Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Just peachy



It's been almost eleven years since we moved to Texas.  Our only visit before moving was close to this time of year--Memorial Day weekend.  I stepped off the plane at the Austin airport, and couldn't believe how hot and humid it was here.  It didn't help that we were coming from Boulder, Colorado, which was much cooler and drier.  Despite the weather, we decided that we liked Austin enough to give it a chance.  So after the long weekend, we headed home to start planning our move.

Fast forward about three months.  We moved to Austin in August.  Yes, we were insane.  I really didn't think I was going to survive the first month here.  It was 95 or higher every day.  It never went below 70, even at night.  And did I mention the humidity?  The people were really nice, but between the bureaucracy of the huge state of Texas (don't get me started on getting a driver's license here) and the weather, I was about ready to pack up and move anywhere else.  

Well, I did make it through the rest of that first summer, and we're still here.  I can actually stay outside for more than 30 seconds in the summer without feeling like I'm going to die.  I still don't like it that much, but I've learned to tolerate it.  (Though I have to say I think it's a bit much to be hitting 101 on the 15th of June...)  It's funny to watch Brianna and Gillian, our little native Texans.  The heat hardly even slows them down, but let it get below about 50 degrees and they're convinced they're going to freeze to death. =) Our water bottles are our constant companions, along with sunblock and hats.  One thing that definitely helps us survive the heat is lots of popsicles and ice cream!


And of course that brings us to this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe.  Tommi of Brown Interior picked Honey-Peach Ice Cream for us to make.  While the Texas peach crop has been limited this year, I've been able to find good ones at Central Market for the past few weeks.  So I was set as far as the fruit.  I'm not that big a fan of honey, so I changed things up there and used golden syrup instead.  The other thing I'm not a fan of is peeling peaches.  I don't know where Dorie finds her half-pound peaches, but 2 pounds for me was eleven peaches.  So I cheated a bit.  I cut up my peaches, skins and all and heated them with the syrup as directed.  Once the peaches had softened, I used my immersion blender to puree everything.  Then I put the mixture through a strainer to get rid of the bits of peel.  I'm happy to report that it worked great!  Oh, and I should probably mention that I don't really like bits of fruit in my ice cream.  So I cut up and pureed the full amount of peaches, not just half.

Next up was making the custard.  I know some of my TWD friends don't have good luck with custard, but fortunately, I don't seem to run into problems with it.  One thing that may help is that I always use a double boiler.  Yes, it takes longer, but it keeps me from stressing about scrambled eggs.  I also use a thermometer to check the temperature.  Once the custard was thickened slightly and the right temperature, I stirred in the peach puree, vanilla and about a tablespoon of rum.  

At that point it was getting kind of late, so I put the ice cream mixture in the fridge to chill overnight.  The next morning, I got the canister for my ice cream machine out of the freezer and started churning.  (I'm fortunately enough to have two canisters, so whenever I take the one out of the freezer, I put the other one in to chill.)  The recipe says that it makes a quart of ice cream, but I ended up with more than that.  By the time the ice cream was finished churning, it completely filled the canister.  I scraped the ice cream into containers and put it in the freezer to harden.


The verdict?  This is some seriously peachy ice cream.  I suppose that shouldn't be surprising, based on the amount of peaches that go into it.  It was a big hit with the girls.  (And with us adults.)  Since I found a way around peeling the peaches, I will definitely make this again when I can get my hands on ripe peaches.  And since I still have caramel sauce in the fridge from last week's recipe, I couldn't resist drizzling some over my ice cream--it was a surprisingly good combination.

If you'd like to give this one a try, head over to Brown Interior for the recipe.  And don't forget to check out the TWD blogroll for more yummy ice cream!


20 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you liked this...and I'm also so glad to know that it works not to peel the peaches! I have good luck with blanching them in boiling water, but I had a few rogue nectarines in my bag and it took me a while to figure out it doesn't work on them! This was my first ice cream and I loved it. Congrats on braving (and getting used to!) that heat (that would be very hard for me).

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  2. I'm glad this worked out for you. it looks delicious with the caramel sauce! I used plums and they were horribly bitter. Such a bummer to waste 2 lbs of plums and all those ingredients. Oh well, on to next week!

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  3. I was coveting you caramel sauce the moment the picture came up on the screen!! Glad it was a success! Stay cool, my friend! :o)

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  4. Hahaha I had the same problem coming from NYC to DC! It can get humid in NY, but WOW DC gets VERY humid! I've gotten used to it, but I will say, I am glad I am moving back to NY in a few weeks so I don't have to deal with it anymore! haha! The ice cream looks like a great way to cool off in that 101 degree weather!

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  5. If you thought you were insane for moving to Texas in August, let me tell you - we moved to Vegas in August. 117 degrees, dry as you can imagine. The temp dropped to 100 at night. Insane? I thought I was going to broil.

    Ice cream comes in handy a lot during the month.

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  6. Mmmm... I'm not sure though. Would I bathe in peach ice cream or in caramel sauce? Hummm... hard to decide, they're both so tempting! LOL LOL LOL
    (That's what I say when I like something so much! LOL I'd bathe in it! ...since in realy life I don't take myself for Cleopatra! Don't worry! LOL)

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  7. I think all of us Texans talked about the scorching weather down here! :) Great looking ice cream - glad it worked out well for you!

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  8. I grew up in TN and didn't think much of the heat and humidity at the time, now though...Oh. My. God! I'm not much of a heat/humidity girl at all! I think that's why I like Fall and Winter better.

    The peach ice cream looks great! Peach is one of my families favorites.

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  9. OMG. Your ice cream looks fabulous! I love the caramel sauce. It looks to-die-for.

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  10. Your Honey Peach Ice Cream looks soo tasty! Especially with the caramel sauce!!
    That's a great work around for the skipping peeling the peaches! I'll have to try it next time.

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  11. I'm so glad you liked it.

    That sauce looks heavenly.

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  12. I think caramel sauce might push this ice cream into first place - I can see it would be great with the honey. Cool that you avoided the dreaded peach peeling duty; I'll bet the peels just added to the peachiness!

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  13. I love all that drippy sauce you have on those lovely looking scoops! Yep, the sauce is really putting it over the top. Interesting facts to be gleaned from this post...not peeling peaches, hmmmm...that sounds and looks like worked just fine. Lovely photos, everything looks just great.

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  14. Thanks again for the tip to avoid peeling the peaches Di! Your ice cream looks terrific, especially with that caramel sauce drizzled on top. I wish I'd had some - I bet it would have helped me enjoy the ice cream more :)

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  15. Wow!! Talk about culture shock - Colorado to Texas!!! I hear you about the heat. I am in Central Louisiana and even after 40 years here it still gets me.

    Your ice cream looks fantastic with the sauce. Wonderful

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  16. I moved from Florida to California, and the cooler, drier weather was such a welcome change from humidity, sweating and avoiding the outdoors from May through September.

    That first photo of your ice cream with the caramel is so inviting! Great idea to have an extra core for the ice cream maker.

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  17. That looks so good with the caramel sauce!

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  18. This looks incredible. Definitely necessary in the Texas heat! I am not sure how Birmingham summers compare but it is pretty darn miserable here too. It's funny - E doesn't seem to notice the heat, but J does not handle adversity well, so he complains whenever he is too hot/cold/tired/etc. Thanks for your custard tips - I really want to try some custard-based ice creams soon, because I have a feeling I'm going to get it right next time.

    Glad everyone enjoyed the ice cream!

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  19. Oh, how I love peaches and how I wish peaches loved the Dutch climate. Boo-hoo!

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  20. Glad it was a hit :)
    It looks delicious!

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