online cookbook and community, and surely we're always looking for more creative recipes to add to our database.
    www.mycookbook.com

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