I thought this announcement wouldn't be so public, but frankly, I don't care who judges. I am in love. It was certainly a relationship found in lust but now anchored in love. Who's the lucky fellow?

Haaaiii boy, you lookin fine! That's right, the ice cream demi-gods (my ma) have smiled down on me and finally bequeathed me with the one gift that keeps on giving. No more sadly neglecting recipes that require a machine; gone are the days of my "Dreams to Remember" pinboard for churned treats. I have been shown the light and I'm not going back. Can I get a

I decided the first recipe would be something inspired by my visit to Greece. While there I had greek yogurt, topped with a thyme honey and kumquat compote. No one hates it. I specifically was enchanted by the honey, an enchantment that has followed me home. Here's my go at it.

Salted Honey-Thyme Ice Cream 

First things first, somebody tell dat bowl to chill. This ice bath situation is handy for cooling down your finished custard, essentially stopping the cooking process.

The next step is to heat the honey and salt until the honey loosens up. I went an extra step and browned my honey a bit. Was it because I forgot it was on the stove? Your call. It's important that you use a large-grain sea salt for this recipe as the taste will be cleaner. You will also hopefully be left with a few intact crystals that will add an extra flavor assault on your palette. 

Now we heat the milk and table sugar on medium until a low simmer emerges. I added vanilla and a few sprigs of thyme to this mixture. I also don't think the actual addition of sugar to this recipe is needed. Whatevah, you do you. 

Look at dem cute, lil yolks. Beat them. Now that you have copious amounts of egg whites (if you're still holding over from the puffs like I am), you should really consider putting them to good use. I think sweet applications are best since I feel lied to if I'm given eggs and, in fact, there is no yolk. 

Our old friend temper is back. Slowly add the milk mixture to the yolks. This will stabilize them into silky submission. Return this mixture to the stove and heat until it has thickened enough to coat the back of the spoon, or as the booshie fools of the culinary underworld will say, Nappe.

Combine the honey mixture and the milk mixture. Strain them into the ice bath. Finally, pour the cream straight into this mixture and gently mix, you do not want to incorporate air. Chill the mix in the refrigerator until it has completely cooled. Whoops, I'm impatient. Straight in the chilled ice cream bowl it went. My machine suggested a 20-minute churn party. It only churned for 12 minutes...because the power went out...three times...and then for good. Then I cried. Then I put the batch in the freezer, hoping it would stay cold enough to keep my first attempts at ice cream stardom alive. 

Success! Look at the beautiful texture, color, photography...oh wait, I'm terrible at taking pictures. Okay, you caught me. Like the ravenous demons we are, the ice cream was retrieved from the freezer for fear it would melt, dressed simply with some whipped cream and a ginger snap, and completely demolished before I could take a picture. In my defense, I was trying to preserve my phone battery should the zombie apocalypse that was occuring get too out of hand. In all realness, mine came out with a similar, smooth texture and color. It was fab. My family kept saying it was "too salty". Let the haters be my motivators. Embrace the salt, everyone. Shout out to "A Cozy Kitchen" where this recipe was adapted from and where I borrowed the final image from. 

Recipe 

8 tablespoons honey (clover or sage)

3/4 teaspoon Maldon sea salt
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoon sugar
4 large egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream