a-list: ice-cream making

I've been dying to make ice cream all summer.

Excuses I've given myself:

a) I don't have the KitchenAid ice cream maker attachment (desperate for one, though I haven't been able to cough up the $80. Please add to my non-existent registry...)

b) My freezer has been packed tight with little room to freeze mixing bowls

But! I love ice cream and eat it as much as possible during the warm summer months. Who (if you're not lactose intolerant or watching your weight) can resist?! So last week when I spotted a Sunday afternoon ice-cream making class via DailyCandy I jumped onto PayPal and secured three spots.

It was with Guerrilla Ice Cream, a fabulous NYC ice cream company that is saving the world one scoop at a time. It was founded this summer by two 23-year olds (Ethan Frisch, ex-Pasty Chef at Allen & Delancey, and Ori Zohar, businessman extraordinaire), and this little ice cream truck is creating buzz by donating 100% of its proceeds to "marginalized populations in NYC and around the world." And one of the ways it makes its profits is through intimate ice-cream making classes.

So bf, our friend Emily and I all trekked down to a random building in the financial district to get our scoop on. We were a little late so we skulked into the class and took the only empty seats left around the table... which were directly next to Blake Lively (gorge), Chace Crawford (swoon!) and their random friend. Um, yeah. We made ice cream with Gossip Girl on Sunday night (can you even?! ONLY in NYC...).

Despite the obvious distraction, the class was really fun and Ethan was a great teacher. We made "starters" for Lemon Poppyseed Custard and Jasmine Raspberry Sorbet and my initial ice-cream making intimidation was cured. It's easy! And it turns out that Blake is a big ice-cream maker herself. Shoot, if she looks that good I don't mind treating myself to some Haagen Dazs once in a while.

After making our starters we were treated to a few of their favorite flavors to try ourselves: the Lemon Poppyseed from the class, a DELICIOUS Mango Coconut Sorbet, spicy Chai Masala, and their Port Wine Chocolate with caramelized bananas. We were sent home with stars in our eyes and 2 pints each, ready to be "spun" the next day into ice cream.

If anyone's around in NYC in the next few weeks it's worth a trip to their ice cream cart (and its definitely worth the $4.50) to sample one of their gourmet flavors.

If you can't get to the cart, try their basic custard recipe and add your own mix-ins!

Basic Frozen Custard

Guerrilla Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 1/2 cups heavy cream (we used 3 cups of half and half instead of the first two ingredients)

6 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

Flavoring: herbs, spices, extracts, fruits, coffee, tea, etc

1/2 cup mix-ins: chocolate chips, fresh fruit, nuts, etc

Mix milk, cream and flavoring in a heavy-bottomed pot, and simmer over low heat for 30-45 minutes or until the flavor has been infused into the milk and cream.

Whisk egg yolks with sugar until the color changes slightly and the sugar is dissolved (about 5 minutes).

Carefully temper the eggs into the milk/cream mixture - put a few ladlefuls of warm milk into the eggs, mix slowly to incorporate, then our the warmed eggs back into the pot with the milk.

Stir carefully until the mixture thickens, and holds a line on a wooden spoon.

Strain the mixture through a sieve to separate out any egg solids, herbs, spices, etc. and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

Spin in your ice cream machine, or pour into small paper cups and freeze with popsicle sticks.