White Pepper Ice Cream Food

WHITE PEPPER ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine cream, milk, sugar and pepper. Bring to a simmer.
• Beat egg yolks in a mixing bowl until pale -- 2 to 3 minutes.
• Pour about 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks while whisking. Pour yolk mixture back into hot cream and stir over medium heat until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Do not boil.
• Remove pot from heat; chill over ice, stirring if lumps appear.
• Strain mixture, and transfer to an ice cream machine. Follow manufacturer's instructions

WHITE PEPPER ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream, half-and-half, and vanilla bean. Whisk in the white pepper and stir the mixture occasionally to make sure it does not scorch on the bottom. When the mixture reaches a simmer (do not let it boil), turn off the heat. Set aside to infuse for 10 to 15 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar.
• Whisking constantly, slowly pour the still-hot cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. At 160 degrees F, the mixture will give off a puff of steam. When the mixture reaches 180 degrees F, it will be thickened and creamy, like eggnog. If you do not have a thermometer, test it by dipping the wooden spoon into the mixture. Run your finger down the back of the spoon. If the stripe remains clear, the mixture is ready; if the edges blur, the mixture is not quite thick enough. When it is ready, quickly remove it from the heat.
• Half-fill a large bowl with ice water. Strain the mixture into a smaller bowl to smooth it and remove the vanilla bean. Rest the smaller bowl in the ice water and let the mixture cool, stirring often, then continue according to the directions of your ice cream maker.

PINK PEPPERCORN ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Bring milk, cream, sugar, and peppercorns to boil in heavy large saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; let stand at room temperature 1 hour for flavors to blend.
• Bring milk mixture to simmer. Whisk egg yolks in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk hot milk mixture into yolks. Return mixture to pan and stir over medium heat until finger leaves path on back of spoon when drawn across, about 3 minutes (do not boil). Strain custard into large bowl; cover. Refrigerate until cold, about 4 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
• Process custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to container; cover and freeze. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep frozen.)

BLACK PEPPER ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Warm the milk, sugar, peppercorns, salt and 1 cup of the half and half in a medium saucepan. (I heated it until it almost boiled.) Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for one hour.
• Rewarm the peppercorn-infused mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the yolks, then pour it all back into the saucepan.
• Quickly rinse the bowl, pour the remaining half and half into it, and set a mesh strainer on top.
• Stir the custard constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula until it thickens. Pour the custard through the strainer, pressing the peppercorns gently to extract as much flavor as possible.
• Discard the peppercorns and stir the custard into the cream.
• Chill thoroughly (4-6 hours, or 2 hours over an ice bath).
• Freeze according to your ice cream maker's directions.