We have a hand-crank Donvier we got when we were married in 1995 that is almost constantly in use from about the 4th of July to mid-September. (The brand-name one is overpriced. Get a clone, which can be had for under $20 on sale.) DH wants an electric and I may get him one for his birthday (which is 2 days after Christmas LOL) if end-of-summer sales yield any REALLY good prices on reliable machines. Here's the base recipe we use, from the Ben & Jerry's book... I don't think you could GET any simpler, and it's surprisingly good. We pretty much never use a custard base because our kitchen is not air conditioned, and diddling around making custard in a 90-odd degree kitchen is officially Not Worth It in our book. For a 1 quart ice cream maker, combine 1 can sweetened, condensed milk (many of us remember it as "Eagle milk") with 2 cups light cream, a splash of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Do NOT leave out the salt! Stir well, chill at least 2 hours before putting in the ice cream maker. You can substitute full-fat ("cream top") vanilla yogurt for half the cream but it doesn't really save you much calorically, just does interesting things to the flavor and can make you feel a little virtuous LOL! Lower-fat yogurts give a strange chalky texture and unsweetened yogurt makes for very sour product. (Found from unpleasant experience that just chucking a quart of yogurt straight from the container into the ice cream maker, no matter how yummy it is normally, does not make nice frozen yogurt, oh no not at all!) There's a simple plain base, now start playing... A super easy way to get a delicious fruity flavor ice cream is to substitute 1 cup of a good strong jam for 1 cup of the cream. (I don't recommend doing both jam and yogurt and eliminating all the cream. The result came out... the only word I can find for it is "stretchy".) The jam concentrates the fruit's flavor; warm "seedy" jams like raspberry or blackberry until they're liquidy and push them through a strainer if you don't want to be picking seeds out of your teeth for days. If you want fruit pieces, line a cookie sheet with the nonstick foil or baking parchment (or a Silpat if you're blessed with one), spread out a layer of finely chopped fruit with the pieces not touching, or minimally touching, and freeze rock solid. Add the fruit pieces at the very end of churning. Toast any nuts you wish to add for a stronger, "nuttier" flavor; and grating frozen chocolate bars on the largest holes of a grater (use an oven mitt to hold the chocolate so your body heat doesn't melt it) gives a better result IMO than using chocolate chips, even the mini kind. If you want to use something like butterscotch chips, freeze them and break them up in small batches in a food processor on "pulse". Good use for one of those mini-chopper types. Remember that your liquid ice cream/sorbet/yogurt mixture has to be almost sickeningly-sweet in its unfrozen state to taste "normal" as a finished product - the cold numbs your taste buds so all the flavors have to be STRONG. Oh, and filling the churning chamber more than about 2/3 full, 3/4 at the most, can be a recipe for a Big Sticky Mess. So don't do it. Honey-sweetened ice cream does not store well more than 24 hours - it gets crumbly and weird-textured, so if you want to do something with honey, have enough people around to scarf it down within hours of curing. Alcohol will interfere in the solidifying process so if you really load it up even with an overnight cure you may not get more than a "soft serve" texture. We bought a whole slew of nice little (not quite 1/2 cup) lidded plastic containers into which we portion the ice cream while it's still in the "soft serve" state. Pop them in the freezer and in 4 hours it's solidified enough to have the proper ice cream "mouthfeel", although I like 8 hours' curing time. If we don't pre-portion it DH will go WAY overboard! Oh, and the famous Mark Bittman/New York Times "eggless ice cream" was IMNSHO utterly REVOLTING.

