i know, that title is pretty much a mouthful, but since this ice cream is so creamy and wonderful…it really is a tasty mouthful at that. also, to the people in my life that really know me, i am not the biggest fan of strawberry things. i have had a lifelong aversion to strawberry jam and other strawberry flavored items…the texture of the strawberries weirds me out and i have a few unsavory choice names that i call them. but, since i discovered the pairing of strawberries and balsamic and homemade jam, this has changed. seriously. i find myself spooning strawberry jam straight out of the refrigerator and dipping the fresh fruit (and other fruits) into a little bowl of balsamic. i am a fiend. i suppose my vices could be worse.

so, i know it is the fourth of july for those of us in the US, but i wanted to post this really quickly before my friends arrive for our party. yay party! i pretty much made 2 gallons…yes, gallons…of sangria. it will be a pretty fun time.

anyhow, back to the ice cream. i decided to make this after my friend amber and her beau, brian, visited from nyc. we went to the chocolate bar and i had a pretty wonderful drink called strawberry infusion. i seriously could have consumed ten of these…and stumbled down the street and into the river. it was basically made with vodka, strawberries, lime, balsamic and cracked pepper. soooooo good. for the ice cream, i borrowed this recipe from one of my faves, tartlette. i basically followed the general base and did my own thing with the rest. to the custard i added 2 tsp balsamic vinegar and about 1/4 cup of strawberry balsamic jam that was sitting in my refrigerator. like i said, super creamy. the balsamic was pretty delightful in this, not too strong, and as always complimentary with the strawberry. in retrospect i should have been braver and added some cracked pepper. dang.

let me just tell you that this is going to be a pretty delightful treat to go with the mini chocolate and vanilla pound cakes i made today…more on those later. hopefully we can enjoy the two together while we toast sangria and beers and watch the fireworks from our balcony. have a happy holiday!