Arborio Rice Pudding

Aside from cakes, cookies, and mousse-y/ Chocolate-y things, I really really like these 2 desserts. Bread pudding and Rice pudding. I think I really like custard-y things, I don't know why, this just reminds me of the good old dorm days where I had an endless supply of REALLY good desserts (and food) at my lunch and dinner buffets. UCLA sure knows how to spoil their students with food. : ) A dessert they sometimes had was rice pudding, I think this was the answer to all my Che cravings. According to wikipedia, basically all cultures have some sort of rice pudding. In Vietnamese, we call it Che, which is a mixture of sticky rice with coconut milk mixed with beans, topped with more coconut. Yummm. I didn't have Vietnamese places around UCLA, so I craved those things a lot, along with those banh mi sandwiches : ). Anyway, I was hungry tonight, and wanted to eat rice pudding. Typically I would go to Trader Joe's to buy some... but I found that it's pretty easy to make, plus I had milk that was expiring today, so I had to find a recipe that used a lot of it.

Arborio Rice Pudding
Makes 4-6 servings

3/4 cup arborio rice (risotto rice)
1.5 cups water
1/2 tbsp butter
2 cups whole milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cloves
2.5 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup raisins
1 egg

1. Boil 1.5 cup water with butter, then add rice, bring to boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes stirring frequently.
2. In a separate saucepan bring 1.5 cups of milk to a boil, add in spices and salt. After the rice is done cooking (al dente stage) add rice to the milk mixture. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, add in sugar. Cook for another 10 minutes add in vanilla and raisins. Mix 1/2 cup milk with an egg, whisk thoroughly. Pour into the pot and mix quickly so that the egg doesn't cook. Cook for 3 minutes. Serve with cinnamon sprinkled on top, hot or cold. I like it cold.... and now I wait for it to get cold : (