FoodFixe

Baked Omelette with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Goat Cheese, and Chives

2013-04-18T08:00:00-07:00

Dinner doesn't get any easier than this. Technically, it's breakfast, but I like breakfast best when it's lunch or dinner. Brinner, anyone?

I threw together this baked omelette the other night when I wanted to make something fast and use what I already had on hand in the fridge. OK, so this may not be fast in terms of baking time, but it is does come together fast.

The beauty of this dish is that you really can substitute any cheese, vegetable, and herb you like. Enjoy creating your own signature baked omelette.

Baked Omelette with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Goat Cheese, and Chives

Makes 6 servings

8 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
salt and pepper, to taste
5 ounces goat cheese
1/3 - 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not oil packed)
2-3 tablespoons chopped chives

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray an 8x8-inch baking dish (slightly larger will work as well) with pan spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and then whisk in the milk. Season with salt and pepper.

In the prepared baking dish, crumble the goat cheese and then add the sun-dried tomatoes. Gently pour in the egg mixture. Sprinkle the chives on top of the eggs.

Bake the eggs for 40-45 minutes until golden brown around the edge and a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Let cool 5 minutes, then serve.

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6 Chocolate Recipes for Wooing Your Valentine

2013-02-09T08:00:00-08:00

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. This year, trade in the store-bought confections and bake your sweetie a treat from the heart. Here are 6 of my favorite chocolate recipes—because who don’t love chocolate?

Chocolate Cabernet Tart

Chocolate Fondue with Grand Marnier

Chocolate Ganache Truffles

Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie

Kathy’s Kahlua Cake

Kahlua Fudge Brownies

5 Favorite Breakfast Recipes for New Year's Day

2012-12-30T09:30:00-08:00

New Year’s Day: The last hurrah of the holiday season. Whether you’re recovering from too much celebrating the night before or kicking off your resolutions, get the day and year off to a delicious start. Here are some of my favorite breakfast and brunch recipes. There’s something to satisfy whatever you’re in the mood for.

Something simple … Basic Oven Omelet

Something sweet … Blue Ribbon Coffee Cake

Something light … Almond and Orange Steel-Cut Oatmeal with Cranberry Sauce

Something hearty … Farmer’s Breakfast Casserole

Something festive … Paul’s Perfect Bloody Mary

May your new year be filled with good food and good friends with which to share it. Happy 2013!

Baking with Julia: Pumpkin Roll Cake

2012-12-09T10:00:00-08:00

I’m not referring to the Julia. No, this Julia is a young aspiring baker with whom I had the pleasure of baking with this past Saturday morning. Julia is a high school freshman who’s been participating in her school’s baking club. A mutual friend thought she might enjoy baking with and learning from someone who had once been a professional baker. Rest assured, I learned more from my time with Julia than she learned from me—but she walked away with the cake!

Julia wanted to try her hand at making this pumpkin roll cake. (From the start, she was a girl after my own heart: She loves pumpkin as much as I do.) This is a good recipe for a beginner who’s interested in making a roll cake. Here are some observations and tips from our experience with the recipe.

Mix together the dry ingredients first before you start beating the eggs in the mixer.
Instead of sprinkling the walnuts on the cake just before putting it in the oven, I would sprinkle them on the filling just before you roll the cake. (I think walnuts in the cake itself will make it more likely to crack/break when you roll it because of the nuts’ jagged edges.
Cakes rolled in a towel take a lot longer to cool so plan accordingly.
If you’ve never rolled a cake, this video is really helpful.

Even though we rolled the cake in a towel to cool, the cake still cracked during the unrolling and then rerolling with the filling. As I said to Julia, “Whatever you’re baking may not always turn out perfectly, but it will almost always taste delicious—and that’s all anyone remembers.” Although the cake wasn’t perfect, it was still a success and Julia was pleased with the outcome. She should be, she did a great job!

To my baking protégé, Julia, thanks for getting my holiday baking season off to such a fun start. And many thanks to Elaine for arranging this match made in baking heaven and for the great photos you see here!

I wish you all a very merry holiday season!

Pumpkin-Mascarpone Pie

2012-10-22T07:30:00-07:00

Anyone who knows me knows my love for all things pumpkin—sweet or savory. Every year, when the days get shorter and the leaves start falling, I look forward to making my favorite pumpkin dishes. This year, the first goodie out of the gate (er, oven) was pumpkin pie.

My go-to pie recipe for years has been this Pumpkin-Sour Cream Custard Pie. A couple years ago, though, I experimented with a sturdier pumpkin-mascarpone filling while making hand pies. I went back to that recipe to satisfy my recent pumpkin pie craving.

