Brandied Prune Ice Cream Food

PRUNE-ARMAGNAC ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Place the prunes and enough water to cover in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, then turn off the heat. Let the prunes cool in the liquid, then drain them well. Stir in the Armagnac, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
• In a large, heavy saucepan, bring the milk, cream, and 1 cup of the sugar to a simmer. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the remaining ¼ cup of sugar. Remove the milk mixture from the heat and add a little to the egg yolk mixture to warm it, whisking constantly to keep the yolks from cooking. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the hot milk mixture, whisking the milk constantly as you pour.
• Return the custard to the stove and cook it over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Remove from the heat and strain it into a bowl. Stir in the salt and let cool completely.
• Chill the custard until it's thoroughly cold, at least 4 hours. Freeze in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Fold the Armagnac-soaked prunes into the ice cream immediately after freezing while it's still soft. Transfer to a container and place in the freezer until frozen solid, at least 2 hours.

ARMAGNAC-POACHED PRUNES WITH VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Combine Armagnac, sugar, 1/2 cup water, cinnamon and ginger in medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Stir mixture over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add prunes and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer prune mixture to medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours. (Can be prepared 4 days ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.)
• Remove cinnamon, ginger and vanilla bean from prune mixture. Divide prune mixture among 6 bowls. Top with scoops of vanilla ice cream.

APPLES, PRUNE, AND BRANDY CRISP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Bring brandy to a boil in a small saucepan and remove from heat. Stir in prunes and let stand while making topping.
• Pulse together flour, 6 tablespoons brown sugar, butter, salt, and cinnamon in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add oats and pulse once or twice to just combine.
• Peel, quarter, and core apples and cut into 1/2-inch wedges. Transfer apples to a 1 1/2-quart shallow baking dish and toss with prune mixture and remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar.
• Sprinkle topping evenly over apple filling and bake in middle of oven until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbling, about 30 minutes.