summers last breath

so that happened fast!  summer was here and summer ran away...a few weeks of heat on the east coast followed by a bit out west.  in new york and the northeast, it went out with a bang.  a huge lightning and thunder storm slammed through and brought with it the cool beginning of fall on its coat tails.  although we are ready for a nice light jacket and strolls through the city without a full sweat, we will miss the days of cold beer, summer foods, boat rides and fireflies.  a little homemade ice cream is our last gasp at holding on to summer, and even as our hotter days end its never really offseason for ice cream in our book. so before the soups and stews set in, lets enjoy a few more weeks dreaming of that fantastic summer.

TART CHERRY BUTTERMILK ICE CREAM

for our tart cherry buttermilk ice cream we used a mix of sour and bing cherries, but you can use whatever you have on hand.  the buttermilk ice cream is a great base for whatever fruit is in season- try peaches sautéed in brown sugar and cinnamon or plums cooked with honey and cardamom!

2 cups pitted cherries

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tbs water

12 large egg yolks

1 cup sugar

2 cups heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, split in half and seeds scrapped

2 cups buttermilk

pinch of salt

in a medium saucepan, combine cherries, sugar and water and bring to a boil over high heat.  reduce to medium and cook until slightly broken down and tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.  cool completely.

whisk eggs yolks and remaining sugar in a medium bowl. in a large saucepan, bring cream to a boil over medium heat. slowly drizzle the warm cream into the yolks, whisking constantly and adding all the cream in a slow steady stream.  pour the mixture back into the saucepan and add vanilla bean seeds and pod.  cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

remove from heat and pass through a mesh strainer into a bowl.  whisk in buttermilk and salt.  let cool completely and freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions.  remove ice cream from the machine and fold in the cooled cherry mixture. transfer to an airtight container and freeze overnight.

all images © andrew purcell 2013