In a medium bowl, beat the sugar and salt into the egg yolks until thickened and pale yellow. Set aside.
Bring the half and half to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan or double boiler. Slowly beat the hot half and half mixture into the eggs and sugar. Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and place over very low heat or back in the double boiler. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon until the custard thickens slightly and coats the back of the wooden spoon. Be careful not to let the mixture boil or the eggs will scramble. Remove from heat and pour the hot custard through a strainer into a large, clean bowl. Allow to cool slightly, and stir in the cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate until cold or overnight.
Stir the chilled custard, and then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.
When finished, the ice cream will be soft, but ready to eat. For firmer ice cream, transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze at least 2 hours.
Notes
This recipe makes about 1.5 pints of ice cream. Typically, ice cream servings are measured in half cups, so this would be about 6 servings.