Rice Pudding for Supper

(I know, my Midwest roots are showing with this blog title.)

I doubt I’m the only one who suffers from kitchen burnout. You see the clock ticking down to zero hour and still don’t know what you want to make for the evening meal. Darn it all, it’s too late to defrost something. For some reason take-out isn’t an option. What’s a cook to do? Breakfast in the evening is a fun option, but occasionally I just go straight to dessert.

While struggling with the “I don’t want to cook” doldrums this evening, I was staring at the contents of my pantry. Finally, I noticed two bags of rice. I keep brown rice for myself. White
rice is for those who are concerned they may have too much fiber in their diets. There was my supper solution. I would make rice with milk and raisins (my mom calls it milk rice). As I was hauling out everything I needed it occurred to me that I may as well make rice pudding. Milk rice has some sugar in it so it’s basically dessert anyway. There is only one major difference between it and my Grandma Hewitt’s rice pudding; eggs. Her rice pudding had a silky custard base.

Once upon a time, I had a copy of Grandma’s recipe. I’m not quite sure what I did with it. I suppose I could have looked at the BH&G cookbooks on my shelf for reference, but I decided to fly by the seat of my pants instead. This is what I ended up with. (I decided I wasn’t in the mood for raisins.)

1 1/2 c. rice (3/4 c. brown, 3/4 c. white)

2 qts. water (8 c.)

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

¾ c. organic cane sugar

½ tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. cardamom

¹/₈ tsp. nutmeg

½ c. dried cherries

½ c. dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350°. Cook rice in water until al dente and at least half of the water is absorbed. Add evaporated milk, sugar and salt. Beat eggs in heat proof bowl or glass measuring cup. Once liquid in pot is beginning to bubble, scoop small amounts of it into eggs to temper. At least ½ c. of hot liquid should be stirred in. Make sure the eggs are whisked constantly while tempering, and add slowly to the pudding while stirring. Blend in the spices and fruit. While still hot, the pudding can be poured into a baking dish. Bake in the oven for 15 min.

Note: I cooked my pudding in a 12 in. chef’s pot. It looks like a stainless steel mixing bowl with handles on the side. Since mine is oven safe, I left the pudding in the pot when I baked it.

The Project Queen