What does a world renowned chef and reigning king of haute cuisine serve for dessert at his 3-star Michelin restaurant in the heart of Paris? What follows a gastronomic feast filled with black truffles, veal kidneys, foie gras and fromage where the average bill weighs in at $1500 for two? Apparently, from what I’ve read in review after review, that feast also includes a bread sommelier. A bread steward whose sole purpose in life, is to ensure you select the proper bread, from the dozen or so breads baked fresh in-house, to be paired with your course. No Dorothy, we’re not in Kansas anymore.
After such royal treatment, I’d imagine dessert would have to be the bee’s knees. An urban legend filled with secret ingredients. Sacred vows of confidentiality. Some fancy French pastry crust no one could ever replicate, coupled with an even fancier French fruit filling. A dessert that took scores of Europe’s top pastry chefs centuries to conjure up and perfect. It turns out, nothing could be further from the truth. As described in his book, Guy Savoy, decides instead, to go with something he claims took him 30 years to muster up enough nerve to feature on his dessert menu. Something he touts that, for him, is “par excellence”. The minute I read this , I knew I had to try making Guy’s Rice Pudding.
Five simple ingredients, which you probably have sitting in your kitchen right now, is all it takes. A saucepan and a wooden spoon. A little scraping, a little stirring and less than an hour later – VoilĂ ! C’est fini. For me, the best part of making this rice pudding, besides its sheer simplicity, was being swathed in the vanilla infused steam that rose steadily from the saucepan. Ahhhhhh…..one of the best home facials I’ve ever had. Guy writes that he likes to serve his rice pudding at room temperature, but I actually prefer mine warm. It’s not too sweet, ohhh sooo creamy, and an economical way to dream up a (teeny) tiny taste of dinner at Guy Savoy’s.
Rice Pudding
Tweaked from Guy Savoy, Simple French Recipes for the Home Cook, serves 4
Music Pairing: Eartha Kitt, C’est si bon
Ingredients
1/2 cup short-grain white rice
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/4 cups heavy cream or half and half
2 vanilla beans
1/4 cup sugar
Method
Place rice in a large saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and drain into a strainer.
Return rice to the pan. Add milk and cream. Split vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape the seeds with the tip of a paring knife. Add pods and seeds to the saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 45-50 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Stir in sugar and simmer for 10 more minutes. Pour the rice pudding into a small serving bowl, discarding vanilla beans. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve the pudding at room temperature.
Truly, truly one of my favorite desserts and comfort foods all wrapped in one dreamy, white package. ;) Yum. I couldn’t agree with you more.
-Michaela
hi michaela – completely agree! it’s hard to get more comforting than rice pudding, huh?
I will have to try this!! I can’t imagine paying $1500 for a meal!! =O I hate spending money on food. =P
hi liv – $1500 is a wee-bit steep!! :)
I love this dish and it reminds me of my childhood.
My grocery list…
Short-grain white rice
Whole milk
Heavy cream
Vanilla beans
This sounds so warm and comfy.
hi tracy – that is my type of grocery list for a cold chilly night!
I love that you suggested a music pairing! Rice pudding is so comforting–this looks delicious.
the kitchenwitch – i’m a firm believer in music + food!
Thanks for stopping by — could you grow the hibiscus indoors most of the year and then transfer its pot outside when it warms up? Or is your problem more the lack of sunlight due to that lovely Pac NW rain? I’m grew up in Wisconsin and went to school in Minnesota where the climate is not even remotely tropical; it’s nice to see different flora here.
I was in the kitchen moments ago pondering a batch of rice pudding. I jump here and TA-DA… a cozy looking recipe for just that! Spooky — and fortuitous!
Cheers,
*Heather*
hi heather – i’ve tried…many a times. even when we lived in san francisco – where the sun was plentiful, it just never seemed quite hot enough. i grew up in chicago, so i feel your pain, sister! here’s to rice pudding! :)
Pls send me some!!!
Weak-kneed….I love your photos. I so want to make this rice pudding and put it in a pie shell…., with some orange zest
First, I always love the photos in your post, but this time – oh my! They really struck me. Second, I have been developing an ever deeper appreciation for the joys of rice pudding, and I must try this version. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Mmmmm rice pudding…a favorite of mine! I can’t imagine paying $1500 for a meal but I could certainly imagine eating it:)
hi nutmegnanny – me too…eating it would not be the problem!
how much love would you feel to be gifted one of these petit pots??? a LOT!!!
hi amelia – i’d be happy to gift you with one!
Hi I am so LOVING those petit pots you used in this post! Where did you get them? They are too cute :) This recipe sounds delicious.
Love the musical pairing choice – meyow! Rice pudding cravings are in the air; been seeing more people making it, and with good reason. It’s the perfect cure to a blustery day, and the little gems you made look so creamy-dreamy!
