4th of July and it's Ice Cream Time

 Yes, OK the 4th was a while ago.. I've been bad about keeping up the blog lately.  Nothing too exciting going on and I've been lazy about cooking new and exciting things.  Just in one of those ruts.  So, here are a couple of recipes for the ice creams I made for our neighborhood 4th of July desert potluck. Both are adapted from recipes I found on Epicurious (my go to site for recipes).

Quick and easy Strawberry Ice Cream
about 1 1/2 quarts

1 lb strawberries, trimmed and quartered if large
3/4C sugar more or less depending on sweetness of strawberries
3/4 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt
2C heavy cream

In a large bowl coarsely mash the strawberries with sugar, lemon juice and salt. Let stand for 10 minutes stirring and mashing occasionally.
Transfer half the strawberry mixture to a blender and puree with the cream until smooth.  Return strawberry cram to the bowl with the remaining strawberries and chill until very cold 3-6 hours or overnight.
Freeze mixture in an ice cram maker following manufacturers directions.  Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer until firm.
Ice cream will keep up to one week.



Salted Caramel Ice Cream

11/4 C sugar divided
21/4 C heavy cream divided
1/2 tsp flaky sea salt such as Maldon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 C whole milk
3 large eggs

Heat 1 cup of the sugar in a deep heavy sauce pan over medium heat, stirring until the starts to melt.  Stop stirring and cook, swirling the pan occasionally so sugar melts evenly until it is dark amber.  When the sugar starts to color watch it carefully  so not to burn it.  Add 11/4C cream,(be careful as the mixture will spatter) cook and stir until all of the caramel has dissolved (this takes a while).  Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the salt and vanilla.  Cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile bring the milk, remaining cup of cream and remaining 1/4C sugar just to a boil in a heavy sauce pan, stirring occasionally.
Lightly whisk the eggs in a bowl then slowly add half of the hot milk mixture whisking constantly (this is called tempering the egg mixture so it doesn't become scrambled eggs when added to the hot milk mixture). Pour the egg/milk mixture back into the sauce pan stirring constantly over medium heat with a wooden spoon.  Cook until the custard coats the back of the spoon and registers 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer- do not let mixture boil.  Pour the mixture though a fine mesh sieve ( in case there is any curdled egg) into a  large bowl, stir in the cooled caramel mixture.
Chill the custard until very cold 3-6 hours or overnight.  Freeze custard in an ice cream freezer following manufactures directions (it will be soft) transfer to and airtight container and freeze until firm.
Ice cream will keep up to 1 week.