Cardamom-scented rice pudding

My SO enjoys good homemade rice pudding, and I, well ... yeah; let's just say that I'll eat it if I have to. Last week my SO tried a new rice pudding recipe based on two recipes from Joy of Cooking, and reports that this is the creamiest and most flavorful rice pudding we've ever made. So, if rice pudding is your thing, then this is the dish for you, and thus it's last week's second end-of-the-week recipe blogging post (or this week's middle-of-the-week recipe blogging post, since I seem to be running constantly behind).

This rice pudding is a creamier, less-thick version of rice pudding than the typical solidified rice and sweetened goo, so even if you don't like the typical rice pudding, you may want to give this a shot.

3/4 cup jasmine rice
1 1/2 cups water
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt
3 7/8 cup 1% milk
2 tablespoons (1/8 cup) heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
2 whole cardamom pods
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs

1. Put the rice, water, and salt into a medium non-stick pot, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
2. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer until the water is absorbed (~15 minutes).
3. Add the milk, cream, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and cardamom pods, rasie the heat to medium, and simmer uncovered, until the pudding has the consistency of a thick cream soup (~40 minutes). Stir frequently, especially towards the end (my SO stirred every 5 minutes initially, then stirred more often at the end).
4. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and remove the cardamom pods.
5. Beat together the eggs and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar.
6. Gradually add 2 cups of the hot pudding to the egg and sugar mixture, stirring constantly. Mix this back into the remaining pudding.
7. Return the pot to low heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until the pudding starts to thicken again (~5 minutes).
8. Scoop the pudding into a serving bowl, and chill thoroughly.

Note: To easily measure the 3 7/8 cup milk, add the 2 tablespoons of cream to a 4 cup measurer, and then add enough 1% milk to make 4 cups total. You could reduce, or potentially even eliminate, the cream if you used 2% or whole milk.

Rombauer, I. S., M. R. Becker, and E. Becker. 1997. Joy of Cooking. Scribner, NY.