Rice Pudding

Arroz Con Leche
Adapted from Ingrid Hoffmann

Do you like Cozy Shack rice pudding? Has the rice pudding you fell in love with at New Jersey diners and New York delis been elusive to you at home? Well, step right up! (Can you see me in my cape and top hat, waving you into the circus tent? No? Sigh.) Look no further! All of your rice pudding dreams will come true right before your very eyes!

Ahem, more soberly: I made a few changes to the original ingredients, adding salt and swapping large peels for finely grated zest. Some fun ideas for next time: Swapping out some of the milk for an equivalent amount of coconut milk. Swapping a jar of store-bought dulce de leche for the sweetened condensed milk.

Original recipe says it serves 4, I say 8, easily

1 cup long-grain white rice
2 cinnamon sticks (I had very large canela sticks — see bottom for more info — so I only used one)
2 strips of lemon or orange zest (can use a peeler to get a larger piece)
3 whole cloves or a tiny pinch of ground cloves
4 cups water
1 egg
3 cups whole milk
1 (12-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (I realized after the fact that my can had been 14 ounces, had no averse effect)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Soak the rice, cinnamon sticks, lemon or orange zest and whole or powdered cloves in the water in a heavy saucepan for 1 hour.

After soaking, bring the rice mixture to a boil on high heat, uncovered. When it starts to boil (about 5 minutes), lower the heat to medium and cook for 10 to 12 more minutes or until water is almost evaporated.

While rice is cooking, beat the egg in a bowl. Add the milk and stir well to mix. Add the egg mixture, vanilla extract and condensed milk to the rice and cook over medium-low heat, stirring carefully, until it thickens slightly or until desired consistency about 25 to 35 minutes (see notes that follow).

(About cooking time: Many reviewers said 25 to 35 minutes was way too much cooking time for them, and that 15 to 20 minutes would have been better. I was all ready to pull my pot off early, but actually needed almost 30 minutes. Still, want to give you a heads up that yours might be done sooner.)

(About “desired consistency”: I cooked mine until all but 10 percent of the liquid had been absorbed, which yielded a creamy, not-too-thick pudding. If you like your arroz con leche thinner, pull it off the stove when more liquid is left. This pudding does most of its thickening as it cools, but the end result should still be thinner than traditional rice pudding.)

Remove citrus zest and cinnamon sticks. Let cool uncovered, then chill the rest of the way in the fridge.

Mexican cinnamon: A long time ago, I bought a jar of canela (Mexican "soft cinnamon") sticks from Rancho Gordo and this was the perfect time to bust it out. The cinnamon flavor is just a little different than we’re used to, a little less loud and one note, a little dynamic. It smells exactly like a cross between a cinnamon stick and apple cider. Seriously! When simmered with the pudding for almost an hour, the pudding had an almost spicy edge to it and an unmistakable flavor I associate only with arroz con leche.

Simple Sloppy Joe

* 2 pounds ground beef
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
* 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
* 1/2 cup ketchup
* 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
* 3 tablespoons soy sauce
* 12 hamburger buns, split and toasted

In a skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce and paste, ketchup, brown sugar and soy sauce; mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. spoon about 1/2 cup meat mixture onto each bun.

Banana Wellingtons for Four

Ingredients:

For the Wellingtons:
8 to 12 sheets of filo dough
4 bananas (ripe, but not too ripe)
3 cups chocolate chips, semisweet or white
1 1/2 cups salted pecans, chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

For Topping:
Whipped cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted

Instructions:

Note: Have all ingredients ready prior to removing the filo from the package.

Take two or three stacked sheets of filo dough and brush generously with melted butter. Place one banana on the dough, sprinkle with a handful of chocolate chips and about a 1/2 handful of pecans. Wrap the banana, chocolate and pecans up in a triangular shape and again, brush banana wellingtons generously with melted butter. Place on well greased pan and bake in a 400 degree F oven for about 15-20 minutes. Check often, you do not want to burn the filo! The filo should be a golden brown when removed.

Let cool for 5 or 10 minutes and then drizzle with melted chocolate and put a nice dollop of whipped cream on top.

Tips:

1) If you are familiar working with filo dough (phyllo, fillo, filo) then you know that once the package is opened, anything left over needs to be wrapped immediately, and very securely so that air does not enter the dough. Filo is a very thin middle eastern pastry that dries up very quickly!

2) You can freeze the uncooked wellingtons on a greased pan covered with saran wrap or other plastic wrap, in the freezer so that you can simply pop them in the oven after dinner too. Do not stack the wellingtons as they will not come apart graciously.

3) Again, it's a very simple dish to make. But be sure to wrap leftover filo dough right away. It takes only minutes to dry out and crumble.

Give & Take Lists:

To Mom:

House Key (to your house)
ChemIII




From Mom:

Best Beef Stew

2 lbs beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes (I only used 1 lb)
1/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, chopped (I used dried minced onions)
1 1/2 c. beef broth
3 potatoes diced
4 carrots sliced
1 stalk celery chopped (didn't have it, so i didn't use it)

1. Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together flour, salt, and pepper. Pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery.

2. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on high setting for 4 to 6 hours. (I cooked on high for 5ish hours.)

The meat was so tender it fell apart when we scooped it up. We had it with rice, and it was grrrreat!

Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookies

Notes: This recipe makes a soft sugar cookie. Very good! Of course, you have to sneak in the sour cream when Brandon is around :)

Blend together until smooth:

1 1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Cup melted Butter
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 eggs
1 Cup Sour Cream

Combined in separate bowl:

5 Cups Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder


* Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until combined.

* Make a ball out of the dough and wrap in plastic wrap. Store in the fridge 2-3 hours or until firm. Over night works well too.
* Once dough is firm roll out a portion of the dough onto a floured surface. You want the dough thick. I roll mine out to be about 1/3" thick!
* Cut with cookie cutters and place on greases cookie sheet.
* Back at 375 for 10-12 min. You don't want them golden brown. They will be the same shade as the uncooked dough.

http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/2010/02/bestest-sugars-cookies-ever-ever.html

Cherry Streusel Coffee Cake

5 T. butter or margarine
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 packet dry yeast
1 cup flour
2 eggs
2/3 cup warm water
1 can (1 lb. 5 oz) Cherry Pie filling
2 Tbsp. sugar

In a large bowl combine 1 1/2 cups dry cake mix (reserve remaining mix for streusel topping), yeast, flour, eggs & water. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed, scrape bowl often. Spread dough in a greased 13x9x2 inch baking pan, set aside.

In a saucepan, combine reserved cake mix with cooled, melted butter to make streusel topping. Mixture will be crumbly, set aside.

Spoon pie filling evenly over dough in pan. Sprinkle sugar & then streusel topping over filling. Bake immediately in preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. If desired, frost with glaze.

Glaze:
Combine 1 cup confections sugar, 1 Tbsp. corn syrup & 1 Tbsp. water.
Drizzle over warm or cool coffee cake.

Taco Dip

1 16 oz. refried beans
2 8 oz. cream cheese
1 8 oz. sour cream
1 pkt. taco seasoning mix
lettuce
tomato
cheese

Spread refried beans in a the bottom of a 10 x 151/2 x 1 jelly roll pan. Mix cream cheese, sour cream, and taco seasoning together until smooth. Spread on top of beans. Top with lettuce, tomato & cheese.