Mississippi invention Comeback Sauce is easy to make; try my version and you may thank me

I snatched this photo off the web just to make people hungry! My sauce was a little thicker and darker.

    There wasn’t anything much to eat in the house last night so I boiled a bag of frozen shrimp that we had in the freezer. While the shrimp were thawing I searched the Internet for a recipe for Comeback Sauce. Comeback Sauce originated Mississippi, being introduced and then copied in several Jackson restaurants. The Mayflower Cafe is often cited as having an outstanding Comeback Sauce, although it apparently didn't originate there.
    All recipes for Comeback Sauce contain chili sauce as one of the ingredients. I had never even heard of Heinz chili sauce before researching this recipe. I wonder how many other grocery items are lurking out there, being seen but not seen as I walk down the aisles?
    I’ve made Comeback Sauce once or twice before, but I’ve never been able to remember which recipe I used. Last night I found one on the Grillax website which I thought was pretty good (the website also has more of the Mississippi history of the Comeback Sauce). It’s quick and easy to make. I changed the recipe a little and have noted my changes below the recipe:

Comeback Sauce

● 1 clove chopped garlic
● 1 cup mayonaise
● 1/4 cup chili sauce
● 1 tsp. dry mustard
● ½ cup corn oil
● ½ t. Wocestershire sauce
● 1 t. black pepper
● 1t. paprika
● ½ t. onion powder
● 2 Tbl. lemon juice
● 1 t. water
● Dash of hot sauce

Put all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. Make the day before or a few hours in advance if possible.

My changes
    I followed the recipe above but used extra garlic out of a tube (probably two cloves worth) a generous teaspoon of dry mustard, a scant ½ cup of oil, a teaspoon or more of Worcestershire sauce, extra hot sauce (I used Tobasco), and I omitted the water. I also added a teaspoon of white pepper. So here are the ingredients in list form with my changes.

Comeback Sauce (Col. Reb version)

■ 1.5 to 2 cloves chopped garlic
■ 1 cup mayonaise
■ 1/4 cup Heinz chili sauce
■ 1 ½ tsp. dry mustard
■ A scant ½ cup corn oil
■ 1 t. Wocestershire sauce (slightly more to taste)
■ 1 t. black pepper
■ 1 t. white pepper
■ 1t. paprika
■ ½ t. onion powder
■ 2 Tbl. lemon juice
■ Several dashes of Tobasco

    This recipe makes a pretty generous amount, so it would be pretty easy to make this according to the “official” recipe, split in half, and then add a dab of mustard, Worcestershire, Tobasco, garlic, and a half-teaspoon of white pepper. A taste test could then determine which recipe was the “best.” I was very happy with my version.
    The beauty of this sauce is that it is quick and easy to make, and everyone can modify it slightly to suit their own tastes. I know that since I’ve started eating shrimp with Comeback Sauce the jar of cocktail sauce has remained unused.

ColRebCooks: Eat Your Black-eyed Peas Casserole recipe

Eat Your Black-eyed Peas Casserole

Serves 8 easily, or freeze half and have two large meals for family of four

Here’s a recipe that I made up after looking at several similar ideas online. It worked pretty well. I failed to take a photo, but it looks decent.

If possible you should buy the hamburger meat off the old meat rack for less than $2.50 per pound; buy the rice in 25-pound bags and the rice cost is about 20 cents; stock up on the black-eyed peas the week after New Year’s and you can get them for as low as 25 cents a bag, or 12.5 cents for the half-bag this recipe uses; buy the Cream of Chicken soup in the weeks before Thanksgiving or Christmas for 60- to 75-cents per can; stock up on store-brand cheese when it costs $3 a pound or less; buy the diced tomatoes on sale for 50 cents. My total meal cost was about $7 for eight very large servings.

1 lb. Hamburger meat
1 onion and half green pepper, or use one-half to one bag of frozen seasoning mix
Plenty of garlic and other seasonings to taste, added to the meat and onions while browning
3 cups cooked black-eyed peas
2 cups cooked rice
1 can Campbell’s Cream of Chicken soup
12 to 16 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 can diced tomatoes
½ cup water from the black-eyed pea pot, or tap water

Optional
I’m on a semi-bland diet these days, but this dish would likely be improved by substituting a can (or maybe two!) of Rotel for the tomatoes. Alternatively you can add jalapenos and other Mexican seasonings.

Also, I think this casserole might be improved with the addition of 3 cups of cooked squash, which I will do next time.

