Buttermilk Ice Cream with Strawberries

I’ve always had a bit of wanderlust.  I like to call it a case of the ‘get-gones’.  I like to, you know… get-gone from everywhichwhere I am.  Just drop me off at the airport and I’ll figure out the rest… all of this to the great dismay of my parents and my cat who tend to stay in one place for extended amounts of time.

Last month I was lucky enough to be in Asheville, North Carolina where they have the most awe-inspiring blue mountains and the most wonderful chocolate.  Can I camp in the mountains and drink chocolate for the rest of my life?  I might be ok with that.

This weekend I visited St. Louis where I found seriously good coffee at The Mud House and the most lovely tea from The ReTrailer.  Can I just perfect latte art and blend healing teas for the rest of my days?  That seems really nice.

The get-gones shape me, in big and subtle ways.

Realistically thought, I can’t always be gone.  That’s just unreasonable.  There’s Instagram for the times when the get-gones turn into the stay-puts.  I mean… really.

I also find myself thumbing through cookbooks when I’m feeling travel-antsy.  (I’ve made up a lot of words in this post.)  My most recent cookbook traveling adventure is David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen.  I haven’t been to Paris yet, but I’m pretty sure I’m 100% ready for the Coq Au Vin.  Thank you, David.

David’s recipe for Buttermilk Ice Cream caught my eye.  It perfectly marries my love of buttermilk with my love of cold, churned, frozen dairy.

It’s wonderfully simple!  No egg yolks.  No tempering.

There’s heavy cream for that luscious supple texture,  buttermilk for the milky tang, and granulated sugar and vanilla honey for sweetness.  I also decided to add a splash of bourbon (which comes pretty naturally to me) to help keep the ice cream scoop able in the freezer.

This creamy, smooth ice cream is like blending frozen yogurt with gelato.  So rich and fresh to death!

As with most good ice creams, we’re going to need an ice cream maker to make this fluffy texture possible.

Maybe you have an ice cream mixing bowl chilling in the freezer right now.  If you’re that person, I commend you.  I’m never that person.  I use an ice cream maker that freezes internally.  It’s like having an air conditioner that makes its own ice cream, so…. at least there’s that.

I froze the ice cream in a bread pan overnight.  When I scooped it the next day I was amazed at how creamy and scoopable the ice cream was.  For this we can thank the fat from heavy cream and the unfreezing alcohol of bourbon.  Also… it’s tastes daaaang good!

Strawberries are showing off.   They’re sweet and ripe and basically begging to be paired with this tart ice cream.  Fine.  You win, strawberries.  We all win.

This ice cream is simple with a side of tart.  It’s lovely when paired with fresh fruit, but would also be wonderful over a warm fruit pie… I’m thinking Peach Blueberry Pie.