Pistachio Ice Cream

For this recipe I used Jeni's best Ice cream base and then added my own pistachio paste that I ordered off of amazon. Pistachio paste is what we used at sucre to make the pistachio ice cream, so I thought buying it would be the simplest way rather than making the paste myself. It's also a lot cheaper than buying and blending them yourself, which would probably cost at least 20 big ones. I bought this one, and I also had a lot left that I can use for other things (like a chocolate pistachio tart perhaps?) I also thought it would provide the most pistachio flavor, because some recipes just soak the pistachios in the base during the cooking process and then strain them out, which doesn't leave an amazing color or texture like the paste does. I think it came out great, but it was also super rich. You couldn't eat an entire cup of this even if you tried. well...at least I couldn't...

Homemade Pistachio Ice Cream 
This recipe is pretty much the same as the vanilla bean recipe from the previous post, however in this one I added vanilla extract and pistachio paste instead. Adapted off of Jeni's best ice cream base.

Ingredients

2 cups milk
4 tsp. cornstarch
1 ¼  cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
¼ tsp. kosher salt
3 tbsp. cream cheese, softened

¼ cup pistachio paste

Directions
Before you start cooking, set up your stations:

(a.) In one small bowl, wisk together 1/4 cup of milk and the cornstartch

(b.) Place the 3 tablespoons of cream cheese in a bowl and set aside.

(c.) Open plastic bag with edges folded over set over a large bowl filled with ice (the ice should melt a bit during the cooking. you can add a bit of water to it later if it isn't ice bath ready by the time you are ready to cool your ice cream)

(d.) In a 4-quart sauce pan (at least - believe me I made this mistake and it was a hassle trying to switch pots in the middle of everything...pictures to follow...) Add the remaining milk, heavy cream, sugar, salt and pistachio paste and wisk together until somewhat incorporated (it should turn a very faint green - the color shows up more during the cooking process)

(e.) 4 minute timer ready to go

NOW you can start cooking (and this is actually the quick part)

1. Over medium high heat, cook the mixture until it comes to a rolling boil. Boil for exactly 4 minutes.

This is when I realized my pot was too small and had to turn off the flame and switch immediately....surprised it didn't make a big difference as to the cooking process. but it did take a bit for the pot itself to get hot again

2. Pour in the cornstarch slurry and mix well. Bring back to a boil and cook for 2 more minutes then remove from heat.

3. With your small measuring cup, scoop out about 1/4 cup or more of the hot mixture and pour into the cream cheese bowl. Mix very well and then pour it back into the main pot. Stir well until thick.

4. Pour the hot cream into the plastic bag over the ice bath. Let sit for at least 30 minutes or until completely cold. If you don't want to freeze right away, you can also put the plastic bag in your fridge for up to 3 days.

5. Freeze according to your ice cream makers instructions (I do it for about 25 minutes)