This year we found ourselves in the rare situation of actually having leftover egg nog! In contemplating this dilemna, I came up with the idea of using one of the kids' Christmas gifts to use the egg nog up in a way that did not require the use of a drinking vessel.
Nick and Kimmi were the inspiration for this Christmas gift, the Ice Cream Ball! A few years ago they visited and brought along their Ice Cream ball. The kids had so much fun with it that we were just sure they'd enjoy having one of their own. We opted for the Mega version which makes a quart.
After washing the new ball inside and out, we filled the one end up with ice cubes and 1 cup of Ice Cream salt. We closed that end up and turned the ball over. Then we mixed 3 cups of egg nog (we used Lucerne) and 1 cup of heavy cream. To this we added 1/4 tsp. each nutmeg and vanilla. We poured this mixture into the other end of the ball and closed it up. Then I grabbed the camera as the kids headed outside with the ball.
Even though it is pink (not the most masculine color I'm told), Nathan joined in and the kids, as well as the cat had a great time shaking, rolling and chasing the ball around the yard.
After about 30 minutes we brought the ball inside and opened it up to discover a creamy soft serve eggnog ice cream that we all enjoyed for dessert.
As this was a family dessert we did not include any spirits in the recipe. If it were for adults only, I may have added a bit of good rum to the mixture (maybe 1/4 cup?) I also think it would've turned out fine using 4 cups eggnog, omitting the cream, although we rather liked the fresh taste the cream added.
Hope you all are enjoying your last weekend of Winter vacation!
6 comments:
I have always wondered how these work and know I know! I have been thinking about getting DJ one for his birthday. Where do you get the ice cream salt? I've never hear of it before. Thank you for the info!
And I'm glad that we are friends and will be in each others lives for 2010!
Sounds yummy and looks like the kids had a good time.
Thank you both for your comments!
SonyaAnn, the ice cream salt is actually just rock salt, but not the kind you use on your driveway. Pa found it labeled as
Ice Cream Salt" put out by Morton down at the little store down the road, but you should be able to find it at most any grocery store near the spices (probably a lower shelf)
One thing I did learn from our first experiment, is to be sure to stop and scrape the sides early enough. We waited too long (maybe 20 minutes) and it was real difficult to scrape which made it more difficult to get all the ice cream out when we were finished. Next time we'll stop and scrape it after about 10 minutes.
I'd never heard of these....looks like fun!
Oh gosh...egg nog ice cream! YUMMY! I have never heard of Ice Cream Balls! I NEED one of those! :)
I love eggonog.. that ball looks fun...So glad you're back on blog.
See you soon.
Post a Comment