Puddified

As mentioned in a previous post, Sabra and I have been cooking recipes from the Back in the Day Bakery cookbook, written by Cheryl and Griffith Day and edited by my friend Amy Paige Condon.

I first bought this book a year ago when it came out because 1) I just love the star brownies in that store (unfortunately, the recipe is not in the book), and 2) I knew Amy had edited it, so I wanted to lend my support not only to local business owners but my friend as well. I have enjoyed the recipes in this book so much that over time I have purchased several copies to give as gifts. The most recent copy went to Sabra.

Before I gave it to her, I flipped through the pages and inserted Post-It notes on the recipes I'd baked, making note of some of the alterations I'd made to appeal to Lawson's tastes and my odd electric oven. Upon receiving the book, Sabra immediately began flipping through the recipes, and because she had a bottle of Grand Marnier at home (as well as all the other ingredients), she decided to start with the rice pudding recipe.

She did not know that I had recently made Grif and Cheryl's 'nana pudding the previous weekend for Mother's Day. Once we started discussing our pudding coincidence, we decided to write posts about our Back in the Day experiences and post about them. These posts are for readers who have the cook book or plan to get it. I will not reproduce the recipes because I don't want to infringe on Grif and Cheryl's copyright. I also want them to sell many more copies of their book. So readers who don't have the book can get it on Amazon, at Back in the Day Bakery, Shaver's Bookseller, Barnes and Noble, and many other fine book sellers.

Read on.

'Nana Pudding as prepared by Nancy Remler

First, I'll start with my experience making banana pudding. I wish I had taken a photo. But at the time I made it, I didn't realize I'd be blogging about it. Stephen and Lawson were delighted that I was making it because it's their favorite dessert when they eat lunch at Hawkinsville's Steak House restaurant. They're accustomed to the kind with vanilla wafers.

Grif and Cheryl's recipe calls for shortbread cookies, which, of course, I made myself.

I wish I'd taken photos of those too. I never really cared much for shortbread, but I'd only had the store bought kind. You know the ones--they come in those round tins and people give them out at Christmas. They'd always struck me as kind of bland.

But not Cheryl and Grif's! They're a pan of buttery goodness. The only two things I'll mention about making the short bread is that 1) next time I'll make the cookies a little thinner so that it's easier to break through them with a spoon while eating the pudding and 2) the recipe makes more than enough for the pudding, so I can save the left overs in the freezer and eat them with jam on another occasion.

The shortbread is especially easy to make, and I'd recommend that recipe to anyone who needs to make a nice, summery dessert pretty quickly. These cookies will go perfectly with fruit. The pudding, on the other hand, takes more time and is a little more complicated. It's not difficult. Anyone can make it. But the timing is different from what Cheryl and Grif specify in the cook book, so if you plan to make this pudding, make sure you have plenty of time to do it. I started this project on Saturday afternoon, and I finished it Sunday morning.

One of the reasons it's so time consuming is that Grif and Cheryl's estimations of timing are much shorter than my reality (Read on for Sabra's similar experience). For instance, when  I tempered my eggs and then added them to my cream mixture, I whisked them in a double boiler as the cookbook directed. The recipe says the thickening process will take "five to seven minutes." Actually, my custard thickened in about 35-47 minutes. I didn't think I'd ever have pudding!

I thought about adding corn starch to the mixture, but it already had five tablespoons. How much cornstarch should a pudding need?

Finally, the pudding thickened--not as stiff as I'd hoped, but stiff enough. My feet had begun to hurt from standing over that stove. And I also thought the refrigeration process would help thicken the dessert as well. So when the recipe told me to put the pudding in the fridge for "three hours or overnight," I opted for overnight, just to be sure.

Fortunately, the pudding turned out well, as did the whipped cream and the shortbread. It made  a splendid dessert to take to my friends' party. The only drawback to it was that once all those people started dipping into it, the pudding got a little soupy. But it was still delicious!

Rice Pudding as prepared by Sabra Lawson

I read Cheryl's introduction and followed her suggestion of preparing all of my ingredients first.  

