Mangia Monday :: Bourbon Peach Ice Cream

One of the big bonuses from an unusually warm winter is the earlier than usual harvest of peaches in the South! As Jeff & I drove to Birmingham Friday we passed countless road-side stands in South Carolina and Georgia selling fresh produce, namely tomatoes and peaches. I don't know about y'all, but I look forward to this time of year if only for the experience of getting fresh fruits & veggies this time of year from local Southern Growers! So we loaded up the car with fresh string beans, squash, 'maters, peaches & strawberries for the weekend and headed to my Inlaws.

And since yesterday was a celebration of my sweet Father-in-law, I immediately started thinking of ways to make him a special dessert from our haul. I previously told of Jeff's Dad's love of ice cream, so churning some sweet cream was a no-brainer. And I've been dying to make this recipe from Smells Like Home since last summer. Although we didn't make the toffee cookies for ice cream sandwiches (btw how amazing does that sound?!) the ice cream was nothing short of spectacular.

{recipe from Smells Like Home}
4 lg peaches, peeled & pits removed
1 cup whole milk
1/4 sugar
1/2 cup lt brown sugar + 2 TB, separated
2 cups heavy cream
pinch of kosher salt
1 vanilla bean
6 egg yolks
3 TB Bourbon (we used Jim Beam)

1. Roast the peaches: preheat oven to 425.  Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and spray with PAM.  Place peaches skin-side down and sprinkle with brown sugar.  Roast peaches for 30-40 mins until they begin to brown and soften.  Remove from oven, cool for 15 mins, then remove the skins.

2. While the peaches cool, warm the milk, sugars, 1 cup of the cream and salt in a med saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warm milk and add the bean and peaches into the warm milk. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.
3. Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a lg bowl. Next, carefully remove the peaches from the milk mixture and set aside.  
4. In yet another bowl, whisk together egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm vanilla-peach mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
5. Stir the mixture constantly over med heat, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens & coats your spoon.  Next, pour the custard through a strainer and stir it into the cream.  Put the vanilla bean into the custard and stir until cool over an ice bath.  Once the custard has cooled, carefully add the peaches to the custard.
6. Cover and chill overnight. Remove the vanilla bean & discard. Also remove the peaches and set aside. Stir in the bourbon to the custard.  
7. Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the instructions.  Dice the peaches (1/2 inch) and stir into the ice cream. Freeze the ice cream for at least 4 hours. Serve with ginger cookies and/or fresh mint. My husband actually crumbled leftover maple bacon on top. To each his own....

Full disclosure: this wasn't the easiest recipe I've ever attempted, but it was well worth the labor for sure. I'm sure there are tons of simpler homemade peach ice cream recipes out there, just don't forget the bourbon. Trust me on this ;) 

I hope y'all had a terrific Father's Day with your loved ones this weekend! Speaking of, what special dishes did y'all cook up to celebrate? Feel free to share in the comments. Wishing y'all a great week!

Mangia Mangia y'all!