Pumpkin Ice Cream

If you like making ice cream, this is a great holiday recipe. It's needs to be strained, which is a little tricky, but it's a rich, creamy ice cream that can be eaten by itself, or served on top of almost any Thanksgiving dessert: pies, cheesecake, cookies--you name it.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) whole milk
• 1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons (95 g) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon freshly-grated ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup packed (60 g) dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons Grand Marnier, rum or brandy (I used rum)
• 3/4 cup (180 g) canned pumpkin puree (100% pure)--if you want to make this yourself, check out the original recipe

Instructions

Create an ice bath by putting ice and a little water in a large bowl and nest a smaller metal bowl inside it. Set a mesh strainer over the top. NOTE: I didn't have a mesh strainer, so I tried to use cheese cloth for all of this; it worked, but it wasn't pretty.

In a medium saucepan, mix the milk, cream, sugar, ginger, ground cinnamon, cinnamon stick, nutmeg and salt. Warm the mixture until hot and the edges begin to bubble and foam.

Whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl; gradually whisk in about half of the warm spiced milk mixture, stirring constantly. Scrape the mixed yolks in to the rest of the milk mixture and cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. If using an instant-read thermometer, it should read between 160-170°F.

Immediately pour the mixture through the strainer into the bowl nested in the ice bath. Mix in the brown sugar, then stir until cool; chill thoroughly, preferably overnight. If you're in a hurry, this can be chilled in the freezer for about an hour, but stir it every 15-20 minutes to make sure it's not getting too cold.

Once cool, whisk in the vanilla, liquor, and pumpkin puree. Press the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Serve with ginger snaps or try it with Aunt Julia's Molasses Cookies.