banana pudding

I had the cooked white rice on the stovetop already, leftover from the previous meal, shown in the previous post down there _☟. About a cup of it was used for its starch in place of corn starch as thickener, if a thickener would be needed in addition to eggs. So this is a banana/rice pudding. Egg is blended with milk the same way the banana is blended, as shown above ☝, which included the cooked rice as well. They were all brought up to temperature together with sugar and a pinch of salt. Vanilla extract added at the very end so that it would not be lost to evaporation through heat. Nutmeg to finish. 

The whole time I was holding in mind the possibility that corn starch might be needed, but the mixture thickened up beautifully all on its own, and quickly. The egg probably could have done it by itself, as a crème anglaise or a crème brûlée (without the burnt sugar top), or the rice could have done it itself through its own starch, but together they worked doubly effectively. 

I'm getting a little too arrogant for my britches. I could smell the sugar cooking in the milk and knew I was on the right track, then I could smell the banana as it heated and that assurance was confirmed. I never tasted it, an unforgivable slight no proper cook would countenance, because I was positive it would be delicious and I was right. This pudding is good as any I've ever had. 

I thought for a moment maybe I would try brown rice sometime for its beneficial fiber but I checked just now and learned that bananas do have a good deal of fiber themselves, so I do not feel so bad about eating pudding as I would had I prepared banana flavored pudding from a box. 

*  1 cup prepared rice

*  2 bananas

* 3 cups milk

* 3 jumbo eggs (one of them was a double-yolked egg. I am always filled with glee whenever that happens, and it happens a lot with jumbo eggs.)

* 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (I used a brownish raw sugar)

* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

* 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Process a portion of the milk, the eggs, rice, sugar, bananas, together however you wish. I used an immersion blender and it worked great. A food processor would be my second choice. But you can do it however you wish, say, a potato masher, or a ricer using the disk with the fine holes, an old-fashioned egg beater, or a hand-held mixer.  And a whisk.  I suppose you could temper the eggs as they teach in culinary school, I am imagining, or bring it all up to temperature together as I have. I do not see a difference there. 

You know, a blow torch is not required for crème brûlée. You can sprinkle the tops with a thin layer of sugar, any type will do but plain white refined cane is best, set the cups on a baking tray and insert directly under the broiler. This is how it was done in the old days before blow torches became chic. Turn the tray to assure even sugar burning. Of course, all the cups must be the same height and filled to the same level or you will create problems with the sugar caramelizing unevenly. For the diner they are sort of fun -- tapping the hardened surface until it cracks to get at the soft goop underneath. It's all so decadent.