What to Eat This Weekend: Homemade Ice Cream

What to Eat This Weekend: Homemade Ice Cream
by Amazon al Dente at 9:33 AM PDT, July 6, 2007

Not that I need another reason to indulge in one of my favorite treats, but in honor of July being National Ice Cream month, I've been considering making some of the good stuff at home. The process is probably much easier with an automatic ice cream maker, but it's also fun to make without the aid of modern technology. Not a coffee drinker? Substitute the coffee cans below with the nifty Ice Cream Ball.


Ingredients:
1 lb. Coffee Can
3 lb. Coffee Can
1/2 cup Rock salt
1 pint Half & Half
1 1/2 tsps. Vanilla
1/3 cup + 2 tblsps. Sugar


For flavored ice cream, choose one:
3 tblsps. of your favorite flavor of instant pudding
1/3 cup of fruit (such as bananas, strawberries, peaches)
3 of your favorite cookies, crushed into pea-size pieces
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts


Directions:
Mix the sugar, vanilla, and half & half together and pour into the one pound coffee can. Add flavorings if desired. Place the lid on securely and set inside the three pound can. Add ice, and alternate layers of ice and salt outside the small can and inside the large can. When full, secure the lid. Place a sheet on the floor or wrap the can in a large towel, and roll the can back and forth for at least 10 minutes. Open the cans and check the ice cream. If it is not starting to freeze, replace lids and roll 10 minutes more. The ice cream should be frozen to the sides and bottom of the can. If not thick enough, place in freezer and check every 10 minutes or so. Yields 2 cups of ice cream.


--AndreaLeigh