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This recipe is going to make about 1 gallon of ice cream.
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If you live in the sticks far away from any vanilla beans, try buying some on ebay, where you can get 20 beans for about $5 or $6.
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Start by placing the half-and-half and the milk in a large saucepan or Dutch oven on the stovetop. My original Williams-Sonoma recipe called for half-and-half plus heavy cream, but that was way too heavy for our tastes. You can use whichever ingredient you choose, but with the egg yolks also making it rich and creamy, even using all half-and-half was too rich for my taste. My happy medium became the 2 liters of half-and-half, plus 2 cups of whole milk. Go ahead and make it richer if you can handle it!
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Heat the cream over medium heat, being careful at all times to stir often and never let the cream burn, because who wants those yucky black bits in their ice cream?
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Take 4 vanilla beans and slice them open lengthwise. Use the tip of your paring knife to scrape out the seeds. Add them to the pot of cream. You may add the bean pieces to the cream to get the most flavor out of them; then you will need to strain the mixture after it steeps to remove the pieces. Bring the cream to a simmer, stirring often; then turn off the heat and let it sit and steep for 1/2 to 1 hour.
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Meanwhile, separate the egg yolks from the whites and whisk or beat the yolks until slightly thick. (You won't use the whites - save them for another recipe). Add the sugar to the pot of cream and stir until dissolved. Then whisk some of the cream mixture slowly into the egg yolks so they don't cook all at once. Then slowly whisk the yolk mixture into the pot, put it back on the heat and bring to a boil for a minute or two until thickened, stirring constantly. Patience is needed when making ice cream but you will be rewarded! After a minute or two, remove the pot from the heat.
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Cool the mixture completely (5+ hours in the fridge or overnight).
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When you are ready to make the ice cream... First, if you want to make coffee ice cream, whisk in the 2 coffee ingredients just before freezing. Then put your ice cream mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Mine is the old-fashioned wooden bucket requiring ice and salt. Using chunky ice will result in bigger ice cream crystals, while using crushed ice will make your ice cream smooth as honey.
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Use those egg whites to make an angel food cake or pavlova to go with the ice cream.
