So, has anyone read this book A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg? Orangette has always been one of my favorite food blogs but until I read her book I never realized that WE ARE THE SAME PERSON. Except, you know, she’s a successful writer and meets hot men through her blog who she later marries. But other than that. SAME PERSON.
Anyway, it’s a good book. You should read it if you’re interested in these sorts of things (these sorts of things being food blogs, other people’s lives, and really detailed recipes). And then you should make some of the recipes in it, because they’re really excellent. The Vanilla and Black Pepper ice cream stood out to me because of my recent ice cream fetish. I modified it a bit, like I do.
Fun fact, the eggs for this ice cream came from this chicken and its sisters:
(the chicken on the left that is, har har har)
Cherry and black pepper ice cream
From Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life
Cream 1 pint
Milk 1 cup (I used goat milk, because I’m the kind of weirdo that just has goat milk lying around. I didn’t notice any major difference in the ice cream, but FYI, goat’s milk in your coffee makes your coffee taste like goat cheese.)
Egg yolks 6
Vanilla extract 1.5 tsp
Fresh ground black pepper to taste (grind it as fine as you can)
Chopped pitted fresh cherries 1 cup or so (whatever looks good to you)1 Combine the milk, half the cream, the sugar, and the salt in a saucepan. Warm to just steaming (aka scald it; don’t boil).
2 Pour the remaining cream in a medium bowl and set a strainer on top.
3 Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Get an ice bath ready.
4 Temper the eggs: pour a small amount of the hot milk into the egg yolks as you whisk, to warm them up. Then add the egg mixture back into the saucepan and heat, stirring (with a spatula so you don’t incorporate too much air), until the custard thickens slightly (to about 170-180 degrees F; this will pasteurize the eggs but stop short of coagulating them).
5 Pour the mixture through the strainer into the cold cream (this will catch any scrambled egg bits) and then put it into the ice bath. Cool it to refrigerator temperature and then chill overnight before churning.
6 Add the vanilla, pepper, and cherries before you churn. Let harden for a few hours in the freezer.
And if, in addition to goat’s milk, you happen to have some leftover cookies sitting around… CUTE LITTLE ICE CREAM SANDWICHES!
sugar candies
I am in love with confectionery.