There are OTHERS? Butter Pecan Ice Cream from Simply Recipes

I'm not completely naive. I did realize that other people probably blogged about food. I just didn't realize how many others! And how amazing they all are!

Elise Bauer is one of them, with her food blog Simply Recipes . I am completely floored by the sheer number of recipes she has on her beautiful, mouth-watering blog.

Now, I don't want to chase you away, but you really have to go see this post which shares a recipe for butter pecan ice cream.

I can't believe that:

a) We just had our first very cold day after a long, grey, rainy winter, and;
b) I just started reading French Women Don't Get Fat, and;
c) I'll have to run an extra interval...

and I'm still going to pull out the ol' hand-crank ice cream maker and whip up a batch of this. Even though I just stocked up on ice cream when Breyers went on sale at the local market for $2.98 a half-gallon.

I've had my eye on a butter pecan recipe in a little booklet that stares at me from the racks by the check-out line every time I go to the grocery. I will not, I say to myself, pay that much for a little booklet wrapped in plastic so that I can't read the ingredients. I mean, I read labels for everything, so I'm not going to plunk down my cold, hard cash for a recipe whose potentially mediocre ingredients I can't read first!

Now I don't have to.

Thank you, Elise. I'm really looking forward to trying this amazing-looking recipe with our next batch of fresh, real, raw milk.

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Butter Pecan Ice Cream
from Elise Bauer on Simply Recipes

An ice cream loving friend was in town this weekend, giving me the perfect excuse to make a new batch of ice cream. This time the flavor is one of my all time favorites, butter pecan. In this recipe the butter flavor comes in the custard base, achieved by browning the butter first before adding the other ingredients.

Ingredients
6 large egg yolks
6 Tbsp butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pecans

Special equipment needed
An ice cream maker, or a KitchenAid mixer with an ice cream attachment

Method

1 In a medium sized heat-safe bowl (metal, ceramic, or glass), whisk together the egg yolks until well blended. Set aside.

2 Pour the cream into a metal bowl set in a larger bowl of ice and set a medium-mesh sieve on top. Set aside.

3 In a medium thick-bottomed saucepan on medium heat, melt the butter cook it, stirring constantly, until it just begins to brown. Add the brown sugar and salt. Stir until the sugar completely melts.

4 Slowly add the milk, stirring to incorporate. It will foam up initially, so make sure you are using a pan with high enough sides. Heat until all of the sugar is completely dissolved. Do not let boil or the mixture may curdle.

5 Whisk in hand, slowly pour half of the milk and sugar mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly to incorporate. Then add the warmed egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk sugar mixture.

6 Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a wooden or heatproof rubber spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula, about 5-7 minutes.

7 Pour the custard through the sieve and stir it into the cream. Add vanilla and stir until cool over the ice bath. Chill mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.

8 While the mixture is chilling, preheat the oven to 350°F. Lay out the pecans on a roasting pan in a single layer. Bake for 6 minutes, until lightly toasted. Let cool. Once cool, roughly chop the pecans and set aside. Note, if you want an extra punch to this ice cream, brush the pecans with melted butter and sprinkle with salt before roasting.

9 Once the ice cream mixture is thoroughly chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

10 Once the ice cream has been formed in the ice cream maker, it will be fairly soft. Fold in the chopped pecans. Put in an airtight plastic container and place in the freezer for at least an hour, preferably several hours. If it has been frozen for more than a day, you may need to let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften it before serving.

Makes 1 1/2 quarts.