My mother wasn't an adventurous cook but a good cook. She has lived her whole life (she's 97 and still lives by herself) in the Midwest where the three condiments are salt, pepper and ketchup, she cooked what her mother had made, Rice Pudding. Rice Pudding has so many wonderful memories for me. When it was my turn to choose a dessert we were having, I would choose Rice Pudding or Tapioca Pudding, my mom's other specialty.
I learned to make rice pudding when I was a cook at the Viking Village Smorgasbord in St Paul, MN in the mid ’70s. It was a mostly Scandinavian patronage so maybe is was closer to what I now know as the Danish risalamande except this rice pudding I learned to make should be baked, not have whipped cream folded in.
So I have a struggle with what is and ain’t rice pudding. Mine is cooked slowly in sweetened milk til soft, then moist baked mixed into a custard topped with cinnamon. So far, I have lost every argument about what style of rice pudding is “real” rice pudding. (I also crave sour cream raisin pie that folks think is disgusting and I haven’t seen since my Viking Village days, so ... 🤷♂️ maybe my rice pudding version really is weird...)
I am a big fan of riz au lait, but haven't made it in years! It is time to rectify that situation. For some reason it's never on my radar. When I was in culinary school we went to a goat cheese farm in Normandy and we were served a version that was cooked in the bread oven for hours like you described. I cannot remember what they called it, but it was nearly burnt black on top and rich, creamy, and delicious. A favorite memory!
delicieuse! I loved tapioca growing up then had riz au lait for the first time when i moved to france in 04 and that left tapioca in the proverbial dust.
I love rice pudding and have had several versions. I just recently had it for desert at a Cuban cafe here in LA, in my general neighborhood on the West Side. Looking forward to making this one.
I love your writing style Jamie, the history and all the sharing and love that goes into each one. I really want to try this one, seems simple enough for my limited talents and it looks amazing.
as a child of extremally dutch parents even though dad was 1/2 german born prior to the war , every scrap of food has to be used up.
we used to have riz de paap once a month when the scraping of rice was not enough for nasi goring or any other rice staple of indonesia [ dad was stationed there during the independence wars with holland ].
mum was the sweet cook and once a week we had desert or pudding , usually a trifle [ something that can be extended to feed 6 people easily ] , custard , evaporated milk and jelly crystals mixed so it has the appearance of foam [ unsure how it was made only that it tasted like jelly and evaporated milk ] , tapioca in milk [ oddly called frog spawn ].
riz de paap was something i didn't look forward to eating , i was never a milk drinker
Growing up in the Midwest I thought the "only" way to eat rice was Rice Pudding until I went to college! ;)
That’s quite curious. And funny.
My mother wasn't an adventurous cook but a good cook. She has lived her whole life (she's 97 and still lives by herself) in the Midwest where the three condiments are salt, pepper and ketchup, she cooked what her mother had made, Rice Pudding. Rice Pudding has so many wonderful memories for me. When it was my turn to choose a dessert we were having, I would choose Rice Pudding or Tapioca Pudding, my mom's other specialty.
This brings me back 50 years to when my Dad would ask for rice pudding for dessert. It was always his favorite. Thanks for the sweet memories.❤️
That is sweet 💜
I learned to make rice pudding when I was a cook at the Viking Village Smorgasbord in St Paul, MN in the mid ’70s. It was a mostly Scandinavian patronage so maybe is was closer to what I now know as the Danish risalamande except this rice pudding I learned to make should be baked, not have whipped cream folded in.
So I have a struggle with what is and ain’t rice pudding. Mine is cooked slowly in sweetened milk til soft, then moist baked mixed into a custard topped with cinnamon. So far, I have lost every argument about what style of rice pudding is “real” rice pudding. (I also crave sour cream raisin pie that folks think is disgusting and I haven’t seen since my Viking Village days, so ... 🤷♂️ maybe my rice pudding version really is weird...)
Yours sounds really rich and delicious ! I’ll be sharing another recipe in my next post so stay tuned!
Wonderful!! I love all the history you have written up!! I love rice pudding though yours is a new dish to me. 😊
Ooooh i want you to make it!
Lovely and just right for early spring
Thank you.
So simple, but sounds delicious!
Ooooh yes it is!
We also have this in Puerto Rico. We call it Arroz con Leche. It was one of the few dishes my mother could keep down during her chemotherapy.
And why, exactly, are we not eating this for dessert? I should be acting as your guinea pig right now...
I am a big fan of riz au lait, but haven't made it in years! It is time to rectify that situation. For some reason it's never on my radar. When I was in culinary school we went to a goat cheese farm in Normandy and we were served a version that was cooked in the bread oven for hours like you described. I cannot remember what they called it, but it was nearly burnt black on top and rich, creamy, and delicious. A favorite memory!
I grew up on arroz con leche, heavily dusted with cinnamon, but usually eaten cold, unless one was very impatient.
delicieuse! I loved tapioca growing up then had riz au lait for the first time when i moved to france in 04 and that left tapioca in the proverbial dust.
I love rice pudding and have had several versions. I just recently had it for desert at a Cuban cafe here in LA, in my general neighborhood on the West Side. Looking forward to making this one.
I love your writing style Jamie, the history and all the sharing and love that goes into each one. I really want to try this one, seems simple enough for my limited talents and it looks amazing.
as a child of extremally dutch parents even though dad was 1/2 german born prior to the war , every scrap of food has to be used up.
we used to have riz de paap once a month when the scraping of rice was not enough for nasi goring or any other rice staple of indonesia [ dad was stationed there during the independence wars with holland ].
mum was the sweet cook and once a week we had desert or pudding , usually a trifle [ something that can be extended to feed 6 people easily ] , custard , evaporated milk and jelly crystals mixed so it has the appearance of foam [ unsure how it was made only that it tasted like jelly and evaporated milk ] , tapioca in milk [ oddly called frog spawn ].
riz de paap was something i didn't look forward to eating , i was never a milk drinker
Yay! I’m so happy to see you here! I Hope you love my substack !
Thank you for reading!!! Please make it and let me know how everyone likes it!