Pixie Tangerine Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

 

You know that summer’s coming when I go downstairs to the belly of the beast for the sole purpose of excavating the insert for the ice cream maker, bringing it upstairs to the freezer in the kitchen. Generally, I wait until June to make ice cream, but a recipe that I found on the Melissa’s Produce website lured me in, and I had to try it. Citrus-y, creamy, and delicious, this tastes like the Creamsicles from my youth. If you enjoyed them as much as I did, this is a must make.

Pixie Tangerine Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Slightly adapted from Melissa’s Produce

 2½ c. heavy cream

½ c. whole milk

2/3 c. granulated sugar, divided use

2 Melissa’s Vanilla Beans, split lengthwise

½ t. pure vanilla extract

2 T. Pixie Tangerine zest

4 egg yolks*

½ c. Pixie Tangerine juice

½ t. pure orange extract

 Into 3-quart saucepan, place cream, milk, and 1/3 cup of sugar.

 Scrape the seeds from the vanilla beans into the saucepan and drop in the vanilla bean pods. Stir in the vanilla extract and the tangerine zest. Heat over medium- low heat, stirring often, until small bubbles appear around the edge of the pan; remove from heat.

 In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until smooth, like a ribbon.

 While whisking, pour some of the scalded liquid into the egg mixture, continuing to whisk all the while. Add that back to the scalded liquid in the saucepan and cook over low heat until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

 Strain mixture into a bowl and stir in the tangerine juice and orange oil.

 Place the mixture in the refrigerator and chill completely.

 Place in an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacture’s directions.

 *Use the egg whites to make this White Almond Cake.

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Vanilla Bean Syrup

One of the difficulties of being a food blogger is that sometimes the food just isn't pretty. Stews, for example, are very difficult to photograph, because essentially, they're brown. There is a bit of saving grace with them in that you can top them with chopped parsley to give a little depth, and that hint of green.

The recipe today is for Vanilla Bean Syrup, but I couldn't sprinkle parsley on top of this one. It's nothing special to look at, but it is special to taste. The temps are going to be in the low hundreds all week, and so it is the perfect time for cold brew coffee. I always keep a big mason jar of cold brew in the fridge, so I decided to add another mason jar of vanilla syrup to go along with it for those days when I’m feeling a bit sweet. 

This is essentially simple syrup with a vanilla bean scraped and added, and simmered for a bit. I couldn't believe how delicious it was. I had planned on using it strictly with cold brew coffee, but I have found it is delicious in cold brew tea as well (and I'm not a fan of sweet tea), not to mention drizzled on top of fresh fruit garnished with a hint of mint. I know I'm going to be making this again and again this summer, in fact, I ordered more vanilla beans this week so that I have plenty on hand. This is easy to make, well worth your time to do so, keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks, and there are so many uses. You have to try this!

Vanilla Bean Syrup

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup filtered water

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 large vanilla bean

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Slit vanilla bean down the center. Scrape out the seeds and add to the mix along with the vanilla bean itself; stir in. Whisk constantly, over medium heat, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbling. Reduce the heat to low and cook for an additional 2 to 4 minutes. Let cool completely before storing in a jar. Keeps in the fridge for 10-14 days (if it lasts that long!).

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