Guinness Ice Cream!

This is driving me mad! Our internet service has been out for nearly a week and I haven't been able to blog. Aargh! The internet is now a way of life. Without it, I feel like I'm in the dark ages with no electricity, no running water or no indoor commode! Sure there are internet cafes, but the closest one to us didn't make it past 6 months (quite typical of 95 % of new food-realm businesses.) The chains continue to expand and the little eclectic independents are becoming extinct. We should protect them as endangered species are protected!

Without reason to be glued to my computer every waking minute I'm at home means I need to find something to preoccupy myself with, which means you'll find me in the kitchen. At my restaurant, we featured Claudia's ice cream. Claudia is a character to say the least (in a former life she was a playboy bunny!) You could put Claudia's ice cream up against any other ice cream anywhere and hers would win the taste test hands down. The richness and creaminess were unparalleled. This was not the ice cream for the faint of heart, meaning the calorie watcher! I crave that ice cream to this day and since I'm in a different state and cannot have it, I need to take matters in my own hands and make some. We have an old, cheap ice cream maker which has never been used and recently I came across a recipe for Guinness ice cream. I'm sure this will not rival Claudia's, but who can say no to Guinness?

Here again, this recipe is not the low fat kind. It's loaded with cream and yolks, just like all true ice cream should be. Put in some extra time on the treadmill, a few extra sit ups so you can just enjoy the taste sensation. Overall, this is not an overly sweet ice cream which it really shouldn't be, and it's not really the type of ice cream that you would eat a huge bowl of. Remember, it is a Guinness so you will want a little morsel of saltiness to go with it too. One small scoop with a chocolate covered pretzels is a perfect amount.

You should have your ice cream insert in the freezer before starting this process, place in there the day or morning before. Start with 2 cups heavy cream, 2 cups of Guinness, 1 1/3 cups whole milk and 1/2 cup sugar - pour into a big kettle and simmer. You really want to avoid boiling this as the cream will burn. Now take 15 egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar and whip until light and frothy. I did this by hand (which takes about 10 to 15 minutes,) feel free to use your mixer! Now temper the eggs with the cream mixture by slowly adding portions of the hot cream to the eggs. Pour everything back into the kettle and simmer until thick. It is real easy to scramble the eggs here so keep the flame on low! Once your mixture is thick, you don't want to pour this hot mixture into the frozen insert, it defeats the purpose of freezing the container. The best of all scenarios is that you let the cream sit in the refrigerator overnight. This allows all the flavors to meld the best. I did try two batches, one we turned into ice cream immediately and one batch was left to meld in the frig overnight. The overnight batch came out creamier with a more concentrated flavor. Either way, before placing into the ice cream insert or the frig, you will need to place the hot cream mixture in an ice bath to cool it off. Fill up a pot large enough to fit your kettle inside; you can use your sink for this too! Add as much ice as will fit in the pot or sink, now add water to chill even further and simply place your pot into the ice bath. Stir often. Once this is chilled, either cover and place the kettle in the fridge or pour the mixture into the ice cream insert. Use your ice cream maker as directed. Eat immediately for a soft serve texture or place in the freezer for the more frozen effect. Don't forget to top with the chocolate covered pretzels! Live in the moment - forget about the internet problems, ignore the calories; just enjoy and be fat and happy!