This is a tried and true recipe. One I have been making for over 25 years. Boston Cream Pies are best made the day before or early in the day so that the cream filling has a chance to meld with the cake. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Boston Cream Pie ================ 1/3 Cup butter 1 Cup sugar 1 egg 1 1/2 Cup sifted all-purpose flour 2 1/2 teaspoous baking powder 1/4 Teaspoon salt 2/3 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla . Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffly. Add the egg and beat until creamy. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Add alternately with the combined milk and vanilla. Turn the batter into a greased and floured 9-inch round layer cake pan. Bake in a 350° oven for about 30 minutes, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched in the center. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then turn out and cool completely; Place the cake on a serving plate and split horizontally into two layers with a serrated knife. Carefully remove the top layer. Fill with the chilled Cream Filling. Replace the top half and pour the warm Chocolate Icing over the top, spreading only to the edges. Chill. (When allowed to stand for several hours, the filling seeps into the cake, making the cake and filling seem almost as one.) Cream Filling 1/2 cup sugar 3 egg yolks 3 tablespoons flour 1 tablespoon butter 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/2 cups milk Combine the sugar, flour, and salt in a saucepan. Gradually stir in the milk. Cook over low heat, stirring until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil, stirring for 1 minute. Beat the egg yolks slightly. Gradually stir in about half the thickened sauce. Return to the heat and cook. stirring 2 or 3 minutes longer to take away the flour taste. Remove from the heat and blend in the butter. Strain into a bowl. Cool for a few minutes, then blend in the vanilla. Cover and cool, then chill. Chocolate Icing 2 squares of chocolate 1 cup sifted icing sugar 2 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoons hot water 1 teaspoon vanilla Melt the chocolate and butter the microwave on medium low power. Stir until smooth, and blend in the icing sugar and hot water. Stir until smooth and slightly thickened (do not beat). Stir in the vanilla. Use immediately. Here is a link that might be useful: Thibeault's Table The Recipe Collection

CLASSIC CHESS PIE WITH VARIATIONS 1 (15 oz.) pkg. refrigerated piecrusts (or make your own) 2 cups sugar 2 Tblsp. cornmeal 1 Tblsp. all-purpose flour 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted 1/4 cup milk 1 Tblsp. white vinegar 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 4 large eggs, lightly beaten Unfold piecrusts, and stack on a lightly floured surface. Roll into 1 (12-inch) circle. Fit piecrust into a 9-inch pie plate according to package directions; fold edges under, and crimp. Line piecrust with aluminum foil and fill crust with pie weights or dried beans. Bake at 425° F. for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove weights and foil; bake 2 to 3 minutes more or until golden. Let cool completely. Stir together sugar and next 7 ingredients until blended. Add eggs, stirring well. Pour into piecrust. Bake at 350° F. for 50 to 55 minutes, shielding edges of pie with aluminum foil after 10 minutes to prevent excessive browning. Cool pie complete on a wire rack. Coconut Chess Pie: Prepare filling as directed; stir in 1 cup toasted coconut before pouring into piecrust. Bake as directed. Chocolate-Pecan Chess Pie: Prepare filling as directed; stir in 3-1/2 Tblsp. cocoa and 1/2 cup toasted pecans before pouring into crust. Bake as directed. Lemon Chess Pie: Prepare filling as directed; stir in 1/3 cup lemon juice and 2 tsp. grated lemon rind before pouring into piecrust. Bake as directed.

BLACK BOTTOM ORANGE MANGO TART Crust: 1 1/4 cup crushed chocolate graham crackers 1/4 cup finely crushed walnuts (should be powdery) 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/3 cup melted butter Filling: 1 pkg orange Jello 1/2 cup boiling water 1/2 cup orange juice 3 oz cream cheese 1/4 cup sugar 2 cups fresh mango, put in a processor until smooth 1 pint heavy cream, whipped until firm peaks form To make crust, assemble all ingredients & mix in medium bowl. Press into a lightly buttered glass pie dish. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 10 minutes; remove & set aside. To make filling: dissolve the Jello in 1/2 cup boiling water, adding in the orange juice as well. With a hand mixer combine the cream cheese, sugar & mango until smooth. Gradually mix in the Jello & fold in the whipped cream. Pour into the graham crust & chill until firm, approximately 4 hours.~~Taste of the Caribbean