Peachy Keen

It's peach season!  They're finally coming in to the farmer's market, and what better way to celebrate a hot summer day than with some nice ice cream?  I wanted to create something with a general peachy flavor in addition to just peach chunks which lead to the filling of peach pie as a base for the recipe.  By cooking down the peaches for a long time in butter and brown sugar they create a nice gooey consistency.  At the last minute I decided to add a little Amaretto, because why not?  So here's what I used:

Custard Base
125 g sugar
4 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half & half

Peach sauce and chunks
2 medium peaches
2 tablespoons turbinado (brown sugar would work well too)
2 tablespoons butter (probably added a few more as they cooked)
1/2 tablespoon tapicoa flour (any flour should work to thicken here)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Peach Ingredients Part One

Peach Ingredients Part Two

Peel the peaches and pull out the pits, then cut in to thin wedges (~ 1/4" thick).  Melt the butter over a medium-high heat, toss the peaches in and stir for about 5 minutes to cook them down and caramelize them slightly.  Then add the turbinado (or brown sugar), cinnamon and flour and reduce heat to medium and cook down for about 20-30 minutes until it becomes mostly a thick saucy consistency with your desired peach chunk density remaining.  Allow to cool for about 20-30 minutes.

Caramelizing Peaches

 Simmer the cream and half and half for about 10 minutes, then allow to cool.  Beat the heck out of the yolks until they stiffen, whisk in the sugar.  Temper in the cream mixture and whisk until smooth.  Then return to a low heat, mix in the peach sauce, and slowly heat to 175 F.  Once there allow to cool to room temperature (stirring regularly to keep a skin from forming on the surface and curdling at the bottom of the pan).  Stir in two tablespoons amaretto, allow to refrigerate for a few hours and then toss it in the ice cream maker.

My day was peachy keen after this.

Oh My Guinness!

Beer - no longer just for breakfast.  I wanted to combine the rich taste of Guinness with a nice dark chocolate flavor in ice cream form.  This recipe took a few tries to get right - the first two attempts had too much liquid and couldn't reach the right consistency.  Most people who had this final version said they could taste the Guinness and that the chocolate gave it a good consistency.  So for the beering, here's the recipe.

Ingredients
6 oz Guinness
125 g sugar
1/2 oz chocolate
4 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream + 1 cup half&half

Beergredients

Over a low heat, simmer the Guinness until it reduces to about 2 oz.  Let it cool, mix with the cream and half&half, and proceed to make the standard custard base.  Let the cream mixture simmer for about 10-15 minutes over a low heat.  While it cools, melt the chocolate and allow it to cool a bit as well (while still remaining liquidy.)  Beat the egg yolks until they stiffen up, slowly whisk in the sugar.  Temper in the cream mixture, then return to the saucepan.  Add in the melted chocolate and stir like mad until it has a nice even consistency.  Heat this slowly to 175F, then allow to cool to room temperature and proceed to churn according to the directions of your ice cream maker.  While waiting for the ice cream to finish, drink the other 5 beers in your six pack to pass the time.  Then enjoy this ice cream for breakfast in addition to your usual breakfast beer.

Better Red than Dead!

Strawberries are in season and being attacked in my garden by slugs.  I decided to rescue them from this fate and put them in to ice cream instead.  This seemed like a good May Day flavor to make.  Solidarity in deliciousness, comrades!

Here's what I used:
1 Cup fresh strawberries
125g + 25g sugar
1 Tablespoon butter
4 egg yolks
1 Cup heavy cream  + 1 Cup half&half

All the ingredients you need.  Except love.  And butter.

Now it's hammer time, cause this recipe is too legit to quit.  Melt a little butter in a medium saucepan, hull and quarter the strawberries (or draw and quarter them, execution method is your choice), and reduce over a medium-low heat until it turns in to a soupy sauce, about 30 minutes or so.   Bam!  Deliciousness.  But don't eat it all, you need it for the ice cream.

Don't eat this!

I said don't eat it.  Put the saucepan down and move on to the next step.  Simmer the cream and half and half for about 10 minutes while you beat the heck out of the egg yolks.  Once they're stiff, slowly add the sugar and mix in, then add the cream slowly.  Pour it back in to the sauce pan you were simmering in, add about 1/3 of the sauce, and heat (while stirring occasionally) to 175F.  Let it cool down to room temperature (again stirring occasionally).  Once at room temperature add the remaining strawberries and sauce, toss in an ice cream churn, and run in the fridge for an hour or two to pre-cool, then churn in the freezer overnight.

Better Red than Dead!

Final step:  Wait for a nice 90 degree day and eat the whole container.  Then feel awesome about yourself, because you deserve it.