simply cary’s favorite. give the guy a quart of this, set the tv to msnbc and he’d be a happy man.
except much to his dismay, i went and tainted this batch with some of my italian candied orange peel. so for him it was ever so slightly substandard and for me it was a little burst of lovliness. i like to think of it as a compromise, being that i had just made him a plain batch the week before.
you might be wondering about the bay leaf. it’s subtle. barely there. but it lends a really nice flavor that no one will be able to quite grasp, if notice at all. everyone will just be wondering, how is it that rice pudding - the lowliest of desserts can suddenly be so very good?
arborio rice pudding
adapted from smitten kitchen, who adapted it from gale gand
(i do want to mention the option of the egg yolk addition to the recipe below. i have used this method because i am an egg fiend and the addition of a yolk is quite wonderful. so if you are so inclined, crack a yolk into a small bowl and beat it with a small fork and then slowly and carefully add some of the heated milk to the yolk, being careful that it doesn’t ‘cook’. then when you have a smooth mixture, slowly add that back into the pot.)
1/2 cup arborio rice
4 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split
1 bay leaf
dried fruit such as raisins or orange rind (optional)
in a large saucepan, place all the ingredients except the fruit, if you’re using any. bring it to a low boil and then turn it down to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking to the bottom, for about 30 to 40 minutes. taste the rice to check for doneness. the rice should be very soft and plump. then remove from heat and stir in some dried fruit - if using - and allow it to sit for 5 minutes or so. remove the bay leaf and serve in individual dessert bowls,
serve steaming hot, plain hot, warmish, cold or frozen on a stick.
12 responses so far ↓
1 Mary Coleman // Jan 31, 2008 at 3:28 pm
The way to a man’s heart is through his tummy.
I haven’t had rice pudding in years. This looks wonderful, Claudia. I think I’ll try this for Groom. He loves pudding.
2 Ginger // Jan 31, 2008 at 6:48 pm
ooooh, rice pudding as a popsicle…that sounds really interesting! I might have to try that sometime…
3 claudia // Jan 31, 2008 at 6:52 pm
well - i was half joking, but las paletas has made them before - but maybe milkier… really - these would probably be fabulous - but you might wanna puree it a bit and add milk or cream or water to get a slightly thinner consistency…
4 democommie // Feb 1, 2008 at 6:19 am
Claudia:
Someday, when I don’t have ADD anymore, I will perhaps figure out how to do things like risotto and polenta. I actually make a sort of risotto with brown rice. It’s not the same as the real deal, for obvious reasons, but it’s still pretty good. I just really like brown rice.
I’ve never had any luck with polenta. I look at the package directions and try to follow them but the stuff seizes almost instantly. Maybe if I was to go to a villa in the Piedmont and stay there for a while… Having said that, my polenta is “wrong” but cut into wedges, grilled and finished with some sauteed veggies and a little fontina cheese, tres yummy.
Have you ever read “The Scavenger’s Guide to Haute Cuisine”? It’s a hoot. I was at the $ Store the other day and got a copy of “Great Chefs of the East” (1995) for a buck. It’s a soft cover companion book to the series of the same name, about American cookery. It’s got some great recipes and a lot of gorgeous presentation photos. They had about 50 copies, let me know if some folks want one.
5 Casey // Feb 1, 2008 at 3:08 pm
That candied orange peel would be fabulous in so many dishes. Love it!
6 clumsy // Feb 1, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Oh, I’ve never made rice pudding but I really need to. Thanks for including the recipe Claudia!
7 Maggie // Feb 1, 2008 at 8:04 pm
My husband loves rice pudding, so definitely gonna give this a try soon. Thank you!
8 Donald // Feb 2, 2008 at 9:23 am
I love rice pudding. My stepfather used to make it for us. He was Greek. But, you know, never, Arborio, just white rice. I must say write, that looks scrumptious!
Oh and by the way, you have been tagged.
http://mrorph.com/foodblog/a_stub.php/2008/02/02/7_things_about_me
9 FireDog // Feb 2, 2008 at 3:01 pm
OH,Oh,Oh,Oh,Ohhhh!
I’m a fool, anybody’s fool for rice pudding….
10 deb // Feb 3, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I’m glad you liked this. I happened upon the recipe after making a very complicated hour-plus baking time version that still tasted undercooked to me. I took what I thought was its best asset–the bay leaf–and added it to this simpler recipe. I love both the egg yolk and orange rind ideas and want to try them next time, so thank you!
11 Chris // Feb 4, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Thanks for commenting on my blog about BlueBird. I’ll put the NSAI info on the entry. Also, since you commented, I found your blog. . . I’m commenting on your polenta entry, too.
12 Dana // Feb 15, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Omg, rice pudding is THE comfort food. I love love love it.
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