Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Black and white and rice all over



Okay, let me just come out and say it...  I'm a picky eater.  I always have been.  I will say that I've gotten better as I've gotten older.  I'm generally willing to try something at least once.  And there are quite a few things that I wouldn't eat as a child that I like or am at least okay with now.  There are some things that I won't eat because I just don't like the flavor (coconut being a big one).  But I've come to realize that for most of the things I dislike, it's the texture that gets to me.  

One big category of things I don't care for is hot cereal-type dishes.  Oatmeal.  Cream of wheat.  Polenta.  (Though I want to like that one, so I occasionally give it another try.)  And rice pudding.  Which is unfortunate, since this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe is Arborio Rice Pudding, White, Black (or Both), chosen by Isabelle of Les Gourmandises d'Isa.  Dorie's recipe does have a few things going for it.  It uses arborio rice, which I do like.  And there's a chocolate version, so how could it be all bad?  My husband does like rice pudding, so I figured if I made it, at least he'd eat it.  

I still almost bailed on this one.  Not so much because I wasn't sure I would like it, but more because I wasn't sure I had the time to make it.  It takes over an hour to cook, and unlike last week's Kugelhopf, you actually have to pay a fair bit of attention to it for most of that time.  And then it has to chill for quite a while (the recipe says at least 6 hours).  I worked all day Saturday.  I ran out of time on Sunday.  And I knew I had to work late on Monday.  It wasn't looking too good...


But I managed to squeeze it in.  Since I was working later on Monday, I didn't have to go in until after 10:00.  I took Brianna to school and Gillian to daycare, and then headed home to finish getting my stuff ready for work.  I had just enough time to make the pudding.  Well, almost.  It was going to be close, so I didn't even bother with trying to cook it on low.  I let it bubble away over medium heat, skimming the top as needed.  It thickened up nicely in about 45 minutes.  I made a few changes to the ingredients, too.  I didn't have quite enough whole milk, so I used 2 cups of whole milk and 1 cup of 1% milk (only 3 cups total, instead of 3 1/4).  I added a bit of salt, as well.  I split the finished pudding between 2 different containers and added some vanilla extract to one (maybe a teaspoon), and 1 1/2 ounces of chocolate (58% Ghirardelli pieces) to the other.  

The verdict?  Well, I didn't hate it.  But I'm not sure how much I like it.  The flavor of both versions is great.  It's that darn texture thing that's still turning me off.  Gillian ate a bite or two, but that's all.  She was pretty tired, though, so she might eat more another time.  Brianna didn't like the rice.  She wanted to know if I could dish some up for her without the rice.  Sorry, not gonna work with this one... =)  I'll have to make her some regular pudding this weekend to make up for it.  Jamie, as predicted, liked both versions.  

Will I make this again?  Probably not, unless I get a special request.  But I'm glad I gave it a try.  For the full recipe, head on over to Isa's blog.  And to see how the rest of the TWD bakers fared, checkout the Tuesdays with Dorie page for links to the various blogs.  


20 comments:

  1. Good on you for making it, even when you weren't sure you'd like it!

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  2. I'm glad you tried it - they look wonderful! I love the two different flavors. Another recipe we can cross off the list! :)

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  3. Well, at least you got it done and you can say you've made it. It looks good though, especially your chocolate version! Thanks for the comments on Christian, too.

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  4. You get a medal for getting this done when you were so busy. Mine was a flop, but I like the idea of adding a bit of salt like you did.

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  5. I feel the same way! I'm glad you got it done and it feels good to cross things off the list. I hope you have a more relaxing week!

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  6. I'm definitely not a fan of any hot cereals or strange texture things either (Except for polenta, which I LOVE! Give it another shot!)

    Yours does look great though! Here's to next week!

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  7. Good for you for giving this a try (especially given how busy you are!) You are right -- food preferences from our childhood are not easily shaken! This is still not my favorite texture in the world. I loved the flavor, though! Yours looks great -- I love your picture of the black and white pudding together in a bowl!

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  8. Sorry it wasn't your favorite, but it looks delicious!

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  9. I wanted to bail on this one too, but ever since I joined in February, I haven't missed a one, so I wasn't about to start now.

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  10. Hey, at least you tried it! It looks good.

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  11. I'm picky when it comes to texture too - slimy is what gets me. Sushi took a few tries before I could manage it, and yogurt is always touch-and-go. Rice pudding without the rice though - too funny!

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  12. It's funny, even though my rice pudding flopped, my daughter still wanted to eat it. Of course, chocolate was involved.......

    Sorry you didn't like it!!

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  13. Oh, I am so with Brianna...can I have some without the rice???? LOL. Yours looks wonderful and it's nice they were appreciative of all your efforts, because you are right, you did have to babysit this one!

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  14. great photos even if you didnt love it!

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  15. at least you didn't hate it! it looks really delicious to me :)

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  16. Looks just like mine. I didn't care for it. Glad you have a taker in your house.

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  17. Hey, we did the same choc+van bowl! But yours has the perfect texture, that is for those who like that texture. Give me a spoon, I'll eat all those foods. Kudos for fitting it into a busy week. I had to do that last week with the kugelhopf.
    Nancy

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  18. I'm glad you gave it a try also! I don't mind the texture :)

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  19. That's what TWD is all about - trying something new and different. Glad you tried, even tho' you didn't really care for it. Great pics.

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  20. Yup, your pudding still looks great! Actually, I really just wanted to let you know that I've passed on an award to you. It's at my blog!

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