Cornbread Ice Cream

The idea of cornbread ice cream first crossed my brain at the Chicago Ice Cream Festival. Great idea, but I'll admit the product was rock hard and chalky. It tasted more like a vanilla ice cream with stones of cornbread in it. I knew the solution and how to improve the recipe.

Usually when I make a new ice cream recipe, I research online, find the common denominator among the recipes I find and build my recipe accordingly. This time I looked at the recipes online for sweet corn ice cream--reportedly a favorite in Mexico--and I disagreed with them opting to create my own. There is a turning point when the student becomes the master. I have arrived.

The sour cream base cut through the cinnamon, creating a balance that was kissed with honey. Each bite had bits of puréed corn and cornbread crumbs. I served it atop a piece of cornbread. The perfect ending to my homemade Southern meal of hot wings, mashed potatoes and lima beans.

I have made many flavors this year--fresh blueberry, Mexican chocolate, strawberry, garlic, some others I'm forgetting--but this one sticks out. It is the first recipe since doughnut ice cream that has gone become an instant favorite guaranteed to be repeated.