Recipe - Pralines And Cream Ice Cream

PRALINES
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Brown sugar; firmly packed
Three fourths cup Buttermilk
2 cup Pecans; coarsely chopped
1/8 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoon Butter or margarine
One half teaspoon Baking soda
1 One half tablespoon Vanilla extract

ICE CREAM
2 One fourth cup Sugar
1/3 cup All purpose flour
One fourth teaspoon Salt
3 Eggs; beaten
5 cup Whole milk
1 qt Whipping cream
1 One half tablespoon Vanilla
Plus Pralines, above

PRALINES: Combine first five ingredients in a large, heavy saucepan. Cook
over low heat, stirring gently, until sugar is dissolved. Cover and cook
over medium heat for 23 minutes to clear sugar crystals from sides of the
pan. Uncover and cook to soft ball (234~), stirring constantly. Remove from
heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Add butter and beat with a wooden spoon
until mixture begins to thicken. Working quickly, drop by tablespoons onto
buttered wax paper. Makes 1 One half 2 dozen pralines. BUT DON'T EAT THEM!
Crumble coarsely and measure out 3 One half cup of the crumblies for this ice
cream.
ICE CREAM: Combine sugar, flour, and salt in a Dutch oven. Add eggs, and
stir until smooth. Stir in milk and cook over medium heat until thermometer
reaches 165~, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool slightly;
Chill for 3 hours. Combine whipping cream and vanilla in a large bowl and
whisk in chilled custard. Pour into freezer container of a 1 gallon ice
cream freezer. Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Remove
dasher and fold in 3 One half cups crumbled pralines. Let ripen for 1 hour
before serving.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini