Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

4 C half & half
2 vanilla beans
1 1/2 C sugar
2 Cups whipping cream

1) Cut the vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape the seeds out with the back of your knife. Put the seeds and the bean with the remaining ingredients and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Put everything in a pot and heat until one bubble comes to the surface (170 F).
2) Chill.
3) Freeze according to the instructions on your ice cream maker.
4) If you are anxious you may eat the ice cream straight away but, it isn't considered finished until it has ripened in the freezer for about four hours.

Tips: I half this recipe so it will fit in my smaller ice cream maker.

I substitute equal parts skim milk and heavy whipping cream to make half and half.

Don't throw away your vanilla beans. Rinse them off and when they have air dried put them in a container with sugar. After a while you will have vanilla sugar to put on cereal, etc. YUMMY!

You can substitute 1 1/2 T vanilla extract for the vanilla beans.

If you feel like you're eating chap stick, yummy chap stick, you may need to back off on the cream next time and replace it with milk. However, this recipe's ratio of milk and cream is my favorite because I haven't had to scrape anything off the roof of my mouth. The cream I used has 40% milkfat.

This is the mother of all TIPS; you know the one Alton Brown says, the ice cream making industry doesn't want you to know. Let your ice cream mixture sit in the fridge overnight before you freeze it. It seems simple but, there is a complicated explanation of the chemical change that occurs in the milk, set in motion when you scald your mixture. It takes time to complete this change. I don't really mind the wait since I have to freeze the bowl to my ice cream maker 24 hours before I can use it.

I will add a picture later when I get one. Enjoy!

PS I can't find the recipe for DeAnna's no bake cheesecake; the one Mom Shaw makes. Will you help me find it D?