Is it "un-American" to not hand out candy during Halloween? My parents and I wrestled with the idea for a solid 3 minutes before deciding that it wasn't and went to our favorite celebratory restaurant far away from home (just in case the trick-or-treaters followed us). If karma is a thing, it sure hasn't hit me yet because I'm sitting here at my desk with a smile and cup of crème brûlée that I smuggled from the buffet line. You know when a crème brûlée is good when it is felony-worthy good.
And while the crème brûlée I had at the restaurant was the inspiration for this recipe, I didn't want to just copy it. I wanted to make an elevated crème brûlée, one that after your first bite you can't stop eating until all the cows and chickens say enough is enough. The resulting concoction, the convergence of a pumelo sale at the store, my experience at the restaurant, and the all-important cow-chicken factor, was this Pumelo Curd Creme Brulee. No need to thank me. Just enjoy.
The resurfacing heated debate of whether pavlova originated in New Zealand or Australia was really the inspiration for this week's chow creation. Just kidding - I just really like yummy things and this was surely that and even more! This pavlova layered dessert is not only delicious, but it is also texturally and aesthetically delectable. The crunchy chewiness of the pavlova, layered between smooth creamy pudding and accented with fresh sweet strawberries. This is to die for - literally, if God told me this was his welcome gift I would die right here right now (I'm just kidding, please don't kill me now. At least let me finish the post).
To kick off this three component dessert I'm going to separate some eggs. You only want the whites. If you get just the smidgiest bit of yolk in your whites consider it breakfast and start over. The yolk will prevent the whites from whipping and you'll be standing over your pavlova for hours wondering why it stays flat. Reserve 3 of the egg yolks for the vanilla pudding.
This week I have for ya'll a delicious Coconut Rice Pudding, the easiest, creamiest, smoothest rice pudding you have ever had, or in this case, read about and saw in pictures. Originally I was going to make something rose infused or scented, but then I got attacked by a colony of spiders living inside my roses. So that can happen. Anyways, that's why this week instead of drawing inspiration from the garden-y, flower-y aspect of spring, I thought about Spring Break. And what food item do you think of first when I say Spring Break. Pina Coladas. I know it's a drink, but you haven't seen those college students, Pina Coladas are spring breakers substinance for an entire week. So long story short, instead of partying I'm making rice pudding. I know, ya'll are the ones missing out.
Rice pudding is a very easy dessert to make. There isn't much skill involved with it and you can make it any flavor you want it to be. This week, I'll be showing you the base of a rice pudding and how you can spike it with a burst of tropical flavors like pineapple and coconut, maybe a little rum if you want but we'll talk about that more later. First things first we need to prepare our rice.
