On the Lamb threw a Speakeasy last night… complete with Bathtub Gin and Juice, Pork and Wild Boar Sliders and Cherry Bourbon Ice Cream. There was bourbon and scoundrels as far as the eye could see. Before we get down and dirty with my new favorite ice cream flavor, here’s a peek at what setting up a roarin’ Speakeasy looks like.
A Speakeasy requires a guest list, a password at the door, and a cash box for cashmoney.
The menu. Stellar.
I think every good Speakeasy should have the option to play Spin the Bottle… don’t you?
As the night progressed, we would come to know these strawberry flavored marshmallows very well.
Silly games for a party full of strangers.
We are the ladies of On the Lamb and we require pretty dresses.
We had streamers on the ceiling. No… these streamers did not hang themselves. We hung them. Every one.
Ever go snooping in a medicine cabinet? Yea…. me too. We have candy in our medicine cabinet. Everybody wins.
Brioche buns for the pork and veal sliders. Shut up. So good!
We run a tight ship. Our night was all planned out.
And before we got the hungry grumpies from all our prep work, Rachel made us lunch. Bless her soul.
The Speakeasy was a raging success. Pictures of the evening will be up shortly. I was running around with food and cocktails, not my camera. Thank you to everyone who shared their evening with us. You people made our gathering amazing! Y’all know how to bring the fun! Thank you for your support and your thirst and your appetites.
If you’d like to know more about On the Lamb and be on the mailing list for our upcoming events, check out onthelambfb.com. Oh! Daily Candy likes us too.. RAD!
Now let’s get down to business. We have some ice cream to talk about… just about the best ice cream ever! Bourbon soaked cherries in a gorgeous vanilla ice cream. Take a few days to soak dried cherries in bourbon. They’re amazing in desserts, in cocktails, in your face… you can’t go wrong.
This ice cream base is Alton Brown’s recipe. I love that it is devoid of eggs. Sometimes ice cream bases with egg yolks get a little too… eggy for me. In this recipe, the cream is heated to 170 degrees F, then cooled overnight and churned the next day. It works out wonderfully! The bourbon in this recipe really works to keep the ice cream pretty soft even when it’s in the freezer. Dreamy. Do it.
Cherry Bourbon Ice Cream
adapted from Alton Brown
makes 1 quart of ice cream
2 cups half and half
1 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons cherry preserves (not jelly. preserves)
1 vanilla bean split and scraped
1/4 cup bourbon soaked cherries, roughly chopped
1 to 2 cups of bourbon for soaking cherries, 2 Tablespoons bourbon for the recipe
Make bourbon soaked cherries by combining 1/2 cup dried cherries with 1 to 2 cups of bourbon. Let the mixture sit in a clean jar with a lid, for at least two days. Once the cherries have plumped up you can make this ice cream with the cherries and a bit of the bourbon… and you can sit around just sipping on the rest of the bourbon. Deeelicious.
Combine all ingredients except the chopped cherries and bourbon, in a large saucepan over medium heat. Place a candy or frying thermometer in the milk mixture. Stirring occasionally, bring the mixture to 170 degrees F. This is pretty hot for milk. If your milk breaks a bit, don’t worry too much. It’ll work out in the end.
Once 170 degrees F is reached, remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Remove the vanilla bean and add the chopped cherries and bourbon. Stir to combine and place mixture in a lidded container and refrigerate overnight. This will allow the flavors to mellow and improve the texture of the milk.
Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The mixture will not freeze hard in the machine but will increase in volume and be the texture of soft serve ice cream. Place the mixture in a container with a lid and freeze for at lease one hour before serving.
{ 68 comments… read them below or add one }
And I thought you were cool before! Seriously you are at a new level of coolness in my book!
~Kristin
I was immediately sold on the cheery + bourbon combo! My mom drinks bourbon (like a fish…did I just say that?) and I STILL eat the cherries out of her Manhattans. The speakeasy looks amazing. I wish I lived near you. I seriously had a dream last night that I baked cookies with you…hope that is not oversharing. :)
I actually don’t like cherry flavor, or bourbon, and yet somehow…I still want to eat this! :)
Your get-together sounds like a blast!
What an awesome party! Looks like you had every fun angle well covered. I’ve come to find that I prefer my vanilla ice cream eggless too. It seems to have a cleaner taste and let the vanilla shine through. Bourbon soaked cherries? Heaven.
Ooh that looks like such a lovely time! And that ice cream sounds amazing. Now I want to try bourbon-soaked cherries in cake and pancakes and pies and tarts and oatmeal and…
uh oh. Look what you’ve started :)
Wow, you guys throw a mean party. I want to go to there.
Bourbon and Cherries????? Two of my absolute favorite things. MUST make this recipe! Yum!
And the party sounds awesome! Congrats!
i had the best cherry bourbon chocolates at Christmas… I have a feeling I will LOVE this ice cream!
