My kids convinced me to try rice pudding a few years ago. I thought I’d tried – and decided – as a child that I didn’t like the stuff. Now, I’m not sure I ever even ate it as a kid! But rice cooked in milk and peppered with raisins and cinnamon just didn’t sound like the right combination of flavors, somehow.
Still, every time we went to a Mexican restaurant, the dessert of choice would be “rice pudding.” At first, I wasn’t impressed. Then later, when sneaking bites, I began to be intrigued. The flavors of the smooth rice and sweetened milk were comforting – soothing after a spicy meal. Unlike a chocolate treat that felt indulgent, this dessert tasted homey. I was hooked.
Making rice pudding at home was another story. I tried a recipe that was done in the Crock-Pot – that sounded promising (it tasted awful). Another recipe called for cooked rice to be added to the milk instead of cooking the rice in the milk. I liked the idea of being able to use my leftover rice for the recipe, but in the end, the dish tasted nothing like what I’d come to love at restaurants.
I finally stumbled on the rice pudding recipe I was craving when a mother in one of my daughter’s school classses, who happened to be from Mexico, brought in a snack for a room party. Rice pudding! I sampled it and, sure enough, the rice was just the right texture with a hint of creaminess. She graciously passed along her recipe, which I’m now passing along to you.