Instructions:

1. Brown the hamburger meat and then add the green pepper and onion. Cook until onions are soft, then scoop meat into a 9x13 casserole dish, draining the fat.

2. Blend in the cream of chicken soup while the meat is hot, then add the black-eyed peas and rice (and squash if you decide to use it). Add all but 4 oz. of the cheese and mix well. Add just a little water from the pea pot or tap to make sure the mixture is barely soupy so the rice doesn’t get dried out.

3. Sprinkle the remaining four ounces of cheese over the top.

4. Cook at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until cheese starts to brown on top.

The black-eyed pea taste does get lost a little bit in this casserole, but it might be a great way to get kids to eat vegetables. Also, even though it only had one pound of hamburger meat, it tasted very meaty. Legumes and rice for a perfect protein, so this is a reasonably healthy dish even though it does have a good bit of fat from the cheese.

Pork neck bones were only item on the old meat rack, so I'm using the meat in a lentil soup

    I did a quick swing by Kroger this morning in hopes of finding some deals on the old meat rack. The only thing they had was pork neck bones marked down to 50 percent off, so $3.56 for 3.5 pounds.
    I've never cooked a pork neck bone before. They look a little like some of the ribs I've seen, so I thought maybe I could barbecue them. I got on my phone and did a quick Internet search and found where someone suggested I could simmer them for several hours and the meat would fall off the bones. The meat could then be used to make a lentil soup.
    So I came home, chopped an onion fine, sauteed it and some mushrooms in a quarter-stick of butter, added 12 cups of water and a couple of big teaspoons of beef base along with rosemary and other spices, and then added the pork neck bones to simmer. They are simmering at fairly low heat even as I type.
    I've never cooked lentils before, but the package says they only need about 20 minutes. So late this afternoon I'll fish out the pork neck bones, remove any remaining meat and continue to simmer the broth until suppertime. I'll throw in the lentils 20 or 30 minutes before it's time to eat. Some recipes call for a can of diced tomatoes. I'll let Lucy decide on whether or not to add any.
    Check back late tonight and I'll report on how it was!
_______________

    UPDATE: I promised an update on how dinner turned out. It was good, and the neckbones had a lot of meat on them. However, I had to dip out the bones and sort through the meat and mushrooms by hand. Even then some little bones got through.
    Next time I will use smoked pork rather than fresh and strain it. I'll lose the meat doing this but still get all the flavor. While straining I'll saute the onion and mushrooms, pour the liquid back in and let it simmer for an hour. The mushrooms do add a lot of flavor, but have to be simmered.

Emptying of Dad's office desk yields unknown "Old Family Recipe" for Seafood Lasagne

    We finally got around to cleaning out my Dad's desk yesterday and found the following recipe. It's marked in his handwriting "Old Family Recipe Sidney L. Hurdle," but I don't recognize it. The recipe itself is a xerographic copy in someone else's hand. I sure wish Dad had provided us with a few additional words about this recipe!

    If a cousin or friend should recognize the handwriting or the recipe, please let me know where this came from. Below is the page I found, and below that is the recipe typed out. I've made a couple of notes, as a couple of words are missing from the recipe.

    I haven't tried this yet. I may cook it tonight and sample it on the children. If it is fit to eat I will give a report, and would appreciate any reports from any of my three dozen readers!

___________________

    Like many old-fashioned recipes, this one calls for Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup, which is a magical elixir. Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup usually goes on deep discount at Thanksgiving or Christmas, although this year both Kroger and Wal-Mart held the line at a dollar a can. It's regular price is $1.49 at Kroger or $1.19 at Wal-Mart.

    Several years ago I bought 50 cans at 50-cents per can and they lasted a year. I repeated this for several years. This year the best price I could find was 65 cents per can at a Memphis Target store. I only bought 10 cans in the hope that someone would drop the price to 50 cents but it never happened. This is going to prove to be a very costly mistake this year.

Seafood Lasagna (use large casserole dish)

6-8 Lasagna Noodles

BLEND THE FOLLOWING

1 c. onion that has been sauteed in 2 T. butter

8 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup cottage cheese

1 beaten egg

1/2 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

COMBINE THE FOLLOWING

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup dry white wine

1 7 1/2 oz. can crab meat (or fresh, see note one)

1 lb. shrimp (see note two)

1/4 cup Parmesan  cheese

1/2 ? grated sharp cheddar cheese (one-half cup? see note three)

Put 3-4 Noodles in a long casserole. Spread 1/2 onion and cream cheese mixture on noodles. Spread 1/2 soup and shrimp mixture over cheese layer. Then repeat layers. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Then add cheddar cheese. Bake for 3-4 minutes more (see note four). Let Stand 15 minutes before serving.

