Creamy Date Rice Pudding

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

This is an incredible rice pudding! The secret ingredient: date crystals. These are dried dates that are in small chunks that look somewhat like Grape Nuts. We stumbled upon date crystals years ago when visiting the Palm Springs, CA area. The Shields date crystals can be used in baked goods, the famous Shields date shake, in granola, blended with my home made yogurt, you name it.

We bought a cookbook in New Orleans on our honeymoon and over the years, I've adapted a rice pudding recipe from this cookbook to my own by adding the date crystals (and a few other tweaks). The date crystals dissolve into the pudding and add color, texture, and incredible taste to the twist I've put on rice pudding.

1 cup uncooked Jasmine rice (this rice makes a creamier pudding, but any white rice will do)
1 qt milk
4 T butter
3/4 c sugar
1 t vanilla extract
3/4 c date crystals (ok, you can substitute with other dried fruit but it won't be the same!)
5 eggs, beaten
1 t cinnamon

Combine rice and milk. Simmer over low heat until the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the milk. I like this rice pudding creamy so I take it off the heat when it still has quite a bit of milk remaining.

Add butter, sugar, vanilla, date crystals, vanilla, eggs, and 1/2 t cinnamon. Pour into greased 2 qt casserole. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 t cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.

We love this both hot out of the oven and cold the next day. It never lasts long at our house!

Shields Date Crystals:
http://shieldsdates.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=2

Stilton Pecan Stuffed Dates

By Dave Washburn
Had a party to go to last weekend- nothing to take- raided the pantry-
1 8-oz pkg pitted dates (about 40)
whole pecans (about 40)
4 oz Stilton cheese room temp
good quality thin sliced bacon
Slice the dates down the side (they pit then like they do olives- at the ends, just slice them down one side). Schmere each pecan with a little of the Stilton- stick each one in a date, pressing to close- this is real easy because the dates are sticky and pliable. Wrap each stuffed date with half slice bacon, secure with a toothpick. Bake on a cookie sheet 400 degrees until brown (about 7 min.) turn bake until the other side is browned. Drain on paper towel. Serve room temp.