New Twist On An Old Favorite

I try to eat a healthy breakfast every work day and that includes a bowl of oatmeal at least three times a week.  My go to oatmeal is another Bob's Red Mill product from here in Oregon called 5 Grain Cereal. It is a wonderful combination of oats and other grains that makes a delicious hot cereal. 

If I think ahead the night before, I put 1/2 cup of cereal combined with 1 cup of skim milk to soak overnight in the fridge, then microwave in the morning with a handful of raisins or dried cranberries.  This makes a soft and luscious oatmeal.  Another variation I share with you today is something I recently discovered, chocolate oatmeal.  It takes oatmeal to a whole other level with very little additional calories.  With a few slices of bananas or just by itself, this is like eating dessert for breakfast.  I don't cook this with milk, just water and add a splash of milk after it's cooked.  If you remember enjoying Chocolate Malt-O-Meal as a kid, you will certainly enjoy this.

Chocolate Oatmeal

1/2 cup old fashion oats
1 cup water
1 dash salt
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
Sugar or honey to taste

Combine oats, water and salt and stir. Microwave for 5 minutes.  Stir in cocoa and sugar.  Add a splash of milk if desired.  Enjoy.

Hey Baby!

The Husband and I often go to a wonderful breakfast institution in our town called The Original Pancake House.  They're not fooling us though. We know they are not the "Original" by any means, though they have very good food.  One of their specialties is the Dutch Baby which comes to the recipients tables all puffy and golden and delicious looking.

We have never ordered one and recently I decided to give making one at home a try.  One word: Spectacular!  This is so easy to whip together, especially if you are use to making popovers or Yorkshire pudding.  The batter is very similar as is the cooking technique.  Make sure to use the correct size pan and the secret is to preheat that pan for 10 minutes in a very hot oven.  I used my trusty, well seasoned cast iron skillet and I delivered a perfect Dutch Baby to the breakfast table.  A dusting of powdered sugar and a sprinkling of fresh lemon juice is all you need to accompany this tasty treat.

P.S. Congratulations to my beautiful niece and her husband on the birth of their new baby girl!!

Dutch Baby

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons grated zest and 2 tablespoons juice from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups skim milk (per recipe, makes for a crisper end product using skim milk)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter , melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Brush surface and sides of large skillet with oil. Place skillet on oven rack and heat until oil is shimmering, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine flour, cornstarch, lemon zest, and salt in large bowl. Whisk eggs in another bowl until frothy and light, about 1 minute. Whisk milk, butter, and vanilla into eggs until incorporated. Whisk one-third of milk mixture into flour mixture until no lumps remain, then slowly whisk in remaining milk mixture until smooth.

Carefully pour batter into heated skillet and bake until edges of Dutch Baby are deep golden brown and crisp, about 20 minutes. Transfer skillet to wire rack and sprinkle Dutch Baby with lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar. Cut into wedges. Serve.

Sinful Cinnamon Rolls

Here is an amazing recipe for some delicious cinnamon rolls that, though time consuming, are really very easy to make.  One of the beauties of this recipe is that you can make them a day ahead and once they are in their cute little rolled up snail shapes and risen, you can put them in the fridge overnight and bake them the next morning for your breakfast.

The dough is so easy to work with.  It is pliable and wasn't at all sticky.  I didn't have to add one bit of extra flour as the recipe stated might be necessary.  This recipe has the edition of cornstarch in it which I had never seen before and I think that is one of the keys to the ease of rolling and shaping.

I did vary this recipe somewhat in that it stated it made 8 very large rolls and I decided to make 16 sensible sized rolls and I cut the baking time by about 10 minutes.  Let your conscience and waistline be your guide. If you are looking for a showstopper for a brunch or to knock the socks off your co-workers some day, this should do it for you!

Cinnamon Rolls

Dough
3/4 cup whole milk, heated to 110 degrees
1 envelope of rapid rise yeast
3 large eggs at room temperature
4 1/4 cups all purpose white flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter cut into 12 pieces and softened to room temperature

Heat the oven to 200 degrees.  When preheated turn it off.  Line a 13x9 inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang of foil over the pan edges.  Grease the foil and a large bowl and set aside.

Whisk the milk and yeast in a medium bowl until the yeast dissolves then whisk in the eggs.  In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix the dry ingredients until combined.  With the mixer on low, add the liquid mixture in a slow, steady stream and mix until the dough comes together, approximately 1 minute or so.  Increase the speed to medium and add the butter, 1 piece at a time, until well incorporated.  Continue to mix until the dough is smooth and comes away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.  If the dough is still wet and sticky after 10 minutes, add up to 1/4 cup more flour, 1 Tbsp. at a time until the dough releases from the sides of the bowl. 