My Dad has written at the bottom (in his own hand) "Use Extra Large Casserole Dish."

Note One: In the margin is written 1/2 lb. fresh crab meat, barely visible. I'm guessing that is to replace and not in addition to the canned crab. The canned refrigerated crab from Costco or Sam's Club or from the fish section at the supermarket would probably be great, but not the tuna-fish type of crab in the 7.5 oz. can.

Note Two: The recipe does not specify whether the shrimp is cooked or not. I would assume the shrimp should be cooked. Also, I really don't see why the shrimp couldn't be sauteed with the onion and then spread with the cream cheese mixture.

Note Three: The recipe does not specify whether the "1/2" of cheddar cheese is a 1/2 cup or 1/2 lb. I think it is a 1/2 cup. I also think extra sharp would be better than merely sharp.

Note Four: The recipe calls for four minutes of cooking after sprinkling with the cheddar cheese. I'm not sure this is long enough to get the cheese nice and brown.

Note Five: This recipe calls for cottage cheese vs. ricotta cheese. I'm not sure which would be best. I would think you could use either.

I won't win any awards in Japan, but maybe in Oxford. . .

    I bought Lucy a Mr. Bento recently for her school lunches.
    Lucy actually likes the school lunches, but I figured she might like a home-packed lunch every now and then. I'm not as good as the Japanese mothers, but I made a little sandwich face, using Kalamata olives, grape tomatoes and a sliver of carrot.
    The Mr. Bento has four containers. The other two contained some Ramen noodles and some rice. She said the noodles were too salty. Don't know how that can be, but that's what she said.

We lost the football game but won the party with these Greek Salad Skewers

Greek Salad Skewers drizzled with Greek dressing

    We may have lost the ballgame with A&M, but these Greek Salad Skewers were a winner at our Grove tent.
    I had some of these in a Hilton executive lounge a while back and thought they would make great party food. They do, and were a perfect addition to a Grove table.
    There are plenty of recipes for these around the Internet. Just do a Google search and find the one that looks best to you. Here's how we made ours:

• Feta cheese cubes
• Grape tomatoes (the smaller the better, if used whole)
• Kalamata olives, halved
• Small piece of sweet onion (a square cut from a single ring)
• One-quarter of a slice of English Cucumber
• A tiny piece of romaine lettuce
• Salt and pepper

    Simply skewer the items in the order that looks best to you. The toothpicks we used were too small. Try to find some longer toothpicks, perhaps using sword toothpicks, or some other type of skewer.
    Make a Greek Salad Dressing of your choice and drizzle over the skewers 30 minutes before serving. The Greek dressing we made was a little bland so I added three tablespoons of Wishbone Italian. Season with salt and pepper.
    These might work well with the feta cheese cube on the bottom, as it will allow the skewer to stand straight up. Also, I think it might be good to have the Greek Dressing in little bowl as a dip rather than drizzled over the top.
    You can just make this one your own. I can think of dozens variation on this theme, all of which sound good to me.

I found my Aunt Eva's roll recipe; I continue to miss her, but maybe I won't have to miss the rolls

    Pictured above is my Aunt Eve Lehman Hurdle's roll recipe as it appeared in the 1976 Marshall County Historical Society Bicentennial Cookbook.

    I recently saw another roll recipe on Facebook and "shared" it so it would be on my timeline. It wasn't long until a cousin chimed in about how she sure would love one of Aunt Eva's "little pan of rolls," as she called them when she dropped by.

    Aunt Eva would make and freeze a huge batch of these rolls on a Saturday, or perhaps another day when she had household help. She then would deliver them at the first sign of a sneeze by a friend or family member. Some people called them Eva's "death rolls," because they were often the first food item to arrive after the death of a loved one. Aunt Eva never beat the Grim Reaper, but she came close a couple of times.

    They were truly good; better than Sister Shubert by a long shot.

   I'm not sure what "fat" means. Jinny assures me it means Crisco. I've done some reading and some outstanding rolls use lard. Jinny can't stand the idea of using lard, so I will either use the lard secretly or use Crisco for the "fat."

    Likewise, I didn't know how to "scald" milk. I found this tutorial on how to scald milk for recipes.

