600

CELEBRATE SANDY'S 600th POST!
Wear your party hat, call your relatives, spread the news!

A little present to celebrate and keep you occupied for awhile (and isn't that why you are here reading this anyway?) The Cooper Hewitt has an exhibit called Multiple Choice: From Sample to Product and this site shows some of the 'behind the scenes' curatorial choices.
Get another cup of coffee. A great chock-full website

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I am re-posting this off a blog I am discontinuing, it's too good to get sent into the stratosphere, so from October 11, 2007, here is.....

MAPLE ICE CREAM
that thinks it's gelato:

* 2 cups pure maple syrup, or 1 c. dark Grade B (skip pre-boiling it)
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch
* 6 large egg yolks
* 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
* 1 cup whole milk
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts

PREPARATION:
First, bring the syrup to a low boil and boil till it's concentrated down to one cup- keep the burner low because it boils over easily. Cool to room temperature. Bring the heavy cream to a simmer in a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat. Whisk together cooled maple syrup, cornstarch, and egg yolks. Pour about 1/3 of the hot cream into the syrup mixture, then pour the syrup mixture into the remaining cream in the saucepan.

Cool the mixture; whisk in milk and vanilla. Chill thoroughly then freeze in your ice cream machine. Add pecans near the end of freezing time.
Makes 1 quart.

Now, you have to promise me that you will NOT put this on top of anything else, it has to be eaten by itself, maybe with just one shortbread cookie. The odd thing is that if you put it with other flavors, it's completely overpowered and turns into plain vanilla flavor. I know this because I made apple crisp and put this on top- what a waste.