Homemade pistachio and coffee ice cream

We have had a beautiful ice cream maker sitting in storage for about a year now. It was one of those things that we I put on our wedding registry because we I thought it would be so cool to make homemade ice cream and frozen yogurt. Picture this scene in Bed, Bath & Beyond "Bry, of course if we had an ice cream maker we would use it all the time! It will be awesome because there won't be any preservatives, we can make crazy cool flavor combinations, and instead of buying a whole gallon we can just make individual servings!" (That last part was a bold faced lie.) BryGuy just shakes his head. 

But alas, the poor machine just sat there in storage, just waiting to be taken out of it's box. 

Fourth of July weekend was a scorcher and BryGuy and I were sitting around wondering what to do with ourselves when we came up with the idea to put that ice cream maker to use. We couldn't decide on one flavor so we picked two of our faves. I love coffee ice cream and Bry is a sucker for some good pistachio. So we headed to the grocery store to buy our supplies and a boatload of heavy cream. (Clearly, we made no attempt to keep it low-cal.)

The results were phenomenal. Bry honestly said that he's never had better ice cream in his life. The coffee flavor was really strong, but in a good way. The pistachio was great too. I was a little nervous that it would just taste like vanilla ice cream with pistachios in it, but somehow it really takes on the nutty pistachio flavor, and it's not a weird artificial green color! 

The hardest part about the whole process was waiting for the ice cream maker bowl to freeze. The instructions said 6-22 hours, which is really a broad range. We just got way too impatient and called it done at 7 hours, which explains why the pistachio ice cream came out a bit soupy. But since I'm a sucker for rock hard ice cream, we threw it in the freezer for a few more hours when it was done and let it firm up. 

Pistachio Ice Cream Recipe (recipe by Cuisinart)
1-1/3 cups whole milk, well chilled 
1-1/8 cups granulated sugar 
3 cups heavy cream, well chilled 
1-1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
1 teaspoon pure almond extract 
1-1/2 cups shelled pistachios, roughly chopped (try to get unsalted or lightly salted)

Instructions
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream, and vanilla and almond extracts. Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of freezing, add the pistachios. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

Super Caffeinated Coffee Ice Cream (recipe adapted from Cuisinart)
1-1/2 cups whole milk, chilled 
1-1/8 cups granulated sugar 
4 tablespoons instant espresso powder 
3 cups heavy cream 
2 teaspoons coffee extract 
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the milk, granulated sugar and espresso powder until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and extracts. Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 30 to 35 minutes. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

The machine responsible for it all. This puppy is a trooper and so easy to us. As I mentioned, if you are really in the mood for ice cream you better remember to put the bowl in the freezer well in advance! I would say to just leave it in there for emergency ice cream making, but freezer space is prime real estate in our house since we bought an eighth of a cow...

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