Kind little rituals seem to go a long way toward making marriage work, so almost every weekend, I make my husband some sweet tea. He's a Southern boy by birth (Brooklynian by marriage), and having a big ol' pitcher easily grabbable in the fridge seems to right any Mason Dixon imbalance he might be suffering at the time. I've got it down to a science, proportion-wise, but this past weekend, his itch for a sugar fix kicked in while I was at the grocery store. What he made tasted divine, but there was just too much for one pitcher, and not enough refrigerator room for a second.

If nothing else, the nuns at St. Scorpacciata instilled in me the mortal fear of wasting food, and seeing how I'd been at the store to buy milk (which neither of us usually drink) for a Bolognese, I decided sherbet would be what saved our souls from eternal damnation. I suppose we won't know for a while if that worked, but it did taste pretty damned delicious.



Soul-Saving Sweet Tea Sherbet

3 cups strong tea
1 cup simple syrup
1 cup milk

For simple syrup
Pour 1 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar into a saucepan and stir together. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and stir until thickened. Turn off heat, and set aside to cool.


Brew your favorite black tea (I personally like Lipton or Luzianne) double-strength, measure 3 cups into a large bowl, and stir in 1 cup simple syrup while the tea is still hot. Cool to room temperature.

Once it's cooled, stir in 1 cup of whole milk until thoroughly mixed. Pour into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions to chill.

If you don't have an ice cream maker, either place the bowl in the freezer, and remove every half hour to beat with a whisk or electric immersion blender OR pour the mixture into 1 lb coffee can and seal it tightly. Place that can into a 3lb coffee can, and layer ice and rock salt around it and seal that tightly as well. Roll the large can between your feet or between two people for 10-15 minutes. Then open the can, take the smaller can out, clean it off, unseal, and stir the contents. Reseal the can, Pack it into the larger can, place in more ice and rock salt and repeat the process until the mixture is semi frozen. Pour it into a container and place in the freezer until it reaches desired solidity.