I Scream, You Scream!

I know I've been slacking off on updating, but to be honest, "my life outside of law school" has been non-existent, no exaggeration. When I'm not doing stuff for work, I'm catching up on stuff for school. It's been a constant tug of war for the last two weeks. Now I'm finally caught up (not ahead) with school work, and my motion for work is behind me. Yesterday, I treated myself to a great deal on a new Cuisinart ice cream maker! I love yellow in the kitchen, it's my bright, happy place!

I wanted my first ice cream recipe to be exotic but recognizable. Inspired by my trip to NY exactly a year ago, I made strawberry and ginger ice cream. It turned out Fan. Tas. Tic. The fresh pungent ginger is sweetened with fresh, bright strawberries. Making your own ice cream is like making your own rice krispies treats, once you make it yourself, store bought taste so wrong! I don't think I'll buy ice cream again!

The green one on the right is strawberry and ginger hand made artisan truffle. From Tiffany's Fashion Night Out event last year in NY.

Recipe

(1) cup Whole milk (or half and half for creamier texture)

(2) cups heavy cream

(2) 2 inch arms off ginger root

(3/4) cup sugar, little more for strawberries

Pinch of salt

(1) lbs fresh strawberries

(5) egg yolks

Ice cream maker should be completely frozen according to manufacturer's instructions before using. I froze mine for 24 hours before using, I also put the mixing arm in the freezer when I started preparing the ice cream mixture.

Start by peeling and slicing ginger into 1/4 inch slices (big enough to fish out with a slotted spoon. Blanch ginger by putting in a sauce pan with just enough water to cover, boil 2 mins.  Drain water. Add milk, 1/2 of the heavy cream (1 cup), sugar and salt to ginger in saucepan. Heat on very low heat (not quite a simmer) for 1 hour, covered.

While that is heating, chop strawberries and smash with the back of a fork, add a little sugar over the top to draw out the strawberry juices. Let it sit in the fridge until the ginger is done steeping.

Add the rest of the heavy cream. I blended it a little to smooth out the texture, but I still like chunks of real strawberry in my ice cream.

Next, whisk the egg yolks and laddle in the ginger broth slowly (to not cook the yolks). Keep adding slowly to warm up the egg mixture. Add egg mixture back to the saucepan and heat until mixture covers the spatula. Strain the custard into the strawberries and cream, blend a little more if you'd like. Cool mixture completely before adding to ice cream maker about 20 mins in freezer.

For my 1.5 quart maker, I made too much, so only add half of the mixture to the ice cream maker and run for 25 mins. After 25 mins, transfer to a tupperware and freeze longer if you want a firmer texture. If you run it in the machine any longer, the ice cream that builds up on the walls might get freezer burn. Clean and freeze the mixer bowl again and add the rest of the mixture the next day.