Shhh...don't tell, I've never been a big fan of rice pudding. Oh, wait, that's not a secret. But I wouldn't want to disclose that everywhere before I gave this recipe a fair shot. My hopes for this recipe were not as high as the Orange Cranberry Sauce, but I wasn't entirely disappointed either. I simply don't like bland food, and this is still bland. Though it got a fairly good reception when I treated James' family to midnight dessert on New Year's Eve. I didn't know how else to get rid of it;-).
So, this recipe calls for aromatic long-grain rice, such as Louisiana popcorn rice, Texmati, basmati, or jasmine. I got Jasmine. I couldn't find Louisiana popcorn rice. So, I got the one that met my budget instead. Since I think the aromatic of the rice plays a part and some people liked this recipe, if they find some Louisiana popcorn rice, I'll make it again or copy the recipe for them.
Also involved are an equal amount of water, standard amount of cinnamon stick (about 3 inches long), a couple pinches of salt, 2 pinches ground cardamom, 1 pinch ground coriander 4 amounts of whole milk, 1/4 amount of heavy cream(plus more for serving), a little over 1/3 of the amount of brown sugar, plus more for serving. I used a little extra of the brown sugar and spices. I usually do spice heavily, and as I mentioned before, I don't like bland foods.
This took a little patience, as you heated the rice with water and spices first, boil, stir, cover and simmer on low until water is absorbed. Then you add the milk 1 to 2 amounts at a time until it is thick and creamy, about 8 minutes each time. Stir the rice frequently at first and near constantly as more milk is absorbed. It will stick to the pan if you don't.
When the milk is absorbed, remove the pan from the heat, cover, leave alone for 15 minutes. Rice pudding is to be served warm with heavy cream and brown sugar.
This pudding traveled in my new Christmas gift(a 3 quart enameled cast iron pot in red) to Cadillac for a New Year's Eve family gathering with James' brother and sisters. His other brother, Bill, smartly departed snowy Michigan for Florida. They have returned, I'm not sure why;-).
My favorite part of this dish was hearing that some people did like rice pudding and most were willing to try it. I try not to force my cooking on too many people. Though if they're good, I'm going to probably make you want them. My second favorite part of serving this dish was heating it up as the ball dropped and serving it after our champagne toast and hugs around the room. I thought we should have simply formed to concentric circles and turned in opposite directions, but that takes all the fun out it, I guess.
Most that tried the pudding enjoyed it, I was really glad for that. Even more glad though, was receiving Ben's suggestion that I add some orange pieces to pudding. It was a good suggestion, the citrus flavor went really well with the pudding. Ben added just lime to his serving before I put orange in anything and it added a nice subtle hint of something more than just rice pudding. I expect this pudding could pair well with many citrus flavor. I've also been told and have seen that some put raisins in the rice pudding, which would likely cook up well, just use less sugar. I'd be curious about bananas sometimes. I suspect that things that go well with milk would work really well in this pudding, especially those that go well with cinnamon and cardamom.
I will not be as likely to make this recipe for myself again, but if requested for a special occasion will kindly provide it. At that time, I may experiment with the bananas. But that could be another blog.
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