southern living | Michael's Woodcrafts

Be sure to click the pictures so see the flecks of vanilla bean!

I love ice cream and if I buy it, I go for Ben and Jerry’s. As a child one of my most favorite memories is eating ice cream with my grandparents after dinner. There is something about homemade vanilla ice cream that is just so amazing, especially this recipe. This recipe is so creamy, so delicious, once you have tasted this recipe you will want to make it all the time. …MMM so good!!! Make me do the Happy Dance! 🙂

All the flecks of vanilla bean, the rich egg yolks, heavy cream makes for a rich creamy custardy ice cream. All the egg yolks make this ice cream yellow color. Did you know that vanilla is the most popular flavor ice cream with chocolate as second?

July is National Ice Cream Month, in 1984; President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month. The third Sunday of the month is National Ice Cream Day.

So let me show you how I make this homemade ultimate Vanilla Ice Cream!

Ingredients
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup caster (superfine) sugar
1 vanilla bean
Pinch of salt
2 cups cream
6 egg yolks
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Serving size: 1 quart

The recipe is easy but there are a lot of steps. Be sure to read the entire recipe and get organized before you start. The first thing I will tell you is, do not substitute any of the ingredients, especially the caster sugar. Caster sugar is very a very fine sugar and it does make a different. Use the highest fat heavy cream you can find.

Place the whole milk, sugar and salt in a small saucepan. Split the vanilla bean and scrape out the seed and add them to the milk. I reuse the vanilla bean pod by placing it into my bottle of pure vanilla extract or us it to make vanilla sugar.

Place the saucepan over high heat and bring the mil mixture to just under a boil. Remove from heat, cover the pot, set aside to infuse for an hour.

After an hour we are ready to make the ice cream. Make an ice bath using a large bowl and fill it with a little water and lots of ice cubes. Set a slightly smaller bowl in the ice bath and pour in the heavy cream. Place a strainer over the smaller bowl which will be used to strain the egg mixture.

In a separate, medium size heat proof bowl, whisk the egg yolks lightly. Slowly pout the infused milk into the yolks whisking the entire time until combined.

Place this bowl over a pot of simmering water, cook while constantly stirring until the mixture reaches 180 degrees F or until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and pour through the strainer into the heavy cream.

Mixture has been strained into the heavy cream.

Stir the custard over the ice bath until it’s cooled and then add the pure vanilla extract. Then remove bowl from the ice bath, cover with plastic wrap and place into your fridge until cold, preferably overnight.

Once the custard is cold, you are ready to churn your ice cream. Pour your custard into your churn.

My churn takes about 30 minutes to make the ice cream. Once the ice cream is done it will be soft, so I remove it into another container and place it into the freezer to get hard but not before I taste it!

I hope you will give this recipe a try, it’s the ultimate homemade vanilla ice cream! so good!! I guess you could add your favorite topping, chocolate, brownie, broken candy bars, etc. or mix it into the ice cream but this recipe is so good without toppings! 🙂

Do you make homemade ice cream?

Enjoy your ice cream!!

personalized engraved ice cream scoop old fashion paddle stainless steel Michael's Woodcraft Greenville SC South Carolina woodwork

Check out my handcrafted heavy duty old fashion ice cream paddles and ice cream scoops! For more information, view more images or to order, click SHOP NOW

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Pork tenderloin, butter beans and roasted potatoes

I love butter beans and have been eating them all my life. As a child I can remember working the fields at my grandmother and grandfather’s farm, picking all the beans and sitting around on the back porch shelling and snapping beans in the evening. My grandmother cooked the best butter beans, this is my version of her recipe and they are delicious!

Butter beans, lima beans, baby lima beans; whatever you like to call them, the difference would be size, with the larger ones commonly called limas and the smaller whiter ones butter beans. There is nothing better than fresh butter beans cooked southern style. During the summer months when I can find butter beans at the farmer’s market I load up on them and put them in the freezer. When I run out I will buy them frozen in bags at the local grocery store.

If you like butter beans then I am sure you have gotten them when you go your local meat and three restaurant, cafeteria or Cracker Barrel. Have you ever wondered how they cook the butter beans and make taste so delicious?! If you want to learn how to cook butter beans read more of my post, these will be the best you have ever eaten. I cook them southern style with thick bacon and a simple roux using butter and flour. When I make butter beans I make a l

For the Beans:
2 pounds fresh butter beans
3-4 strips bacon
1/2 medium size onion
1 whole clove garlic, do not chop (if desired, not required)

For the Roux:
2-3 Tablespoons butter
4-5 green onions (scallions), finely chopped
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
Cooking liquid from beans
¼ teaspoon paprika (add to taste)
Salt and black pepper to taste

Place the beans in a heavy saucepan and add water to cover the beans.

Add bacon, onion half and garlic clove.

Bring to a boil and skim off any scum that rises from the bacon. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Cook on simmer to low until the beans are nearly tender, about thirty minutes. Be sure to not cook any higher or the bean will split open.

While the beans are cooking, go ahead and chop the green onion which will be added to the roux.

When the beans are done, strain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid. Remove and discard the bacon, onion and garlic clove if you can find it.

Now you are ready to make the roux, wipe out the bean pot and melt the butter. Add the green onions and sauté for a few minutes until soft, but do not let them brown. Sprinkle over the flour, whisking until the sauce is smooth and thickened.

Add back the butter beans, slowly pour in 1 cup or more of the cooking liquid, reserve extra liquid in case you need it. You can add more of the cooking liquid as needed, many times I will use all the cooking liquid. Add the paprika and pepper to taste.

Continue to warm the butter beans on low until you are ready to eat, I usually cook them on a simmer for 3 hours. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

We enjoy eating the Russian Banana fingerling potatoes, they are very delicious, buttery tasting. Roast the fingerling potatoes in a shallow pan, coat potatoes with olive oil and your favorite herbs. Roast for 30 minutes or until fork inserts easily.