Turn the dough onto a clean lightly floured surface and knead to form a smooth, round  ball.  Transfer to the greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the warm oven.  Let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Filling

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsp. butter, softened

Combine the sugar, cinnamon and salt in a bowl. 

Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll the dough into an 18 inch square.  Spread the softened butter over the entire surface of the dough then evenly sprinkle the prepared filling over the dough.  Starting with the nearest edge, roll the dough into a tight cylinder and pinch to seal the seam.  Cut into 8 pieces (or 16 as I did).  Transfer the pieces, cut side up to the prepared pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.  After they have risen, the buns can be put in the refrigerator overnight.  When ready to cook, let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

Glaze

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp whole milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Beat the cream cheese, milk, vanilla and sugar together until smooth.  Bake the buns until deep golden brown and the filling is melted, about 35-40 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and top the buns with 1/2 cup of the glaze; let cool for 30 minutes.  Top with the remaining glaze and serve.

Buttermilk Cake Doughnuts

The Husband is a devoted fan of The Simpsons. (Quite frankly, show me a male who isn't...) Like Homer, The Husband is also a devoted fan of doughnuts. As Homer once wisely observed, "Donuts-- is there anything they can't do?"

Since I am a devoted fan of The Husband (Quite frankly, show me a female who isn't...), I thought I would once again try my hand at homemade doughnuts for our Saturday morning coffee/newspaper time together. I had tried a time or two previously, and not had a lot of success. But one must perservere, so I found a new recipe to try. It went fairly well this time but, just like in previous attempts, the dough was extremely soft and I had to add much more flour than what was called for. However, once I got the dough to a workable consistency they cut out nicely and cooked up just as the recipe said they would. Like so many of my odd kitchen gadgets, I found my doughnut cutter at a garage sale somewhere along the way. Certainly not something I've used much but it came in handy today!

Buttermilk Cake Doughnuts

2 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup buttermilk

3 Tbsp butter, melted

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground mace

Vegetable oil for frying

Confectioners sugar and cinnamon sugar for dusting doughnuts

(I cut this recipe in half from the quantities listed above as two dozen doughnuts seemed a bit excessive for the two of us. (Though Homer and The Husband would argue this point, it worked fine.)

Whisk the eggs until light and lemony in color. Gradually add the sugar, whisking constantly until mix is thick and ribbony.

Stir in the buttermilk and melted butter. Add the sifted dry ingredients into the egg mixture and stir until combined. IMPORTANT: Do not overwork the dough. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Pour oil to the depth of 2-3 inches into a large heavy pot. Heat it to 375 degrees. While oil is heating roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness. Cut doughnuts out with a doughnut cutter or a biscuit cutter. Fry the doughnuts in small batches until golden brown. Turn once after 1 1/2 minutes per side. Use a slotted spoon to take them out and drain on paper towels. Check the oil before putting in new batches to ensure it is at correct temperature. Dust the doughnuts while still warm. Makes approximately 2 dozen doughnuts and doughnut holes.

Cosmopolitan Quiche

When I was a fresh out of college, a month didn't go by when I didn't purchase a copy of the latest Cosmopolitan magazine. I read it cover to cover hoping Helen Gurley Brown and her staff could teach me the secrets of being a successful single gal in the 80's. They tried to teach me how to wear fashionable clothes, put on my makeup the right way, how to accessorize and most importantly, how to turn my man on so no other girl would steal him away.

Alas, none of these lessons really took with me at the time. But one very invaluable lesson I learned from my Cosmopolitan magazines was how to make the most fabulous quiche ever. I think quiche is one of those dishes that comes in and out of favor and whenever I make one I think to myself "why don't I make this more often?" It covers so many yummy food bases: eggs, bacon, veggies, cheese, half and half and it is very easy to make if you go with the pre-made pie crust. So with that, I share with you my all time favorite quiche recipe.

Cosmopolitan Quiche

1 9 inch deep dish frozen pie crust (Prebake for 10 minutes at 375 deg)

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups half and half

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

8 slices bacon

1 1/2 cups grated Swiss cheese

1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and wrung out of extra moisture

1/4 cup finely diced onion

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Fry bacon, drain and crumble. Saute onion until lightly browned.

Beat eggs, half and half and salt and pepper in a medium bowl. After pie crust is pre-baked, put bacon and onions on bottom of crust, then spinach, then grated cheese. Carefully pour egg/cream mixture over the top. Place unbaked quiche on a cookie sheet (in case of spills) and bake for 30-35 minutes or until top is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.