August 20, 2004
Vanilla Ice
(no, not that Vanilla Ice...)
I've been so neglectful of my food blog! Too much work, not enough time, Capoeira training, and some computer difficulties -- first with Movable Type, then with some other Photoshop diskspace issues -- have kept me from posting much here.
Last Tuesday, for my girl Idalina's birthday I broke out my 3-year old Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker for the first time. Actually, I have a confession to make, as it is technically not my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker but was intended to be a wedding gift for an old college friend. Yes, I ran out without it (forgetfulness? old age? early onset alzheimer's?) to attend the wedding that day, and intended to immediately ship it to her the following week... which turned into weeks, then months, ... you get the picture... I confess: I am a horrible friend and procrastinator!
In the last 2 weeks, I finally decided that I'd keep it, and actually make use of it. And so I did that evening, opting to make a simple Vanilla ice-cream with some chopped pecans...
The recipe is sooo simple: mix together just 2 cups of heavy whipping cream, 1 cup of whole milk, 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of chopped pecans, and about 1 tsp of vanilla extract (I had gone in search of real vanilla bean to use, but could not find any at my neighborhood Andronico's at 945pm on a Tuesday night...). Stir and pour into the Cuisinart bowl, just plucked from the freezer (the equipment directions require you to freeze the bowl 6-22 hours prior to use). Set the bowl and its corresponding accroutments atop the Cusinart, turn the machine on, and let the mixture thicken (about 20-25 mins).
Once the mixture has thickened, pop the icy sludge into the freezer and wait (if you can) for a couple of hours. Try to stave off the "is it done yet?" questions by offering other comestibles, such as ultra super-rich chocolate cake.
Posted by claudine at August 20, 2004 05:06 PM