As much as I love pumpkin, I have to admit that I’ve never had pumpkin ice cream.
So when I came across a recipe in my Google Reader earlier this week, I knew I wanted to give it a try… and with Thanksgiving approaching, it seemed like the perfect time.
This was my first time making homemade ice cream (I’ve only made sorbets since buying our ice cream maker attachment), and it was more work than I was expecting. In the end, it was worth it.
My only alteration was that I substituted light cream for the heavy cream. It didn’t seem to make much difference, except for the nutritional content!
Run! Make this before the season is over, or really at any time of the year. Enjoy.
Pumpkin Ice Cream
(Source: Adapted from Williams-Sonoma, as seen on Amber’s Delectable Delights)
Ingredients:
– 1 cup fresh pumpkin puree or canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
– 1 tsp. vanilla extract
– 2 cups heavy cream
– 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
– 5 egg yolks
– 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
– 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
– 1/4 tsp. salt
– Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
– 1 tbsp. bourbon
Directions:
1. In a bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 8 hours.
2. In a heavy 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 1/2 cups of the cream and 1/2 cup of the brown sugar. Cook until bubbles form around the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the egg yolks, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg, the remaining 1/2 cup cream and the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar. Whisk until smooth and the sugar begins to dissolve.
4. Remove the cream mixture from the heat. Gradually whisk about 1/2 cup of the hot cream mixture into the egg mixture until smooth. Pour the egg mixture back into the pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and keeping the custard at a low simmer, until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leaves a clear trail when a finger is drawn through it, 4 to 6 minutes. Do not allow the custard to boil. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl.
5. Place the bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice water, stirring occasionally until cool. Whisk the pumpkin mixture into the custard. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
6. Transfer the custard to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Add the bourbon during the last minute of churning. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days, before serving.
(Makes about 1 quart)
We have much to be thankful for.
These are just a few of the things we are thankful for this year. We are blessed, and we know it.
On Saturday, we’ll celebrate again–this time, with Michael’s side of the family. We are thankful to have an abundance of family with whom to celebrate holidays. It may be difficult for us to split time, but we do the best we can, and we recognize that it is a good problem to have.
With all of that said, I can’t end this post without sharing MORE PHOTOS!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
People are traveling, friends and family are gathering, and tomorrow, the entire country will eat ourselves sick. But tonight? Tonight is the “biggest drinking night of the year.”
Or so I’ve been told.
The bar scene is not my thing. Don’t get me wrong; it used to be. But I was pretty much over it the moment I graduated from college. I guess I felt like I had spent the better part of four years living in bars, so I had worked it out of my system. That, and my new full-time job certainly put a damper on things.
These days, I don’t enjoy bars. I like to get together with friends at our homes. You have to admit, there are a lot of advantages.
There is ample parking, and it’s FREE. Drinks are cheaper, and easier to come by. There’s food. You can actually hear each other when you’re talking. You can wear comfortable clothes (even pajamas, if you wish). And, if you’re the “lucky” host (or crashing for the night), you can drink as much as you want and don’t have to worry about driving home.
Ahhh. Adulthood. I love it.
Plenty of adults still do the “Thanksgiving Eve” partying, and that’s cool. As it turns out, a lot of our friends still do the “Thanksgiving Eve” partying. Still, I choose to stay away from the over-crowded, rowdy bars.
Tonight, we’ll have dinner at home (yay pumpkin ravioli), go to a movie (The Blind Side), take a quick trip to Target before it closes, then come home and relax. I’ll probably have a glass of wine, and we’ll go to bed pretty early.
Ahhh. Adulthood. I love it.
But it makes me feel old.
We’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of my participation with Operation Baking Gals!
Last Christmastime, I joined a Baking Gals team and sent a package to a soldier who was spending the holidays away from home. This season, I’ll be hosting a team, as I have done numerous times throughout the past year.
