Tuesdays with Dorie: Arborio Rice Pudding

Thanks to Isabelle of Les gourmandises d’Isa who chose this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. Until last night, I'd never eaten rice pudding...though, it's something I'd been wanting to try for a while.

I was a little hesitant at first, because all of the comments on the TWD website were negative. A lot of people complained about having soupy pudding. However, Dorie herself posted this response:

Oh how I wish I’d seen this earlier. I’m traveling in Southeast Asia without a steady internet connection, so I didn’t see that you”re all making the rice pudding until a minute ago.

There’s a fatal typo in the recipe — the pudding needs to cook for 55 minutes, NOT 35 minutes. I posted this somewhere a while ago and am so sorry that I didn’t post it here sooner.

I know some of you had soupy rice instead of pudding and I’m deeply sorry.

With apologies — Dorie

Luckily, I'd read through the Q&A comments before making the pudding. As a result, I reduced the milk by 1/4 cup and cooked the pudding for about 1 hour. I wanted a thick pudding that I could eat while it was warm, instead of chilling in the fridge. For some reason, I think of rice pudding as a warm, comforting dessert.

I mixed half of the pudding with bittersweet chocolate and half with vanilla, cinnamon, & bourbon-soaked golden raisins. The vanilla version was really good! However, I didn't think this recipe was worth the hour+ it took to make.

So, next time I want rice pudding, I think I'll make it just like risotto...using Arborio rice sauteed briefly in caramelized sugar & butter, then mixed with whole milk (instead of stock)...a little at a time, letting each addition absorb into the rice to get creamy.

Sorry there are no pictures. It was after 9:00 pm when I ate the pudding, and the pictures were really horrible! Check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bloggers for some great pics!