Vanilla Ice Cream

Here is part two of the Christmas dessert extravaganza! Just because some of my family members are picky (I'm looking at you, Mikey), I decided to make some vanilla ice cream in addition to the pumpkin ice cream. It's delicious, it's not that hard, and homemade ice cream will make you never want to eat storebought again (although Ben and Jerry's is getting me through college).
Because this is VANILLA ice cream, you should really use high quality vanilla. This time I was not able to, but usually I use this really good Madagascar vanilla, which is so amazing.
Story time: a few years ago, my mom bought my uncle some of this vanilla as a Christmas present. My uncle is a foodie and really enjoys gourmet and quality ingredients, and he would not stop raving about this vanilla the next time we saw him. The next year, my mom bought him some Mexican vanilla, but apparently that wasn't as good as the Madagascar stuff. My mom and I were skeptical, but then she got me a bottle. And let me tell you, that vanilla is incredible. I made some creme brulee with it, and my mom, who doesn't normally like creme brulee, loved it. I now only use it in recipes where the vanilla really stands out, like in this ice cream. So, long story short, now my uncle and I get this vanilla every year for Christmas, and you should too.
That being said, I ran out of my fancy vanilla right before I made my vanilla ice cream, so I had to use generic stuff. It's still very good. And I got more vanilla in my stocking the next day.

Vanilla Ice Cream

Makes about 1 quart.

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

Pinch salt

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups heavy cream

5 egg yolks

4 t vanilla

Instructions:

1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Put the cream into a bowl and set a fine mesh sieve over it.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks together. Gradually pour some of the warm milk into the yolks, whisking constantly, and then pour the egg mixture back into the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly and keeping it at a low simmer, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 4-6 minutes. Strain though the sieve into the cream and add the vanilla, stirring to combine.
3. Cover the custard with plastic wrap (the plastic should be touching the top of the custard so a skin does not form) and refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours or overnight. 
4. Transfer the custard to an ice cream maker and freeze according to instructions. Transfer to a freezer safe container, cover, and freeze until firm.
5. Eat.

Source: David Lebovitz