For Round 15, Jen from Beantown Baker and I are teaming up to bake for a husband and wife pair who are deployed, but unfortunately not together! They are both in Iraq, but with different units. Team Beantown Baker will be baking for Rebecca, while Team Heather Drive will bake for Brian. The two were married last Valentine’s Day. For more about them, please see the team pages on www.bakinggals.com.
Team registration is now open. Baking Gals has changed their system, so you’ll have to re-register with the site, even if you’ve been registered in the past. Once you’re signed up, you can go in and join a team to bake with. There are new rules–only 20 people per team, so it’s possible Team Heather Drive will fill up pretty quickly. So don’t procrastinate if you want to participate! If we do fill up, sign up for Team Beantown Baker instead. And if they fill up, please consider baking for any team–obviously all of these men and women are very deserving of your time.
Don’t know what Operation Baking Gals is? Check out my past posts about the project. You can also find more information on the Baking Gals website.
The shipping dates for Round 15 are December 1-16, so the packages will arrive in time for the holidays.
So! Enough talk. If you’d like to join us:
1) Go to http://www.bakinggals.com/ and Log In or Create a New Account
2) Go to Join a Round 15 Team
3) Join Team Heather Drive (or Team Beantown Baker, or any other team!)
4) Wait for an email with the shipping address (I will send it out after Thanksgiving weekend)
If you have any questions, check out the Operation Baking Gals FAQ page.
For shipping, please note: You can get a special flat rate box from the post office. The boxes are FREE and you can ship the box with anything in it for a reduced flat rate of $11.95. If you can’t find the ones designated for APO/FPO addresses (they say “America Supports You!” on them), you can use the regular large flat rate box. Either one works!
Questions? Feel free to leave them in the comments. Or you can e-mail me at roadtotheaisle@gmail.com. Participating? Tell us! And thank you!
Michael’s grandfather passed away on Friday night. He was 87.
Aside from normal age-related issues, his health was pretty darn good up until a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, things went downhill quickly, and by Thursday night, we knew it wasn’t going to be much longer. By Friday afternoon, we knew he likely wouldn’t make it through another night.
Michael and I drove to the hospital immediately after work on Friday so that we could be sure to see him one last time. About four hours after we left him, Nono slipped away.
There is never a good time for things like this to happen, but it feels especially sad given that we are so close to the holidays. Some of our best memories of Nono are from Thanksgiving and Christmas, and it would have been nice to have him around for just one more holiday season.
Nono was an incredibly sweet man. Always smiling, often laughing, frequently silly. Every time we saw him, he’d greet us with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and the same for when we parted. His face lit up whenever we entered the room. I knew him as a kind soul; a loving husband, father, and grandfather; a jokester.
You see, Nono didn’t speak English. (Nona doesn’t, either.) As natives of Italy, the two of them immigrated to Argentina sometime after they were married. There, they had their two children, one of whom is my mother-in-law. More than 30 years ago, they immigrated again, this time to the United States. I am amazed every time I think about it, but they somehow have managed to live here all of these years knowing no more than a few words of English. Instead, they speak Spanish, with some Italian words thrown in here and there.
Unfortunately, my high school Spanish didn’t serve me well enough to really be able to communicate with Nono and Nona. But what is it that people say… something about how communication is 90% nonverbal? Knowing Nono was a true testament to that.
Nono lived a long and full life. The saddest part of his passing is that Nona, his wife of 60 years, has been left behind. I honestly cannot imagine the heartache. As much as it hurts to see Nona in such pain, they are proof that love really can last that long. I remember Nono being thrilled when Michael and I got married. I think he was simply happy for us to experience the same joy and love that he and Nona had shared.
Over the next couple of days, we will gather as a family to support each other. Obviously the loss is hardest on Nono’s wife and children. But when the calling hours are over, and the funeral has passed, we will celebrate Thanksgiving. We will remember all that was wonderful about Nono, and his passing will serve as an extra reminder to be thankful for everyone that we still have.
Nono is loved. Nono is missed.
xoxo
About
I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