    I haven't "tested" this recipe. I know I should, but I spent some time looking for it and decided to share it while it was on my mind. I plan to make a few pans soon. If any reader should beat me to it, by all means let me know how it turns out.

________________________

    I would guess that Aunt Eva met my Uncle Joe Hurdle at the University of Southern Mississippi. Uncle Joe and Uncle Jake (and others?) attended Southern, then Mississippi Normal College, because their first cousin was married to the president, J.B. George.

    It was such a different world back then. I doubt many college presidents today would allow their wife's cousins to take up residence in the president's home to scrimp on college expenses, but that is what they did.

    Uncle Jake's college expenses were defrayed by a $25 per month contribution made by his first cousin, Jimmy Hurdle, the son of Gid Hurdle of Taylor (my great-uncle). While Jimmy attended the Mississippi Synodical College in Holly Springs my grandfather gave him $25 per month on condition that he would repay the loan by helping one of his cousins when it was his turn.

    While Uncle Joe and Uncle Jake were attended Southern, my maternal grandfather was also earning a degree, so that he could enter the Methodist ministry. He had already served as a school superintendent of the Philadelphia schools in the 1920s, so I find it interesting that it took more college education to be a preacher than an educator. I know Uncle Jake was on friendly terms with my grandfather at USM; not sure about Uncle Joe. So it ended up being an odd coincidence when my parents met.

    My grandfather, Inman Moore, managed the campus bookstore while he was a student. The school gave him the use of an acre or two of land where the football stadium is today so that he could have a couple of milk cows. He would milk the cows in the morning and my mother and Uncle Inman would deliver the milk to a few faculty members each day.

    Aunt Eva was a native of Meadville in Franklin County, and read the Franklin Advocate until her death. (I had the pleasure of visiting with Advocate editor and publisher, the late David Webb, some years ago and he couldn't get over how much I looked like Aunt Eva's nephew, a Lehman. I explained that Aunt Eva and I weren't blood kin, but he insisted that I still looked like her nephew). Her parents immigrated from Germany, and she had the chests they used to contain their belongings on the ocean voyage refinished and proudly on display.

    I miss her. I miss her rolls.

We'll see how making the Coq au Vin ahead of time works

    I'm ready to stick a roasting pan of Coq au Vin in the oven. Of course, it's after 10 p.m., which makes things a little late.
    I was at Sam's Club the other day and bought a big package of chicken legs, which is what I use for Coq au Vin. This dish has to be prepared a bit ahead as it needs from two to five hours to cook. As a practical matter it means I have to prepare it in the morning, when I'm not at my best. On Monday and Tuesday I had a terrible cold, and on Wednesday I just never got around to doing it.
    I wasn't about to let roughly 24 chicken legs go bad. So tonight I fixed the kids the Mahatma Saffron Rice and cream of mushroom soup casserole. I then immediately started on the Coq au Vin, which I stuck in the fridge to await our next evening meal.
    I'll cut to the chase. Tomorrow's supper is ready. All I have to do is stick it in the over. The only question in my mind is whether it will be as good after sitting for 15 hours in the fridge. It might be better!
    I'll post a comment to let anyone interested know how it turns out.

Shephard's Pie is quick, easy, good, and cheap. Need I say more?

    I cooked Shephard's Pie for the kids tonight. Ash would be happy if I cooked this every night. Lucy says she doesn't want it so often; I need to be careful that it doesn't fall into the hamburger and spaghetti category.
    You may remember that I posted a while back on Menu Ideas to Please Kids and Protect Wallet. One of the menu items I mentioned was Shephard's Pie.
    I have a little Four-Way test that I use when it comes to cooking at home -- sort of a twist on the Rotary Club version.
First, Is it Good?
Second, Is it Quick?
Third, Is it Easy to Make?
Fourth, Is it Cheap?
    Shephard's Pie passes the Four Way test with flying colors.

Easy Shephard's Pie (Serves 4, Adjust accordingly)
1 lb. ground chuck, round or sirloin
1 small onion
1 small can sliced mushrooms or sliced fresh mushrooms
Some carrots (optional)
8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
A few slices bacon (optional)
Some minced garlic and other seasonings
1 package powdered mashed potatoes.

Chop an onion fine. If you wish you may cook three slices of bacon and set aside, then use bacon grease to brown onions. Otherwise just use a tablespoon of oil. Add carrots. If using fresh mushrooms add them now. Saute until onions are soft. If using canned mushrooms add them now and saute a bit more.

