Rice Pudding

Am I the only person who feels like I get stuck in repeat with recipes? I complained to my husband who always has the same answer – it goes like this – “How about pizza or hamburgers?” Feeling that wasn’t helpful, I invited him to look through my recipes and find something different. His answer was a surprise – he wanted Rice Pudding. Well, that’s not exactly dinner but I was intrigued.

I haven’t made Rice Pudding in a while.  The recipe from my Mom contained dried nonfat milk, probably a war time rationing recipe. I have improved on that greatly with whole milk and a little cream.

Instead of soaking the raisins in water, I discovered they soak even better in bourbon! A little research revealed that almost every country has some version of a rice pudding, in fact it is mentioned in manuscripts dating as far back as 6000 BCE. That’s all the history lessons for today, here is how you can make rice pudding! I like to use Jasmine rice, but I’m not really too picky. Be sure to give it a rinse before boiling for a few minutes in water. The fun part is when it cooks in whole milk. It looks like a ridiculous amount of milk but somehow it all get absorbed.

Sugar, eggs, cream, vanilla, lemon zest and those bourbon soaked raisins get added and it’s ready for a quick 10 minute bake. It’s delicious hot or cold. It keeps nicely for a few days unless it is living with my husband. It’s really just a marvelous dessert all the way around. I suggest giving this a try very soon. You won’t regret it. Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ cups rice (Jasmine works best for me)

½ cups raisins

2 Tbsp bourbon

1 quart whole milk

½ cup heavy cream

¾ cups sugar

4 egg yolks

2 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch of salt and sprinkle of cinnamon

Directions

Rinse and boil rice in water to cover for 10 minutes then drain and return to the pot.

Soak raisins in bourbon.

Stir milk, sugar and a pinch of salt into the rice and simmer gently for 30 minutes or until it starts to thicken.

Mix egg yolks with cream and gradually add ½ cup of rice mixture.

Stir egg mixtur  into the rice and add in drained raisins, vanilla, and lemon zest.

Sprinkle with a little cinnamon and bake for 10 to 12 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Serve warm, room temperature, or cold. No garnish necessary!