I've created a monster!

Sooo I was spoiled this past birthday of mine. Among my other prezzies, Bethie got me an ice cream maker!!!! Ever since my darling brother made amazing vanilla ice cream at the big dinner at home, I've been like a crack addict devising plans on how to get my mitts on some more.Enter Beth. I guess I must have mentioned my desires around Beth or else she has ESP(N). This last Wednesday she gave me a brand spankin' new red Cuisinart ice cream maker and - drumroll please - the Ben & Jerry's ice cream book!!! Ahhhhhh!!!! Now, I knew about the ice cream maker, but the recipe book was a surprise, so on Tuesday, I'd emailed my brother for his divine ice cream recipe. He kindly obliged and sent it over. Now, I admit that I have a bad habit of reading recipes and only really reading through the ingredients, skimming the instructions. There have been a couple instances where I haven't planned on the amount of time a dish will take (New Years Eve, I didn't see that the bolognese sauce needed a couple of hours, we ate about when the ball dropped, oops), or certain cook ware/utensils  are required that don't exist in my kitchen. I did it again. I looked at the ingredients, many I already had at home, others were easy, like the heavy whipping cream and the whole milk. The vanilla beans were easy too, Whole Foods had three different types, but it was like the pine nuts scenario all over again. For two, yes, as in uno, dos, they wanted $14!!! But if it meant I could have that divine, sweet, creamy, cold ice cream, it was a sacrifice I'd have to make.But then I got home and read the directions. It's a custard ice cream. There is a lot of heating and cooling and re-heating and re-cooling that even now I"m not sure exactly what I was supposed to be doing. I was a little stressed, but figured my brother would walk me through it. Crap.Enter Ben & Jerry!!! They are amazing, but I'm sure you all know that! What's your favorite flavor? Mine is definitely Half Baked. Now the book is a little dated, published in 1987, when Jerry Garcia was still alive to give his stamp of approval on Cherry Garcia, but lets be real - good ice cream is good ice cream, there's not a lot technology can do to change it. The ingredients are simple: sugar, milk, heavy cream and eggs. The steps were a lot easier from Ben & Jerry, and I only had four eggs, and the recipe from Matt needs five, Ben & Jerry's two.Now the trick is to remember to make sure the freezer bowl has been in the freezer per the manufacturing instructions (16-24 hours). I forgot, so I couldn't make my delicious treat on Thursday, and had to wait until Friday. The user guide that came with the maker gives the following guidance, which could end up being dangerous: For the most convenient frozen desserts and drinks, leave your freezer bowl in the freezer at all times. Did you read that people? At all times.I was originally going to make French Vanilla ice cream, but flipping through the pages of B&J, I realized I had raspberries and nectaries that I could use. YUM! Here's the recipe I made:Nectarine and Raspberry Ice Cream1 cup finely chopped ripe nectarines1 pint fresh raspberriesJuice of 1/2 lemon1 1/4 cups sugar2 large eggs2 cups heavy cream1 cup whole milk1. Combine the peaches, raspberries, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and the lemon juice together in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.2. Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the remaining 3/4 cup sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour the heavy cream and milk and whisk to blend.3. Drain the juice from the fruit into the cream mixture and blend.4. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions. After the ice cream stiffens (about 2-5 minutes before it's done), add the whole fruit, then continue freezing. If you want a firmer consistency, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and store in the freezer for two or more hours.Yum raspberries, nectarine and sugar:Check out this red, sexy, cold spinning - ice cream maker:Churning up to make a delicious treat:Finished ice cream! I love the pink color and the fruit chunks.Now after reading this do you see the little monster I've created? Ice cream is SO easy to make. They tell you to keep the freezer bowl always at the ready. Is this my gateway into obesity? I actually don't even like ice cream that much, but oh, that heavy cream and sugar is so nice.Perhaps I better not keep the bowl always frozen.