Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split
• 6 egg yolks, whisked
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons vodka (optional)
• 12  ounces  strawberries, hulled
• 1/4  cup  sugar
• 2  tablespoons  lemon juice
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 1  tablespoon  vodka (optional)

Directions

1. In a saucepan over gentle heat, warm 1 cup of the cream, the milk, sugar, and salt. Scrape the seeds, with the edge of a knife, from the vanilla pod into the warming milk mixture, and add the pod as well. When hot, remove from heat, cover, and allow to steep for at least 15 minutes, or up to an hour.
2. Place the egg yolks in a mixing bowl. Slowly pour the vanilla mixture into the yolks while continuously whisking, and then transfer the mixture back into the saucepan. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat until it thickens and coats your spoon - as thick as an eggnog or melted milkshake. Remove from heat.
3. Pour the remaining cup of cream into a mixing bowl. Strain the hot custard mixture into the cold cream, removing the vanilla bean. Stir in the vanilla extract, and taste. If you’d like a bit more salt, add it now. Cool over an ice batch or cool completely in a refrigerator for a few hours, or overnight. Churn in an ice cream maker, per manufacturer’s instructions. Smear along the inside of a freezer-proof container or carton, and place in freezer while you churn the berry sorbet.
4. Puree the berries in a high speed blender. Add the sugar and blend for another minute. Add the lemon juice and salt, blending for a few more seconds, strain to get rid of any seeds or chunks. Refrigerate for up to a few day, churn per manufacturer’s instructions, adding vodka near the end. Transfer to the container with the vanilla, and use a big spatula to pull and stir the vanilla through the berry in two or three big swirls. Resist the urge to over stir.