MAPLE BACON ICE CREAM

Yes, Maple Bacon Ice cream.  I have been wanting to make this for YEARS!  I found a recipe from the food network kitchens for a good maple ice cream with a bacon brittle and decided to try it out.  The recipe can be found here.

I beat together 3 egg yolks with 1/4 cup of sugar.

I added 1 cup of milk and 2 cups of heavy cream and brought the mixture to a simmer.

Once it was cooked enough to coat the back of a spoon I added 2 cups of grade be maple syrup and set it aside to cool.

When I placed it in the ice cream maker, I began to work on the bacon brittle.

I microwaved 3 strips of bacon rather than cooking it in a pan.  Once it was cooled I chopped it up and set it aside.

 Yes, there are 4 slices here...I wanted a snack.

In a sauce pan, I melted 1 cup of sugar until it was light amber in color.

I took it off the heat, and added 1 Tbsp of butter

1/2 tsp of baking soda

the bacon and 1/8 tsp of chili powder.

It didn't become a brittle so much as a bacon rock candy, but it is crunchy and delicious!

I added the smaller bits into the ice cream as it churned.

Oh sweet babies, this tastes amazing!  The most challenging part of this whole experiment was the bacon candy.  I don't make candy very often, so it's difficult to determine its doneness.  And I had to try it a couple of times before it was right-ish.

My first attempt...it tasted really bad.

Enjoy.

Peach Ice Cream

With all of the wedding planning and errand running, and the God Awful HEAT, I haven't been doing much baking this summer.  However, I did bust out the ice cream machine for a lovely little treat.  I decided to make a frozen treat with the peaches I had in my fridge, so I did what any sensible culinarian would do.  I searched the internet.  I decided to use a Paula Deen Recipe from the food network's website.  Ok, yes, Paula Deen has come under heavy scrutiny as of late, and even though I am thoroughly disappointed in her behavior, and I will definitely not come to her defense in regards to her use of the "n-word" whether it was 40 years ago or not, this was the best recipe I could find.  Fresh peaches, no use of peach schnapps, and less fatty (I know, I can't believe it myself) than other ice cream recipes I have used.

I started off by whisking 3 egg yolks together with 3/4 cup of brown sugar.

Next I simmered 1 1/2 cups of milk with 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream.

I tempered the egg mixture with the hot dairy (You can thank my fiance for the next shot)

And added 2 tsp of vanilla extract once it cooled.

While the dairy sat in the fridge cooling off, I decided rather than dice up the peaches, I would puree them so the finished product could be smooth.

After an hour in the machine, I had a lovely ice cream.  It tastes of peaches and toasty brown sugar.  Very creamy, and so refreshing.  I could use a more peach forward flavor profile, however.

I hope you enjoyed this baking adventure.  Next time I make this, I'll probably puree more peaches to get the flavor I want.  All in all, a successful creation.

Enjoy.