Cherry Choconut Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups sliced Bing, Lapin or Sweetheart cherries
1 pint whipping cream
1 pint half and half
2 egg yolks (to eliminate risk of food poisoning from raw eggs, use pasteurized eggs product for this recipe)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped raw almonds
1/2 cup shaved dark chocolate (or to taste)

Whisk whipping cream, half and half, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add cherries and stir. Chill mixture for 30 minutes in freezer. Pour into ice cream maker canister.

Run machine until mixture reaches milkshake consistency. Add almonds and chocolate and mix until they're incorporated. Continue running machine until ice cream reaches desired consistency.

My Basic Cherry Ice Cream This ice-cream isn't overly sweet and is packed with big. juicy cherry chunks. It has a honey finish and tastes best the same day it is made.

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup honey (light flavored honey is best for this recipe)
3/4 pounds Bing, Lapin, or Sweetheart cherries, pitted and torn into chunks
3 tablespoons cherry liquor or cherry brandy or Amaretto

Place cream, milk, and honey in a medium saucepan. Stir to dissolve the honey. Heat over low to moderate heat, stirring from time to time, until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Be careful not to heat to a full-out boil.

Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Add the chopped cherries and liquor. Cover and refrigerate until completely chilled. Don't skimp here or your ice-cream might not set up. Stir the mixture again to blend and transfer it to an ice cream maker. Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions and eat the same day.