Baked Oatmeal

Puzzled with how to have a healthy breakfast at work, my sister suggested Heidi's baked oatmeal. She served this at a brunch with some girlfriends. Not only is it great for crowds, but it's re-heatable in single-serve portions that will have all your co-workers asking for the recipe.

 

 Baked Oats with Bananas and Blueberries

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain salt
• 2 cups milk (or nut milk) 
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 bananas, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries or a mix of berries

 
Preheat. 375 degrees w/ a rack in the top third of the over. Butter the inside of your baking dish.


Step one. In a bowl, combine the oats, half of the walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

 
Step two. In another bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, milk, egg, vanilla and half of the butter.






 


 




Step three. Lay bananas across the bottom of the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle two-thirds of the berries on top. Cover with the dry mix and then drizzle the milk mix over the oats. Scatter the remaining berries and walnuts over the top.












 



Step four. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden and the oats are set. Let cool for a few minutes. Drizzle with the remaining melted butter and serve.










Serve. With a little maple syrup on top. Divine.  

 enjoy.

Baked Brie

Brie en Croute 

Don't let the name intimidate you. Though it may look fancy, this appetizer is painstakingly simple, and requires almost no prep. If you've got parties to go to this holiday season, and you're not sure what to bring, you're in in luck! These "croutes" were wildly popular at my Thanksgiving get-together,  and you are sure to please a crowd in both presentation and in taste. This recipe is so easy to make you'll be kicking yourself for not knowing it sooner. And better yet, it's classy and oh-so impressive. 

I don't usually encourage buying store bought dough, because most dough (pasta, pizza, pie, bread) is easy and inexpensive to make yourself. However, in the rush of Thanksgiving, I did not intend on making my first attempt at puff pastry dough, and you probably don't either. So in this instance, I recommend picking up a set of pastry sheets at the store. 

**Please note this recipe will make one (1) brie en croute, but I have offered two options for filling. 

Ingredients*:

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, pre-packaged
• 1 wheel of Brie 
• 1 egg beaten

Filling #1:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup walnuts 
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Filling #2: 

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, or slivered almonds
• 1 small (8-ounce) wheel Brie
• 1/2 cup cranberry sauce (or your favorite jam) 

Optional:

• Crackers for serving 

Directions:

prep. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F . Defrost puff pastry for approx. 20 minutes before unfolding. 

step one. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Saute the nuts in the butter until golden brown, approximately 5 minutes. 

• For Filling #1 Add the cinnamon and stir until walnuts are coated well. 

step two. Lay the puff pastry out on a flat, floured surface. Gently roll pastry with a rolling pin to increase the size of the sheet 1 to 2 inches in each direction. Brush both sides of the sheet with beaten egg. Center the wheel of Brie on top of the pastry sheet.

step three. Place the brie in the center of the pastry. Arrange the nut mixture on top of the Brie.

• For Filling #1 Sprinkle the brown sugar over the mixture.

• For Filling #2 Spread Sauce (or jam) on top of the nuts

step three. Gather up the edges of the pastry, pressing around the brie and gather at the top. Gently squeeze together the excess dough and tie together with a piece of kitchen twine.

step four. Brush the beaten egg over top and side of Brie. Place Brie on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes until pastry is golden brown.

Serve with crackers.

Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen

Mejadra

Jerusalem: A Cookbook, Part III

 

 

Mejadra recipe from Jerusalem: A Cookbook

This is the third installment from a whirlwind weekend of cooking with my sister. We chose three recipes form Yotam Ottolenghi's latest installment Jerusalem: A Cookbook. My sister and I are definitely food nerds, so we were excited to cook with authentic Mediterranean ingredients.

My collection of goods from the Mediterranean Market

It was a lot fun exploring the flavors and traditions of Jerusalem. I learned a lot of new ways to use spices, and of course, enjoyed sampling all the fabulous flavors of the region. Each dish was so unique and flavorful, it's a safe bet that anything from this book will surprise your taste buds and delight your guests. 

If you love lentils and curry spices, you'll love Mejadra.  Apparently,  the two authors of this book both agreed on this recipe as their favorite.