Ok, I love ice cream and cherries a LOT, but I think I mostly want to make this so I can drink that cherry-bourbon!
How delicious! I usually pair cherries with rum,, because that’s usually what I have on hand, :) but I love the aroma of bourbon and should keep some in stock. This sounds delicious! Love your pictures too, I have never been here but it’s nice to visit! Ciao..
the speakeasy looks awesome and the ice cream DAMN good!
You certainly know how to throw a party! Love the details. And that ice cream…what? Looks SO good!
YUM! I must try those soaked cherries.
What a fantastic idea for a party!! And that ice cream? Two scoops for me, please!
I actually prefer the egg custard base in ice creams, but this one looks fabulous! I’m glad you all had such a great time!
your parties make me desperately wish i lived in the LA area. TOO much fun. if you ladies ever throw a shin-dig in PDX, i’d be there in a heartbeat!
thanks for sharing – looks AMAZING!
Oooh cherry bourbon ice cream, now this sounds good to me!
The speakeasy sounds like it was a blast! Love the cherry and bourbon ice cream and also love that it is devoid of eggs because my little guy is allergic to eggs.
Joy, where did you get this plate? Its amazing.
It’s an old vintage set I got from my grandmother. Pretty pretty.
Joy, you really bring so much delight to my day when you have a new post. Thank you..thank you. I am going to keep up my goal to lose weight and exercise this year, but later this year I will be making this ice cream, mocha hot fudge sauce and a batch of peanut butter blondies!!! Yum.
You and your ice cream make this world a better place. Thanks for knowing that and for sharing with us.
I think I can prepare an ice cream cherry bourbon in Brazil.
Candy in the med cabinet – love.
nice job being featured in DC :)! and is the ice cream machine a necessity?
My DH gave me my first bottle of bourbon for Christmas…must soak some cherries…NOW! Since it’s warmed into the 70′s here in the Valley of the Sun, I’ve been thinking about making some ice cream…this will do quite nicely. Joy, you continue to amaze and inspire me!!
What a fun evening and what a scrumptious-sounding ice cream!
Wow! This looks absolutely lovely. I don’t have an ice cream maker so sadly I’ll have to sit this one out. I’ve made almost ALL of your recipes. You’re my favorite!
Joy,
I know nothing about bourbon but am now intrigued (ice cream will do that to me)… what is your favorite bourbon?
Love your site!
Alton’s original ice cream is awesome to begin with, this sounds even better.
Cherry and bourbon that makes an incredible combo!
Wow..looks like this was definitely a fun night and oh wow, what food! :)
“Ever go shopping in someone else’s medicine cabinet? Yeah, me too.” You’re amazing…seriously make me laugh out loud sometimes. This looks like an amazing event–looks like all of the hard work really paid off. Beautiful!!!
It looks SINFULLY delish!
I didn’t realize that I could make ice cream without the egg yolks?! Since we’re on the topic, I’ve been wondering… some recipes call for the whole egg, just the yolk, and now as I see from your recipe, one can leave the egg out entirely. Would you happen to know what, or if any, is the difference in terms of texture, consistency, and flavor amongst these options?
Thanks!
Must have been a wonderful party, I hope to see new photos soon.
have fun!
Everything looks amazing, from the fluffy strawberry marshmallows to the pretty plates with and candy striped streamers (hanging those must not have been too much fun) to those gorgeous girly dresses! Thanks so much for sharing with those of us who are many miles away! :)
I do not know exactly what a speakeasy is, but it looks like you girls did a mighty fine job of planning it! The menu is great, and I am sure the ice cream is splendid too.
Joy–I have an old vintage dance card, and it would be an honor scan it for you to use at your next soiree–just send me an email.
I just got over my lust for an immersion blender; now I’m eying that purdy ice-cream maker over in the corner…
thank you Dava! that’s really thoughtful!
ok where can I get ice cream cups like that?
a magical placed called Target!
That Ice cream sounds amazing! Wow!
I love cherry ice cream! Now to get myself an ice cream maker… Thanks!
What an amazing party, and AMAZING ice cream. I loved every word of this post.
Love it all… wish I had a medicine cabinet to put candy in!
I love it! What a fabulous party idea!
You never fail to amaze me! Good job!
I’m on a major ice cream kick right now, I haven’t put my ice cream maker away in weeks.
I will definitely be trying this!
So fun!
We used to play that game with the cards on the wall in college… we called it “WALL OF DEATH”. As you can imagine with a name like that, it was important to imbibe lots of bourbon before playing wall of death….
You had me at bourbon because I lurve ice cream flavored with it (I made a Manhattan ice cream last summer and never posted it — my bad!) but now I am also kicking myself because I didn’t pressure the Mister to go to that rad dinner! It looks fabulous! Also, I covet the red and white flowered party dress.
How fun! I LOVE that flower plate!
Oh Joy, you are always making my mouth water!
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