"Fly" pudding

fancydude

Hope I'm not overdoing the custard recipes! But I did make this the other day and it was quite a surprise that it turned out so well. My grandfather Vic was quite the jokester and when we were kids, he used to make this custard/rice pudding with raisins. He insisted that he used flies (the raisins). Well, when you're 5 years old, you're just not quite sure what to think, especially when your grandfather is usually quite serious. Anyway, the reason I'm including this recipe here is his called for whole milk and half & half and I experimented with skim milk and was very pleased with the results. I should note also that he always made this after we came back with leftover rice from the Chinese restaurant. The "good old days' when places used to give huge portions!

Seriously though, this comes out tasting almost as creamy as his did with probably 2/3 less calories.

Grandpa Vic's Fly Pudding (reduced calorie version)

4 cups skim milk
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup sugar or a bit more if you like it real sweet
4 medium eggs
2 Tbsp (or more to taste) vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups cooked rice (white or brown or arborio)
Cinnamon or nutmeg or both

Lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan with butter or margarine. In a small saucepan, plump raisins by simmering for about 1/2 hour in the smallest amount of water possible. Place the rice evenly in the bottom of the pan. Of course, you can use more or less than 2 cups depending on your preference since it has nothing to do with how the pudding sets. Layer the drained raisins over that.*

Beat sugar, eggs, salt and vanilla. Stir in milk. Pour gently over raisins and rice. Cover the top with cinnamon. Take a fork and lightly "fold" the cinnamon into the milk, making your strokes just below the surface of the milk. Don't worry if it doesn't mix in completely.

Bake at 350F for about an hour or until a silver knife inserted into the custard comes out clean.

you can include the raisin liquid as natural sweetener, but the water will show up at the bottom of the pan. Sometimes I include it, sometimes I don't.

fancydude

obviously no one made this in all these years. it is a 9 x 9 pan. Grandpa used 4 cups of whole milk and 4 cups of half and half and 6 or 8 eggs to fill a 9 x 13 pan.