Hazelnut ice cream

The pursuit of yummy food is back!
Finally I´ve made up my mind to take up again my cooking blog and here we are again cooking a recipe by Emeril Lagasse: hazelnut ice cream.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/hazelnut-ice-cream-recipe/index.html
I got 1 and a half cup of raw hazelnut and baked them in the oven for 8 minutes at 400 degrees Farenheit, double the time he advised because of the peculiarities of my oven that sometimes requires more heating time. When they cooled off I peeled them as best as I could and roughly chopped them. In a large pan I boiled about a liter of half and half with 1 cup of granulated sugar until it started simmering. In a small bowl I whisked 6 egg yolks and then added to the large pan. I simmered it all again until it got thick and put the whole concoction in the refrigerator overnight, although a couple of hours ussually suffices. The next day I put the mixture rolling for 15 minutes in the ice cream maker and then for 5 minutes I added little by little the chopped hazelnuts. I froze the final mixture in the freezer at last inside a tupperware. The funny thing is that 2 days later it tasted really much better because the flavours mixed inside the plastic container, which I would never have suspected because of the highly cold temperature inside. So the hazelnutty flavour expanded to the yolky half and half sugary mix, making it a delicious choice for late Spring-early Summer ice cream with the woody and sober sweetness of the noble hazelnut. Delicious!

Coffee ice cream

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/audios/comer-y-cantar/comer-cantar-helado-casero-vainilla-cafe-14-07-12/1462699/

Sobaos pasiegos

http://www.hogarutil.com/cocina/recetas/postres/201112/sobaos-pasiegos-13133.html

Oatmeal raisin cookies

http://www.joyofbaking.com/OatmealRaisinCookies.html

Bacon manchego dates

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/3

Creme brulee ice cream (helado de crema catalana)

Basically I made a creme brulee with this recipe from the Catalan TV:
http://www.tv3.cat/pprogrames/lacuinadelisma/cdiSeccio.jsp?seccio=recepta&idint=171
I boiled in a pot 3/4 liters of milk with a cinnamon stick and a lemon rind. Just when it started boiling, I took it out of the fire and strained it. In a bowl I mixed to a paste 7 egg yolks and 200 grams of sugar (0.89 cup). Little by little I poured the strained milk into the bowl. I boiled the contents of the bowl slowly in a double saucepan or bain marie. After stirring it for a while I poured the creme brulee into another bowl and set it in the refrigerator for half an hour. Then I added about 3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream and refrigerated the mix for a couple of hours. In a pan I heated some honey and a little bit of water and lightly caramelized half a cup of walnuts, letting them cool off in the refrigerator for 1 hour. I poured the mix into the ice cream maker for 25 minutes, and during the last 5 I sprinkled the caramelized walnuts inside.
The result tasted a little bit like meringue milk and had the eggy taste and texture of creme brulee. It was slightly less creamy than the normal ice creams I make but it was quite refreshing for the summer, original and well balanced as a dessert. Worthy of seconds, I will cook it again for sure this summer.

Toasted almond ice cream

Waiting for the final of the European soccer Cup, which we happily won eventually (¡viva España!), I made a tosted almond ice cream from a Cuisinart recipe:
http://www.cuisinart.com/recipes/desserts/159.html
Following the instructions of the recipe. I toasted 2/3 cups of slivered almonds in a pan with 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter and 3/4 teaspoon of sea salt. After drying it in paper towels I set the browned almonds in the refrigerator. Then I mixed in a big bowl with a hand mixer 2/3 cup of white sugar with half a cup of skimmed milk and another 1/2 cup of half and half (you can just use 1 cup of whole milk, which I lacked at the time). Then I added 2 cups of heavy whipping cream, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of almond extract and kept mixing. I refrigerated the mixture for a couple of hours in a tightly closed plastic container and finally I put it in the ice cream maker for 25 minutes, pouring the almonds during the last 5 minutes.
I put the finished ice cream for another 30 minutes in the freezer in a tightly closed plastic container and took it out 10 minutes before serving. The result is spectacular with sweet and salty flavours and full of the woody-bitter heart and core of the almond and refreshing creamy. A delicacy...