Friday, September 27, 2013

Rice Pudding and Caramel Apples



Per Nana~
After spending an incredible four days in Seattle at the IFBC and meeting so many Doristas, I have been going over all the goodies and information that was given to us. I will be reporting on all of the suppliers and their products, plus our wonderful Saturday dine-around that was sponsored by Urban Spoon. The highlight of the whole conference (other than meeting the Doristas) was of course meeting Dorie Greenspan and her lovely husband Michael.
 
Moving forward to this week's recipe, AMFT offerred a bit of a different take on rice pudding. Dorie's instructions for boiling the arborio rice was new to me but worked beautifully, and cut down and the cooking time for the pudding. Normally I have cooked the rice for close to an hour on low heat to get the pudding thickened, but this was completed in just thirty minutes.
Hubby proclaimed this to be the best rice pudding ever. Unfortunately, when I prepared the caramel apples I ended up adding the whole squeezed lemon to the sugar mixture instead of measuring it out. It all looked good, browned nicely, and tasted awful. It was so bad that I actually had to throw it out. That aside, this will be the rice pudding recipe that I  use again and again. It was really that delicious.

Per Tricia~
The IFBC, Seattle, the Doristas (each and every one of you !!!), and of course Dorie and her amazing hubby Michael - all EXCEEDED my expectations.  Normally on French Friday's I find that I fare better when my expectations about a recipe are low - the old "inverse relationship" thing.  But I was so excited going into the event that I couldn't help myself. My already high hopes were exceeded with a wonderful experience that was "off the charts" on every level. Yes, it was THAT fabulous.  I am still smiling from ear to ear and like Nana, look forward to posting more details in the near future. I would also like to send a thanks to the Doristas who did not make the event and yet sent us wonderful comments about our attending- you all are THE BEST and we look forward to meeting ALL of our FFWD friends in the future.

Now...... that pudding. 

Oh my. Perfect time of year and perfect recipe. I don't usually make homemade pudding so initially thought the cooking time sounded like a long time- yet it did move quickly and smelled delicious.
And I did use a new product from the conference- my sample of the Lagrima Vanilla.  It was very good and I went on the heavier side of the recipe, which my husband said he appreciated - so I was all the more pleased about the flavor. (www.lagrima.com) 
There were very few steps and with Dorie reminding us when the pan might splatter (good call as usual Dorie !!) it was an easy week. Next time I will try to get a bit more color to my caramel sauce but it tasted amazing regardless.  I loved it and my hubby was delighted. DELIGHTED. I will absolutely make this again when the boys are home and I will be sending over some leftovers to my Dad.......:)
Happy French Friday !

27 comments:

  1. So glad you both had such a great time. I look forward to reading more about the trip and hopefully meeting you in person myself one of these days!

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  2. It was a thrill to meet you both! And that this recipe was a home run with your families (I need to perfect my caramel, too, Nana). I cracked open my vanilla this week as well...and finally got my swag all removed from the kitchen counter. I'm ready to plan next year's gathering!!! xo

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  3. YUM. I'm excited about this recipe, but didn't get around to it yet. I am so delinquent these days. I LOVE rice pudding, so I can't wait to try this one.

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  4. Great to hear you both enjoyed the conference. Nana, I didn't like the apples much either, possibly because I didn't sweeten them enough. Glad you enjoyed it Tricia and got to use your new vanilla.

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  5. Yeah liked this recipe. It took a bit time, but was easy enough. Loved your stories!

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  6. If Nana gives a recipe/method her seal of approval, I'm game. I can't wait to go make this back home and give it a holiday twist. Rice pudding is very popular in Puuerto Rico around Christmas.

    I am so happy I didn't miss the dinner on Sunday night! It would have been a regret not spending enough time with you and Nana.

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  7. Glad that you both enjoyed the recipe. I'm not a huge fan of rice pudding so I decided to make another apple dessert. But I'll make it some day and serve it to my husband, who is an all-kind pudding lover.
    Your trip to Seattle seemed like so much fun! Wish I could have been there!

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  8. It sounds like you had a great time at the conference. I enjoyed looking at the photos on FB. This week's recipe was fantastic. It was one of my family's favorite. I am glad you enjoyed it too.

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  9. So fabulous that you both made the trip to Seattle...well you both got me interested in this recipe. It sounds like a great one for rice pudding, but I still doubt my family would eat it... oh well, still enjoyed your posts.