Mejadra

(Recipe from Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, copyright © 2012)

 

Some notes about this recipe: 

Mejadra calls for a few spices that you might not have stored in your cabinet. To avoid spending a lot, try finding a grocery store that offers spices in bulk, like Sprouts, so you can buy just the amount that you need. Then, after you discover how amazing this dish is, you can decide whether or not to invest in an entire package of cumin and coriander seeds.

Also, from start to finish, this recipe takes around an hour to prepare, but offers a little downtime so you can prepare other dishes simultaneously, or maybe just get some laundry done.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/4 cups green or brown lentils

• 4 medium onions

• 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• About 1 cup sunflower oil

• 2 tsp cumin seeds

• 1 1/2 Tbsp.  coriander seeds

• 1 cup  basmati rice

• 2 Tbsp.  olive oil

• 1/2 tsp.  ground turmeric

• 1 1/2 tsp. ground allspice

• 1 1/2 tsp.  ground cinnamon

• 1 tsp.  sugar

• 1 1/2 cups water

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 Instructions:

step 1. 
   Place lentils in a small saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until lentils have softened but still have a little bite. Drain and set aside.


step 2.  
   Peel onions and slice thinly. Place on a large flat plate, sprinkle with the flour and 1 teaspoon salt, and mix well with your hands. Heat sunflower oil in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan placed over high heat. Make sure oil is hot by throwing in a small piece of onion; it should sizzle vigorously. Reduce heat to medium-high and carefully add one-third of sliced onion. Fry for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally with a slotted spoon, until onion takes on a nice golden brown color and turns crispy. Use spoon to transfer onion to a colander lined with paper towels and sprinkle with a little more salt. Do same with other two batches of onion; add a little extra oil if needed.


step 3.
   Wipe saucepan in which you fried onion clean and put in cumin and coriander seeds. Place over medium heat and toast seeds for a minute or two. Add rice, olive oil, turmeric, allspice, cinnamon, sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt and plenty of black pepper. Stir to coat rice with oil and then add cooked lentils and water. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid, and simmer over very low heat for 15 minutes.

Remove from heat, lift off lid and quickly cover pan with a clean tea towel. Seal tightly with lid and set aside for 10 minutes.


step 4.
   Finally, add half fried onion to rice and lentils and stir gently with a fork. Pile mixture in a shallow serving bowl and top with remaining onion.


serving suggestions: 
top with parsley and a dollop of yogurt like Lanbeh, a Middle Eastern style strained yogurt available at specialty stores. 

as always, enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower Salad

 Jerusalem: A Cookbook, Part II

 

Pomegranates are beautiful, but I've never really liked them much. So when my sister proposed this salad as the second recipe to put to test from Jerusalem: A Cookbook, I was skeptical. But when all was said and done, this salad showcases some great holiday flavors, and next to the crunch of the hazelnuts, I've finally found a way to enjoy pomegranate seeds.

 

 

Roasted Cauliflower, Hazelnut and Pomegranate Seed Salad 

(Recipe from Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, copyright © 2012)

 

"Cauliflower and pomegranate are popular foods in both Arab and Jewish communities, and the sweet and sour combinations in this dish capture the flavors of the region."

 Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower, broken into small florets (1 1/2 pounds total)

• 5 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 large celery stalk, cut on an angle into 1/4-inch slices (2/3 cup total)

• 5 tablespoons hazelnuts, with skins

• 1/3 cup small flat-leaf parsley leaves, picked

• 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds (from about 1/2 medium pomegranate)

• Generous 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• Generous 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

• 1 teaspoon maple syrup

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

 

step 1.
 Mix the cauliflower with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and some black pepper. Spread out in a roasting pan and roast on the top oven rack for 25 to 35 minutes, until the cauliflower is crisp and parts of it have turned golden brown. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside to cool.


step 2. 
 Decrease the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast for 17 minutes.

step 3. 
 Allow the nuts to cool a little, then coarsely chop them and add to the cauliflower, along with the remaining oil and the rest of the ingredients. Stir, taste and season with salt and pepper accordingly.

Serve at room temperature.