I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for...Soupy Cream?

We got an ice cream maker!!!!

That's right, our own creamy, dreamy frozen confections!  I was so excited to use it.  I popped the freezing drum in the freezer for 24 hours, and as soon as that 24 hours had passed, I made the base for a simple vanilla ice cream.  I poured it into the ice cream machine and started it churning.

I went into the living room to watch a hockey game (Blackhawks, my dear).  I checked on the ice cream about every five minutes.  The recipe book said it should take about 20-25 minutes for the ice cream to set.  After the second period of the hockey game started, the consistency of the ice cream was the same as it was when I started the machine.

I didn't get it.  I had let the drum freeze, and for a good long time at that.  I followed the recipe to the letter.  But when I pored over the instructions for using the ice cream maker itself, I discovered that I had taken the freezing drum out of the freezer far too soon, and I forgot to shake it to make sure that the liquid inside the drum had frozen entirely.

And so today, on New Year's Eve, I took the drum from the freezer once more, filled it with the ice cream mixture, and put it in the machine to churn.  Twenty minutes later, I had a drum of ice cream the consistency of soft serve, and after putting it in a bowl in the freezer for a couple of hours, I must say, it probably rivals Edy's.  Just perfect for an ice cream sundae.