aka puddin’
I came a little late to the pudding game. If you have been following along for any amount of time, you know that I grew up in a only homemade, no convenience food home. Pudding stayed in its box, on the shelf of the grocery store. And…to be honest…whenever I had it a friend’s house, I kinda didn’t see the allure. Don’t even get me started on banana pudding–talk about gaslighting.
I knew pastry cream, because my mom would make it to put in her eclairs, but it took me a while to realize that pastry cream and pudding are basically the same. Except pastry cream uses whole milk enriched with egg yolks and butter, rather than only relying on cornstarch to thicken.
This recipe is very easy and will have you whipping up puddin’ on the daily. It is basically breakfast food
try and convince me otherwise
I enjoy it topped with gently whipped {unsweetened} cream or creme fraiche and a brandied or Amarena cherry for further indulgence
3 cups full-fat milk
3 duck egg yolks, or 5 large chicken egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
7 oz bittersweet chocolate chips or chopped bar (63-70%)
1 oz unsalted butter at room temperature
So tell, me. Are we fans of Valentines, Galentines, Palentines Day?
I kind of am; in the way that it is hard for me to say yuck to pink and red and conversation hearts AND giant boxes of chocolates AND flowers AND testimonies of love.
I’m also kinda not. In the way that I don’t want anyone to feel obligated to spend money or insist there is a right way to spend the 14th of February
In this house, we celebrate with lunch. Sometimes it is a picnic, sometimes it is a restaurant, sometimes it is kraft mac n’ cheese while watching Newhart on DVD. Mike and I swap planning from year to year. Sometimes, we shift it to another day if something comes up or the restaurants get savvy to the tradition and only offer a special Valentine’s Day prix fix meal.
This year, I will be out of town on the 14th. Also, it lands on a day I observe a fasting tradition, so I planned Saturday lunch at a great little fish house in a nearby town. We make a little effort for Valentine’s. Even though we show our love for each other every day, we don’t show it like this. Sometimes, it is nice to shake off the norm and proclaim a day of love designed around commercialism instead of deep and abiding tolerance (she says with tongue firmly planted inside cheek).
If you feel like doing something a little extra for yourself or yourself and someone else, might I suggest a few of these fun and delicious treats?