Is there anything that says summer more than homemade ice cream?   Especially if you are of a “certain age” remembering summers of your youth that were much more relaxed and home-bound than those of recent years where summer rentals and trips to exotic locales are commonplace.

Here you see us determined to be “retro,” using the hand crank of an ice cream machine that also provided an electric crank.  It was fun but a bit of a mess as we kept opening the container to check on our progress.  While the guys were cranking, I made some chocolate sauce and Lynn picked more wild raspberries to top off the rich vanilla I chose to make.  As the weeks pass, we will make fruit-based ice creams but I think that the first batch should always be old fashioned vanilla.  This seems pretty tame after reading about the wildly exotic cones available at Humphrey Slocum in San Francisco – Boccalone Prosciutto, Government Cheese, Hibiscus Beet, and Jesus Juice among them.

The only secret to great homemade ice cream is to use top-notch ingredients and to chill the mixture well before beginning the churning.

Old-fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream

Makes 2 quarts

1 quart whole milk

½ vanilla bean

5 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk

1 quart heavy cream

3 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Place the milk in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Split the vanilla bean open, lengthwise, and scrape the seeds into the milk.  Then, add the scraped bean.  Bring to a just a bare simmer – bubbles will form around the edge of the pan.  Immediately remove from the heat.

Combine the eggs and egg yolk and sugar in a heat proof bowl.  Using a whisk, beat until light and fluffy.  Slowly whisk in the hot milk along with the vanilla bean, beating to mix thoroughly.  Return the mixture to the pan in which you heated the milk.

Place over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes or until very thick.  Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

When the milk mixture has cooled, strain it through a fine sieve to insure that it is lump-free and smooth.  Combine the cooled mixture with the cream and vanilla extract, whisking to blend well.

Cover and refrigerate until well-chilled.

When chilled, transfer to an ice cream maker and churn and store according to manufacturer’s directions.