when i was a junior in college, madison got one of the worst snow storms of all time. the university, which is pretty used to dealing with terrible weather conditions, actually cancelled classes. this never happened.
i, unfortunately, didn’t realize that classes were cancelled until i had already trudged my way to the business school, and then had to make my way back. on my way back home, on a small side street, a car was stuck in the road. the guy was spinning his tires with no luck. me and another guy who was walking by helped get this car unstuck. i pushed from the passenger side door, and when i glanced into the car, i noticed that the guy had a bag with a pack of hot dogs and a liter of coke.
who goes out for hot dogs and coke in the worst snow storm in years? i thought it was quite interesting. but last weekend we had a storm that was smaller, but still pretty intense. after we finished shoveling, i decided i really needed to get the ingredients to make vanilla ice cream. there was no way we were driving to the grocery store, so we did what any normal people would do…we skied there.
yup, the roads weren’t plowed. so we just went. i swear, madison is a real city, but still small enough that you can do things like this. and yes, jason did have to ski back with a backpack full of eggs, heavy cream, and whole milk. totally worth it.
i topped my ice cream with some cranberries that had been soaked in vodka for 2 weeks for a boozy kick, but really, feel free to choose your own adventure.
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 vanilla bean
- 6 egg yolks
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a large pot, heat milk, sugar, and 1 cup of heavy cream over low heat. Stir until sugar dissolves.
- Scrape the vanilla seeds from the bean and add to milk mixture. Throw the bean in as well to pull out extra flavor. Cover the pot, remove it from the heat, and let it steep for 30 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk over the eggs, whisking consistently until mixed together.
- Pour egg and milk mixture back into pot and return to stove. Cook over medium heat, stirring consistently with a rubber spatula, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot as you stir. The mixture should thicken and coat the back of the spoon after about 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Pour remaining cup of cream into a large bowl. Place a sieve on top and pour hot milk mixture into the bowl. Add in the vanilla bean and vanilla extract. Let mixture cool completely, then cover and transfer to fridge for at least 8 hours.
- When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean and pour into ice cream maker. Follow the ice cream maker's instructions.
- Transfer ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze overnight.
recipe adapted from the perfect scoop.
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