Homemade Ice Cream & Waffles

Keeping with my challenge of using all my cookbooks before my next birthday, I decided to make some homemade ice cream with Nathaniel. He had gone through my books and came across Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book. Of course, this was the cookbook that he was interested in. I have a Krups ice cream maker that has been crying because of lack of use (probably for the last 7+ years), so I decided that it was time to let Nathaniel know what real ice cream tastes like.

We decided on making French Vanilla ice cream and mix-in whatever he wanted later. Warning this recipe calls for eggs that are not cooked, so make sure that you are using the freshest eggs that you can find. None of those expired eggs that have been sitting in your fridge for months!

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FRENCH VANILLA from Ben & Jerry's

2 large eggs
3/4 sugar
2 cups heavy or whipping cream
1 cup milk (we used 2% because that was what we had. I am sure that whole would be even better)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Whisk in sugar, a little at ta time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about a minute more. Pour in cream, milk and vanilla and whisk to blend.

2. Transfer the mixture to ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions.

Makes 1 quart.
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It was very soft, so we popped the ice cream in the freezer for 30 minutes before Nathaniel mixed in some M&M's. His reaction was "Oh, this is SOOOOOOOOO good. We should make homemade ice cream all the time!" Really rich, creamy and delicious.

Funny thing is that I finished reading The United States of Arugula where the author writes about how Ben & Jerry's basically ripped off their ice cream mix-in ideas from an ex-schoolteacher, Steve Herrell, who had an ice cream store where they would come in taking pictures and study the ice cream machine to see how it worked (p. 191).

Ok, so after our homemade ice cream success, I asked Nathaniel if we wanted waffles in the morning. At 9 AM, we pulled out the waffle iron (a Christmas present that has been hiding in the closet) and whipped up some perfectly airy and fluffy waffles.

WAFFLES from Neiman-Marcus' Pigtails and Froglegs (sadly this cookbook is out of print, but one of my favorites)

1 3/4 cup flour (that's 1 cup plus 3/4 cup, not 1- 3/4 cup)
2 teas baking powder
3 teas sugar
1/2 teas salt
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 egg whites, beaten until stiff

Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Combine yolks with milk. Stir into dry ingredients (I sifted the dry into the milk mixture). Add oil. Carefully fold in egg whites. Do not over mix. Pour about 1/2 cup of batter into your waffle iron. Close and bake.
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The recipe said that it served two, but that must be two very hungry people. I made 9 waffles with this batter (Nathaniel ate 2 and I ate 1), so I would have to say that maybe 3-4 people might be more accurate. Since I am leaving town tomorrow, I decided to give the leftovers to my friends, Angela and Blake, so I'll have them give me a report on how well they reheat.

Nathaniel's reaction to the waffles--"The best ever. Let's make them again!" I totally agree.

P.S. Nathaniel was a little disappointed that he didn't remember to put the leftover ice cream on the waffles instead of just having syrup & butter.