Raspberry White Chocolate Ice Cream Makes 1 generous quart, or 8 to 12 servings -- make ahead! This is a scrumptious pale mauve color, and has little shards of white chocolate studded throughout. It is not too sweet, and it tastes intensely of raspberries. I use the microwave technique recommended in The Silver Palate New Basics Cookbook; it really cuts way down on the cooking time, which is helpful since you have to make this at least a day in advance anyway. 2 12-oz. bags frozen raspberries (not frozen in syrup) 1 cup whole milk 1 cup heavy or whipping cream 5 large egg yolks 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ozs.) sugar 12 ozs. white chocolate, grated or finely chopped, divided -- Empty the bags of frozen raspberries in a large sieve placed over a wide bowl. Allow them to thaw at room temperature for a few hours. When they are completely thawed, there will be about 1 cup of raspberry juice in the bowl. Reserve some of the raspberries to add to the ice cream later, if you wish, and set aside the rest for another use. -- Wearing an apron -- this is important, as this get messy! -- transfer the raspberry juice to a small uncovered saucepan and place it over medium-high heat. Once the juice has begun to boil and foam up, you can turn down the heat a little bit. Reduce the juice in volume to 1/2 cup, stirring constantly. This will take 10 to 15 minutes. The juice will probably spatter a little towards the end, but continue to stir and do not cover the saucepan. -- Transfer the reduced raspberry juice to a heatproof container to stop the cooking process and set aside to cool for at least 30 minutes. -- In a medium-large microwave-proof bowl, combine the milk and heavy cream and heat at full power, uncovered, for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes (our microwave is 1,000 watts; I heat the milk and cream for about 1 1/2 minutes. Adjust as necessary for your wattage). -- While the milk and cream are heating, beat together the egg yolks and sugar until thick and smooth. With the electric mixer on, slowly pour the hot cream mixture into the yolk mixture, being careful to avoid pouring it directly into the beaters. Blend until smooth. -- Return mixture to microwave-proof bowl and cook at full power until mixture is thick and coats the back of a spoon (with our microwave, this takes 1 minute. If it takes longer in your microwave, stop the power once each minute and whisk or stir the mixture briefly before continuing). -- Remove mixture from microwave and whisk in the cooled raspberry juice reduction and half of the white chocolate, continuing to whisk until the white chocolate has mostly or completely melted. Transfer mixture to airtight container and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight. -- Transfer mixture to an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's directions, adding the remaining white chocolate about halfway through the process and any raspberries you've reserved towards the end. Serve immediately if you like your ice cream kind of soft, or return to airtight container and freeze overnight if you like a firmer texture Storage The ice cream will keep for several weeks in an airtight container in the freezer, but it is really best used within a week after making it. OTHER FROZEN AND CHILLED RECIPES Catherine S. Vodrey is available for freelance writing, editing, fundraising/development, and photography projects at: Post Office Box 835 East Liverpool, Ohio 43920 USA E-MAIL: WordBanquet@gmail.com Thank you for visiting www.WordBanquet.com!