I have a new favorite pumpkin pie. The mascarpone cheese provides just enough tang to keep the pie from being too sweet. And the creaminess of the cheese gives the filling an amazing texture—a little denser than your typical pumpkin pie and incredibly smooth. The texture reminds me of our Pumpkin-Hazelnut Cheesecake, which always got rave reviews from those who don’t typically care for traditional pumpkin pie.

If you have some picky pumpkin pie eaters, give the Pumpkin-Mascarpone Pie a try. Or do what I did: Make it just because you wanted pumpkin pie and you didn’t want to wait until Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin-Mascarpone Pie
(Makes 1 9-inch pie)

Crust
8 ounces (1 ½ cups) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
5 ounces (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8, chilled
¼ teaspoon lemon juice
4 – 5 tablespoons ice water

Filling
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 cup (7 ounces) golden brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 8-ounce container mascarpone cheese

To make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple times to combine. Add the butter and mix just until but butter and flour is combined and becomes crumbly, approximately 13 seconds. Next, through the processor’s feed tube, add the lemon juice. With the processor running, slowly add the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a smooth, pliable ball, no more than 30 to 40 seconds.

After the dough is combined, form it into a round disk and wrap in plastic and allow to rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. (You don’t want the dough to get too warm or soft before rolling it out, but it’s easier to handle if the dough isn’t dead cold out of the fridge.)

On a lightly floured pastry sheet or board, hit the dough a couple times with a rolling pin to make it a little more pliable. Then, roll out the dough from the center, turning it a quarter turn each time, until it’s approximately 12 inches in diameter. Carefully, fold the dough in half and place it on one half of a 9- to 10-inch pie plate. Unfold the other half and press the dough into and up the sides of the plate. Trim any excessive dough that hangs over the edge of the plate, fold it under and then flute or crimp the edge, as you like.

Place the pie shell in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. In the meantime, make the filling.

Note: If you have leftover pie dough, you can make some cute cutouts (I used autumn-themed mini cookie cutters) to garnish the pie—or just eat like cookies.

To make the filling: In a large bowl and using an electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the pumpkin and the sugar until well blended. Add the eggs and the next 7 ingredients, and beat until blended. Add the mascarpone cheese and beat just until the mixture is smooth. Transfer the filling to the prepared crust.

Place the pie on a baking sheet and place in the oven, and bake the pie until custard is set, about 55 minutes. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and cool.

The pie can be made 1 day ahead. Tent the cooled pie with aluminum foil and chill in the refrigerator.

Serve the pie with vanilla whipped cream and a pie-dough cookie cutout.

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Turtle Pie

2012-09-04T07:00:00-07:00

This recipe for Turtle Pie has been a long time coming—since May when I made it for a colleague’s birthday. Trust me, it’s worth the wait.

I inherited this recipe from Chef Phillipe when I was the pastry cook at Wintun Dinner House in Colusa. This was by far the most popular dessert on the menu. Really, what’s not to love about a crunchy chocolate crust, tangy cream cheese, nuty pecans, rich caramel, and more chocolate? This Turtle Pie is absolutely delicious but very, very rich. A small slice goes a long way.

If you’re looking for a dessert to make guests swoon, this is it!

Turtle Pie
Makes 12 servings

Crust:
1 ½ cups chocolate wafer cookie crumbs
¼ cup (1.75 ounces) granulated sugar
½ cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Filling and Caramel:
1 cup (8 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup (7 ounces) brown sugar (golden or dark)
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter
¼ cup (2 ounces) corn syrup
1 pound cream cheese, softened
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Ganache:
½ cup (4 ounces) heavy cream
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
½ pound (8 ounces) sweet dark chocolate

For the crust:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly coat a 9-inch springform pan with butter or cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, mix together the cookie crumbs and sugar. Add the melted butter and stir until well combined. Pour into the prepared pan and press mixture evenly on the bottom of the pan. Place on a baking sheet and place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. (The baking sheet is necessary; otherwise, you’ll end up with melted butter on the bottom of your oven, which smokes horribly and smells just as bad.)

Remove from the oven and allow the crust to cool completely.

For the filling and caramel:
In a heavy saucepan, combine the condensed milk, brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup. Cook over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir constantly for at least 5 minutes or until the mixture turns a golden shade of caramel. If you want a slightly darker caramel, boil the mixture a bit longer. Keep a watchful on it, though, because the mixture can quickly turn too dark.

