Popcorn Ice Cream

Having a gigantic sack of popcorn and not a lot on my prep list, I made some popcorn ice cream at work.

You'll need:

• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 C sugar
• 2 c heavy cream
• 2 c milk
• 2 quarts of prepared buttered popcorn
• (Normally, I add salt to every ice cream recipe to enhance the sweetness and flavors, but the popcorn ought to take care of it)

Method:

• Combine eggs and 1/2 sugar in a large bowl and whisk to Ribbon Stage
• Combine cream, milk, popcorn, and remaining sugar in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil, then remove from heat (take care not to boil over)
• Let it sit for about 20 minutes, until the popcorn has thoroughly infused its flavor into the cream. (Using a heavy pan will maintain enough heat so that the eggs are properly cooked by tempering)
  
• Strain through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer (see: Appendix D)
  
• Whisk a very small amount of the cream mixture into the eggs, continue whisking and adding cream in larger increments until you have a smooth ice cream base.

--This process is called "Tempering". It is done in order to prevent the eggs from curdling. If the eggs do curdle, you could try just straining the mix.
--If you heat this mix on a double boiler until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon (nappe), you have "Creme Anglaise", aka pastry cream (though that also involves the addition of vanilla).

• You can use an ice cream machine to produce the final product, or just put it in your freezer (once cooled to 40F) and stir about every half hour to incorporate air and ensure even freezing
  

(Recipe adapted from Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book)



Appendix D
The "D" stands for "Delicious"

The strained out popcorn is delicious and creamy, but not quite suitable for snacking and desserting. I'd recommend making a bread pudding out of it. Combine an egg, a splash of milk, a dash of vanilla, and a half pony of bourbon and whisk. Add the reserved popcorn (which hopefully has dried out a bit since being removed from the ice cream base), and more fresh popcorn if needed. Pour into an appropriately sized, greased baking dish and bake at 350F until set and a bit brown and crisp. Now play around with the recipe until you make something even cooler.