One of my favorite perfumes smells like chocolate.  My lotion scent of choice?  Brown sugar vanilla.  And the shade of the bath towels I recently purchased?  Vanilla.  I’m seeing a trend here…

Things that remind me of my favorite flavors just make me feel good.  And vanilla is at the top of my list of flavors to use in baking.  For this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe choice from Lynn at Cafe Lynnylu (click for the recipe), I got to use vanilla to make a fabulously rich and custard-y Vanilla Ice Cream.

Reading through Dorie’s Playing Around sections, I came across the suggestion to add dulce de leche to the ice cream, which reminded me of that lonely can in my pantry waiting for just such inspiration.  So instead of using a vanilla bean or my normal vanilla extract, I added Mexican Vanilla Extract to the custard before chilling.  Once the ice cream was churned, I stirred in a couple of tablespoons of dulce de leche.  The result?  Divine.  The combination of the rich egg custard base, the Mexican vanilla, and the dulce de leche was absolutely delicious.

I just might have to dab a little behind my ears.

The sweetest thing in summer – a fresh peach.  Nothing compares to the juicy sweet taste of a perfectly ripe summer peach.  And peach season is all too fleeting, so we must make the most of it.

Growing up, the perfect ending to a hot summer day of fun with family and friends was cold watermelon and fresh churned homemade peach ice cream – always eaten outside so the drips wouldn’t have to be cleaned up.  The ice cream maker of my childhood was the one that was filled with rock salt and plugged in, so it could churn itself while the grown-ups chatted and the kids played Mother-May-I and Red Light, Green Light.  If you were lucky you would get to lick the dasher when it was finished.

Some foods are just guaranteed to bring the memories flooding back, and in the south one of those things is homemade peach ice cream.  This Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, Honey-Peach Ice Cream, chosen by Tommi of Brown Interior (click for recipe), brought it all back for me.  In Dorie’s version of this southern favorite, she adds honey to the mix.  To me this makes perfect sense, because you can find local honey all around the area to use in this recipe, and that’s what I did.  The kind of honey you use will contribute to the flavor and character of this ice cream, so be sure you choose one that suits your taste.

This recipe was really flavorful, and the honey added another dimension to the peach ice cream.  This was a great way to kick off peach season.  Make some today, and be sure to lick the dasher.