Remove the caramel from the heat and then slow stir it with a spoon until the mixture starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. Be careful not to overbeat the caramel or it will harden too much. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the softened cream cheese until it is smooth. Next, add the pecans and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Slowly add approximately ¼ of the caramel sauce and mix well, scraping down the bowl at least once to make sure the caramel and cream cheese are well incorporated.

Pour the cream cheese-caramel filling into the pan with the crust. Pour the remaining caramel on top of the cream cheese mixture. Place this in the refrigerator and let chill for 1 ½ hours.

For the ganache:
Chop the chocolate into fine pieces and place in a bowl.

Put the cream, corn syrup, and butter in a saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and pour the cream mixture over the chocolate, jiggling the bowl to ensure all the chocolate is covered by the hot cream. Let the mixture stand for a couple minutes, then whisk until the chocolate is completely melted and mixture is thoroughly combined.

Once the turtle pie has chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and pour the ganache over the top, smoothing it with the back of a spoon or spatula. (You can reserve a little of the ganache to garnish the servings later one.) Put the pie back in the refrigerator to let the ganache set.

Serving the pie:
When you’re ready to serve the turtle pie, remove the outside ring of the pan. Then, using a dinner knife, slide it between the pan bottom and the crust and work it all the way around to loosen the bottom of the pie. Use a large metal spatula to transfer the pie to a cutting board.

Fill a pitcher with hot water or rinse a cloth in hot water and wring out, and grab a dry towel and put it next to the cutting board. Take a thin-bladed, sharp knife and make the first cut in the pie. Then, either rinse the knife blade in the hot water or wipe it down with the damp cloth, then dry the blade. Make the next cut in the pie. Repeat until you have as many servings as you like.

Drizzle some of the leftover ganache over each slice of turtle pie. Or, you can garnish the pie with a dollop of whipped cream.

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Manhattan Cheesecake

2012-07-30T07:00:00-07:00

I created this cheesecake a couple years ago for a colleague’s birthday. Her favorite cocktail is a Manhattan, which sounded like a great combination of flavors for a cheesecake. How can you wrong with bourbon and cherries? And so the Manhattan Cheesecake (a.k.a, The Zender) was born.

A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of tasting the Manhattan cheesecake again—this time baked by my colleague Brian, who was looking for a knockout birthday dessert for a friend. Considering his favorite cocktail is the Manhattan, the choice seemed obvious. Brian put his own twist on the recipe, using an actual Manhattan cocktail (made with rye whiskey) in the custard instead of just bourbon. And he served his cheesecake with a lemon glaze as well as the cherry topping. His version was delicious! That’s Brian’s cheesecake in the picture.)

Happy National Cheesecake Day!

Manhattan Cheesecake
Makes one 9- or 10-inch cheesecake, serving 12 to 16

Note: The cherries for the topping need to soak in the liqueur for a few hours or overnight, so plan accordingly. If it helps, the cherry topping can be made 2 days in advance.

Crust:
6 ounces oatmeal cookie crumbs
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
3 T. unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
¾ cup (5.25 ounces) brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (4 ounces) heavy cream

Sour cream topping:
12 ounces sour cream (I’ve had the best luck with Knudsen)
1/3 cup (3 ounces) brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cherry topping:
1 pound frozen unsweetened cherries, thawed (cut in half while still slightly frozen)
¼ cup (2 ounces) kirsch
¼ cup (2 ounces), approximately, Morello or sour cherry syrup (available at Indian and middle eastern markets)

Soak the thawed cherries in kirsch for 6 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9- or 10-inch springform pan with butter or pan spray.

In a small microwave-proof bowl or in a small saucepan on the stove, melt the butter. In a medium bowl, mix together the oatmeal cookie crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and mix well. Place the crumb mixture onto the bottom of the pan, making sure to press the crumbs firmly to the edge of the pan. Bake the crust for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, place the cream cheese and mix on medium speed until smooth. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Next, add the brown sugar and flour and mix until well blended. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Add the eggs one at a time to the cream cheese mixture, mixing on low speed, and scraping the bowl after each addition. Then, with the mixer running on low speed, slowly pour in the bourbon, vanilla, and cream and mix until combined.

Pour the custard into the pan and place in the oven. Bake the cheesecake for approximately 50-60 minutes, or until the edges of the cheesecake are puffed and dried looking with tiny cracks, and the center jiggles only slightly when you gently shake the pan. (Note: I always turn the cheesecake about half way through the baking time to ensure even cooking as many ovens do not distribute heat evenly.)

