Today is the anniversary of our 1st date! I told my husband, “We’re celebrating with ice cream!” He said, “Ice cream! I’m all about ice cream!” What a surprise! My husband and my Dad are crazy about ice cream, Rocky Road in particular. But today I go back to one of my favorite childhood sweet treats; one my Mom and I used to make at Christmas. English Toffee!
Speaking of sweet…that is exactly what I thought of my “future husband” on our first date. What a sweet man! Yes, I knew he was “the one” on our first date. We met each other through the Building Industry in San Diego. I was selling New Homes for developers and he was doing feasibility studies for builders. This was not a simple boy meets girl, they date, get married….you know, kind of thing. Our relationship and life has always been unique. When we look back at the path to each other, we realize our paths had crossed many times before. David was the guy at the cheese platter. I slid in sideways after work, starving with only a few pieces of cheese left on the platter, blood sugar dropping, right before the Oktoberfest party was over. He was the unknown speaker I requested for a sales meeting. And then early one morning, at an awards breakfast, I spotted him from across the room. This guy kept popping up in my life. I turned to my girlfriends, pointed him out and asked them to get the scoop on him. Well, as good girlfriends do, they were on a mission! Soon I knew he was available, we had associates in common, one of them who knew both of us well, and thought we would really like each other.
She asked if he knew me. He said he knew of me and was interested. Yes! David called on Valentine’s Day and the conversation flowed easily and we laughed, a lot, which is always a good sign. A guy can be good looking but if you have nothing to talk about, well that’s either a short relationship or a very long boring relationship! Our 1st date was to meet for a simple cocktail to get to know each other. But that turned into dinner, a stroll through the local art galleries, on to a glass of wine at a piano bar and a walk along the pier at La Jolla Cove. What could have been an hour for a drink rolled comfortably into 7 hours! It was a perfect 1st date! Not planned, no big expectations, just hopes and that is the way it has been for us. We still have so much to talk about, so many adventures we are planning and he is still “the one!”
For the love of ice cream! The magic that makes all of us a kid again!
Heat the milk, sugar, salt, and 1/2 cup of the heavy cream together in a medium saucepan to a simmer.
Set a medium-sized bowl in a larger bowl that’s partially filled with ice water. This is an ice bath and will help to cool down the custard faster. Place a mesh strainer over the medium bowl and pour the remaining 1 1/2 cups of cream into the medium bowl to chill. Set aside.
Whisk together the egg yolks in a small bowl until slightly lighter in color, about 2 minutes.
Gradually add some of the warm milk to the yolks, whisking constantly. This will temper the mixture and not allow the eggs to scramble.
Add the rest of the egg yolks, stirring to combine and add back into the saucepan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens and coats the back of the wooden spoon, about 2 minutes. Don’t over cook or your eggs will start to scramble.
Remove from heat and immediately pour the custard through the strainer into the cream. Stir the custard until cool.
Add the vanilla, stir to combine and then chill thoroughly in the refrigerator. Or you can speed up the process and place the custard in the freezer for 15 minutes or so. Just enough to chill it and no more.
Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. This should take about 20-30 minutes.
Crush the Heath Bars in a freezer bag with the smooth side of a meat mallet or hammer. Leave chunks and not just candy dust.
When mixture begins to get thick, about 15 minutes into the freezing process, gradually pour in the crushed Heath Bars and proceed with manufacturers directions.
The ice cream will be at the soft serve stage now. Place into a quart container and freeze for 4 hours or overnight. Yields 1 quart and a little more. Hmmm…..what to do with the little extra……2 spoons and the bowl of the ice cream maker sounds like a perfect patio break for the husband and me 🙂
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 large egg yolks
- 6 ounces of crushed Heath candy bars
- Heat the milk, sugar, salt, and 1/2 cup of the heavy cream together in a medium saucepan to a simmer.
- Set a medium-sized bowl in a larger bowl that’s partially filled with ice water. This is an ice bath and will help to cool down the custard faster. Place a mesh strainer over the medium bowl and pour the remaining 1 1/2 cups of cream into the medium bowl to chill. Set aside.
- Whisk together the egg yolks in a small bowl until slightly lighter in color, about 2 minutes.
- Gradually add some of the warm milk to the yolks, whisking constantly. This will temper the mixture and not allow the eggs to scramble.
- Add the rest of the egg yolks, stirring to combine and add back into the saucepan.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens and coats the back of the wooden spoon, about 2 minutes. Don't over cook or your eggs will start to scramble.
- Remove from heat and immediately pour the custard through the strainer into the cream. Stir the custard until cool.
- Add the vanilla, stir to combine and then chill thoroughly in the refrigerator. Or you can speed up the process and place the custard in the freezer for 15 minutes or so. Just enough to chill it and no more.
- Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. This should take about 20-30 minutes.
- Crush the Heath Bars in a freezer bag with the smooth side of a meat mallet or hammer. Leave chunks and not just candy dust.
- When mixture begins to get thick, about 15 minutes into the freezing process, gradually pour in the crushed Heath Bars and proceed with manufacturers directions.
- The ice cream will be at the soft serve stage now. Place into a quart container and freeze for 4 hours or overnight. Yields 1 quart and a little more.
