The addition of orange and rum are what makes this a very different rice pudding than you’re probably used to. Of course, rum isn’t a typical flavoring in Italian cooking, but once again I’ve taken the liberty of infusing a little New World twist into an Old World classic.

Ingredients

　　5 cups whole milk

　　2/3 cup Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice

　　1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

　　1/2 cup sugar

　　2 teaspoons dark rum

　　1 teaspoon grated orange zest

　　Orange segments

　　In a heavy, medium saucepan, combine the milk and rice. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean and add the bean. Bring the milk to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring frequently, until the rice is tender, about 25 minutes. Stir in the sugar, rum, and orange zest. Cook until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes longer. Discard the vanilla bean and spoon the rice pudding into bowls. Cover and refrigerate until the pudding is cold, about 5 hours and up to 1 day ahead. Serve with orange segments.

　　Reprinted with permission from Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes by Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Copyright © 2005 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.