Tuesday, November 18, 2008

TWD: Arborio Rice Pudding


Yin and yang. Men and women. Summer and winter…

Chocolate and vanilla.

Aaaaah, the eternal question, whether to have chocolate or vanilla. Dorie saved us from having to choose with this week’s Tuesday’s with Dorie recipe, Arborio Rice Pudding, White, Black (Or Both). Thanks so much to Isabelle of Les gourmandises d’Isa for picking this unique recipe. (See Isabelle's web site if you'd like to peek at the recipe, or better yet, check out Dorie Greenspan's book Baking: From my Home to Yours.)


I’ve never actually eaten rice pudding. Is that strange? I don’t know. I’ll find out this week, probably.

I’m really glad I read the discussion thread about this recipe before trying it. Seems there was a typo in the book, leaving some of the early bakers with rice soup rather than rice pudding. I boiled the milk-rice mixture for a full 55 minutes and my pudding was indeed pudding-ish once it was all said and done.


The verdict? Interesting. I liked the vanilla rice pudding, it reminded me a lot of tapioca, which I enjoy. The chocolate rice pudding? Eh, not so much. Both types had a faint rice taste, which was fine with the vanilla. But the chocolate just didn’t seem to pair well with rice flavor, in my opinion.

All in all, it was a learning experience. I had no idea one could make pudding with only rice as the thickener.

Oh, by the way, did anyone else’s pan look like this at the end? LOL, I might have been a bit aggressive in the early stages of boiling the milk.


Looks like something straight out of the movie “Alien”.


OK, we'll see ya next week, but not on Tuesday. TWD-ers have the option of posting late next week due to Thanksgiving. So, see you next Saturday with Thanksgiving Two-fer Pie!

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the yin-yang rice pudding! Your's looks great. The perfect consistency. YUM!

Cathy said...

Your yin yang rice pudding might be the coolest thing ever. That really needs to be featured in Dorie's next edition of baking. It looks perfect; glad you enjoyed the vanilla!

PheMom said...

Freaky. I was going to do the exact same thing with the yin and yang in the bowl. (Imagine Twilight Zone music now). I don't think mine would have looked so pretty - the vanilla was much more runny htan the chocolate. Yours looks great! Seriously so perfect. I'm glad you did it because I thought it would look cool and it is extremely cool!

PheMom said...

I forgot to mention that yes, my pan looked exactly like that at the end (it is still soaking as we speak). LOL!!

The Food Librarian said...

Your yin yang is soooo cute! I love it and both look absolutely perfect!

Snooky doodle said...

great looking pudding. I like how you presented them and there s two flavours too :)

Jin Hooi said...

wow. looks so cool !! My pan looked the same as urs .. heheh.. probably worse ;-)) hmm.. I prefer the chocolate version

Steph said...

So clever of you to present your pudding like that! It looks fantastic. I had a bit of a crust at the bottom of my pot too, but I don't think I was as agressive with the boiling.. haha

Anonymous said...

I love the yin-yang photo! I hear you about the chocolate rice pudding - those flavors just don't seem to work, in my opinion.

chocolatechic said...

I love your ying/yang picture.

I wondered if anyone would do that.


My pan didn't look like that at all. I didn't have any skin issues either.

Isabelle Lambert said...

génial le yin-yang :) beau travail !

Anonymous said...

Very cute design idea, your rice pudding came out delicious!

Anonymous said...

Oh Wow! Look at that pot! haha! I hope you were able to scrape that off! The rice pudding looks great! I think that most people seemed to like the Vanilla more than the chocolate as well!

Maria said...

LOVE the design of your pudding. So creative!!

Mary Ann said...

This was my first time making and tasting rice pudding as well! I love your ying yang and the bottom of the pan. Funny!

Engineer Baker said...

I've had pots look like that after over-vigorous milk boiling too, but generally not as abstract and pretty as that. Beautifully creamy looking pudding though!

Anonymous said...

Great presentation idea!

I'm with you on the chocolate rice pudding. I didn't care for it. Give me plain old vanilla any day!

Tammy said...

fabulous photo and i am pleased you liked your first taste of rice pudding!

kimberly salem said...

ooh i love the yin-yang design!! awesome job, your pudding looks perfect. wish i'd seen dorie's comment in time ;)

Anne said...

Wow- that is stunning! The consistency looks perfect and I love the design. Great job!

As for the pan... mine used to look like that after making my Grandma's Banana Cream Pie... every time! I had to use Comet, a green scrubber, and a razor blade to clean it (at least for me, soaking didn't touch it!)

Carol Peterman/TableFare said...

Your rice pudding looks beautiful and I hope your pan has recovered. I have read, can't remember where, that if you wet a pan with water when cooking milk, it won't scorch and burn. I have been doing this with fine results, but I also have never had a big problem with milk burning. I don't know if there is really a scientific reason the film of water helps, or it is just a myth.

Bunny said...

Your design is great! I love rice pudding, I was hoping the choclate would be good too, sorry it wasn't.

Pamela said...

What a cool picture of the pan. Very neat. I almost did the same yin-yang design. Great minds, I guess. Nice job!

Manggy said...

Arrrh! Seeing burned sticky pan bottoms just tickles the obsessive-compulsive in me! Get me a brush and a scouring pad, stat! Hee hee. I do use the microwave to boil milk-- in a Pyrex measuring cup.
I love the pattern you've made here. Chocolate rice porridge is a common thing in my country, but it has no milk. Maybe you'd like that :)

Megan said...

I'm so glad yours turned out perfect. Mine - not so much. Oh well. I love rice pudding so I'll have to try again.

NKP said...

I agree that rice pudding is better vanilla. Raisins are good too.
Your yin/yang symbol is amazing. So striking. Almost a shame to eat it. Almost.

Kimberly Johnson said...

Beautifully done!

grace said...

brilliant presentation, jacque! i've been seeing many a rice pudding, and yours is by far the most uniquely represented--nicely done. :)

AmyRuth said...

Jacque, Okay does that serving dish have a "secret" divider. Your pudding looks so amazing. I've seen chefs create that effect with soup pairings and thought it would be neat. Knew I would totally have a shambles so didn't try. Very Impressive! Glad you liked it. I kinda thought the vanilla was the best too. Well, off to the next one. Happy Thanksgiving and I think your photo of the feathered friend is cute.
AmyRuth

test it comm said...

Nice pattern in your rice pudding!

Molly Loves Paris said...

Great job on the puddings. Hope you get you pan back to normal. I keep thinking maybe one could bake the rice pudding.

Thip said...

This is cool!!!

Vera said...

What a presentation, Jacque! The pudding looks so perfectly creamy! I do love rice pudding but find it quite time-consuming to make often.