TWD: Arborio Rice Pudding

I was so happy when I saw this would be on tap for this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe! I LOOOOVE rice pudding...love, love it. I have not made it in ages--and what I do remember in making it involved putting it in the oven, in a pan of water...It was one of my mom's recipes that I have since lost track of...(anyone ever make it that way?) Another thing I know about rice pudding--many times the recipe calls for raisins. I was pleasantly surprised that Dorie did not call for them in the main recipe (though I know she had some spin-off recipes in the margins), because, to be honest, I would have left them out anyway--so this way I didn't feel like I was flaking out on Dorie's creation! Mom used to make 2 batches--one with, and one without!

I decided this was the recipe I would break out my new copper pot that I bought several months ago now, and had not yet used. It's the only copper one I have, and I just love it. I guess I was waiting for 'the' perfect recipe to christen it, and this ended up the perfect size pot for this recipe...I felt like I was "really" cooking when I used it!

I must note that I think I enjoyed this recipe partly because it is a fave of mine, partly because I was able to admire my copper pot whilst making it, and partly because the recipe actually was a nice and "quiet" one. No going back and forth with melting things on the stove, to going to a Kitchen Aid, sifting, etc. This was a low key, simmer and stir, and phase out while you stare into the milk, looking for the rice to surface. It was a nice change of pace.

BUT--it was not without its hiccups. The only glitch came when I had the feeling after the 30+ minutes on the stove it was still not thick enough, but I gave up and poured it into the bowl, threw the Saran Wrap on top as instructed to prevent skin, and put it into the fridge...Then I went right to the computer, and consulted the notes left on the TWD site, to see the post by Dorie herself, warning of the "fatal" misprint about how long to let it simmer...No, not 30 minutes--more like 50 minutes! So I rushed downstairs (after my very soupy version was sitting in the fridge for about 10-15 min) and dumped the bowl back into the pot, let it simmer 20-25 minutes more, and it finally did in fact absorb 80-90% of the liquid--disaster averted! Believe me, I would have been CRUSHED if I didn't do this recipe correctly, I had such high hopes!

So here is my rice pudding--in 'Round 2' on the stove (note bowl w/ ripped off Saran Wrap to left!)


Quick note--I found I had to stir it almost constantly towards the end of the simmering time--otherwise a skin would form...

So back into the fridge it went...and later that afternoon while it set, I cracked open my new Everyday Food and decided to make the Lighter Chicken Enchiladas---yum!! They came out awesome! (Of course, I'm partial to anything covered in melty cheese....)



So Saturday evening, Dear Husband and I enjoyed enchilada dinner, compliments of Martha's Everyday Food, and topped it off with Dorie's rice pudding--which was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! How proud I was that the best rice pudding I've had was by my own doing! I can't ever see making the chocolate version-and my chocoholic husband actually noted the same thing...maybe one day I'll say I'm a believer (cue The Monkees), but I don't feel I'm missing anything right now. For me, all I needed was the classic vanilla rice pudding, and the only other requirement for me is a happy sprinkle of nutmeg on top (Much like my theory on egg nog, it's all about the nutmeg!)

Dorie, thanks for a winner! And thanks for posting about the typo and saving me from rice soup! I would have been so disappointed as I was so excited to try this!

If you want the recipe, visit Isabelle of Les Gourmandises d'Isa. She chose this great recipe this week! She's got some amazing looking photos of her creations on her blog too--hello puff pastry! And you can hit a button on it to translate it into English (though I'm having fun trying to read it in French, just to see what vocabulary I remember from all those classes in high school and college. Turns out, sadly, I can't say I retained a lot--sorry, Mrs. Beaulieu!)

Hope everyone was able to enjoy this recipe and avoid any soupy under-simmered pudding. If you didn't I urge you to try it again--it's worth it!

(PS: "Melty" came up in my spell check as misspelled?! Hey, it may not be a formal word, but darnit, I'm keeping it in--how else can you describe the Monterey Jack atop my enchiladas?! Though, "nog" came up too, so that just makes me think blogger needs an updated dictionary! Especially for kitchen/cooking/baking words!)