A simple balsamic goat cheese ice cream recipe that tastes just like frozen cheesecake!
We all tell ourselves stories about who we are and how we work in the world. My story is in flux. For starters, I feel 16 on the inside, but all my gray hairs and my two walking, talking children tell me otherwise. And there’s the me who lives in Brooklyn with her family. In my head, it’s effortless and cool, but the reality of our life here has become increasingly tough. All of this is about to change. I’m getting ready to become a different me. Going back to the town I left 10 years ago, now with a husband and family. In my heart I know I’m going home, but I’m also unsure of who and what I’ll find there.
Through all of this personal and physical upheaval, there’s one thing that is totally certain. Brian and I have amazingly wonderful friends and a loving, supportive family. At every turn, someone has stepped in to help us. Generous people who show up for last-minute park parties on a chilly, gloomy afternoon or lend us their car or take our girls to the park for a few hours while Brian and I throw away some of their toys pack. We have volunteers to help us move out and move in. Family members caring for the girls for days while all the loose ends are tied up. In this life that we are leaving and the one that’s about to begin, we are incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by so much love.
Last week, before the packing started in earnest, we spent the week enjoying this hard and beautiful Brooklyn life just a little more. We had friends over for drinks or dinners, and stayed up late talking. We also made one last batch of ice cream here in our homely kitchen. I’d been hoarding chevre for a while in hopes of getting to a batch of goat cheese ice cream, and last week, it finally happened.
Now, what I had expected was something very tangy, with the same creamy/sour undertones of fresh chevre. This isn’t was I got. Instead, it’s a sweet, creamy, savory, seriously rich affair that pretty much tastes exactly like cheesecake, but you know, really good cheesecake. I went with a little sea salt and just a drizzle of balsamic, and loved the savory notes they lent. This is a great spring ice cream–faintly grassy and bright, creamy and just good. The perfect thing to eat as you say goodbye or launch into something new or just during a quiet night at home.
Speaking of ice cream, my dear friend Kristin has started an ice cream blog – head over to belinder for every kind of frozen inspiration. And, last week, just before all the madness hit, our friend Sheri featured Brooklyn Supper on her blog Donuts, Dresses, and Dirt! (We’re pretty thrilled about it!)
Brooklyn Elizabeth signing off. See you next week, in Virginia!
A simple balsamic goat cheese ice cream recipe that tastes just like frozen cheesecake!
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 5 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 8 ounces room temperature goat milk chevre, crumbled
- 2 tablespoons vodka (*optional, but this helps soften the texture)
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
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In a medium-sized bowl, whisk sugar into egg yolks.
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Heat cream, milk, and sea salt over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Just as mixture starts to become quite steamy and small bubbles form on the sides, off the heat. Whisk a ladleful of hot liquid into yolk mixture. Add a ladleful at a time whisking until incorporated. The idea here is to bring up the temperature of the yolks without cooking them. Pour tempered egg and cream mixture back into pot and turn heat to low. Stirring constantly, cook 5 minutes. The mixture will be quite thick.
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Remove from heat and add chèvre and vodka, whisking until smooth. Pour mixture into a bowl and set over an ice bath in the fridge. This cools the mixture quickly and well. Chill 3 hours.
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Process according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Just as mixture has set up, drizzle in the teaspoon of balsamic. Spoon into a glass or metal container, cover, and freeze several hours or as long as you can stand to wait.
you are so inspiring. i keep thinking about your post about leaving brooklyn and i remember reading it RIGHT when i was thinking i wasn’t terribly happy with brooklyn and i came really close to moving back home this year. in the end i decided to stay for at least one more year, but i gather some time in the future i will do exactly what you’re doing now. and it’s really comforting to read your thoughts on it all. i can’t wait to read about your journey home!
Thanks Molly! It feels so scary to leave and your words are truly comforting. I know it’s silly, but the mystique of NYC seems to penetrate everything, and it seems as if I might disappear upon leaving. But yeah, fresh air, space, and ease all sound so good right now.
“…it seems as if I might disappear upon leaving” <—–THIS exactly describes how I've felt since leaving Toronto after ten years and returning to smallish, quiet Vancouver. I've been back about 18 months now and I'm slowly finding my sealegs.
Now, Toronto isn't NYC and we moved for other reasons (a MIL needing help) but it still has been a hard transition.
The bright side? The girl is flourishing, the man's work has opened up new opportunities and I'm taking way more creative risks.
It's just a new chapter – "that's when we lived in Brooklyn and this is us back in Virginia". It'll be good.
Thanks for chiming in with your experience Sandra. It gives me high hopes that this move is going to lead to bigger and better things. Or maybe smaller better things, right?
Home is where your heart is (and your kitchen). Bon chance!
So true Judy. Thanks!
Elizabeth, thank you so much for sharing the link to my new site. I’m so happy I got the chance to see you tonight, and I can’t wait to follow along with your cooking and gardening adventures in Virginia. xoxo
I too am so glad we got to catch up before I’m off, and please keep the great recipes coming!
Wishing you and your family a safe, speedy, and happy move, Elizabeth! Boxing up your life and leaving what you’ve known for a long while is strange and bittersweet, but starting a new chapter in a different place and making a new space your own can be so much fun. (: I flirt with the idea of living in North Carolina or Virginia now and again since they are quite similar to the northeast, but with less snow and more gardening time — that pretty much sounds like the best to me!
And this ice cream, oh my! I’ve had my eye on David Lebovitz’s goat cheese ice cream recipe since last year, but the additions of balsamic and salt in this recipe sound beyond killer. This will happen in my kitchen this summer.
Thanks Carey–I’m so glad you like the ice cream! And man, strange and bittersweet is so true. I walked out of our apartment for the last (or maybe next-to-last, time yesterday) and after a lot of mixed feelings beforehand, I feel really ready to make the leap into this calm and nature-filled life.
This ice cream sounds wonderful! I’ve always wanted to try a goat cheese ice cream and I love the addition of balsamic vinegar. Pretty perfect. Wishing you so much luck and safe travels!
Thanks so much Nicole! You know me, I can never resist the sweet and savory, and I know you’re a fan of that combo too.
I have never commented on a blog before, but really felt compelled to do so. We just left Brooklyn about a year ago and moved to Denver. I won’t lie- I miss NY more than I thought I would, but then I look at my daughter playing in our back yard, or I go the the grocery store and don’t have to carry the bags up three flights of stairs and I feel better. It’s not an easy choice to leave, but it will be a great new adventure. Good luck with it all, and just remember you can always go back and visit!
Katie, Right in the middle of our move, your comment made my day! And I think what you say is so right on––it’s not easy to leave so of the comforts of NYC like brunch on Saturday, or any day really, a deli across the street, or really good delivery, but the benefits you describe are exactly the kind of thing I’m looking forward to. Thanks so much for commenting!
So glad you tried out the ice cream! Isn’t it awesome? Best of luck with your move. I’m sure there will be lots to love.
What a lovely recipe, Elizabeth. Definitely going to try this in Summer. Wishing you a happy move.
Ohhhh MY GOSH i cannot even DEAL with how amazing this looks! Gorgeous photography too! I think you’ve convinced me to buy an icecream maker. And also good luck returning home (: