For me, the best comfort food ending to a family dinner is a dish of warm, homemade rice pudding. I used to make a baked version until I realized the creamy way it turned out before the baking, tasted much better. Cooking it on the stove top also frees up the oven for the main course. With all the preparations going on for Holy Week Services and Easter Sunday, it is nice to have a go-to recipe to end an evening meal. It is also quite good cold and for breakfast the next morning!
Stove-Top Rice Pudding
1 cup uncooked rice, not the quick-cooking variety, I like Uncle Ben's Rice
½ cup granulated sugar
3 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Dash ground cloves
Combine the uncooked rice, sugar and milk in heavy-gauge cooking pan. Cook over a medium to high heat, stirring constantly until it comes to a boil. Immediately reduce heat, cover and simmer very gently (approximately 30 minutes) or until milk is just about all absorbed. It doesn't hurt to lift the lid and check frequently, especially if this is your first time out! Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and spices. Can be served hot, warm or cold. If you double the recipe, you may have some left over for breakfast!
If you are looking for a more substantial pudding with a fruity flavor, you can add a cup of coarsely chopped apples. Mix chopped apples with a dash of brandy or squeeze of lemon and a sprinkling of sugar before stirring into pudding after it has been cooked. A family that likes raisins would probably welcome a quarter cup of rum-soaked raisins dumped in when the pudding is set to cool down.
Remember that the apples and/or raisins go into the rice pudding after the pudding is cooked. If you put them in at the beginning, you will have a curdled mess!
No comments:
Post a Comment