White Chocolate Rice Pudding with Dried Cherry Sauce

Ingredients

• 0.5 cup almonds toasted sliced
• 8 servings cherry sauce dried
• 4 cups half-and-half 
• 0.8 cup rice medium-grain
• 0.3 teaspoon salt 
• 0.5 cup sugar 
• 1  vanilla pod split
• 1.5 cups water hot
• 0.8 cup chocolate morsels white

Equipment

• frying pan
• sauce pan

Directions

1. Combine water and rice in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.
2. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into pan. Stir seeds, pod, sugar, half-and-half, and salt into rice. Cook over medium-low heat 30 minutes, stirring often.
3. Remove vanilla bean pod.
4. Add white chocolate morsels, stirring until melted.
5. Let cool 5 minutes. Spoon rice pudding into 8 individual serving dishes. If not serving immediately, cover and chill. When ready to serve, top with Dried Cherry Sauce, and sprinkle with almonds.