Just received my latest toy....

[catnhatnh]

...A Vitantonio gelato maker....1 1/2 qt with onboard refrigeration...Ran 1 cycle today,just to make sure the compressor hadn't been damaged in shipping...used Sprite soda,lemon juice and honey to make a nice Italian ice...Anyone care to share a few ice cream recipes???
Thanks in Advance, Cat...

[politicat]

1. Very Basic Vanilla - medium fat.

This makes a great vanilla ice cream to go with cobbler or pie. I wouldn't use it on its own, but is melts perfectly over warm berry and peach things.

2 cups milk (2% or whole works best)
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 cup vanilla sugar or 1/2 cup sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla extract or a quarter teaspoon of scraped vanilla bean

Heat ingredients in a 4 cup measuring cup in the microwave until just short of boiling and the sugar dissolves. Cool overnight in refrigerator. (Basically, you want to cook the vanilla just enough that it flavors the milk well, and to give the finished ice cream some body. We have made it without cooking, but don't use extract - it leaves an unpleasant alcohol taste.)

Pour in maker. (I use a Donvier, not a gelato maker, but the concept's similar.) Crank for 15 minutes or until semi-firm, then freeze for an hour to finish.

[wildeyed]

2. Nice!

I do a chai ice cream that is fabulous. Black tea, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. I had great success with a melon sorbet. Just really fresh melon and some water and corn syrup. You can also do starters for summer eating. I had a bunch of cucumbers one day, so I did a spicy cucumber sorbet for a first course. This year I intend to try avocado ice cream to go in gazpacho.

Have fun!