Allison Cooks Alton's Good Eats

I am partially writing this post to distract me because I am heading to the hospital this evening to be induced for labor. I was actually scheduled to be induced yesterday, exactly at 37 weeks, but they called about 90 minutes before my scheduled time to tell me there was not a single room open in Labor and Delivery. Let’s hope there will be a room open this evening because I’m ready to get off this roller coaster.

While I’ve been pregnant, people always tend to ask me what my primary food cravings are. Honestly, I have not had any cravings beyond foods that I tend to like to eat anyway. The only real thing I have noticed is that my sweet tooth is definitely more noticeable than normal, and one thing that seems to taste particularly good is ice cream. I can, in all actuality, say that I have eaten more ice cream this year than I have ever consumed before, and I have a bowl nearly every evening as dessert. I was, therefore, not disappointed at all to see that a second Good Eats ice cream episode was next in my lineup. Three flavors of ice cream to make? Yes, please.

Vanilla Ice Cream

The first ice cream flavor in this episode is a classic vanilla. The basic formula for all of the recipes in this episode can be remembered by the following sequence of numbers:  9, 8, 3, 2, 1. Nine stands for 9 oz of sugar, eight is for 8 egg yolks, three is for 3 C of half and half, two is for 2 t of vanilla, and one is for 1 C of heavy cream.

For the vanilla ice cream, Alton prefers you to use vanilla sugar, if possible, which can be made by leaving a vanilla pod in the sugar for a week or more. I was ready to make my vanilla ice cream the day I watched the episode, so I made my vanilla ice cream with plain sugar. Alton’s ice cream begins with placing a medium saucepan over medium heat, adding the cup of cream and the three cups of half and half. Bring the dairy to a bare simmer.

While the dairy heats up, whisk the eight egg yolks in a medium bowl until light and creamy. Slowly add the sugar to the yolks, whisking as you add. The resulting mixture should be very thick, light yellow, and should fall from the whisk’s tip in a thick ribbon.

When the dairy has begun to simmer, remove it from the heat. It is now time to temper the eggs by very slowly whisking 1/3 of the dairy mixture into the yolks; don’t rush this process or your egg yolks will curdle.

Once you have added about a third of the dairy to the yolks, it is safe to add the rest of the dairy all at once.

Pour the entire mixture back in the medium saucepan and place it over low heat, stirring as you bring it to 170 degrees.

Once at 170, remove the custard from the heat – it should be thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. When you run your finger across the back of the spoon, a clear line should remain in the custard; this is called nape.

Transfer the custard to a bowl and place it in the freezer until it has cooled to room temperature. Stir in the 2 t of vanilla.

Cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate it until it is below 40 degrees, which will take several hours. I made my custard a day prior to churning.

When your custard has sufficiently chilled, churn it in any ice cream maker you prefer.

Place the finished ice cream in an air-tight container and let it freeze for six to eight hours before serving.

I was really happy with this basic vanilla ice cream recipe. The custard was rich, creamy, and had a bit of an egg flavor to it, along with a slight yellow hue. Sure, you could improve this recipe by adding some vanilla pulp from a vanilla bean, but this is a great standard recipe for just utilizing vanilla extract.

Mint Chip Ice Cream

Apparently, mint chip ice cream is (or at least was) Alton’s favorite ice cream flavor, so he included a mint chip recipe in this episode. This recipe follows the same 9 (oz of sugar), 8 (egg yolks), 3 (C of 1/2 and 1/2), 2 (t of vanilla), and 1 (C of cream) formula as outlined in the vanilla recipe above.

Again, begin by pouring the 3 C of 1/2 and 1/2 and the cup of cream into a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Meanwhile, whisk the eight egg yolks in a bowl until they have lightened. Slowly whisk the nine ounces of sugar into the yolks until you have a thick mixture that falls in a ribbon from your whisk.

When your dairy has reached a bare simmer, remove it from the heat. Slowly temper the cream into the eggs, gradually whisking about a third of the dairy into the eggs. It is then safe to add the remaining dairy all at once.

Pour the egg/cream mixture back into the medium saucepan over low heat, stirring until the temperature hits 170 degrees and coats the back of a spoon.

Remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture into a freezer-safe bowl. Place the bowl in the freezer until the mixture has cooled to room temperature. Stir in 1 t of mint oil instead of the vanilla extract used for the vanilla ice cream recipe.

Place the custard in the refrigerator to cool until it is below 40 degrees, which will take hours; I always just do this part overnight. The following day, or when you are ready to churn, chop three ounces of Andes mints.

Add the mints right after you begin churning the custard, as Alton says the mints will contribute more flavor if added earlier in the churning process.

Once churned, transfer the ice cream to an air-tight container and place it in the freezer for 6-8 hours before serving.

This is a really good mint chip ice cream. The addition of Andes mints gives an extra kick of mint, as opposed to just using chopped chocolate. The basic custard is rich and slightly eggy in flavor, and the mint oil manages somehow to make an ice cream that is simultaneously indulgent and refreshing. I’m actually wishing right now that I still had a little bit of this in the freezer right now because it sounds really good. This was probably our favorite ice cream recipe of this episode.

Chocolate Ice Cream

Last in this episode is Alton’s chocolate ice cream. This recipe uses the same formula as in the vanilla and mint chip recipes, but the first step is to place 1.5 ounces of cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process) and 1/2 C of 1/2 and 1/2 in a medium saucepan, whisking until the cocoa powder has dissolved.

Once the cocoa powder has dissolved, the formula continues as in the vanilla ice cream recipe. Add the remaining 2 1/2 C of 1/2 and 1/2 to the pan, along with 1 C cream.

Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring it to a simmer. While the dairy heats, whisk eight egg yolks until lightened and slowly whisk nine ounces of sugar into the yolks, forming a light, thick mixture.

When the dairy just begins to bubble, remove it from the heat and temper the yolks by slowly whisking about 1/3 of the chocolate/cream into the yolks.

Once 1/3 of the warm dairy has been added, you can add the remaining dairy to the yolks. Place the pan back on low heat and stir until the custard reaches 170 degrees and will coat the back of a spoon.

Transfer the custard to a freezer-safe bowl and let the mixture cool in the freezer until it is about room temperature. Once chilled, stir 2 t of vanilla extract into the chocolate custard and place the custard in the refrigerator to chill overnight, or until it is below 40 degrees. When the custard has chilled, you can churn your ice cream.

Place the churned ice cream in the freezer for 6-8 hours before serving.

Alton’s chocolate ice cream is rich and packed with chocolate flavor. If you are a chocolate ice cream lover, this is a quick, easy chocolate ice cream recipe that is sure to satisfy. Chocolate ice cream has never been my absolute favorite flavor, but I sure wouldn’t turn down a bowl of this.