Egg Nog Ice Cream to Soothe the Soul (and Body)

When only ice cream or booze will do, why not have both? Egg Nog Ice Cream. It’s the best of both worlds. And for those of you who are already singing Christmas carols, Egg nog ice cream will fulfill your festive needs as well. Now I’m not the one singing carols, (and those of you who are, are driving me crazy!) but I could certainly go for a pint of this ice cream after the day I had yesterday. For some silly reason I decided I would go for a bike ride despite the fact that it was cold and wet outside. I bundled up, put my ipod on and off I went. I cursed the rain that began only moments after I started pedaling but decided to continue my bike ride anyways. About two thirds of the way through my course as I was going down a hill, (at speeds unsuited for the conditions) my bike slid out from under me and I met the pavement face first. Hard. I sat on the ground for a bit and tried not to blackout, thankful that I always wear my helmet and then shakily walked my bike up the hill and pedaled home. Adrenaline is wonderfully useful at times like this as without it I would probably still be laying on the pavement, unable to move. After making it home I took a 4 hour trip to the hospital to determine that I had a scraped up face, concussion and bruised ribs, but nothing broken. Just because it’s not broken doesn’t mean is doesn’t hurt like a thousand bees stinging my eyes. I feel as though my entire left side has been run over by a truck. I considered posting a picture of the carnage, but then recalled that this is a food blog and ice cream is infinitely more appealing than blood. For those of you who are curious, if you haven’t added Jumbo Empanadas as a friend on Facebook, feel free to do so now. And for the squeamish who just want the ice cream recipe, here it is, another winner from David Lebovitz.

Egg Nog Ice Cream (from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop)

1 cup whole milk

2/3 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

2 cups heavy cream

6 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or to taste

2 T brandy

2 T dark rum

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Warm the milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Pour the cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.

In a separate bowl whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warmed mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir into the cream to cool. Mix in the nutmeg, brandy, rum and vanilla and stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. Once the mixture is cold, taste it, and grate in more fresh nutmeg if you wish. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.