Ice Cream, You Scream, We all Scream for this Ice Cream

Ice cream, two words that can excite most people. As you think back, what is my favorite ice cream? Is is different than what I liked as a child? Am I open minded about changing my favorite ice cream to something other than just chocolate or vanilla? My answer is yes. Recently I borrowed a cookbook, Cucina Simpatica-Robust Trattoria Cooking, from our friend's R's. This is the same great cookbook that gave us pizza just a few weeks ago.

While I had the cookbook, I copied a number of recipes, including this one. As all cooks know, some recipes sound good, while others call to you. This ice cream recipe called out loud! I was expecting a nice strawberry ice cream, what I got was a soft, sweet, bright and fresh ice cream. This ice cream is pink, and the smell is amazing, but it isn't a very sweet ice cream like you would get at the store. This is a unique (in the good way) ice cream. Please enjoy!

Cucina Simpatica-Robust Trattoria Cooking

Strawberry Basil Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1 pint strawberries, hulled, pureed, and strained
2 tablespoons Meyer's liqueur de fraise (optional)

1. Scald the cream, milk, sugar, and basil in a heavy saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and set aside for 1 hour, uncovered, to steep.
2. Strain into a bowl, discarding the basil leaves. Fold the strawberry puree and liqueur and chill for at least 1 hour.
3. Freeze in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's instruction.

Makes 1 quart

Optional: I forgot to take out the basil leaves before I combined it with the strawberries. I love the flavor I got. Sweet but still savory. This is my new favorite, I know you will like it as well.