Minty Fresh
When she was pregnant with me, my mother was very restrained and ate just one In-N-Out burger a month (7 years in the future: a pregnant Jessica houses a double double and fries, emitting a dinosaur roar as her poor husband attempts to sneak a fry).
She did, however, totally give in to two cravings: one for watermelon, the other for mint chocolate chip ice cream. I'm sure you can guess that those are two of my favorite foods now.
My mom and I love ice cream. And honestly, it's impossible NOT to love the perfect food that is ice cream. Show me a person who dislikes ice cream and I will show you an undercover ISIS agent. It's unnatural. That being said, I am also extraordinarily picky about my ice creams. No fruit flavors unless they're homemade, no weird colors (I got over that phase at a very young age) and no misguided "swirls" as an attempt to liven up what would otherwise be a boring flavor.
Mint chocolate chip is flavor that when done well is truly exquisite, but is mostly a sad radioactive green with chunks of crappy chocolate. I was sick and tired of the paltry offerings available to me and so I decided to whip out my trusty ice cream maker (made by Cuisinart and one of the best presents I have ever recieved) and make my own. No food coloring, no preservatives. Just eggs, cream, peppermint extract and chunks of bittersweet chocolate.
The ice cream turned out better than I ever could have hoped. True, home-churned ice cream is much softer than what you would typically get at a parlor but the flavor is unbeatable. The bitterness of the chocolate played perfectly with the sweetness of the base and the mint was just enough to be refreshing without tasting like toothpaste. If you need explicit directions on how to make ice cream, I highly recommend you visit this post.
Making ice cream isn't hard if you're careful. This recipe makes about one quart of ice cream.
Ingredients:
2 c. heavy cream
1 c. whole milk
1 tsp. salt
3 egg yolks
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. pure peppermint extract (or to taste)
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
Directions:
1. Fill a large bowl or pan with ice and water. Place a large, clean bowl in the ice bath and fill with a large, fine-mesh strainer.
2. In a large, heavy bottomed, non-reactive saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream, milk and salt and cook, stirring occasionally until hot but not boiling.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until well blended.
4. Remove the cream mixture from the heat. Slowly pour about half of the hot cream mixture into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Transfer the yolk mixture back to the remaining cream mixture and return it to medium heat.
5. Cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula and being sure to scrape the bottom of the saucepan so it doesn't scorch, until liquid begins to steam and you can feel the spatula scrape against the bottom of the pan, 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Remove the custard from the heat and immediately pour it through the strainer into the clean bowl you set up in the ice bath. Stir in the peppermint extract. Let cool, stirring occasionally.
7. When the custard is totally cool, add the chocolate shavings. Cover and let steep and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight. When you are ready to freeze the custard, pour it directly into an ice cream maker and spin according to manufacturer's instructions.
Eat immediately or transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 1 week.
