Emily from Ruf Love picked this week's recipe for Project Pastry Queen: Dulce de Leche Aborio Rice Pudding. You're never going to see a lot of rice recipes on this blog because I'm not a big fan. Thankfully the hubs isn't either. When we have Mexican food, there are no sides. And we don't care for Asian food, so there's not a lot of rice in the house. In fact, pretty much the only time I cook rice is when the dogs get sick and they need something bland. However, we do like risotto...if you put enough cheese in it, I'll like almost anything. This pudding has great flavor, but I'm not a huge fan due to the rice. If you like rice pudding, you'll probably love this recipe though. I'm taking this to my parent's house for dinner this evening, and I suspect they will love it...those rice-eating fools. The dulce de leche component is incredible. It tastes very similar to caramel, and you can make your own from a can of sweetened condensed milk.
When I was a kid, my parents used to take us to our aunt and uncle's house for the weekend from time to time. As an adult, I realize what a lifesaver this had to be for them. Jim and Judy were great, and they would spoil us...but they wouldn't take any of our crap either. I remember she served us tapioca pudding once in the little cups. I knew that I didn't like rice, and this looked a lot like rice. As soon as she left the kitchen, I put it in the trash. She came back in, looked at me, and asked where it was. I, of course, said that I ate it but she wasn't buying it. She found it in the trash and then she made me eat it (it wasn't dirty). I think it took me about 30 minutes to eat that dang tapioca pudding. I haven't had tapioca or rice pudding since. I'm trying to be a good sport today though.
I made a few changes to the original recipe: I substituted half and half for the cream in the pudding mixture, trying to cut down on some calories. Instead of using vanilla beans (because I didn't want to waste them if I didn't like it), I used one tablespoon of vanilla extract, and I didn't use amaretto. I used one teaspoon of almond extract instead. For the full recipe, check out Emily's blog, and make sure to go to the Project Pastry Queen website to see everyone's take on the recipe.
When I was a kid, my parents used to take us to our aunt and uncle's house for the weekend from time to time. As an adult, I realize what a lifesaver this had to be for them. Jim and Judy were great, and they would spoil us...but they wouldn't take any of our crap either. I remember she served us tapioca pudding once in the little cups. I knew that I didn't like rice, and this looked a lot like rice. As soon as she left the kitchen, I put it in the trash. She came back in, looked at me, and asked where it was. I, of course, said that I ate it but she wasn't buying it. She found it in the trash and then she made me eat it (it wasn't dirty). I think it took me about 30 minutes to eat that dang tapioca pudding. I haven't had tapioca or rice pudding since. I'm trying to be a good sport today though.
I made a few changes to the original recipe: I substituted half and half for the cream in the pudding mixture, trying to cut down on some calories. Instead of using vanilla beans (because I didn't want to waste them if I didn't like it), I used one tablespoon of vanilla extract, and I didn't use amaretto. I used one teaspoon of almond extract instead. For the full recipe, check out Emily's blog, and make sure to go to the Project Pastry Queen website to see everyone's take on the recipe.