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  10. Now that I know you lovely ladies I can read your posts in your voices! Makes me feel like we are together again. The entire experience was amazing. I don't know how the two of you get anything done when you are together. Seems like you spend so much time laughing and making others laugh too! I can't wait to see you again! Nana, I was worried about too much lemon juice. I put just a touch and fought the temptation to add more! Tricia, your pudding is lovely in the clear goblet! Glad everyone enjoyed!

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  11. I made rice pudding for the very time and this was delish; but I did reduced the sugar amounts for both the pudding and the apples. Big Time Envy for the 4 day gathering of Doristas!

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  12. I can't believe I have never made rice pudding! This looks SO good, I'll have to make some soon!

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  13. Was so sad not to be able to attend, but I do hold out hope that I'll still get to meet you lovelies one of these days. Sounds like it was a blast. Looking forward to seeing more pictures and hearing more stories from everyone.

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  14. I was so happy to meet you both and to spend time together. I'm still amazed how we were all instant friends. I look forward to the next time we meet! I'm glad you both enjoyed this one. I particularly liked the apples. I dreaming of other ways to use them. In the meantime, I'm enjoying eating them since Howard has no interest in sharing this delicious dessert.

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  15. P.S. Nice idea to use the vanilla swag from IFBC. I pulled my usual bottle from the pantry even though the LaGrima bottle was sitting on the counter, right in front of me. I didn't even see it until you mentioned that you used it in the pudding.

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  16. Sounds like everyone had a great time according to the accounts I have been reading.

    The apples were the star of this show. How else can I use them?

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  17. Ladies - it was so awesome to meet you both! We need to catch up again when you are in VT or come by Saratoga. Seriously!

    I made mine pre-IFBC or I am sure some of that vanilla would have sneaked its way in. I was proud to get that and the honey back intact!

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  18. Nana: what a great looking plate - I love the way you presented the rice pudding and it is nice to read that you and your husband really enjoyed this recipe for rice pudding so much!
    Tricia: what an elegant presentation in that glass serving dish and in the lovely green bowl - so nice that we all seem to agree on this recipe!
    How nice that you all had such a great time at the conference - unfortunately Seattle is far away...
    Have a great week!

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  19. Bothe versions look delicious! Nana - Sorry you didn't like your apples. I added a little too much lemon juice, so I can image how bad way too much must have tasted. Tricia - I would like to get my caramel sauce a little thicker and darker next time too.

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  20. LOL Nana, I had the same problem! My apples had a funny alcoholic aftertaste... it was weird, but forgiveable. Mine weren't too bad I guess since we all ate them! :)

    Tricia, my caramel wasn't thick by definition. It was like a slighty thicker caramel apple soup... LOL, cant wait to hear everything you ladies have to say about the conference!

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  21. John & I enjoyed meeting you two SO much - even our crazy trek in the rain to Watson Kennedy!

    I loved this pudding but thought it was a lot of work compared to the American version. The apples, however, I made a gain with 1/4 Brandy and 1/4 cup cider to serve over waffles - I think I'll make them a lot.

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  22. Hey, Tricia, I would know you a-n-y-w-h-e-r-e. And, Ro, you, also. It was so wonderful to meet you in Seattle. Ro, I still am getting my arms around Tricia and my jaunts to 5am Pike Market Place and our mile walk to breakfast in the rain the next day and you, both mornings, back at the hotel, having breakfast in bed!!! Who is the smart one here? I took your advice on "watch the lemon" and my caramel sauce came out well. I also enjoyed the rice pudding which I had never made before. Forgot the part about "bubbling over" - my milk runneth over and it made a mess. Looking forward to seeing you again on the East Coast. Seeing both of you together, your mother-daughter relationship, was inspiring.

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  23. Nana, I'm so sorry about the caramel sauce. I'm glad you liked the pudding, though. I've never par-boiled rice before but I really liked the method. Glad you both had such a great time at the conference!

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  24. Nana and Tricia, I have to let you know what a pleasure it was to meet both of you! Nana, you’re still my hero! The weekend at the IFBC was made more wonderful because of our fabulous Dorista get together. We will just have to do an East Coast reunion!
    I have not posted my rice pudding yet…but we loved it! I made it the other night after we arrived in Florida. So sorry about your caramel sauce, Nana…it looked great! You will just have to make it again! Both of the puddings look scrumptious…loved this one!

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  25. I finally got around to making this pudding and loved it. So nice to read again what a great time you had at IFBC. Hope we can meet someday, too!

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