You may remove vegetables from pan or just push to one side and add meat. Brown meat. When meat is about two-thirds done add some minced garlic if you wish and stir all together and let meat finish cooking. After meat is brown drain.

Place meat mixture in a baking dish and mix in one can of cream of mushroom soup. This will mix better if you don't let the meat cool too much.

Prepare one pouch of mashed potatoes according to package directions, but add about one-half cup additional water. After the potatoes sit for a few minutes they will be runny. Add four ounces shredded cheddar and stir; this will stiffen them right up. Spoon and spread potato mixture over the ground beef mixture as evenly as possible. Grate a little pepper over the top and add other seasonings if desired, but don't add salt. Sprinkle top with four ounces shredded cheddar and crumbled bacon if you used any.

Cook at 300 degrees for about 45 minutes. Yum!

Cost analysis: The most expensive item is the beef, of course. If you shop the old meat rack or sales you ought to be able to get this for $2, otherwise figure on paying $3. The onion costs about 40 cents and the mushrooms 70 cents (don't use fresh unless they are just sitting around!). The few carrots, if used, add perhaps 50 cents. Shredded cheese was recently on sale for $3 per pound and I bought 10 pounds, so figure $1.50 for the cheese. Cream of mushroom soup always goes on sale at Thanksgiving or Christmas and I always buy about 50 cans at 50 cents each, so 50 cents on the soup. Bacon, if used, 50 cents. I bought a bunch of two-pouch boxes of mashed potatoes for a buck apiece sometime back, but since I haven't seen them on sale lately I'll figure a pouch of potatoes at 80 cents.
Meat $2.50
Onion .40
Mushrooms .70
Carrots if used .50
Cheese $1.50
Potato pouch .80
Cream of mushroom soup .50

Total cost of meal = $6.90

To save money or suit your taste you can omit some or all of the cheese.

Mammaw Moore's Chicken and Rice Casserole

    Here's another handwritten recipe, this one from my grandmother, Lessye Moore. It's for Chicken and Rice Casserole and has, among other things cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, cream of celery soup, and a stick and a half of butter. Makes my heart skip a beat just thinking about it!
    Rather than retype the recipe I'll just publish the handwritten version. Just click on it, and maybe click on it a second time to enlarge it.
    I'll cook this in the next few days and will report back on how it turns out!

ADDENDUM 10-18: I cooked this last night. Talk about SALTY! I do not recommend seasoning with the Lawry's or Season All. Use a seasoning for the chicken that has NO salt. Also, for your cans of soup, consider using one can of low-sodium soup.

I used almost a full soup can of water, and strongly suggest doing so. I also only used one stick of butter to pour over the top instead of a stick and a half. Also, it does need the full 1.5 hours cooking time, maybe a bit longer for the rice to get fully done. Next time I may cook it covered for the first 45 minutes to let the rice get steamed a bit more. Placing the chicken on top does let it get nice and brown, so I wouldn't want to have it covered for the whole cooking time.

Sara Hurdle's dirty rice recipe

    We're having grilled chicken and dirty rice for supper.
    I'm using my mother's recipe for dirty rice, which doesn't include sausage, as some recipes do. It's easy to make and was always a favorite of mine. With that said, I don't believe I've had it in 10 or 15 years. I pulled out mother's cookbook, there it was, and I decided to have a taste of the past.
    It's really easy to make -- the only work is chopping an onion and some celery and then sauteing them in some butter. It doesn't take long. Here's the recipe, followed by a scan of mother's handwritten copy. There's a certain electricity about the handwriting of loved ones who have passed on, don't you think?

Dirty Rice Casserole

1 large onion, chopped
Some celery, chopped fine
1 stick oleo or butter
1 cup raw rice
1 can beef consomme (to this add enough water to make 2 cups of liquid)
1 small can mushrooms -- stems and pieces

Saute onion and celery in butter and add to remaining ingredients in a casserole dish. Cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour.

Dinner is in the oven even as I type, but my guess is that you could get by just fine with three-fourths of a stick of butter and a couple of extra tablespoons of water. Consult your cardiologist on this.

    Oh, and I'm labeling this "Sara Hurdle's" recipe. I'm sure she got it from somewhere else, but I remember it as hers and that's all that matters.

