July 9: Ice Cream!

Cooking Club will be at my house this Thursday, July 9, at 7:30. We're doing ice cream this time, so eat dinner before you come. Or not... I know of this superb website with lots of fabulous ice cream recipes. It's Cafe Johnsonia. Heard of it? Hehehe...

Maybe we should all put what kind of ice cream we're bringing so we make sure to have a variety.

Jenny: Chocolate peanut butter swirl (I haven't gained any weight the past two weeks. It's about to change...)
Jeri: Dark chocolate/Cherry - does anyone have a good sweet-cream recipe?
Kristen: Pina Colada- my favorite!
Missy: Waffle bowls or cones :)
Sarah: Pink Grapefruit and Basil Sorbet

PINK GRAPEFRUIT AND BASIL SORBET
adapted from Emeril Lagasse
2 cups freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
2 cups simple syrup (equal amounts sugar and water heated until sugar dissolves; cool)
2 teaspoons grapefruit zest
1/3 cup packed basil leaves
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

DIRECTIONS
In a small saucepan, combine the grapefruit juice, simple syrup and the grapefruit zest and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the basil leaves. Set aside to steep in for 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice to the sorbet base, strain through a fine mesh sieve and set aside to cool. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, then process in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a freezer-proof container with a lid and freeze until firm, 6 to 8 hours.
For step by step pictures go here.

Dark Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream

Sweet Cream Base
2 cups cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Whisk eggs, egg yolks and sugar together until pale yellow. Heat milk until very warm. Add a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the tempered eggs into the hot milk and combine. Return to medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and reaches 160-180 degrees F.

Remove from heat and add cold cream and vanilla. Cover and put in the fridge until chilled through (at least 4 hours or overnight). Freeze according to your ice-cream maker directions. In the last 10 minutes add 1/2 cup of shaved dark chocolate and 1/2 cup dried cherries.

(This recipe was my own invention after not being able to find a sweet-cream ice cream base that wasn't too icy. I don't know if it was as thick and custardy as I would have liked. Lindsay, do you have advice?)