Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Pumpkin Steel Cut Oats

 
On Friday night my girlfriend slept over... We drank a LOT of wine (some of us drank a bit more than others... some of us also think we should plan our next sleep over soon so some of us can drink MORE wine).
Knowing what I know about us, I knew that I should have a plan for breakfast.
So plan I did... and then, when I got up at the crack of dawn (after having drank what I would define as a LOT of wine), I realized I didn't have two of the ingredients to make my planned breakfast.  So I put my coat on over my pajamas and troddled off to the store... lucky for me, there's no one out and about at 7am on a Saturday morning... Lucky because my flannel pants made me look like I was a 14 year old girl that's trying to rebel against the world.  When I got home from my flannel clad excursion, I was ready to make us a hearty and healthy breakfast.  Make sure you eat this in your favorite flannel pj's with your favorite girlfriend.  Tastes best that way!
 
Recipe from The Kitchn
My notes in red.
 
 
Baked Pumpkin Steel Cut Oatmeal
serves 4 to 6
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided I don't actually think you need the first amount of butter to toast the oats.  Next time I'd leave that off)
1 1/2 cups steel cut oats
1 cup pumpkin or squash puree I used canned pumpkin.  Next time I'd use the whole can of pumpkin (14 floz)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg I used pumpkin pie spice because I'm lazy.  Put a lot in!
2 cups milk  Apparently you can do this with any type of dairy or non dairy milk.  I bet almond milk would be good!
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla I scraped out half a vanilla bean and also cooked the pod in the oats.
1/2 teaspoon salt
Heat the oven to 375°F. In a 3-quart (or larger) saucepan or Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat. (Your burner shouldn't be on at full blast, but the butter should melt quickly.) When the butter foams up, stir in the oats and fry them, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes or until they smell toasted.
Push the oats up against the side of the pan, (I took them out entirely because the pan I was using was too small) and drop the second tablespoon of butter in the now clear center of the pan. Dump in the pumpkin puree. Fry it in the butter, only stirring after about a minute. Stir in the sugar and spices and continue frying the puree for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until the color darkens slightly and the raw smell disappears. It's OK if a few dark brown spots appear as the puree sticks to the pan.
Pour in the milk and whisk everything to combine. Whisk in the water, vanilla and salt. Put a lid on the pan and put it in the oven. Bake for 35 minutes. Take the pan out of the oven, and carefully lift the lid (be cautious as steam will billow out). Stir the oatmeal. It will look quite loose still, but the oats should be al dente and tender. The oatmeal will thicken rapidly as it cools.
Eat immediately with a drizzle of cream or milk and maple syrup, or let cool and then refrigerate. Heat up bowls in the microwave or on the stovetop.  This is actually very good cold straight from the fridge.  It's a bit custardy and the oats are perfectly cooked.  Tastes like dessert for breakfast.  I don't put anything else on it (no need for added sugar or dairy!)

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