Some of you may be aware that I used to work at Baskin Robbins. Ice cream capitol of the world. Man, I loved that job. I remember, before I got hired, how excited I was that I might get to work there. A typical 20-year old to be excited about working at Baskin Robbins. What happened was that a lady who went to school with my mom (they were sorority sisters) was married to a Baskin Robbins franchisee. Somehow, there were a lot of Alpha Chi's that worked at that Baskin Robbins. I suspect we had an "in". At any rate, I worked there with 4 other girls from my sorority. We had a grand time.
Baskin Robbins actually has way more than their 31 flavors they advertise. When I worked there, we counted 45 flavors. I think I tasted most of the flavors, however I was only a repeat customer with a handful of flavors.
I rotated heavily between 2 ice cream flavors- Mint Chocolate Chip and Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. My favorites. Occasionally, I ate Raspberry Sherbet. Less often, I ate Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough or Oreo Cookies & Cream. And on a very rare day, I would cut a brownie in half, put a kiddie scoop of vanilla on it, and top it with a little hot fudge and whip cream. Yummmmmmm.
Surprisingly, I didn't gain weight working there. Miracle, huh? To be honest, I think (on average) I only ate 2-3 taster spoons on each shift. That was self-control man :)
And, to be even more honest, I don't even like Butter Pecan. If you think about all those flavors I just named off, not a single one contains nuts. Well, I guess you could get nitty gritty on details with that Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, but in my mind peanut butter is a whole other animal. My point is, I made this ice cream for the hubby. The pecan devotee.
This is a very simple ice cream to make. It's really just a vanilla base with one important addition- pecans toasted in butter. Have you ever smelled pecans toasting in a good quality butter? Oooh lord, child.
Those delightful pecans are the best part! Even better, you can reserve the butter after toasting the pecans and use it for pancakes! Best. butter. ever.
This was the hubby's favorite ice cream I've made. It didn't last long at our house.
Is this week flying by for you? It sure is for me. I feel like it should be Monday for all the work I've gotten done this week. Granted, the hubby had Monday off and we had stuff to do for his mom, so nothing got done. I had a doctor's appointment yesterday in Ashland, which I didn't return home from till early afternoon. 4 fast and furious hours of laundry and cleaning later, and I was meeting the hubby for an evening run. I've got a fridge full of ingredients to use in recipes calling my name. Seriously, I have 3 recipes on deck to make for the blog. Since I have to mow the lawn today, I think I'm going to have to pick one to focus on today. The question now... Which one? I've got a blackberry recipe, an apple recipe, and a shrimp recipe. The apples are on the verge of dying, so that might be the recipe that takes precedence today. We will see, won't we?
Happy Wednesday friends! Have a great day!
Ingredients (makes 5 cups):
Pecans-
2 tbsp butter
1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
Ice Cream-
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
pinch of kosher salt
Directions:
1. Add butter to a large skillet. Heat over medium-high heat until melted. Add pecans. Sauté pecans for 4-5 minutes, or until toasted. Remove pecans with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels. Set pecans aside to cool. Reserve butter, set aside. When butter is cool, place in fridge. Use within 2 weeks.
2. In a large bowl, add milk and sugar. Whisk vigorously until sugar is dissolved. Stir in cream, vanilla, and salt. Cover bowl, and chill for 2 hours.
3. Pour mixture into frozen bowl of an ice cream maker. Mix for 15 minutes (or according the machine's directions). Add reserved pecans and mix for another 3-5 minutes, or until mixture is thickened. Ice cream will be soft and creamy. For a harder texture, freeze for 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container in the freezer up to 2 weeks.
 |
| Recipe adapted from Cuisinart. |
You just made me want to buy an ice-cream maker LOL
ReplyDeleteI love 31 flavors and if would have worked there, I'd weigh 400 pounds. You did have self control! My favorite was a scoop of peanut butter and chocolate on a scoop of chocolate chip :)
xo
For such a peanut butter lover, I never did like the Peanut Butter and Chocolate. So weird, but true fact! :)
ReplyDelete