Pudding

Bananas are a good source of potassium, which is an important nutrient for lowering blood pressure. These bananas, enhanced with brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract, crown brown rice pudding, which is served barely warm.

The stated purpose of my junior year abroad was to study at the famous London School of Economics, but the first thing I did when I got to England was land a part-time job at the Roux brothers’ (also famous) restaurant, Le Mazarin. Of all the challenges of living abroad, I never thought I’d have a problem finding something decent to eat. Boy, was I wrong. While the food we served guests at Le Mazarin was topnotch, staff meals were a different story. Stripped chicken carcasses, limp vegetable trimmings, and, if we were lucky, a box of just-add-water mashed-potato flakes were the components of just about every meal. The rest of London wasn’t offering many great options either at that time. Fish and chips and heavy pub fare dominated the food scene in the late eighties, before Britain’s culinary renaissance. The one thing I found worth eating (and could afford on the £10 a week my job paid) was scones with clotted cream and strawberries. And that’s exactly what I ate, for 6 straight months. After so many meals of strawberries and cream, it’s a wonder that I still love that combination. Panna cotta (“cooked cream”), a silken, eggless Italian custard, is an easy-to-make complement to perfectly ripe berries. I’ve added crème fraîche to the traditional recipe to balance the strawberries’ sweetness with some tang. You can make the panna cotta in individual ramekins and unmold them just before serving or make it in a large gratin dish and spoon it out at the table family-style.

When you crave a rich-tasting dessert that can be eaten the minute it’s done, this is a fine choice. I like to serve it with sliced apples, pears, and/or Asian pears on the side. The pudding can be used as a dip for the fruits as well.

Move rice pudding out of the bowl and into crisp tartlet shells; top each with juicy, ruby red blood-orange segments. The filling is flavored with vanilla bean and blood-orange juice. The tarts can be served warm, at room temperature, or chilled for an afternoon tea or as a delicious final course after dinner. Arrange the blood-orange sections in a floral pattern, then drizzle the tarts with extra juice.

There are thousands of recipes for bread pudding because it’s a classic for usin’ up leftovers. I think some of the best recipes come from New Orleans, where home cooks and restaurant chefs alike treat this humble dish with great respect. That’s where I got the inspiration for ours, which is pillow soft when warm and burstin’ with plump raisins and chewy bits of coconut.

I used to think I made a pretty good rice pudding. Then I went down to Miami and tasted the Cuban version, and I sent myself back to the stove. Now ours is modeled after the best ones I tasted down there. It’s perfumed with a bit of lime peel and has a creamy texture and a smooth taste spiked with rum.

We should rename this recipe Goldilocks Pudding! My mother’s notes say she made several attempts at my dad’s favorite dessert before coming up with this particular version—not too hard, not too soft. It has become a mainstay in my home, too. Garth prefers the pudding without the meringue, so I usually make two versions, one with and one without. Either way, it’s a homey, satisfying finish to any meal.

When my brother-in-law John turned fifty, my sister, Beth, wanted to make a really special dessert for him. She remembered his mentioning a favorite butterscotch pie his mother, Blanche, used to make and this recipe came from her. It was a big hit on his birthday.

This fabulous pudding has all the flavors of kheer, the Indian rice dessert, but is richer and creamier thanks to the added egg yolks. Many rice pudding recipes are made entirely on the stove top, which requires lots of vigilant stirring (and watching). My version starts on the stove top but is finished in the oven, which leaves your hands free for other things. Chopped toasted pistachios make a nice garnish for this comforting dessert.

WHY IT’S LIGHT Made with skim rather than whole milk, this velvety rice pudding is still plenty satisfying, thanks to eggs in the custardy filling. The recipe takes well to experimentation: Try adding pistachios, substitute chopped dried apricots or figs for the raisins, or use freshly grated nutmeg in place of the cardamom or cinnamon.

There’s a song I sang as a child with the words: “Arroz con leche, me quiero casar con una senorita que sepa planchar,” which means: “Rice pudding, I want to marry a lady who knows how to iron.” I do not know how to iron, but I think my Mexican rice pudding more than compensates for my lack of certain domestic skills. You’ve got three delectable choices here: Serve this warm, as is done traditionally; serve it cold; or, once it is cold, churn it in an ice cream maker for a scrumptious ice cream, scooped and served on a sugar cone.

Arborio rice is essentially risotto rice. I use these short grains to make classic risottos but also for this most decadent dessert. It’s rich, creamy, and, most important, absolutely loaded with chocolate! When I serve this I make a very light meal so everyone has room to indulge and the pudding is the star of the show. It’s a good choice if you need to make dessert ahead of time, as it keeps well in the refrigerator for several days.

Pots de Crème are always great, but flavored with ginger they become exotic yet there’s nothing to it.

As good warm as hot, this is a nice homey casserole to go with a roast or other dish in the spirit of Sunday dinner. Other vegetables you can prepare this way: rutabagas are not only traditional but wonderful, but other turnips are great too, as are carrots, potatoes, parsnips, and celeriac (celery root).

Berries are a big deal in Scandinavia. The farther north you go, the more precious they become. They are not only enjoyed fresh and preserved; they are celebrated, almost worshiped. This Jell-O-like dessert is a beaut.

It seems every country that grows rice makes rice pudding, and almost every experienced cook has his or her own technique. After years of playing with it, this is the one I like best, and it works well with the variations of most cuisines. In many cases rice pudding is simply milk bound by rice; often the amount of rice is well under 10 percent of the total. I prefer this recipe with just 1/4 cup, no more. The result is a thick milk custard with a recognizable but understated rice presence. If you want a dense and slightly chewier mixture, use the larger amount of rice. Other possible additions to rice pudding: a strip of lemon zest, a pinch of saffron threads, or a teaspoon of ground cardamom added at the beginning; a couple of tablespoons of raisins and/or slivered pistachios stirred in at the end. See the variations, and the following recipes, too—this group of recipes is unending.

A recipe from my friend Sumana Chatterjee, whose family lives in Calcutta. The ingredient list, obviously, could not be shorter, but don’t be deceived: This is a labor-intensive dish, best made on a cool day (we made it on a hot one and lost about five pounds each) when you are going to be in the kitchen for a long time. Having said that, it is wonderful stuff, creamy and delicious, representative of the scores of different milk desserts made throughout India.

A lovely yellow rice pudding, with the exotic flavor of saffron; interestingly, it’s dairy free. Use cinnamon or cardamom in addition to (or in place of) the rose water (available in small bottles at Middle Eastern stores) if you like.

A quicker, easier version of the preceding coconut milk pudding, this simple dessert is popular at food markets throughout Southeast Asia. Great with mangoes or any other ripe tropical fruit.