Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream

I love making to-do lists.  It's not unusual for me to have several of these lists floating around the house in various stages of completion.  Each item has a little box next to it so I can check off each thing as I complete it.  I get a lot of satisfaction from ticking off each item and knowing that I can move on to the next thing.  It makes me feel organized and helps me prioritize the important things in life (like baking) over the less important things (like picking up the pinecones that blew into the yard).  I should let you know that I am not a list purist - that is, I am not above adding something that I have already completed just for the pleasure of checking it off. 

This weekend my task list went like this:

As soon as I finish posting this, I will check off one more thing and then move on washing the floor.  Hmm, I might just want to stretch out this writing thing just so I can push off the whole floor washing thing; it really isn't my favorite chore.  The whole point of me sharing my list is not to make you think I'm all June Cleaver because I steam clean our bathroom (you should try it, I swear it makes cleaning fun!), or wonder what the heck a fudgy pastry strip is (not recommend--the recipe currently is a bland nightmare), but because I wanted to share that cherry vanilla ice cream has been on my recipe to-do list ever since we got the ice cream maker more than three years ago.

I always meant to make it and bring it up to Pittsburgh for my grandfather to try since it was his favorite flavor, but I never seemed to get it done, and now it is far too late.  Despite not being able to share it with him, it feels good to finally have made it - like I've finally accomplished something that has been in the back of my mind for ages.  It's such a simple recipe, I'm not sure why it took me so long to get to it.  All I know is that I think he would have liked it, and if cherry vanilla is your thing, then you'll like it too.

Notes:
I like to freeze the container I'm going to store the ice cream in while I churn the ice cream so the container is cold when I add the ice cream to it. 

Adapted from The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments

Ingredients:
1½ cups heavy whipping cream
pinch of salt
¾ cups granulated sugar
1½ cups whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon maraschino cherry juice
10 ounce jar of maraschino cherries

Yields about 1 quart

Heat, Mix, Chill:
Combine one cup of the heavy whipping cream, the sugar, and the salt in a medium-sized sauce pan.  Heat the mixture, stirring regularly, until the sugar is fully dissolved.  The mixture may boil a bit at the edges of the pan, and that is ok.  Pour the mixture into a medium-sized bowl, and add the remaining half cup of heavy whipping cream, whole milk, vanilla extract, and 1 teaspoon of maraschino cherry juice, and stir to combine.  Cover the mixture and refrigerate for several hours, or overnight, until chilled. 

Drain, Churn, Cut, Freeze:
Pour the chilled ice cream base into your ice cream maker, and churn the mixture according to your ice cream maker instructions.  While the ice cream churns, drain the cherries and remove any stems.  Cut the cherries into halves or quarters, depending on how large you would like the cherry pieces to be.  Once the ice cream is fully churned, stir in all of the cherry pieces, and transfer the ice cream to the chilled container.  Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface of the ice cream (to prevent ice crystals from forming), and freeze until the ice cream is firm.  Enjoy!!! Pin It