Deli-Style Rice Pudding

I feel sure that I've already posted a recipe for rice pudding, and yet I can't find it anywhere on my website, listed on the Internet with my name, nor in my computer.  How can that be when it is my husband's favorite dessert? It's a mystery...

I had meant to make it for my husband for his birthday, but we were in Seattle, celebrating with our kids, so I knew it was a must for father's day.

In any case, eggless, deli-style rice pudding, such as this,  is a very smooth and creamy tasting rice pudding. If you prefer it richer, you can use 2% or even whole milk. We prefer it less filling so that we can eat more of it! Both sushi rice and Arborio rice are excellent for rice pudding as both types of rice stay soft when refrigerated.  they're also both very starchy, which makes the pudding thicken well. I prefer sushi rice to Arboriothough,  because it bubbles up less, and is therefore easier to cook. It's hard to know exactly how much liquid to add to rice pudding, because it depends on the kind and shape of the pot you are using, the kind and age of the rice, the stove you are using, etc.  That extra milk you see at the end of the recipe, however, is a little insurance that I've built in to the recipe  It ensures that even if you've boiled away too much of the liquid your pudding can still be made perfect!

1 cup Japanese sushi or Arborio rice
4 cups water
1-1/2 inch piece vanilla bean, split lengthwise with one end still attached
1/4 teaspoon salt

5-1/3 cups 1% milk  (use 2% or whole milk if you like it richer)
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup raisins
1/4-1/2 cup extra milk (any percentage of your choice), as needed

Cinnamon and nutmeg to taste

Place the rice, water, vanilla bean and salt in a 5-quart pot. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the 5-1/3 cups milk and sugar in another 3-quart pot, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low and keep warm until the rice is done cooking. You can see that I'm using quite a large pot for this.

Remove the vanilla bean, scrape the vanilla seeds into the milk mixture and then drop the vanilla pod back into the mixture. Ladle the milk mixture into the cooked rice, stirring gently to break up any lumps (now you can see why I needed such a large pot).

Place the pot over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer uncovered, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

The pudding will be thicken dramatically in the last 5 minutes.

After 15 minutes of cooking, you can see that it still only looks like a pot of milk.

But, in the right-hand  picture, you can see that it has thickened and looks like pudding.

Stir in the raisins (If they are not soft and plump to begin with, add them about five 5 minutes earlier).

Spoon the pudding into a 9x13-inch glass pan, which will give it maximum area to cool down.

Let the pudding cool briefly and then cover loosely with foil and refrigerate until completely cool (about 6 hours).

The pudding may look unappealing when you uncover it. Don’t worry! Stir it up and add, if necessary, 1/4 -1/2 more milk to loosen it and to provide just a little bit of creamy sauce. It should feel heavy as you stir it, but not gluey.  When you have it the consistency you like, smooth it back out, grate some fresh nutmeg over the pudding and lightly sprinkle it with cinnamon. The pudding will now look yummy!

For a more decorative service, spoon the pudding into individual goblets or bowls and sprinkle each serving with nutmeg and cinnamon.

Rice pudding keeps for 1 week in the refrigerator.

Do not freeze.

JELLY DONUTS FOR CHANUKAH

Every year since my kids left home, I vow not to make jelly donuts, and every year (sometimes just in the nick of time before Chanukah ends), I scurry to get them made.  I guess there's just nothing that says Chanukah like freshly fried jelly donuts.  That fresh, wonderful quality doesn't last long - hours really, and so this year I invited a few friends for  a light lunch, and then finished off with these treats.  The remainder of the donuts I gave away to a few families with children.  Poor hubby - no donuts for him this year...

Makes 24 small donuts

3-1/4 cups (423 grams) all-purpose flour, measured by fluffing, scooping and leveling, plus more for sprinkling the work surface
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons (17 grams) instant yeast (rapid-rise)
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup dry milk + 1 cup warm water OR 1 cup warm milk
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, room temperature
1 large egg yolk, room temperature

2 12-ounce jars seedless raspberry jam
Sugar for sprinkling
Canola or peanut oil for frying

If using milk instead of the dry milk/water combination, place the milk in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Remove the skin that has formed across the top of the mil, and add the butter. Pour the milk mixture into a container and place in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to bring the temperature down to about 105-110 degrees F.

Combine 2-1/4 (293 grams) cups flour, yeast, sugar and dry milk, if using, in a mixer bowl. Add the water (or milk mixture), butter, egg and egg yolk, and beat on low speed for 3 minutes.

Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. It should be firm enough to come together in a ball, but sticky enough that it will stick to your fingers if you push you fingers down into the dough. (Don’t take the dough out of the bowl – I’ve only done that to demonstrate the texture.)

Cover the bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in volume. To test, flour your finger and poke it down into the dough gently. If the indentation remains, the dough has doubled.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead the dough for a few minutes, as follows:

Press with the heal of the hand          

                                                          

 Roll the dough up towards you

Press down with the heal of the hand again


Roll the dough to 1/2-inch thick. Cut out circles with a cookie cutter (we like small ones- maybe 1-5/8-inch round).

Cover the donuts with a cotton dish towel, and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes to 1 hour (this time when you poke one, it should spring back)

Heat oil in a deep fryer or in a pot ( I used a Delonghi deep fryer – not rotary type).

If using a regular pot, the oil should be about 3" deep.






Fry the doughnuts for about 2 minutes, flip them over and cook for 2 more minutes. They should be well browned on both sides.

