Vanilla ice cream

I went to the store yesterday. It was so lovely and warm outside that I walked over and looked at the ice cream. The half-gallons are less than half gallons now, and so much dang money! Like five bucks! I can get a quart of half and half for two bucks. I mean, seriously.

So I scored some half and half and spent yesterday and today making ice. I have a bread bag, and I make ice cubes in two ice trays. When the bread bag is full, I have enough ice for my little ice cream machine. My ice cream book says to just get a few cardboard milk cartons, fill them with water, freeze them, then bust them up with a hammer to get enough ice for your ice cream maker. Either way, ice is the biggest hassle when it comes to homemade ice cream, and I don't feel like paying for ice I can freeze myself.

Anyway, here's my recipe:

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 3/4ths cups half and half (about 2/3rds of a quart)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup whipping cream

I never use whipping cream because it makes it too heavy, in my opinion. But I was daring this time. I mixed milk and plain yogurt. It made lovely, full-bodied ice cream. Next time I'll use a little more yogurt and try to get that wonderful tang.

Also, about raw eggs. Most people flip about about raw eggs in ice cream. "What about salmonella?" they squawk.

According to Alton Brown of Good Eats, salmonella bacteria affects about 1 in 20,000 eggs, infecting it from the inside (the chicken gets infected and passes it on to her egg). However, the salmonella doesn't develop unless you leave the eggs sitting at room temperature for a few days. So raw eggs are perfectly fine to eat, as long as they're fresh and have been kept cold.

Now on to the fun stuff.

Dump the ice cream mixture into your canister.



Stick in your dasher and hold it up for the picture.



Slap on the lid and set it carefully into the bucket.



Have your helper help you fill up the bucket with ice, dumping in a nice layer of rock salt after each layer of ice. I bought regular salt by mistake, but it works if used in large quantities. I used slightly more than a cup.



Look at all that salty ice.



My machine's directions say to let it run for 30 minutes, adding ice and salt as necessary. I add ice and salt about every 10 minutes.

After 30 minutes, I unplug it and open up the canister for a look. See what I find:



Beautiful, delicious vanilla ice cream.



Perfect for a little late-afternoon, pre-dinner snack.

I don't know why I don't weigh 300 pounds.