While the cheesecake is baking, make the sour cream topping. Combine the sour cream, brown sugar, and vanilla in a bowl and whisk until the ingredients are well combined and the mixture is smooth. Set aside.

After you remove the cheesecake from the oven, let it cool 15 minutes. Give the sour-cream topping a good stir and then gently pour it on top of the cheesecake, spreading it out so that it covers the entire cheesecake. (You can use a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon to do this.)

Place the cheesecake back in the 350°F oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature before putting the cheesecake in the refrigerator. Chill for 8 hours or overnight, which is best.

While the cheesecake is cooling off or chilling in the refrigerator, make the cherry topping. Thoroughly drain the macerated cherries in a strainer over a bowl for at least 2 hours, shaking occasionally. When cherries have finished draining, set aside and then pour the reserved liquid into a 1-cup measuring cup. Add enough sour cherry syrup to make ½ cup. Pour the liquid into a heavy sauté pan and add the cherries. Bring the mixture to a boil and let simmer until the mixture is thick (resembling preserves), about 6 minutes. Cool to room temperature and then chill in the refrigerator.

When ready to serve the cheesecake, release it from the pan and gently spoon the cherries on top. Then cut and serve.

Favorite Recent Recipes

2012-04-16T07:00:00-07:00

I read a lot of recipes. A lot. Sometimes they provide inspiration for my own culinary creations. Many times, I'll make the recipe just as it is. I thought I'd share some of the stand-out recipes I've made recently.

Enjoy!

Avocado Smoothie
Surprisingly tasty and filling. The remaining smoothie keeps well in the fridge.

Baked Blintzes with Fresh Blueberry Sauce
Another successful Ina Garten recipe. I was bringing this to Easter breakfast, so I baked the first batter layer and mixed together the cheese mixture the night before, then stored the individual components including the remaining batter in the blender pitcher in the fridge. The next morning I finished assembling the blintzes and baked them off.

Braised Coconut Spinach & Chickpeas with Lemon
A delicious vegetarian entree, it's equally good served over a sweet potato (as suggested) or mixed into whole wheat pasta. One suggestion: start with about half the amount of lemon juice, then add more to taste.

Broiled Salmon Fillet with Mustard Dill Sauce
This is an old recipe I ran across recently. Easy and delicious!

Cheddar & Chive Guinness Bread
I veered from my usual Irish Soda Bread for St. Patrick's Day this year. This bread is dense and delicious, but I'd use half the amount of butter on top next time. The leftover bread also makes great croutons.

Gruyere & Bacon Stuffed French Toast
'Nuf said.

Red Cabbage Salad with Warm Pancetta-Balsamic Dressing
I used dried cherries instead of currents and baon instead of pancetta, because that's what I had on hand. I also added the cabbage to the warm dressing in the pan to wilt it some. Very yummy!

Almond Butter Cookies with Chocolate and Sel Gris

2012-03-27T16:10:50-07:00

I have a new favorite food—almond butter. A friend recently recommended it as a possible solution to my waking up hungry in the middle of the night. (It works. Just a spoonful before bed keeps the peckishness away.) I've never been much of a peanut butter eater, whether on its own, in sandwiches, or as cookies. But almond butter I love. It has great texture and flavor, and with just the right amount of nutty sweetness. The almond butter I buy even has a little sea salt, making it all the better.

Like I said, I've never been a devotee of peanut butter cookies. However, a recent post by Big Girls Small Kitchen made me think "Why not almond butter cookies?"

Using the girls' recipe as inspiration (who were themselves inspired by Alice Medrich), I went about creating my cookie. I tweaked some of the ingredients for a nutty but not-too-sweet cookie. Yummy though they were, I decided to take them over the top by dipping half of each cookie in melted chocolate and then sprinkling on a few flakes of Sel Gris. The sweet, salty, and chocolate combination was delicious!

I sent some of the cookies to the office with a colleague who came to visit me after the surgery. I received this email from Leslie, another Tendo colleague: "OMG, Siobhan, thank you for sending Julie with cookies to share. They are SO GOOD. I already ate two…breakfast of champions!!" Dessert for breakfast. I love it!

If you're short on time, you can make the cookie dough in advance. It will keep a couple of days in the fridge. And, in fact, it's better if you can let the dough rest in the fridge overnight. Also, you can portion out the dough, form the cookies, and then freeze them to bake later.

Almond Butter Cookies with Chocolate and Sel Gris
Inspired by Big Girls Small Kitchen
(Makes 24 - 36 cookies)

Note: Milk or semi-sweet chocolate works well for dipping the cookies. Bittersweet chocolate may overpower the delicate flavor of the cookies.

