Making the Crème Anglaise

• First, cut your vanilla bean in half lengthwise and carefully scrape the seeds out with a knife. If you don't have fresh vanilla bean pods, you can use 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract instead.
• Add the milk, vanilla bean seeds, and the vanilla pod into a medium saucepan with half the sugar and cook over medium heat. Pro-tip: use a heavy saucepan to help prevent the milk from burning.
• Bring the milk to a simmer and then remove it from the heat. We are not trying to boil the milk, just heat it enough to infuse it with the vanilla flavor.
• Whisk the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar in a large bowl to break them up.
• Add ⅓ of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks, then whisk to combine. This will temper the eggs just enough so that they don't curdle when you add them to the hot milk.
• Add the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan and cook it over medium-low heat.
• Whisk the mixture constantly until it begins to gently bubble and thicken. Be very careful not to overheat the mixture. 
• Cook the mixture to 83°C (180°F) or "a la nappe." When the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and you can drag your finger across the center without the sauce dripping, it's ready. I like to use an instant-read thermometer from ThermoWorks.
• Strain the crème anglaise through a fine sieve into a clean bowl to remove the vanilla fibers.
• Cover it with plastic wrap and make sure that the plastic wrap is touching the top of the sauce to avoid a skin forming. If you want to serve the crème anglaise hot, heat it over a bain-marie to keep it warm. Or if you want to serve it cold, cool it down faster using an ice bath.
• This recipe will last in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.