Well post the recipe already!
Yowza, here ya go:
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Butter Pecan Ice Cream (From S.F. Chronicle, July 4, 2007):
Makes about 1 quart
Adapted from "Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts" by Peggy Fallon (DK Publishing, 2007).
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup pecan halves
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS:
Instructions: Preheat the oven to 325°. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and bake until lightly toasted and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool, then break the nuts up coarsely by hand. I put the cookie sheet in the oven and turned it on to 350. If you turn it off after 8 minutes and let them cool inside, that would be ideal.
In a heavy saucepan, combine the milk, cream, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugars dissolve and the mixture is hot, about 5 minutes.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue cooking until the butter turns light brown. Set aside.
Whisk the egg yolks with the salt in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the browned butter and then about 1 cup of the warm milk-cream mixture. Whisk the warmed eggs into the saucepan with the remaining milk-cream mixture. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon (175° on an instant-read thermometer). Do not let it boil or the eggs will curdle.
Strain the custard into a bowl and cool in an ice bath.
[I didn't bother with these steps. I didn't see any lumpiness, so why bother straining! I didn't bother with the ice bath, either. I did what I always do when I want to cool a liquid quickly, put the pot in the sink in cold tap water and keep stirring. Change the water a few times and the mixture is near the temperature of cold tap water. The article states that the idea is to prevent bacteria from getting a head start, and I'm sure this is effective enough.]
Cover the custard and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator. Whisk in the vanilla. [I stirred it in after it had cooled some in the sink cool-down phase described above]
Freeze the custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Add the toasted pecans and churn for 1 minute longer to incorporate them. Transfer to a covered container and freeze until firm enough to scoop.
Per 1/2 cup serving: 425 calories, 5 g protein, 29 g carbohydrate, 33 g fat (15 g saturated), 179 mg cholesterol, 115 mg sodium, 1 g fiber.