Arroz Con Leche

That's just what I made today!

I knew I liked rice pudding from ages ago when my sister put the Kozy Shack Original Rice Rudding into the grocery cart. I'm still not sure how she knew it would be good...but it was phenomenal!

Then, while taking a breakfast run to the cafeteria at work one day, I stumbled upon Arroz Con Leche. Usually, anything sweet for breakfast is right up my alley! And it was heavenly. The hot milk, and the texture of the rice, and it's sweetness combined to make a quite sinful breakfast. Unfortunately (or fortunately for my tummy) the cafeteria only offered Arroz Con Leche on Fridays. Therefore, it became a dangerous weekly routine. :-/

Now that I'm no longer working onsite...I thought I'd try my hand at figuring out how to make Arroz Con Leche. I found this great recipe from Food Network Star: Ingrid Hoffman. The process is very easy but does require a bit of time. However, there's a lot of down time in between some steps.

Step 1: Soak 1 cup of long grain white rice (I used Jasmine rice) into 4 cups of water with 2 cinnamon sticks for 1 hour. See...I told you there'd be some down time ;-)

Step 2: Heat the water and rice to a boil (about 5 minutes) and then lower heat to cook for 10 minutes or until water is almost evaporated.

Step 3: While boiling water...beat 1 egg in medium bowl and then add 3 cups of whole milk (I used 2%) and mix well. Add the egg mixture to the rice. Then, add 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (12 oz.) and 1 tablespoon of Vanilla extract to the rice. Heat over low-medium heat, stirring carefully. Heat until it thickens for about 25 to 35 minutes. Note: As it cools, the rice mixture will continue to thicken!

Step 4: Consume!!!

As you can see, I topped mine with some extra cinnamon!

My craving has successfully been satisfied and...I think I ate too much ;-)

The Macaroon Squabble

I'm not really sure I can call myself a baker, although I think my boyfriend would beg to differ. I think he seems to enjoy anything that comes out of the oven that is made by me. But I must tell you, I don't cook...I bake.

Baking to me is instant gratification and involves a much more fun outcome...always something sweet and the baker always gets to lick the bowl ;-)

I wouldn't call myself a baker as I'm no expert on the terminology or such things as Dacquoise, Foam Cakes, a Charlotte dessert, or Boiled Icing.

And...I've always been a bit perplexed with what the heck a macaroon is! I've eaten (or rather, devoured) my fair share of coconut macaroons and I've seen the cutest whoopie pie/Oreo cookie looking French macaroons. But really, what's behind the "macaroon" because a coconut and french macaroon look nothing alike?

Well, according to Dictionary.com, a macaroon is, "a drop cookie made of egg whites, sugar, usually almond paste or coconut, and sometimes a little flour."

And according to wikipedia, "A macaroon (/mækəˈruːn/ mak-ə-ROON }}) is a type of light, baked confection, described as either small cakes or meringue-like cookies depending on their consistency. The original macaroon was a "small sweet cake consisting largely of ground almonds"^[1] similar to Italian or Moroccan amaretti."

Here (so we all have a visual) is an actual Lemon Meringue Tart courtesy of H Cakes.

By searching Google Images, I noticed Lauduree has to be THE expert when it comes to French Macaroons. As you can see below is the Laduree storefront captured by Moodboard

And their macaroons are absolutely adorable...

Courtesy of: Miss Francy Pants' Blog

Because the coconut macaroon is one of my favorite treats, I was intrigued to try my hand at making them. How hard could it be, right?

This is definitely something I will have to perfect because although the taste was fantastic...it's really all about the presentation, and that is where I came up lacking.

So with some practice, I'm sure to perfect the coconut macaroon. Until then, here is what I imagined mine to look something like...

Courtesy Of: About-recipes.com

In the process of making coconut macaroons, I've learned what exactly they are, and I can now say I know what Dacquoise, Foam Cakes, Charlotte style desserts, and Boiled Icing are!

And all in all, my biggest fan seemed to like what came out of the oven, and that's pretty much all that mattered.