French Fridays with Dorie: Rice Pudding and Caramel Apples

Rice Pudding and Caramel Apples from Around my French Table on eatlivetravelwrite.comRice. Pudding. Two words to strike fear into my heart and, unfortunately, this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe. Rice pudding with caramel apples (p. 429) to be exact. Not sure when exactly my dislike for rice pudding started and I am not sure exactly what it is about this dish I don’t like but the smell of the warm, milky rice is not one of my favourite things.  I remember my sister used to eat her cereal (Coco Pops) with warm milk and even the smell of that heating up on the stove was enough to drive me out of the kitchen at an early age (so, a powerful smell, since the kitchen was one of my favourite places to be even back then).

But, you know, when you haven’t missed a recipe in coming up to THREE YEARS of French Fridays with Dorie, (!) you just go ahead and make the dish even if you think or know you won’t like it.

Actually what saved the dish for me was a jar of Chef Lora Kirk‘s maple cranberry caramel from Ruby Eats. The maple caramel with cranberries drizzled over the apples which had been sautéed in a little butter was spectacular on its own.

Apples with Chef Lora Kirk's maple cranberry caramel from Ruby Eats on apples on eatlivetravelwite.comAnd then, you know, there was the issue of trying to make the pudding look pretty.  When in doubt, put in a mason jar…

Dorie Greenspan Rice Pudding and Caramel Apples on eatlivetravelwrite.com for French Fridays with Dorie

Et voilà:

Rice Pudding and Caramel Apples on eatlivetravelwrite.comAnd you know what? It actually wasn’t bad. To serve this again, I would use a mason jar half this size because it was a lot. But with the ratio  I used (a LOT of apples for not a lot of rice pudding) this was pretty tasty. So there you go – maybe I can learn to like rice pudding after all!

French Fridays with Dorie participants do not publish the recipes on our blogs (though this week, you can find the recipe online here), we prefer if you purchase Around My French Table for yourselves which you can do here on Amazon or Amazon Canada. Or for free worldwide shipping, buy from The Book Depository. Go on, treat yourself then join us here!

 

 

Canadian readers: Win a copy of In the Kitchen with Stefano Faita. Ends Wednesday October 2nd 2013 at 6pm EST.

32 thoughts on “French Fridays with Dorie: Rice Pudding and Caramel Apples”

  1. Fantastic presentation, Mardi. And I love your topping, too! Yup, east coast sounds great for our next meet up. I’d love to stay in the same time zone 🙂

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  2. I have to say I don’t like rice pudding either so skipped it. Usually when I skip I struggle to get it done anyway even if I don’t post it so I can say I did them all but this one, eh. If I do, its the mason jar for me too.

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  3. That’s so funny–it never occurred to me that someone would not like rice pudding. I’m glad you warmed to it, ever-so-slightly. Rice pudding is one of my favorite desserts that my mom made, and it’s one that never comes out as good as hers when I do it, even though I’m working off the same recipe.

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  4. I am so with you rice pudding, tapioca.. anything like that just doesn’t do it for me. Then I hear the opposite camp that finds it to be a wonderful comfort food. Taste,,,, so strange.
    Well you did your best with this for sure, and your apples and presentation are outstanding.

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  5. I love the way you presented the rice pudding in the Mason jars, so appealing. I am not a
    big fan of cooked fruit but that topping looks so good.

    The IFBC was so much fun and we enjoyed meeting with Dorie and her husband, Michael,
    they are both such a delight.

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  6. I think a lot of people don’t like rice pudding. I didn’t think I did, but it wasn’t something I actually ate. I didn’t like the idea of it! This recipe has made me a convert. Yours looks delicious!

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  7. This was a very difficult one to photograph. Especially because it took much longer than I anticipated and I had pretty much lost the light by the time it was ready. Yours look delicious though. Happy to hear that they were not as bad as you feared.

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  8. Yay, Mardi! I’m glad you like this more than you thought you would. I love the look in he Mason jars. I’m going to use that trick when I take some in my lunchbox on Monday! We really missed you last weekend, but hopefully you can make it next time we try to get together, and there will definitely be a next time!

    P.S. Those spoons are adorable and fun.

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  9. It figures that I am in the minority that liked rice pudding BEFORE trying Dorie’s version – sweet, high in calories and dessert that is not a major food group ? Check, check and check 🙂 That said, I was literally making this one in heels after realizing it had to cook 30 + minutes and I had just gotten home from a late work night on THURSDAY. I would have thought this would have made me hate it, but no- it was lovely. Of course, no surprise. I wish I had thought to present them like you did as my blond pudding on blond apples (MUST strive for more color next time !!!) in a glass did not do the trick. And my hubby joked at the large portion he ended up with too. But he ate it 🙂 PS- thanks for the sweet comments about Seattle. You were VERY missed. I was literally asking each Canadian blogger I met if they knew you. Reminds of when folks asked me if I knew their friend who attended Penn State when I did (we had like 10k kids a year go to that school :). I also understand that Trevor will be making the tote bags available for all Doristas to buy but after he removes the IFBC logo on the one side. Will keep an eye out and they are actually a fab tote- very long handled so good for over the shoulder. PS- love the spoons…..

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  10. It you ever plan on crossing the border in the Eastern time zone, let me know…
    I love rice pudding, so I wasn’t struggling with this one – I love that you used your new prop 🙂

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  11. I love rice pudding, so I’m not sure why I missed this recipe in the rotation. I liked it as much as I thought I would and I think there are more batches of the caramel apples, just on their own, in my future this fall. Your presentation is beautiful, as always.

    Reply

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