End of Semester Coconut Rice Pudding

Yum.



When I lived in Maryland I worked with a lot of Philipino people and they made something like this. I never got their recipe, but when I had this one the Philipino dish was the first think I thought of. I have topped mine with fruit, but they usually topped theirs with some maple syrup and that was also delicious. I am not claiming my recipe is the authentic one, but it certainly reminds me of the Philipino food I had.

This is a great recipe because it is super simple and really diverse because you can put different toppings on it, so you could make it 100 different ways and impress people every time!

I made this one for an end of semester potluck, also known as a final, but in the English department once you get to a certain level there aren't really finals, just celebrations of the work done that semester. So, I made this for my creative writing final, in which we ate food and read and talked about each others' work. Quite nice.



Coconut Rice Pudding
1 3/4 C dry rice
1 can coconut cream (not milk, cream)
1/2 - 2/3 C sugar
Dash of vanilla
Fruit for topping

1. Cook the rice in a rice cooker, or however you do it. I used Jasmine rice, but any stickyish rice will do.

2. Right before the rice is done, mix the coconut cream, sugar, and vanilla in a sauce pan. Cook until the cream is about to boil.  *A note on the sugar. You can serve this dish warm or cold. If you are going to serve it cold, use a bit more sugar, if warm, then you don't need as much. You can taste sugar better when it's warm.

3. Once the rice is done and the cream has just about boiled, mix together in the sauce pan and cook for about 3-5 more minutes, until the rice has soaked up the cream mixture. If you are going to serve it hot, then you're done! Place on a place and serve with fruit on the side.

4. If you want to serve it cold, then press the remained into a 8in pan and chill in the fridge. Top with fruit just before serving. Once it is cold, it cuts nicely and you'll be able to serve it in small squares.

A note on fruit: this dish is best with fresh, ripe mango. I didn't have any fresh mango on hand, so I served it with some frozen mango and strawberries that I had in the freezer. And, like I said before, you could use maple syrup or any other topping you might like on this.

Amaretto Custard Ice Cream

One of the best things that has happened in my life is getting an ice cream maker. This will either tell you about my enthusiasm for ice cream or the sad state of my life, but let's assume the former and discuss this delicious treat. Here's a recipe for some chocolate amaretto ice cream.



Amaretto (Chocolate and Almond) Custard Ice Cream Recipe

2 C granulated sugar
1/4 C all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
2 C milt
1.5 C dark chocolate chips or baking chocolate
2 eggs
4 C light cream (or 3 C heavy cream and 1 C milk)
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract (just a drop, really)

*I should remind the reader that I don't usually cook by measuring. So, I am not 100% accurate on the amount of chocolate, light cream, vanilla, or almond, but the above are approximates and will serve you well. Add more/less of the chocolate, vanilla, or almond as your taste dictates, but in saying that I remind you that almond extract is very strong.

1. Combine the sugar, flour, and salt in a double boiler. Slowly add the milk until the solids are dissolved, and then add the chocolate. Cook on medium/low, stirring constantly, until thick. Cook ten minutes longer.

2. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs.

3. Stir a small amount of the chocolate mixture into the eggs, slowly adding more. Once it is all stirred in, return the mixture to the double boiler and cook for about 3 minutes more, then let stand until it is lukewarm or even cold (putting it in the fridge works great). This is the longest stage of this recipe. When I made it I played a game with some friends while we waited. I recommend doing the same.

4. Mix the cooled chocolate mixture with the cream, vanilla, and almond extract.

5. Freeze the ice cream according to your ice cream maker's instructions. (Our model has a piece the needs to be frozen first. I keep that in the freezer all the time, in case I need to make ice cream in a pinch.) After the ice cream has been frozen in your ice cream maker it is ready to eat, but will be soft like soft serve. If you like harder, firmer ice cream, then put the ice cream in a tupperware and freeze for an hour or so.

6. Enjoy! This would be delicious topped with your favorite toppings, some fresh fruit, or even some crushed almonds and chocolate shavings.



This recipe made more than our ice cream maker could hold, so I made half one night and refrigerated the rest of the unfrozen mixture, which meant that I got to make some ice cream really quickly a few nights ago when I needed some.

This recipe does take longer than most ice cream recipes, since it is a custard and thus requires some boiling and then cooling before going into the ice cream maker. So, make it ahead of time if you're expecting company, or keep the unfrozen mixture in your fridge and pretend to whip it up while the company is distracted and then put it all in the ice cream maker if you feel like they would appreciate the experience of having the ice cream come right from the maker.

Homemade Marshmallows

It was during the holidays I got the idea to make homemade marshmallows. I was searching for a great candy recipe and found it. Life being what it is, it wasn't until February that I finally got around to trying my hand at this simple treat. It really is simple, having a kitchen aid stand mixer made it all the easier. The hardest and messiest part was putting the corn starch and powdered sugar coating around each piece so they wouldn't stick to each other. Next time I think I'll need to add more flavoring.

I made them on Valentine's Day, so dyed them pink and cut out heart shapes for my kids. Growing up, my mom always gave us a valentine from her and Dad. She never put any additional words, but would get one of the standard valentines we handed out to our classmates and write, "love mom and dad". She would be sure to put in a little bit of candy, usually conversation hearts. When my older siblings moved out, I saw she would make a little care package for Valentine's day. I was still living at home when she died, so I never got one. I've always wished I had.
I really wanted to make the marshmallows for this cookie recipe. Chocolate with soft marshmallow with sour cream chocolate frosting is a definite hit! Even though the cookies were a little weird on account of me adding wheat flour (bad habit of trying to make treats healthy), every time I bit into a cookie and meet the soft marshmallow I was happy.

The cool triple layer look helps a lot, too.

Chocolate Suprises From Family Fun Dec/Jan 2011

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

2 cups flour

1 cup cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1/2 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

10 strawberry or other flavored marshmallows, cut in half

For the icing:

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup sour cream

Heat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder and set aside.
Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream all the butter and the brown sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until mixed, about 1 minute. Combine the milk and vanilla. Turn the mixer to low speed and add half the milk mixture. Slowly add half the flour mixture, then the remaiing milk mixture, then the remaining flour mixture. Mix until well blended, about 1 minute.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a 2 tablespoon scoop, drop balls of the dough onto the sheet, leaving about 3 inches between them. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and top each with a halved marshmallow, cut side down, pressing it into the dough. Bake for an additional 4 minutes then cool the cookies on a rack. (I think you need to press the balls of dough before they start cooking, when I made them they didn't spread out at all)
Make the icing; sift the confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Stir in the sour cream until it's smooth. Top the cookies with the icing so that the marshmallow is completely covered. Allow the icing to set, about 1 hour, before serving.