Perfect Scoop Chocolate Ice Cream with Salted Caramel and Marshmallows

Beautiful photography? No. Fan-freaking-tastic ice cream? Yes.

I realize that Memorial Day is still ten days away, so I'm a little ahead of myself with the homemade ice cream. Of course ice cream is a year-round food; I know that. But making your own just screams summer to me. Well, this year I started hearing the screams on Mother's Day weekend, which is when I suddenly, absolutely had to make some chocolate ice cream.

(Of course, first I had to drag my ice cream freezer out of the attic and freeze the cylinder for a torturous 24 hours. That sort of put a damper on my ice cream frenzy.)

I've had my copy of David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop for a few summers now, and it's my go-to ice cream cookbook. If you've thought about springing for an ice cream maker this summer, you'll need to buy yourself a copy of this book too. It's in paperback now and it's worth every penny. Trust me. It may be worth the purchase price for the Chocolate Ice Cream recipe alone. (The recipe can be found out there on the internet, but I'm a big believer in buying the books and supporting the people who bring us these recipes. So there.)

I chose the French version of the basic recipe (this one uses egg yolks, while the Philadelphia-style base does not), using Valhrona bittersweet chocolate and Hershey Special Dark chocolate powder. Once I finally had the custard churning away in my trusty, ten-year-old Cuisinart Ice-20, I spied a half-used jar of Trader Joe's Fleur de Sel Caramel sauce in the fridge. In it went. Another perusal of the pantry produced a bag of miniature marshmallows. I threw in a couple of handfuls, eliciting squeals of delight from my marshmallow-loving children.

It was hard to wait until the custard firmed up in the freezer. But one taste (and another, and another) and I knew - this is one of the best things to come out of my kitchen in quite a while. Not the prettiest, mind you - I haven't yet mastered the art of making ice cream (or anything else, for that matter) look good with my camera. But you get the idea.

While I've got ice cream on the brain, who wants to make some ice cream with me this summer? Nothing formal, nothing with rules - just make interesting ice cream and post about it. What do you think?