Gelato a Mario Batali

You likely have an ice cream maker. Or someone you know really well has one that they never use. Find it and make some ice cream, gelato, or sorbet this weekend. The process really could not be any easier.

I've been fooling around with ice cream recipes for a few years now. But last weekend I used Mario Batali's Gelato base recipe and the results far exceeded any other attempt. Ponchatoula strawberries have arrived with a vengeance, so I started out making strawberry ice cream. To do this I hulled and chopped a pint of strawberries, mixed in a tablespoon of sugar, and a splash of Grand Marnier. Let this macerate for about 30 minutes.

First, you bring 3 cups of whole milk, 1 cup of cream, a 1/2 cup of sugar and whatever flavor you wish to use up (vanilla, chocolate, Skittles, etc...) to a bare simmer. Mashing the strawberries with the back of your spoon will help intensify the flavor.

While the mixture gently warms, whisk together 14 egg yolks (save the whites for omelets) with a 1/2 cup of sugar. The yolks will go from bright yellow to a subdued pastel yellow.

As the berries steep, they give off an amazing aroma. The Peanut Butter Fudge Sundae from Creole Creamery is my default order and I have always wanted to make a peanut butter and jelly ice cream. So I added in a heaping spoon of peanut butter to the cream mix. This turned out to make peanut butter ice cream with a bare whisper of strawberry. Still good, but Lindsay had this to say, "That was a stupid idea."

Once your yolks are whipped and the cream mixture is warmed, ladle about one third of the cream into the yolks, whisking all the while. This will temper the yolks. Then add the tempered yolks into the pot with the remainder of the cream. Continue whisking and cook on a very low heat for about 7 minutes and watch as the gelato base thickens. Strain thoroughly into a clean stainless steel bowl and chill rapidly (an ice bath in your sink works well).

Then freeze according to your ice cream maker's directions.

The delicious end result, even if I didn't reach the exact taste I was going for, was a thick smooth gelato with amazing depth of flavor. Next weekend straight strawberry will be made. Those cookies in the picture, those are Tagalongs. As far as I am concerned, one can never have enough peanut butter.