A lovely rice pudding! So comforting!
Cheers,
Rosa
How funny! Before you even got to the music pairing I was thinking of Eartha Kitt’s song! Lovely recipe!
Lovely pics and it sounds simply delightful.
mmmm rice pudding! this is such a great recipe and as usual I love your photos!
This is the bees knees, indeed. I’ve been craving rice pudding and have bookmarked a few versions to consider. Yours is lovely. Very simple and wholesome ingredients, but one of my favorite desserts. Your photography is, as always, just lovely.
Sounds so delicious right now. Those jars in your photos are so cute!
I’ve never heard of bread steward, but, then again, I can’t afford to go to restaurants that charge $1500 for a meal. That’s probably why. :-)
hi erin – i know, crazy, right? i don’t think i’ll ever experience a bread steward either, much less afford that type of price tag for a meal for two!
I love rice pudding. You may want to try it with Kalijira Rice from Bengal. It cooks much faster and the texture is nice. You need less of the other ingredients.
hi ania! thanks for the suggestion – i’ll keep a lookout for next time!
I have never made rice pudding… but now is time to try. That must have been a wonderful meal!
Be still my heart! Rice pudding is a favorite.
I now know what it feels like to have “dinner envy”.
Can a meal get any better?
hi brad – yes, i feel dinner envy too. i can only imagine how that meal would go down!
So funny because I made rice pudding last night and ate it up for breakfast this morning with some sauteed apples. I didn’t have milk or cream, so I used some leftover coconut milk, but I definitely love the sound of this rice pudding. A lot. Not $1500 lot, but still.
hi kickpleat – coconut milk sounds sooooo perfect for rice pudding. don’t think i’ll ever sit down for a $1500 meal…but at least it shows the power of rice pudding! YAY!
Your photos are beautiful. I love your blog…and your rice pudding!
Well now that you’ve put it that way, there’s no way I can NOT try this recipe! Maybe I need to find myself a bread sommelier first though.. just to keep within the mood of things :D
and that’s why after 20 years in the kitchen my absolute favorite things to make are gumbo, grits, poached eggs and pound cake. the only difference between haute cuisine and comfort food is the person serving you and the plate that it’s served on.
rice pudding is so wonderfully magnificent!!
Always reminds me of pudding as a child, although it was never present as beautiful as yours, well done.
Hi, I’m new to your blog. Beautiful photos and I love the idea of a music pairing.
Love rice pudding but my hubs is not a big fan…would still love to try this!
WHAT!!! $1500 for a meal… Are you kidding me? Gosh, so envy.
Sure, this brings back many childhood memories, but with such a short list of simple ingredients, there’s nothing to stop me from recreating those wonderful memories in my own kitchen, with this creamy dessert.
Love all your photos!
5 ingredients! I love things that deliver with so little fuss. Nothing beats the fragrance of vanilla.
This sounds simply yummy. I am going to make this tomorrow.
Rice puddings are great… the pics are great. Made with so many variations and yet so tasty and comforting. We make a variation of this with basmati rice and slivers of almonds, pistachio, raisins and a dash of cardamom. It is called rice keer. It is my hubby’s favorite dessert :-)
I really like this pudding. The pictures look fabulous. Thanks for sharing.
Nisrine
I haven’t made rice pudding in ages. For some reason I recalled my last attempt as tasty, but daunting. This looks quite straightforward and delicious. Thanks!
Love your blog! Hello????? Where was I all this while??? You write beautifully and your photos, absolutely enchanting.
Ju
This is the prettiest, yummiest and most lovely meal ever. I could easily eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Oh my! I think this is the first time I have actually drooled over rice pudding. I AM going to make this recipe! Your commentary made me smile and your photos are absolutely stunning.
These 2 pictures are simple but SO BEAUTIFUL! and now I want – no, I NEED – such a rice pudding! love this post!
I just made this and I can’t tell you how AMAZING my kitchen smells right now…. heavenly! I wish I could bottle up the smell for later! Thanks for the recipe, its delicious!
so glad you enjoyed it, leah! i felt exactly the same way…i wanted to just sit in the kitchen and breathe deeply. :)
A thousand thanks, just for starters. I made this today, and it was the rice pudding I’ve been pining for (and failing to produce) for the past ten years, give or take. It is the best of all worlds: so simple to assemble, straightforward to make, and perfection on a spoon. As my five year old put it: “Mom, let’s make this rice pudding EVERY afternoon it snows. No, just every afternoon. Okay?” Sure thing.
I love this recipe! It sounds perfect for when the weather starts to get a little chillier. Any chance you could share with us what type of rice you used specifically?
foodienextdoor – i used arborio rice for this recipe, but any short-grain rice would work just fine.