Strawberry ice cream

I have to say, strawberry is my favorite ice cream flavor. I had always figured myself forever a chocolate girl, but hey, things change. I still make no time for vanilla (please). However, in Tobago (where my mother is from) they have the most divine ice cream flavor ever, Guinness. Yes, that Guinness. Beer ice cream. My brother and I have been working on copycatting the recipe for several years, and I can proudly say we're almost there. The coconut ice cream in Tobago is also to die for, but I am much farther away from figuring out the recipe. Mom says I actually need to shred fresh coconut meat and squeeze it through some cheesecloth to get all the cream out, and use that instead of canned coconut milk. Oh, mom. She so crazy. But seriously, I probably would go through all that if it tasted like it does down there. Anyway, this ice cream is wonderful. The fresh strawberry taste just punches you in the face when it hits your tongue, then the creaminess and understated sweetness linger.  

This is pretty foolproof, so you only have yourself to blame if you blow it. Enjoy!

2 cups sweet gorgeous fresh strawberries, roughly chopped
1 cup heavy cream
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of kosher salt
1/2 cup milk, I generally use 2%
1 tsp vanilla

In a heavy saucepan, begin to warm the cream over medium heat, stirring often. You don't want it to come to a boil, you just want to get it hot. While that's happening, whisk together your eggs, sugar, and pinch of kosher salt in a small bowl. When the cream is hot, temper the egg mixture by adding a tablespoon or two of the hot cream into the bowl and whisking. Repeat a couple of times to raise the temperature of the eggs, then pour them into the pot with the cream and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Keep the temperature on the low side or it may curdle. Pour into a fresh non-reactive bowl and stir in the strawberries, milk, and vanilla. Now, there are varying schools of thought regarding chunks in ice cream. I fall into the big-chunks-are-the-devil camp. So I stuck my immersion blender into the bowl and gave it a few pulses to break the strawberries up fairly finely, without making it totally smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day, freeze according to your ice cream maker's directions (I love my the ice cream maker bowl for my KitchenAid mixer - thanks Auntie Jan!!), transfer to an air-tight container and freeze for a few hours before serving. Soooo good.