Eating In: Butter pecan ice cream

It's a tie.

The incredibly delicious turkey we bought from Tom at Meadow Wood Organic Farm was the best turkey I've ever tasted. By far. I did a simple sage-salt-pepper butter under the skin and we basted her pretty often, but there's no way any of that made a difference. The heritage turkey just plain tastes turkier.

But the addictive, insanely rich homemade butter pecan ice cream I made to go with Dad's apple pie? I guess we'll have to call it even.

I hardly ever follow a recipe to a T, and this time is no different. I meant to follow it, but we didn't have enough pecans (yeah yeah, I know, who makes butter pecan without pecans?) But you know what? I'm not sure I'd bother adding them next time since this ice cream--sans nuts--is pure rich maple-y goodness. It's a wow. Here's the recipe. Oh, and for the original, check out Leite's Culinaria.

Butter Pecan Ice Cream
3 large egg yolks
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup milk
3/4 cup light cream
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk egg yolks in a medium heat-safe bowl until pale yellow and set aside.

In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, melt butter until it begins to brown and smell nutty, stirring constantly. Add brown sugar and stir until melted. This can take up to 5 minutes, so be patient.

Reduce heat to low, very slowly add milk and light cream while whisking, and bring to a simmer. Do not boil! Be patient--this step can take a few minutes.

Drizzle half the milk mixture into the egg yolks very slowly and whisk until blended.

Whisk the egg yolk mixture into the remaining milk and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 5+ minutes. Be careful not to overheat; if you do so you will curdle the egg yolks and you'll have to start over. If testing with a candy thermometer, do not heat past 170°F [76C].)

Strain the batter into a clean, large heat-safe bowl. Stir in heavy cream and vanilla extract. Cover and refrigerate the batter until completely cold, preferably overnight.

Stir the batter gently and freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Remove the ice cream with a spatula and store in a plastic container in the freezer.




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