Lemon Ice Cream Pie

I made this over the weekend -- Meriel said it was so good, she wants me to make it for her wedding when she grows up.... well, first she asked if people ever have pies at their wedding, then she said that this is what she wanted. :-)

The crust recipe came from a cooking class Meriel took this summer, but her filling used Cool Whip and lemonade mix. While it was good, I had a feeling we could make it better and I have enough distrust of the chemicals in Cool Whip to want to try something with ingredient names I can pronounce. This is a wonderful combination of salty-sweet, so if that's your thing, you'll probably love this dessert!

Ice cream filling:

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1 1/4 cups milk

3/4 cup sugar plus 2 Tbs. sugar

4-5 tsp. finely grated fresh lemon zest

1/8 tsp. salt

6 large egg yolks

2/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Crust:

1 1/2 cups ground pretzels (I did them in a food processor)

1/4 cup sugar

6 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

1. Heat cream, milk, sugar, zest and salt over medium head, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Whisk yolks in a bowl, then add hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking the whole time. Pour custard back into saucepan with cream mixture and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly until it's thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon and it registers 175-180 degrees F, 3-5 minutes (do not boil).
2. Poor into a clean bowl and stir in lemon juice. Let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Cover the surface with wax paper and chill until cold, about 3 hours. Freeze in an ice cream maker.
3. CRUST: Combine ground pretzels, sugar and butter. Press into pie plate and chill for 30 minutes.
4. Scoop ice cream into crust, smoothing the top. Cover with plastic and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours. Twenty minutes before serving, put pie in fridge to soften.

Bacon-Date Tasties

We had these appetizers while visiting friends in Dayton last weekend. They were awesome! I have never seen fresh dates in my grocery story, so I'll probably use re-hydrated prunes when I make them again. My kids liked the bacon and cheese part, but weren't big fans of the dates... oh well, perhaps they'll develop a taste for them eventually.

1 lb of thick cut bacon

Fresh dates or prunes (same number as you have slices of bacon)

4 oz goat cheese

2 tbs. brown sugar

1 tsp. cumin

toothpicks

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Partially cook the bacon on paper towels in the microwave. The slices should still be completely flexible, but you want to try to get rid of some of the grease.
3. Combine the brown sugar and cumin in a small bowl.
4. Lay out each slice of bacon and sprinkle with 1/2 of the brown sugar/cumin mixture.
5. Take about 2-3 tsp. of goat cheese in a wad and press it against one side of the date. Wrap a piece of bacon around the date/cheese cupping the bottom of the cheese with the bacon. Secure the bacon with a toothpick and stand upright on a cookie sheet. Repeat with each slice of bacon. Sprinkle remaining sugar and cumin on the top.
6. Bake for around 20 minutes. Serve immediately.