My Fourth of July + Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

My fourth of July was lovely and understated. It mostly revolved around food, which is the way I like my holidays.


Corn and Chicken, marinated in mojo sauce, was grilled.


I made no-knead bread, formed into rolls and topped with caramelized onions. Amazing.


And best of all, I made peach pie, topped with the tastiest, creamiest homemade ice cream I have ever had. You must make this.

So tell me, what was the best thing you had this weekend?


Vanilla Ice Cream
From David Lebovitz

1 cup milk


A pinch of salt


3/4 cups sugar


1 vanilla bean


5 egg yolks


2 cup heavy cream


A few drops of vanilla extract

1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the milk with the tip of a paring knife. Add the bean pod to the milk.

2. Stir together the egg yolks in a bowl and gradually add some of the warmed milk, stirring constantly as you pour. Pour the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.

3. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Rinse the vanilla bean and put it back into the custard and cream to continue steeping. Chill thoroughly, then remove the vanilla bean and freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions.

edited to add: there's something wrong with my comments, so if yours doesn't show up, I'm sorry! Hopefully it'll be resolved soon.