My mother's version of rice pudding is the golden standard of this heart-warming dessert in my mind. This wasn't something she whipped together in 30 minutes, this was a few hours in the making. I remember looking through the oven door, wondering how much longer I would have to wait to dig my spoon into it and pull up a heap of rice and raisins all soaking in a custard bath! The combination of smells, vanilla, nutmeg, sugar would make my mouth water.