Menu ideas to please the kids and protect the wallet

¶Jinny travels quite a bit and cooking for the children often falls to me. Sometimes they don't like my cooking, but more often they don't like my menu choices.
¶I like to serve spaghetti with meat sauce and hamburgers with French fries. A family of three or four can enjoy either for under $5, which is music to my ears and wallet. Unfortunately, the children are of the opinion that I serve these entirely too often.
¶Few things are more dangerous to the family food budget than not having any idea what to prepare for supper. That's when the restaurants start beconimg, with their no-work meals that cost five to 20 times as much as a meal prepared at home.
¶We decided to have a family meeting to make a list of things the family can have for supper without too much work. Perhaps not understanding the purpose of the meeting, Ash suggested that one of our meals should be dinner at Proud Larry's.
¶Ah, what a teaching moment! I explained that a family of four couldn't eat at Proud Larry's for less than $60, and the tab could easily top $80. A meal cooked at home, on the other hand, costs from $5 to $20.
¶Here are some of the supper items we came up with. I am often at a loss as to what to cook, so now I have a list to refer to. I almost always buy my meat off the discount rack and usually stock up on staples when they are on sale. So cooking at home can be really cheap!

Here's our list:
Baked Ziti
Shepard's Pie
Pot Roast with potatoes
Steak and potatoes
Beef Stroganof (Hamburger Helper okay!)
Coc au Vin
Fried Shrimp and fries (from the freezer section)
Tacos
Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni
Poppyseed Chicken (just as good without the poppyseed)
Lasagna (homemade or frozen)
Breakfast for supper
Burgers and fries
Cube Steak (I have no idea how to cook this or exactly what it is)
Chicken Spaghetti or Ro-tel Chicken
Grill cheese and tomato soup (children's idea)
Chicken Cordon Blue (bought frozen in packs of one or two)
Hot dogs and fries or chips
Shrimp or mushroom risotto
Spaghetti (the children say I cook this way too much)
Kabobs
Grilled/BBQ chicken
Ham
Chicken or Turkey with dressing
Chicken Marsala
Chicken Tetrazzini
Fried Chicken
Friend pork chop
Fish sticks and fries
Fried or grilled fish

I'll likely update this list and post a few of our favorite recipes in the near future. Not that they're anything special; just recipes we've found in various cookbooks or online.

For tonight we're having a pot roast I bought off the discount rack a couple of months ago for less than $4. Tomorrow night we're going to grill some large boneless pork chops that I bought this weekend off the discount rack for $5.05. Hopefully we can limit our dining this week to ColRebSez's kitchen.

Recipe: Pecan Pie Ice Cream

    It's recipe time! My friend Lisa Liddy recently mentioned ice cream on Facebook, and I promised to share what I consider to be the best ice cream recipe in the world.
    I decided to look on the Internet for a Pecan Pie ice cream recipe and I found one that had won a ribbon at a county fair. My reason for looking was my fond memories of Texas Gold brand Fudge Pecan Pie ice cream, which apparently isn't made any more.
    We have a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker
that we've really enjoyed. You put the canister in the freezer and when you are ready to make ice cream you just pour it in and turn it on. No muss, no fuss, and it really works and gets the ice cream good and frozen. After we get through churning it we put it in a container and stick it in the freezer so it will get good and hard. I highly recommend these, and if you want to get one click here to buy one and I'll make a dollar!
    Okay, that's enough self-promotion. On to the recipe. This is a custard ice cream, very rich. You can use a little less heavy cream and a little more half-and-half if you wish. The pie you use should be well cooked so that the sugar on top is caramelized. Also, after you chop up the pie, be sure to chill it; otherwise it will melt the ice cream when you add it. Here's the recipe:

PECAN PIE ICE CREAM

7 large egg yolks, beaten
1 Cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 ½ cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
2 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. maple extract
2 cups of Pecan pie, chopped

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the sugar and salt into the egg yolks until thickened and pale yellow. Set aside.

Bring the half-and-half to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan. Slowly beat the hot half-and-half into the eggs and sugar. Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and place over very low heat or in a double boiler. Stir constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon until the custard thickens slightly. Be careful not to let the mixture boil or the eggs will scramble. Remove from the heat and pour the hot custard through a strainer into a large, clean bowl. Allow the custard to cool slightly; then stir in the cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate until cool or overnight.

Fill cylinder of ice cream freezer two-thirds full; freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Add the CHILLED crumbled pecan pie when mixture is semi-frozen. Swirl milk chocolate fudge (optional) into the finished ice cream.