Rice Pudding Bruleé

Now I know what you're thinking-"rice pudding? That's only for old people!" That's what my first thought was too, until I had some (its kind of funny because I was with my grandparents when I tried it). Rice pudding is great because its not too formal, and not too hard to make. Plus it's pretty plain, which makes it a good base for other flavors to mix in, or topped with various delicacies. Also since it's pretty simple, its not usually a dessert you serve at parties or just to other people, it's more of a comfort food. 

I had also been dying to make something from my Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook, which brings together two of the best things in life-cooking and harry potter. What more could I ask for?

And yes, I did bookmark basically the whole book the minute I read it.

Always up for creating something new, I brainstormed new ideas to make this dish more...exciting. And I thought about caramelizing. Its a fairly new technique to me, I have yet to buy a kitchen torch yet, so I have been using the oven broiler, which does the job pretty well. So I was inspired to caramelize my pudding. 

And I must say, it turned out really well! I made a few changes to the recipe, but mostly it is the same recipe from the cookbook. The caramelizing went pretty well too. I don't think that I broiled it just enough, but it still had that hard, sugary top that was a nice brown. That brought in a lot of compliments. So thanks Dinah Bucholz, props to you for bringing this new idea to me. It went so fast I wasn't able to get a picture of the whole thing by itself, but I do have some cute ones from my serving. So try my new creation! Hopefully I have helped this simple dish transform into a dreamy dessert. 

Rice Pudding Bruleé:

Ingredients:
-1/2 cup short-grain rice           2 tablespoons butter
-3 1/2 plus extra cups milk         2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
-1/4 cup plus extra heavy cream     1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
-1/2 cup granulated sugar           generous dash of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt                   granulated sugar for topping

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 2-quart baking dish. 

Put rice, 3 1/2 cups milk, 1/4 cup cream, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan. Combine and heat until it starts to boil. Reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally, for at least 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in butter, vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon (adding more vanilla if you are like me). Stir until the butter is melted. Pour into the greased dish. 

Bake for an hour, stirring every fifteen minutes. After the hour is up, add milk and cream (I did about a tablespoon of each). Bake in the oven for another 10-15 minutes, but do not over bake (it could dry out the pudding). Remove from the oven and let cool for at least an hour,it must be about room temperature, but its ok if it's a little warmer. 

Right before serving, heat the broiler and dust the granulated sugar over the pudding evenly to create a nice thin layer to cover the dish. Place the pudding on the top rack, but be sure you can see the top of the dish still. Broil for 3 minutes, or until a nice browned layer has covered the dish. You must watch this very carefully, because it can burn very easily. 

Serve immediately with whipped cream, warmed jam, or cinnamon. The topping possibilities are endless! Enjoy!