Ice Cream Fight!!!

Since we had already-made frozen bolognese for dinner, and I planned it that way, I saved the gelato and ice cream I made over the weekend for tonight's post. Yay ice cream!

I'd gotten David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop early last week and I couldn't wait to stuff my ice cream attachment thingamabob into my too-small freezer. I made the bases Friday and Saturday night, and whirred them Saturday and Sunday mornings, respectively.

We had 5 (sigh, only 5) chocolate chip cookies left from Thursday (relax, I took half to work Friday), so I made two ice cream sandwiches with the gelato. Next time, I'll plan a little better and I'll skip sharing with the co-workers! (sorry!) :)

Gianduja translated to me, just based on ingredients, into chocolate hazelnut. (Which is my fav. flavor from the gelato bar at Whole Foods), so it was an easy first choice. Next time, I'll follow David's suggestion and I'll mix in some chocolate swirls. I might also work hazelnuts into the mix. Yanno, just get crazy.

I know what you must be thinking next - goat cheese? Really? And I can happily tell you, its good. It is! It's like a tangy cheesecake ice cream. It freezes a little more solidly, so thaw it a bit before you try to dig into it. I'm going to try to keep it around to this weekend, when I make my mom a blueberry pie... I think the pie and the goat cheese ice cream could be friends, don't you?


Gianduja Gelato
From: The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments
By David Lebovitz
http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Scoop-Sorbets-Granitas-Accompaniments/dp/1580088082/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-3962652-3548104?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179016241&sr=8-1

1 ½ cups (185 g) hazelnuts, toasted
1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream
¾ (150 g) sugar
¼ teaspoon coarse salt
4 ounces (115 g) milk chocolate, finely chopped
5 large egg yolk
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Rub the hazelnuts in a kitchen towel to remove as much of the papery skins as possible, then finely chop them in a food processor or blender.

Warm the milk with 1 cup (250ml) of the cream, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Once warm, remove from the heat and add the chopped hazelnuts. Cover and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

Put the milk chocolate pieces in a large bowl. Heat the remaining 1 cup (250ml) cream in a medium sauce pan until it just begins to boil. Pour it over the milk chocolate pieces and stir until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Set a mesh strainer over the top.

Pour the hazelnut infused milk through a strainer into a medium saucepan, squeezing the nuts firmly with your hands to extract as much of the flavorful liquid as possible. Discard the hazelnuts.

Rewarm the hazelnut-infused mixture. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm hazelnut mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over a medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through a strainer and stir it into the milk chocolate mixture. Add the vanilla and stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in a refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

And:

Goat Cheese Ice Cream
From: The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments
By David Lebovitz
http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Scoop-Sorbets-Granitas-Accompaniments/dp/1580088082/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-3962652-3548104?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179016241&sr=8-1

1 ½ cups (375 ml) whole milk
2/3 cup (130 g) sugar
8 ounces (230 g) fresh goat cheese
6 egg yolks

Warm the milk and sugar in a medium saucepan. While the milk is warming, crumble the goat cheese into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm 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 it into the goat cheese. Keep stirring until the cheese is melted, then stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.