Egg Nog Ice Cream

It was my first year making many of the Thanksgiving Day treats all by myself. One of the first things to cross off my list was the ice cream! This I knew I could make ahead and it wouldn't suffer a loss in flavor. Ice cream is one of my very favorite things to make, and once you get the custard base down, it's incredibly easy.
I made the custard base for my ice cream Tuesday night before bed so it could chill in the fridge over night. All I had to do today was pop it into the ice cream machine this morning and let it churn baby churn! ...Or so I thought. Then, I realized that I forgot to freeze the stupid bowl for the ice cream machine! This ice cream gave me so much trouble! So of course, the freezer was apparently set to burning hot because 5 hours in the freezer still didn't freeze the bugger. I tried churning it like 4 different times and each time it wasn't cold enough so I would put the bowl back in the freezer and wait some more. Finally, I just decided to put the custard in the freezer to help the cooling down. This was a mistake because it made it sort of icy. When we wen't over to Mikey's parents' house for dinner I decided to bring the ice cream machine with and see if it would freeze at their house. It did! But... I soon realized that I forgot the whip portion of the ice cream machine and had to stand there holding two spoons in the custard to act as a replacement. Hahaha, but after all the hassle the ice cream caused me, it paid off.
This ice cream is absolutely delish, even if it was a weence icy, and I'm not even really a fan of egg nog! I served it with some Pumpkin Shortbread and the two were practically made for one another!

Egg Nog Ice Cream

recipe from here

ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 6 large egg yolks
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 4 whole cloves
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp brandy

1. Heat the milk, 1 cup if the cream, the cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat until steamy. Remove from heat, cover, and let the spices steep for at least 30 minutes.
2. Remove the cloves, and heat the mixture over medium heat. Add in the sugar and stir until dissolved.
3. Make an ice bath in a large bowl and set a smaller bowl inside. Pour the remaining 1 cup of cream into the bowl and set a fine mesh strainer over top.
4. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl. Slowly add some of the warm mixture to the yolks while continuously whisking. Next, add the egg yolk mixture into the warm milk/cream, still whisking all the while. You want to temper the yolks, not make scrambled eggs.
5. Continuously stir the custard over medium heat until it coats the back of a wooden spoon. You should be able to run your finger across the spoon and have the custard not run (the temperature of the custard should be around 170-175 degrees).
6. Once the custard has reached the desired consistency, immediately pour it through the strainer into the bowl of cream. Stir until the mixture is chilled. Put the custard in the fridge to cool completely (at least a few hours- overnight is best).
7. Once the mixture is thoroughly chilled, stir in the vanilla and brandy and process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.
8. Serve immediately as soft serve, or freeze in the freezer until ready to use.