1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups creamy almond butter
6 ounces good quality chocolate, chopped and melted
Sel Gris or other favorite finishing salt

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt, then set aside.

Using a stand mixer, mix together the butter and both sugars until smooth but not fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond butter and mix until blended. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just incorporated.

Transfer the dough to a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 325 F. Line a couple sheet pans with parchment paper.

Using a spoon or a medium cookie scoop, portion the dough into balls and placethem on the baking sheet. When all the dough has been formed, use the bottom of a glass or a pastry tamper dipped in flour to flatten the dough balls to approximately 1/2-inch thickness. (The cookies can be frozen at this point and saved for later use.)

Bake for 13-15 minutes until cookies are firm to the touch and lightly golden on top. Turn the sheets back to front once while baking. (If baking frozen cookies, don't defrost and increase baking time to 17-18 minutes.)

Remove the cookies from the oven and cool for a couple minutes before gently transferring them to a wire rack. Allow the cookies to cool completely. Once cooled, dip half of each cookie in melted chocolate and place on parchment paper, sprinkling chocolate with a small amount of Sel Gris or other finishing salt.

Store the cookies in an airtight container.

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Almond and Orange Steel Cut Oatmeal with Cranberry Sauce

2012-03-19T08:36:57-07:00

I'm a creature of habit, at least when it comes to breakfast. I eat the same thing just about every morning. Until recently. Suddenly the thing I was happy to eat everyday didn't appeal to me. Perhaps the anesthesia from the surgery had temporarily tweaked my taste buds, or perhaps it was my body telling me what it needed (or didn’t) in an effort to support the healing process. What did appeal to me was oatmeal.

I always have instant Irish oatmeal in the pantry and will eat it on occasion, more often as a mid-day snack with a drizzle of olive, a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, and a dash of salt and pepper. I had taken to eating the oatmeal for breakfast with some cinnamon-sugar and either some fresh or dried fruit. It was satisfying enough but I found the oatmeal itself to taste rather raw and flour-y.

I decided to try baking steel cut oatmeal instead. I loved the idea of making enough oatmeal to last the week. I didn't go the slow cooker route as so many recipes recommend. I certainly understand the appeal of set it and forget it. Unfortunately, my slow cooker doesn't have a timer function and so I'd have to be around at the right time to turn it off. But I don't mind hanging around for an hour while the oatmeal bakes in the oven.

The dish I ended up with was inspired by a couple recipes I found online (here and here). I really like the orange and almond flavor combination with just a hint of coconut. And toasting the oats first helps bring out their nuttiness. The oatmeal isn't particularly sweet, but still the tangy cranberry sauce provides a nice complimentary contrast. You could use any slightly tangy berry sauce you like, or even just fresh berries or dried fruit that have a slightly tart under note like blackberries or dried cherries.

The bonus: The oatmeal freezes extremely well. I froze cup-size portions, then defrosted individual servings in the fridge overnight and rewarmed the oatmeal in the microwave the next morning. The oatmeal tasted just as good as it had fresh from the baking dish.

Here's the getting mornings off to a yummy and low-effort start!

Almond & Orange Steel Cut Oatmeal with Cranberry Sauce
Makes 6 servings
Note: Plan ahead as the oatmeal is best when allowed to sit overnight in the refrigerator.

Oatmeal:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup steel cut oatmeal
4 cups (1 quart/32 ounces) unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1 orange, zested and juiced
1/2 teaspoon agave syrup or your favorite sweetener, or to taste (optional)

Cranberry Sauce:
1 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1 cup water
2 ¼ teaspoons finely grated orange peel
½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt

For the oatmeal:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly coat a 13x9x2-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Melt the butter in a non-stick sauté pan over medium heat. Add the oats and sauté, stirring occasionally, until golden about 2 minutes. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the almond milk, salt, baking powder, coconut, orange zest, orange juice, and agave syrup. Whisk until well combined. Stir in toasted oats, then pour into prepared baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The oatmeal won't appear set when you remove it from the oven. Let the oatmeal cool to room temperature and then put it in the refrigerator overnight to thicken up.

For the cranberry sauce:
In a heavy medium-size saucepan, add all the ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until most of the cranberries burst, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and chill until set. (The sauce is best made a day ahead.)

To serve:
Reheat the oatmeal before serving. Stir in a couple spoonfuls of the cranberry sauce.

The oatmeal will keep well in the refrigerator for 5 days. Or, you can freeze any leftover oatmeal you won’t use in that time.

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