There’s Always Room for Ice Cream

There is always one thing that comes to mind whenever I think of ice cream: the Good Humor man who used to come to down my street every night around 6:30 p.m. when I was a child. I’m sure I’m not the only one to remember the bells ringing on the truck, announcing its arrival. We kids would line up on the curb desperately hoping the truck wouldn’t run out of our choice by the time it was our turn.  

Love for ice cream doesn’t fade when you reach adulthood, nor do we not crave it less during the cooler months of the year.  Nowadays, creative chefs and ice-cream artisans are making and selling the most glorious ice creams in flavors we’d never have thought of years ago. I love ice cream and wanted a chapter dedicated to these frozen treats in my new book Ten.  I made sure to include classics like summery strawberry and cool mint chocolate chip, as well as delicious new choices like Key lime and burnt orange.

Happy scooping!

Bill Gross’s Burnt Orange Ice Cream

makes 5 cups

Bill Gross, who was executive sous chef at Café Gray in New York City, was kind enough to create this recipe for me-and it is simply delicious. The technique is fascinating, but it does require some careful watching while the sugar caramelizes. The oranges are prepared two days ahead, and the ice cream one day ahead-and the waiting is well worth it!

For the oranges:

2½ cups granulated sugar

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 large navel oranges (each about 6 ounces)

For the ice cream:

3 cups heavy (whipping) cream

²?³ cup half-and-half

Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean (see Note, page 402), or 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 

2 large egg yolks

1.?One day ahead, prepare the oranges: Position a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 450°F.

2.?Place ½ cup of the sugar on a plate. Rub the butter over the oranges, then roll them in the sugar.

3.?Pour the unused sugar from the plate into an 8-inch square baking pan, and shake it around to cover the bottom of the pan. Place the oranges in the pan and bake, moving them around once to break up any unmelted sugar, until they start to color and some of the sugar in the pan starts to melt, 15 to 20 minutes.

4.?Remove the pan from the oven (leaving the oven on), and using tongs and a sharp knife, carefully quarter the oranges. Place the quarters, skin side up, in the baking pan and bake until the peel is dark brown, about 35 minutes. Let the orange quarters cool slightly.

5.?Remove the peel from 4 of the browned quarters, discarding the pulp. Leave the other 4 quarters intact.

6.?Combine the orange peel, the 4 intact quarters, the sugar from the pan, and the remaining 2 cups sugar in a food processor, and puree. Strain the puree into a container, cover it, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. 

7.?The next day, prepare the ice cream mixture: Place the orange puree in a saucepan over medium-low heat, and bring it to a simmer.

8.?While the orange puree is heating, whisk the cream, half-and-half, vanilla seeds, and egg yolks together in a large bowl. Then, whisking constantly, slowly add the hot orange puree. Let the mixture cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate it until it is cold, 3 to 4 hours.

9.?Freeze the mixture in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

10.?Transfer the ice cream to a container, cover, and store in the freezer until ready to serve. 

I hope you enjoy this delicious treat which makes a wonderful dessert at the end of a perfect evening with family and friends or satisfying snack while watching Grey’s Anatomy.

This has been fun.

Happy Cooking,

Sheila

Sheila Lukins, author of Ten: All the Foods We Love, Ten Recipes for Each, is guest blogging on Jewcy, and she’ll be here all week. Stay tuned.

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Want a copy of Ten: All the Foods We Love, Ten Recipes for Each?  Participate in this week’s giveaway contest! Make a comment on this and other posts by Shiela. At the end of the week the authors of the top five comments will receive a FREE COPY of her book!