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Liquor in Recipes
These humble beginnings recipes, rose to the occasion when a holiday was here. The rum in the rice pudding is like adding a flavoring to give the dish a wonderful taste. The coffee liqueur was used to enhance the wonderful chocolate breadpudding. I gained 2 pounds just typing in this recipe for you.
Rum Raisin Rice Pudding
Ingredients
1 cup short grain white rice 4 cups milk 1 can sweetened condensed milk 4 cinnamon sticks 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise ice water as needed 3/4 cup dark rum 1 cup raisins ground cinnamon Optional whipped cream, with a bit of sugar and vanilla added after reaching stiff whipped cream stage.
Rinse the rice, drain well. In a saucepan, combine the milk and cinnamon sticks and bring to a boil of medium high heat. Add the rice and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and stir occasionally until the rice are al dente, lightly done. (about 12-15 minutes) Add the sweetened condensed milk to the rice mixture and scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean halves ito the pan. (today I would probably use vanilla extract, about 1 teaspoonful.)
Stir and simmer until the rice is plump and tender. (10-12 minutes) The sauce will be heavy like cream. Remove from the heat and place saucepan into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Stir the mixture occasionally as it cools. After cooling discard the vanilla beans and cinnamon sticks. Pour the rice mixture into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours until well chilled. In a heavy saucepan over low heat combine the 3/4 cup dark rum and raisins. Simmer until the raisins have plumped and the rum is gone. (about 5 minutes) Remove from the heat and cool.) Fold the raisins into the chilled rice pudding.
Optional: Whip heavy cream and put a dollop on top of individual dessert champagne glasses with a dusting of ground cinnamon on top.
Chocolate Bread Pudding
This takes the simple bread pudding up a notch. The original rustic version was bread, eggs and apples. This has four parts: a topping called streusel, a pudding, a custard and a sauce.
Pecan Streusel
1 cup pecans 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/4 flour 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoon chilled butter
To make the streusel, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and toast until lightly brown and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cook and chop coarsly. Leave the oven set at 325 for the next step. In a bowl combine the nuts, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and butter. Using your fingers, mix until crumbly. Set aside.
Pudding
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate 3/4 firmly packed brown sugar 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
To make the pudding, butter an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch glass loaf pan and dust with flour. Use a bowl and sit over, not touching, a pan of simmering water. Heat, stirring constantly, until the chocolate melts. Add the brown sugar and cream and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside this chocolate mixture.
Custard
6 whole eggs, plus 2 egg yolks 3/4 cups granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 3/4 loaf day old french bread cut into 1/2 inch cubes
The custard is mixed in a large bowl, combine whole eggs and egg yolks, sugar and vanilla. Whisk until well mixed. Add about 1/2 cup of the custard mix to the chocolate mixture to temper it. Beat vigorously. Then add the chocolate mixture to the remaining custard and whisk until well blended. Add the bread cubes and let it stand until the bread absorbs the liquid. (about 15 minutes)
Pour the pudding-custard mixture into the prepared loaf pan. Top evenly with the pecan streusel and set in a roasting pan. Place the in the oven, and add boiling water to reach half way up the sides of the loaf pan. Bake until the center feels slightly firm to the touch. About two hours. Custard continues to cook after removing from the oven, so don't over bake. We use to stick in a knife, and considered it done when the knife came out clean. Again, remember the custard cooks after removing it from the oven, so it will finish even it it seems a bit soft.
Sauce
6 tablespoons butter 1 cup coffee liqueur, such as Kahlua 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 egg Whipped cream, unsweetened or vanilla ice cream.
Place the butter in a heatproof bowl over, not touching, simmering water in a pan. When the butter is melted, add the Kahlua and sugar and whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Whisk in the egg and cook over the simmering water until slightly thickened about 10 minutes. Pour into a serving pitcher.
Remove the pudding from the oven, and let cool slightly. Cut into 6-8 pieces and serve on dessert plates. Pour a pool of the Kahlua sauce along one side of each piece of pudding and place a spoonful of whipped cream on the other side. Serve at once.
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