Eggnog Ice Cream

There are really only two foods Charisse won't eat: raw celery and eggnog. Eric on the other hand? Loves eggnog. Raw celery? Well we're not as different as it seems. Now when Charisse started mixing up our ice cream for this post, there was a small shock when she said she was making eggnog. Looks like she does love her husband after all. Now the last time we made ice cream we ran into the problem that it was too icy, we'd tried to make a egg free ice cream and it just wasn't creamy enough. The egg really smooths the ice cream out and lets it keep that traditional ice cream consistency. We were putting together a fun little dinner just the two of us and Charisse wanted to take another crack at the ice cream maker and Eric had a hankering for eggnog. This time, it was perfect: creamy, a little spicy and very festive. At least that's what Eric said while he sat with the bowl between his legs, eating the last of it with a spoon straight from the mixing bowl. He also said it was cold. Don't worry, we won't tell him that theres no actual eggnog in this one until he's finished it, Charisse needs a clean bowl for her next ice cream adventure!

Extra! We have a winner from our contest last week: Food Hound! Food Hound, contact us and we'll send you your jar of bacon marmalade!

Eggnog Ice Cream
What you will need

2 cups half and half
1 cup milk
4 whole cloves
1 tsp grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Pinch salt
2/3 cup white, granulated sugar
6 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp rum, bourbon, or brandy

Heat the 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of the cream in a heavy saucepan with the cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt until steamy, but not boiling. Lower the heat, cover, and let spices steep for at least 30 minutes. Discard cloves and add the sugar and stir until it is dissolved.

 Put remaining 1 cup cream in a metal bowl, resting in a larger bowl of ice water. Place a fine mesh strainer over the bowl of cream.

  Whisk the egg yolks in a another bowl. Slowly pour about half of the heated cream milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly so that the egg yolks are tempered by the warm mixture, but not cooked by it. Scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

 Return the saucepan to the stove on medium heat, stirring the mixture constantly until the it thickens and coats the spoon. Remove from heat and pour through the strainer into the cold cream to stop the cooking process. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. 

Stir in the vanilla and bourbon if using and process in your ice cream maker, according to directions.