ZESTY LEMON ICE CREAM

There have been three flavors of ice cream I have had in my life that I have never been able to forget.

The first was my childhood favorite, BLACK LICORICE from Swenson’s on Coast Highway in the town I grew up in. It was black as the night and made my mouth the same color.

The second was on one of those beautiful sunny days in SF at Bi-Rite Creamery. I had visited Bi-Rite many times before but this time I ordered a scoop of HONEY LAVENDER. It was heavenly!

The third was in the South of France at Alain Ducasse’s restaurant where I had one of THE BEST meals I have ever had….that’s another blog entry.  I was served a scoop of LEMON and a scoop BASIL ice cream side by side in the same dish. After my initial taste bud extravaganza all I could think about was ....I NEEDED TO KNOW HOW TO MAKE THIS!

I spent the summer making Italian Ice that matched the flavor of the Lemon and the Basil but without the dairy. Next thing I knew it was Fall and quickly moving into Winter so I needed to step it up a bit.

I finally purchased an ice cream maker and received “The Perfect Scoop” by David Lebovitz as a gift from my friend T.  I haven’t stopped creating ice cream since.

I started with Vanilla Bean because I’m a Vanilla fan... AAAMAZING! Next was Chocolate for my  weekend guests. It was rich, creamy and truly decadent. The Basil was unusual and delightful. Then came Chocolate Peanut Butter, Apricot Pistachio, Mint Chocolate Chip and my ultimate favorite so far…ZESTY LEMON.

It’s light, airy and so refreshing after a heavy holiday meal.

Zesty Lemon Ice Cream

~ Zest of 2 lemons

~ ½ cups sugar

~ ½ fleshly squeezed lemon juice about three lemons. I use my citrus juicer so I can use the scooped out rind to serve it in.

~ 2 cups half - and - half

~Pinch of salt

Zest the lemons directly into a food processer or blender (I use a blender so it can chill in the glass container) Add sugar and blend until the lemon is finely chopped.

Add lemon juice and blend until sugar is dissolved. Blend in half - and - half and salt until smooth. Chill for one hour and then churn. In my ice cream maker this takes about 10 minutes.

My friend Paul came over last night to help me put up my Christmas lights and I made a batch of this zesty delight for him to sample!

I think he likes it!!!!