Chamomile Ice Cream
2 c. milk
1/4 c. whole dried chamomile flowers
1/2 cup sugar
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup well-chilled heavy cream
Special equipment: an ice cream maker (see ** below for note on our opinion of certain types of ice cream maker).

Bring milk, chamomile, 1/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a pan, stirring, then remove from heat and let steep 30 minutes. Strain chamomile out of milk. For some subtle texture you can add 1/4 tsp of chamomile petals back into the milk.

Beat yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a bowl with a mixer until thick and pale, about 1 minute. Add milk mixture, beating until combined well. Pour mixture into reserved saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture coats back of spoon and is almost pudding-like in consistency(do not let boil). Immediately remove from heat. Chill mixture over night.

Stir in cream and freeze in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an container and store in freezer at least 2 hours.

Lemon Curd Tart

Sara's Lemon Curd Tart
I used a 12" fluted tart pan that the bottom lifts out of.
Lemon Curd
6 large egg yolks
6 large whole eggs
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
8 tbl unsalted butter, cut in pieces
grated zest of 2 lemons

Whisk eggs in a medium sauce pan, add sugar, lemon juice and salt. Stir
constantly while cooking over low heat in a heavy bottom saucepan with a wooden
spoon. Cook about 10 minutes, until the mixture coats the back of spoon.
Remove pan from heat, let cool slightly. If the mixture is lumpy, pour
through a strainer. Add the butter, a piece at a time, stirring until smooth.
Stir in the zest. Cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from
forming. Let cool completely.

While the curd is cooling...

Cornmeal Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
8 tbl cold butter
2 large egg yolks
3-4 tbl cold water

Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter in
small pieces with a pastry cutter, until crumbly. Mix the eggs with the cold water.
Add to dry ingredients. Stir with a fork, until it becomes coherent enough to knead
together in the bowl. Add more water if the mixture seems dry. Press into a flat disk,
wrap in plastic and chill.

This crust recipe usually makes two 9" crusts, but I used all of it for the
12" tart.

When dough is chilled, roll out between sheets of plastic to about a 14"
circle. Transfer to the tart pan, sans plastic wrap. Bake in a preheated 350
degree oven for about 20 minutes, until it is just golden.

Let crust cool. Spread cooled lemon curd over crust. Chill until ready to
serve.

If your lucky, you'll have a smart friend make a lucious Chamomile ice cream
to go with.

**We recommend that you avoid the fancy new ice cream makers - makers that advertise that they have the freezer part built in. Buy the ice cream makers where you must add ice & salt as you crank. We made the mistake of using the freeze and pray brand of ice cream maker. You know, the kind that doesn't require ice or salt. Rather you must freeze the canister overnight and then pray that it doesn't run out of cold when you're churning the cream. In our case, our prayers were not answered. The frozen canister was thaw long before the ice cream was sufficiently hardened. Unfortunately, we don't have a soft serve ice cream machine so we stored the under-done cream in the freezer. There it proceeded to turn crystalline - giving it a nasty freezer burn consistency. Go old fashion. We suggest you select "Dirty Work" by Steely Dan in your iTunes, round up a crew of crank-willing friends, and make sure you have lots of ice and rock salt on hand to get that real ice cream consistency.