Drain them on paper towels briefly and then immediately roll in sugar.

Fit a pastry bag with Bismarck tip if you have one, or use a 1/8-inch round pastry tube. To fill the bag with the jam., place the bag in a large glass and turn down the top of the bag for stability, and then spoon in the jam.

                Bismarck Tip                                              

                                 

Stick the tube into the side of the doughnut and fill the doughnut with jam. I like to tip the tube side to side while squeezing in the jam to make sure that plenty of jam gets inside.

Serve the donuts as soon as possible. They should be eaten within 4-8 hours and cannot be frozen.

PEANUT BUTTER CHEESECAKE MINIS

Chanukah is fast approaching, and I usually make either cheesecake ( in honor of Judith) or fry up some jelly donuts (symbolic of the Temple flame).  I thought I would post a few recipes for cheesecake, as I imagine that more people would be willing to do that than to rise dough and fry it.  I spent the entire weekend making, and throwing out cheesecake.  I'm an experienced baker - the year before last, I made 200 cheesecakes for a fundraiser, so I was completely baffled when all of my cheesecakes failed. Some of them overbrowned, and other underbaked, and I finally figured out that my oven wasn't working properly.  It can be a challenge trying to determine when a cheesecake is baked through, especially if you have a low-end oven that is inconsistent.  In the meantime, all of the minis that I made came out great, so I knew that this would be an easy recipe for any kind of baker, using any kind of equipment.  They're also the perfect size if you're having more than one dessert, or if you've just had a large meal containing fried foods!

MAKES 12 MINI CHEESECAKES

Cookie Crumb Crust
1 cup crushed Oreo thin crisps, or chocolate wafers
Powdered sugar to taste (typically 1-3 tablespoons)
1- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling
1 pound cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used Skippy Natural)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, room temperature (add 1 more yolk if you like a lighter cheesecake)

Ganache Topping
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 ounces semisweet bar chocolate (I like Lindt™ gold), chopped

Tips
To make the cookie crumbs, process the cookies until finely ground, or you can place them in a large ziptop plastic bag and roll over them with a rolling pin. To get the crumbs out of the bag, cut a large hole in one bottom corner of the bag and let the crumbs fall out into a bowl.

To bring the eggs to room temperature quickly, immerse them, in their shells, into a bowl of warm water for 3-5 minutes.

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 degrees F. with a rack in the lower third of the oven. Have ready a mini-cheesecake pan with removable bottoms (I like Norpro™) and a tart tamper (both are available from http://www.amazon.com/)

Place the cookie crumbs in a bowl and add the butter to the crumbs, a little at a time, stirring with a fork to moisten the crumbs. Add just enough butter for the crumbs to hold together when you press them with your fingers (the exact amount will depend on the cookies used).

Spoon 2 teaspoons of cookie crumbs into each cup, and then use the dough tamper to press the crumbs firmly into place .  Place in the oven and BAKE FOR 5-7 MINUTES until the crust is just starting to color. Remove from the oven and let cool.

REDUCE THE OVEN TEMPERATURE TO 325 degrees F.


For the filling: Processor Method
Place the cream cheese and peanut butter in a processor bowl (requires a 6 cup processor). Process until smooth. Add the sugar, and vanilla, and process until well mixed. Scrape down the bowl, and process to blend. Add the eggs (and egg yolk, if using) and process just to blend. Scrape down the bowl and process to blend.

Alternate: Mixer Method
Place the cream cheese and peanut butter in a large mixer bowl and beat on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla, and beat until well blended. Scrape down the bowl and beat a little to blend. Lastly add the eggs (and yolk, if using) one at a time. Beat on low speed just to blend together.

To continue:
Spoon the cheese mixture into each cup until it comes to within 1/4-inch of the top (you will have a little too much filling).

Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes – the tops should not have any "wet" or raw looking spots in them.. Let cool for an hour, and then push up on the bottom of each cheesecake to get each out of the pan.  You won't need to run a knife around each one - they'll come out fine without doing that.  Place the minis in a container, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.  Mop up any excess moisture on top of the cheesecakes with a paper towel before garnishing. 

For Ganache:
Pour the cream into a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high until bubbling. Add the chocolate to the bowl. Let set for a minute, and then stir. If the chocolate isn't completely melted, reheat it on medium power (5), in 30 second increments, stirring between each heating, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Stir to blend the chocolate and cream completely. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon onto each mini-cheesecake.  If desired sprinkle ¼ teaspoon of finely chopped unsalted peanuts into the chocolate of each cake. Refrigerate the cheesecake until about 5 minutes before serving. Cheesecake can be made 3 days ahead. Cover with foil and keep refrigerated until serving.

VARIATION
If you'd like to make plain cheesecake minis, use sour cream instead of peanut butter and don't add that extra egg yolk.  You can use the vanilla, or delete it and use orange or lemon juice instead.

Slice and Bake Butter Cookies

This recipe is no longer available on the Internet.  To obtain a copy, please purchase Amazing Desserts on cd-rom.

Rugelach

Because this is one of my favorite cookies (pastry, really), I have a version of it in every book I create. Rugelach are flaky cream cheese pastries filled with cinnamon, sugar, nuts, preserves and sometimes chocolate. Homemade ones are usually crescent-shaped, but it’s easier to shape them into logs. Unlike commercial Rugelach, these are never dry.    Rugelach are pretty time consuming to make, and not for the novice baker. But they are well worth the effort you will put into them!

This recipe is no longer available online, but you can find it in all my books.  Click here to order