You scream, I scream, we all scream...

...for ICE CREAM!

Who doesn't like ice cream? It's cold, its creamy, and it can taste like, well anything you want it to.

This MLK weekend the weather suddenly warmed up (la Nina and all that). It was like, 50 degrees Fahrenheit in Seattle in the middle of January! How crazy is that? While a Californian or Floridian might snub, a Seattle-ite makes ice cream!!!!

Left over peppermint candy from last month inspired the flavor of Peppermint-chocolate chip ice cream.

Most home ice cream machines provide recipes for simple milk/cream based, no cook ice cream, but to get that "premium" ice cream taste and texture I recommend starting your base as a custard. It means taking eggs, sugar, milk/cream (or basically half and half) and cooking it low and slow until it is thick enough to coat the back of a silver spoon.

This recipe called for peppermint extract but I instead steeped lots of peppermint candy in my half and half. The only caution in doing this is to make sure to account for the sugar content of the peppermint candy. The candy will melt n your half and half therefore will add sugar to it. I cut down the sugar requirement by a quarter cup which seem to work for me.

One more thing, chocolate chips actually freeze hard which makes it a little difficult to add to ice cream just the way it is. I take chocolate, melt it and then add a little canola oil to the melted chocolate. I spread it onto parchment paper and then freeze it. Once frozen, I can tear it into chocolate pieces before folding the pieces into the churned custard. This way, the "chips" melt in your mouth instead of possibly causing a chipped tooth.

Churn your ice cream for less time than the manufacturer requires so that when you freeze it finally, it is not hard as rock the next day.

Recipe:

1 1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cup cream

(OR a total of 3 cup half&half to sub milk and cream)

2 ea whole eggs

3 ea egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar (for this recipe do 1/2 cup sugar if steeping candy to the milk/cream (half&half)

Peppermint candy (I did about 1 cup for the 3 cups of liquid - do more for bigger peppermint flavor)

Method:

Heat milk/cream (half&half) with the peppermint candy over low heat.

In the mean time, whisk all eggs and the sugar until light in color.

Once the milk/cream (half&half) just starts to simmer, slowly ladle a bit of it to the egg-sugar mixture while mixing it. This tempers the egg and prevents it from scrambling. Then take that mixture you've tempered and pour back to the pan with the rest of the milk/cream (half&half).

Return to the heat and slowly cook the mixture until thickened and coats the back of a silver spoon.

Chill completely.

Churn