Leftover Rice Pudding

I wasn't a huge fan of rice pudding until I learned the Danish way of eating it from my good friend Elias. This tradition involves lathering the finished pudding while steaming hot with good lashings of butter and a dusting of cinnamon and sugar, almonds and preserved cherries being optional. This decadent dessert is traditionally reserved for Christmas time and is made rich by milk fats, lots and lots of milk fat. In this original recipe the dry rice is hydrated entirely in a mixture of whole milk and cream until it becomes rich and luxurious, however I will keep this recipe for Christmas time (What you thought you were getting it now? Pfffft, patience) what I will do however, is offer you a summer substitute for when you have short cooked shortgrain rice leftover from making sushi or anything else! As the rice is already hydrated, it isn't as rich as it's winter counterpart, it can be served warm in a cool evening with butter and sugar or cold in the afternoon, lightly sweetened with fresh fruit, I enjoy it with mangoes or peaches preferably.

Finally, after all my blabbering, this is far from an exact recipe, mine is never the same and in this case the recipe is entirely from memory. However, this shouldn't prevent you from giving it a try! It's a great and easy dessert and a fantastic way to save leftover rice from a long, slow death in the back of your fridge.

Ingredients:
-About 2c. cooked shortgrain rice (calrose, arborio, etc.)
-Coconut milk (I used the rest of a can leftover after making my eggplant dish) so maybe 1/2c-3/4c.
-2 tbsp. white sugar
-2 tbsp. of coffee cream, 10% fat content (optional)
-1/3 c. milk or soy milk
-1 tsp vanilla
-tsp. kirsch or other spirits
-Cinnamon and sugar for dusting

1)Heat the rice with the milk or soy milk, vanilla, coconut milk and cream with the sugar, boiling it down until it becomes thick, add the sugar melting it in.
2) Dish out into glasses or bowls and serve hot with butter waiting for it to melt before adding cinnamon and sugar dusting, feel free to add a dash of spirits or cold with some slice of fresh fruit rolled in sugar and cinnamon or sugar and nutmeg

Easy stuff! Enjoy! If you keep the cream out and go easy on the coconut milk (not to mention the butter and sugar), this dessert is almost healthy!