Karl’s Irish Rice Pudding

Adapted from a Food.com recipe

Eilene has been sick, so Saturday I looked up a recipe for rice pudding. Jan thought it was such a success that I should make it again for our St. Patrick’s Day feast on Sunday (two days late).  What would make a rice pudding Irish? Baileys Irish Cream.

Note: The first pudding was so good I doubled the recipe, so I was sure that we would have leftovers. I have also reduced the sugar from what I had made, as it was a bit over sweet. Baileys Irish Cream is rather sweet on its own and I found that ½ cup of sugar was too much.

Karl’s Irish Rice Pudding

Ingredients

1½ cup uncooked Jasmine rice

2 egg, beaten
¾ cup Baileys Irish Cream

3½ cups low fat milk
½ cup half and half cream
¼ cup  white sugar
¼ cup Zante currents (optional)
½ tsp. Kosher salt

4 Tbs. butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Put the rice in a rice steamer with 3 ½ cups of water and cook until done.

Tip: If you do not have a rice steamer, you may use a pot to cook your rice. However if you make rice more than twice  a month it is really worth the connivance—set it and forget it. You may buy a small one for less than $20. If you are using a regular pot to cook your rice use four cups of water.

Note: To make perfect rice for most dished you usually use a 2:1 ratio of water to rice. I did that yesterday and I found the rice a bit too firm. For rice pudding you want your rice to be a bit “over done,” to produce a soft and creamy pudding.

2. While the rice is cooking, put the eggs into a large measuring cup and beat them well.

3. Blend the Irish Cream into the eggs and set the mixture aside.

4. When the rice is done, put the milk, sugar, and salt into a large saucepan and bring it to a simmer.

Note: I had intended to add ¼ cup Zante currents, but I forgot. It is really gilding the lily.

5. Stir in the cooked rice and simmer, over medium low heat, until thickened, about 15 minutes.

Tip: Stir frequently and scrape the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching.

Note: I was planning this pudding as a dessert and it is best if you serve it just as it is finished. I did not what my dinners waiting too long, while I cooked the pudding start to finish. The point of “cooking until thick” is so the grains of rice absorb most of the liquid. It will do this cold as well as warm. My solution was to make the pudding to this point, an hour before dinner, and then put it on hold—I only cooked it for five minutes, so it was still fairly thin. After dinner, I reheated it—the rice had absorbed much of the liquid by that point, but it was still wet enough to reheat without difficulty. It was just a matter of minutes to finish off the pudding.

6. Spoon some of the hot rice into the egg/milk mixture to temper it.

Tip: You want your eggs to turn into a custard, not scrambled eggs.

7. Stir the warmed egg mixture into the rice in the pot.

8. Continue cook, stirring constantly, for four more minutes, until the eggs are full cooked and the pudding is thick.

9. Remove the pot from the heat, and stir in the butter and vanilla.

10. Serve warm.

Serving Suggestion: Put the bottle of Baileys Irish Cream on the table for any diners who would like a float on their dessert.