Thomas Jefferson's Vanilla Ice Cream

2 quarts heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
6 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar

1. Bring the cream and vanilla bean to a simmer in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir frequently until fragrant--about 5 minutes. Whisk egg yolks in a bowl until smooth and whisk in sugar. Mixture will be thick.

2. Slowly beat about 1 cup of the hot cream into the egg yolks and gradually stir this egg mixture into the hot cream. Cook, stirring constantly until lighly thickened--enought to coat the back of a spoon--about 5 minutes. Strain the custard through a double layer of cheesecloth or a fine strainer--and remove vanilla bean. stir until slightly cooled. Cover and refrigerate until chilled--at least 1 hour or overnight.

3. Freeze the custard in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturere's directions until set but still a little soft. Scoop the ice cream into a 3-quart mold, or several smaller molds, running a spatula through the ice cream and tapping the mold firmly to remove any air bubbles. Fill the molds completely. Cover and freeze until set, about 2-4 hours.