Creamy Vanilla Puddin'

As much as I am a fan of delicious dark chocolate, I have a hard time passing up a creamy vanilla anything - pudding, custard, cake batter :) My husband, on the other hand, finds anything that is plain ol' vanilla simply not worth his time or calories. Just kidding - he could care less about calories. But really, he'd rather go without dessert (!!!) than have a vanilla cupcake or some vanilla pudding.

Usually, I make chocolate desserts for him, and we're both happy. But sometimes I remain completely selfish and make vanilla pudding just for me. I eat it warm, straight off the stove, plain or with whipped cream or with a bit of chocolate shavings.

There is no shortage of vanilla pudding recipes, but I do like this one very much, and it's easy with a little bit of richness added to it with the egg. I also toss in a tablespoon of butter at the end, along with the vanilla extract. (Because, honestly, who has vanilla beans just lying around?) The recipe comes from Smitten Kitchen.

2 2/3 c milk (divide it into two)
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c cornstarch
1/4 t salt
2 t of vanilla (or 1/2 vanilla bean)
1 large egg

Bring 2 cups of the milk to a boil in a medium saucepan. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Whisk in the remaining 2/3 cup milk, then the egg, into the sugar/cornstarch/salt mixture. Once the milk is boiling, add it to the mixture slowly, whisking the whole time.  Return it back to the saucepan, stirring constantly with a spatula, for one minute. Take it off the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter. Pour into dishes and refrigerate. Or just dig in.