Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Alton Brown's perfect vanilla ice cream

2 cups half-and-half

1. 1 cup heavy cream*
2. 5 1/2 ounces sugar
3. 2 ounces peach preserves or jam (not jelly)
4. 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
5. 1 pinch kosher salt

1. Combine the half-and-half and heavy cream in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat.. Attach a candy or deep-fry thermometer and bring the mixture to 175 degrees F, stirring occasionally.** Remove from heat.
2. Add the sugar, preserves, vanilla bean and salt, and keep stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved, then cover and steep 20 minutes.
3. Fish out the vanilla pod and transfer the mixture to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to overnight.
4. Assemble your ice cream churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. If you're using an electric machine, turn it on, then pour in the ice cream mixture. (This will prevent seizing.)
5. Churn the ice cream until it reaches soft-serve consistency and almost doubles in volume.
6. Move to an airtight container and harden in the freezer for at least 2 hours before serving.

Notes

1. * Heavy cream is often labeled "heavy whipping cream" or "whipping cream" and has a fat content of 36 to 40 percent.
2. ** Why the heat? Well, for one thing, we need to dissolve the sugar, but just as important, we need to shut down certain chemical structures in the dairy that could be an impediment to the smoothness we so desire.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

I use this Smitten Kitchen recipe several times a year. Kids can't get enough.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Serves (at least) 10

1 1/2 cups (12 ounces or 340 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 package (8 ounces or 225 grams) Philadelphia brand cream cheese*, at room temperature
3 cups (595 grams) granulated sugar
6 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract plus 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (original recipe calls for 2 teaspoons vanilla but I liked this mix better)
3 cups (375 grams) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly butter a 10-inch tube pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper. Alternately, you can use a 12-cup bundt pan, and simply butter and flour it.

Place the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl and beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar, increase the speed to high, and beat until light and airy, at least five minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the vanilla, almond, then the flour and salt all at once. Beat just until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and shake lightly to even out the top. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, 1 1/4 hours.

Place the pan on a cake rack and cool for 20 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

* Philadelphia cream cheese is often recommended for baking for consistency purposes, as in, bakers know this brand works, and because it contains less water than other brands.

Variations: I think this cake would be fantastic with a cup of chopped white chocolate stirred into the batter (an idea I got from this lovely lady) and/or some orange zest. Or grapefruit zest. Or whole raspberries, if you can find good ones in season. Or have fun with it. A good pound cake is infinitely adaptable, and I would like to try them all.

Smaller cakes: A bundt-volume cake often can be used to make two 8 1/2-by-4 1/4-by-2 1/2-inch loaf cakes, however (caveat!) I have not tested this recipe in loaf pans. I just wanted to throw that out there for those of you feeling adventurous, or interested in a reduced volume of cake.

Strawberry Coulis

Where has this been my whole life? I have spent — nay wasted — too much time making cooked fruit compotes for dessert when some fruits, like berries, will always taste better raw. I suspect you could swap any berry for the strawberry in this coulis, but you might have to bump up the sugar accordingly. And then share with me.

2 cups quartered hulled strawberries (about 12 ounces or 340 grams)
1/4 cup (60 ml) water
3 tablespoons (35 grams) sugar
1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lemon juice

Combine strawberries, water, sugar and lemon juice in blender. Purée until very smooth, then press through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Cover and refrigerate until cold. Coulis can be prepared one day ahead.