Nancy's note:  How studious of Sabra to read the introduction first! I skipped right over that part. Maybe if I had read more carefully my banana pudding would not have been so soupy. I've got some reading to do.

 

I measured everything out and put most ingredients in their own little dish, unless they were going into the pudding all at the same time.  For example, I measured the raisins then sprinkled the 1/8 tsp of freshly shaken out of the bottle nutmeg on top of them.  I also combined the vanilla, orange zest, and the  tablespoon of Grand Ma.  I used Kroger brand basmati rice.  Oh!  I did not have any normal sugar, so I made the recipe with light brown sugar.  

I realized about half way through the recipe, that the 2 quart sauce pan I was using was going to be too small, so I had to transfer the pudding to a dutch oven.  I followed the times in the recipe very carefully, using the kitchen timer on my new microwave.  

Having never made rice pudding before, I was not sure how thick it should be when I poured it into a heat proof bowl to cool.  (I used a rectangular baking dish)  The pudding did seem a bit soupy, but I'd been stirring constantly for 5 to 7 minutes over low heat, so I poured it on into my baking dish, placed plastic wrap directly on top of the pudding to prevent a skin form forming, and began cleaning my mess, as good cooks do, while waiting for the pudding to cool.

About 2 hours later, I was all set for a serving of delectable rice pudding, but alas, my pudding had not puddified at all!  It was the same soupy consistency that it had been on the stove, but now it was cold!  I dumped it back into the dutch oven, added some corn starch, and heated that stuff up!  Medium heat!  And stirred constantly until it was, indeed, thickened.

That did the trick!  After dinner, the rice pudding was still warm, but puddified and delicious!  Just like Mom used to make!  Martin loved it and asked if I would make it again.  Of couse, I will.  I had to buy 2 pounds of basmati rice!

Nancy's note:  Many thanks to Sabra for coining a new cooking term:  puddified. It's better than Stephen Colbert's term truthiness. I think puddified should go in the urban dictionary. 

Chocolate Pudding as prepared by Nancy Remler

I've got more photos for this one. I highly recommend this recipe because 1) chocolate should be its own food group and 2) it does not require thickening pudding over a double boiler and therefore does not take the better part of an hour. It's not complicated at all. I realized at the last minute that I had only four ramekins, but my Fiestaware tea cups served well in a pinch.   

I used Ghirardelli chocolate, which I chopped up with a regular kitchen knife. I did not have to switch my creamy mixture to a Dutch oven as Sabra had to. My four quart sauce pan served well.

 My only challenge was adding the eggs. The recipe instructed me to whisk six egg yolks lightly in a medium bowl and then pour them "in a slow, steady stream into the chocolate-cream mixture, whisking constantly." Okay, Cheryl and Grif, two things had me stumped. First of all, egg yolks do not pour in a steady stream. Slow, yes. Steady, anything but. They're sticky and lumpy. Secondly, if I'm going to pour all the egg yolks into the chocolately-cream mixture, whisking the entire time, I'm going to need three hands: one to hold the egg bowl, one to whisk the cream mixture, and one to use a rubber spatula to guide those egg yolks out of the bowl and into the sauce pan. Readers, if you decide to make this recipe (and I hope you will) figure out this three-handed trick first. It'll save you some stress. 

Fortunately, I managed. Because there was no double boiler involved, the mixture thickened well before I added it to the ramekins. Then I got to give those little dishes a hot water bath before putting them in the oven. I had no idea pudding baked! But it did, and when it came out, it was just as Cheryl and Grif had described it. I chilled it for several hours before serving it. 

This dessert is a chocolatey cup of heaven. The consistency might be unusual to those who have never had home made pudding. This is not the Bill Cosby pitched Jello pudding. This is thicker, denser, more chocolatey. Fresh whipped cream on top enhances the flavor. Because of its consistency and rich flavor, the servings shown above are actually a little large. This afternoon, I ate half of one and got full. So be prepared for that. But if you make this pudding and serve it to friends, you'll be the most popular cook on your street.

So now Sabra and I are puddified! 

Our next blogging/baking venture:  bars. Stay tuned!