For this past Mother’s Day, my family got me the ice cream maker attachment for my beloved KitchenAid mixer. I had been kind of kicking the idea of getting one for some time, but had always been shot down by my husband, who did not have fond memories of homemade ice cream as a child. His mother refuses to follow recipes, generally, so I would gently point out there might have been a flaw in the system, but never got anywhere until this genuinely surprising gift.
Along with the attachment, he had ordered me two ice cream recipe books – Ben and Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream and Desserts, and the other The Perfect Scoop. The Ben and Jerry’s book is a homey little book, but often uses raw eggs in the mix, as it seems they have easy access to pasteurized egg mix. The recipes are a good source of ideas, but that book did not inspire me as did Lebovitz’s.
David Lebovitz worked at Chez Panisse as a pastry chef, and now lives in France and has a really great food blog. He has published a few books, including The Perfect Scoop. It is far and away one of the most reliable cookbooks I have ever had – I have yet to repeat a recipe, but every one I have made has come out perfectly. He has recipes for old fashioned favourites like Rum Raisin (delicious) and Tin Roof Sundae (sooooon), but also recipes with more unusual ingredients such as peas or avocados. Each recipe is prefaced with a little story, and the Basics introductory chapter introduces basic custard making, discussion of the pros and cons of machinery, and an analysis of basic ingredient types. He also has chapters on granitas, mix-ins and different (tasty) vessels for holding the ice creams. Lebovitz makes it all seem so simple, and the text is so clearly written, that the book is an absolute pleasure to read and use.
I have a Cuisinart ice cream maker and Mr. J and I agree it was worth every penny of the $50 it cost. We don’t use it often, but when we do the results are delicious. I use the Ben and Jerry’s cookbook and I had another one that I got rid of. I may pick this one up. I have no objection to the raw eggs; in fact, I eat two raw eggs every day in a blender drink I make and have done so for about 12 years.
Raw eggs have been my last culinary frontier – I think part of it is because I actually don’t like eggs, and the idea of it puts me off. I have referenced the Ben and Jerry’s, but this one is definitely my go to, although his ice cream is not always custard based anyways. The caramel pear ice cream I made is entirely made of cream, sigh.
I saw the picture of the caramel pear and thought “I can’t have dairy, but I can lick this picture.” I shouldn’t do that too often as my tablet does not like it.
I have been drooling over the occasional pictures you post of your ice cream for months. Also, I love David Lebovitz. I often go to his blog for inspiration as he is an entertaining writer along with reliable recipes. His Chocolate Idiot Cake is one of my showstoppers and perfection for the gluten intolerant. http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2007/01/shf-27-chocolat-1/
Yes, I love his blog too. Everything he writes is so fun, and then he presents this beautiful foodstuff with a convincing air of “and here is how you do this.” I adore him.
This makes me want to buy a copy and drag my ice cream maker out! It’s been in semi-retirement (sadly) for some time. This might be the excuse I need to get moving on that again.
I am a terrible enabler, on the ice cream front.