Ice Cream

Just recently my mother asked me to pick up some vanilla ice cream she wanted to serve with a pie she had made. I came home with a gallon of 'Pet' vanilla ice cream. She asked me why, out of all the brands at the grocery store, would I choose 'Pet?' I told her   grocery store ice cream,whether it be Ben and Jerry's, Hagen Daaz or Pet all tasted the same to me and that Pet was the cheapest. 

When I was growing up, my mother would make homemade ice cream in the summer from the local peaches using a hand-cranked ice cream churn. We would take turns "churning" and adding endless amounts of rock salt for what seemed like hours until it was ready. That is what ice cream is supposed to taste like and if you've never had homemade ice cream, do yourself a favor a buy an ice cream churn. They make electric ones now with no hand crank churning required.

In Margate, New Jersey, there is an ice cream shop that time forgot. It is called Two Cents Plain and it has little white wire chairs with red and white striped seats, red and white wallpaper festooned with whimsical line drawings of flappers in long necklaces and gents in boaters, and a jar on the counter where customers can deposit tip money for the scoopers’ college funds. It looks just the same today as it did in 1979, when I had my fifth birthday party there.

We had the whole place to ourselves that day! What a thrill for a five-year-old. More thrilling still were the ice cream “clowns” (still on the menu) which were presented thusly: a scoop of ice cream on a plate, and a sugar cone inverted on top as a hat, point side up, and a face drawn on the scoop of ice cream with Red Hots. I had asked for a baby sister for my birthday that year and instead was presented with a baby brother, and the ice cream clowns went a long way towards placating me.

Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

It only seemed fitting to make this with all the crazy heat around here.  Not to mention my blueberry trees (yes, they are that big) are loaded...I mean loaded with berries. It has been fun going outside and picking these, bringing them inside and creating a meal.  I not sure who loves it more...me or the kids.

I searched for the perfect blueberry ice cream recipe, I didn't have to look further than my own cookbooks.  Dorie Greenspan had this recipe for Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream. Wow. It almost looks like sorbet but is so rich and decadent tasting.  There is almost a cheesecake taste to this ice cream.  This made the hubby very, very happy.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen, if frozen, thaw and drain)
1/3 cup sugar, or more to taste
Pinch of salt
Grated zest of one lime
Juice of 1/2 a lime, or more juice to taste
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup sour cream

In a medium saucepan cook blueberries, sugar, salt, lime zest and juice over medium heat, stirring, until mixture boils and the berries pop and soften, about 4 minutes.

Pour the berry mixture into a blender and whirl until a seemingly homogeneous puree is achieved, about 1 minute.  The mixture will not be completely smooth.  Add the heavy cream and sour cream and pulse to blend.  Taste and add a bit more lime juice or sugar if you choose.

Pour the blend into a bowl and refrigerate until it is chilled before churning into ice cream.

*I used the best quality heavy cream and sour cream I could find.  

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours

Despite the fact I have parents who eat ice cream almost every day (if they could have it at every meal, they would), until recently I thought I could live happily without ever lifting a dessert spoon again.

I know what you’re thinking. Quelle horreur! C’est impossible! I tell you it’s true. When I gave up my 2-liter a day Coca-Cola habit  in college in an effort to regain a good night's sleep (caffeine is not my friend), I found, after a few months, I no longer craved sugar. As my tastes matured, I discovered the savory complexity of wine and eating dessert no longer interested me. Since ice cream was never one of my favorites, I didn’t miss it.