Background: I always enjoyed eating the rice pudding my maternal grandmother made as a kid, unfortunately her recipe was never passed down. After seeing an 18th century recipe from Amelia Simmons “American Cookery” on Jas. Townsend and Son, called “Poor Man’s Rice Pudding”, which is made differently than I’m used to (baked versus double boiler), I decided to give it a try with flavors and local ingredients we like.

Ingredients:

4 oz jasmine rice uncooked
1 qt milk
1 tbsp unsalted butter cut in cubes
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ cup local honey
¼ tsp cayenne
3 dates chopped
1 egg beaten (stirred in while cold)
2 tbsp Jim Beam whiskey
1 tbsp pine nuts (chopped hazelnuts can be substituted)
Pinch of salt

Steps:

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. While the oven heats up mix together all the ingredients in a 2-3 qt. casserole and bring to a boil on the stove, stirring often, and turn off the heat.
  2. Place the cover on the casserole and place in the oven. Stir every 15-20 minutes and watch for the texture to change. This can be removed from the oven anywhere between 45 and 75 minutes based on personal preference of thickness.
  3. Spoon onto plates and top with homemade whipped cream.
  4. The recipe can be doubled for more servings as required.