Food: Caramelized Pear Ice Cream

Some might say that, as summer draws to a close, ice cream season also ends. False. Ice cream is always in season, and to prove it, here is a very fall flavored ice cream. Voila.

Caramelized Pear Ice Cream
4 RIPE bartlett pears, peeled, cored, cut into chunks
1/2 cup sugar plus 2 cups sugar
4 cups half and half
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
5 egg yolks
1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 ice cream maker

Combine pears, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla bean seeds, and 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl, mix with hands until coated. Put mixture in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until pears are tender and sugar is a bubbling sauce. Pour mixture into a blender, blend until smooth. Combine half and half and 2 cups sugar in a large saucepan, bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking periodically. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks in a small bowl. Add 1 cup of the simmering liquid mixture to the yolks and whisk until smooth, then add yolk mixture to saucepan and whisk until incorporated.  Bring liquid back to a simmer (whisking periodically) and cook for 4-5 minutes, until mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in pear mixture. Whisk until smooth. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and put a piece of plastic wrap directly on top (to prevent a skin from forming). Let the mixture cool completely – this will take at least a few hours. Pour mixture into ice cream maker and process according to your machine’s instructions. Voila!