Cinnamon Ice Cream

I tried to keep things relatively simple for Thanksgiving this year, knowing that Joe and I were going to be out of town up until the day before, so I wouldn't have a lot of time beforehand to prep. Consequently, I was a lot more relaxed than I have been in previous years. So relaxed that I ended up burning the rolls. Oh well! Before we left on our trip, I made this ice cream to go with the standard pumpkin and Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pies. It was the perfect complement. The cinnamon flavor is definitely present but not overbearing, and it made the ice cream slightly more exciting and seasonal than plain vanilla. This is the perfect ice cream with which to top your apple, pecan, pumpkin, or any other variation of fall pie.

Cinnamon Ice Cream
source: Lime in the Coconut (originally from David Leibowitz's The Perfect Scoop)

Ingredients
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
10 3-in long cinnamon sticks, broken up (I bought mine for a very affordable price at Cost Plus World Market)
2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks

Preparation
Warm the milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon sticks and 1 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan. Once warm, cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for at least one hour.

Rewarm the cinnamon-infused milk mixture. Remove the cinnamon sticks with a slotted spoon and discard. Pour the remaining cup of cream into a bowl and set a strainer on top.

In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrap the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat, scraping the bottom, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Pour the custard into the strainer set over the cream. Refrigerate until cool.

Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.