This ice cream is the official end of this week-o-desserts, the mere act of writing the posts for which has given me a massive sugar hangover, cavities and reason to hit the treadmill. This ice cream is also a testament to how much my husband loves me. No, not because he requested this ice cream. In fact, while I think he liked it well enough, he’d probably opt for yesterday’s brownies over this ice cream (or under this ice cream, now there’s a thought!) any day.

No, this ice cream shows the depth of Kevin’s tolerance of (er, love for) me in a couple ways. First, he barely batted an eye lash when I announced on Wednesday night that I would be making ginger ice cream to complete our dinner with a friend on Thursday night. Then, he rather pleasantly grated a quarter cup (a quarter cup!) of ginger for me (for us, for us). This not only left his arms aching and his knuckles in peril, but it also robbed him of time usually spent watching Seinfeld reruns or checking fantasy sports results.

(Click “more” for the rest of the story, more photos & the recipe.)

As if all this weren’t enough, Kevin’s eyes bulged only a little when I revealed that I’d only be able to complete half of said ice cream project on Wednesday night. Which meant that I needed to wake up a wee bit early (cough, 5:30) on Thursday morning to complete the project. And at said ungodly hour, I needed to run our rather noisy ice cream maker for about 30 minutes, while Kevin slept (or tried to sleep) a mere 20 yards away in our bedroom.

I know, I’m a lot to handle. But, at the end of the day, the man gets homemade ice cream. And not just any ice cream: ginger ice cream, which is creamy and rich like any good ice cream, with a lingering hint of spicy ginger that definitely ups the intrigue. A few scoops with blackberries nestled between and crystallized ginger dusted atop was a very grown-up version of an ice cream sundae. With this kind of ice cream, how loudly can Kevin complain?

Ginger Ice Cream
Gourmet

4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup coarsely grated peeled fresh gingerroot
2 tablespoons water
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup crystallized ginger*

In a large bowl lightly whisk yolks. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook sugar, fresh gingerroot, and water over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Add half-and-half and bring to a simmer. Add hot half-and-half mixture to yolks in a slow stream, whisking, and pour into pan. Cook custard over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until a thermometer registers 170°F. (Do not let boil.)

Pour custard through a sieve into cleaned bowl and stir in cream and vanilla. Cool custard. Chill custard, its surface covered with plastic wrap, until cold, at least 3 hours, and up to 1 day.

Finely chop crystallized ginger. Freeze custard in an ice-cream maker, adding crystallized ginger three fourths of way through freezing process. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden. Ice cream may be made 1 week ahead.

Yield: 1 quart of ice cream

* I opted for sprinkling the crystallized ginger on top of the ice cream, rather than incorporating it in the ice cream. I think it would be lovely either way, though.