December 2023 – I Want To Cook

Really, I have nothing against oatmeal. I’ve been known to cook up a batch several times a week. Heck, I even regularly incorporate it into my homemade dog food.

But let’s be honest: Oatmeal can be boring. It can be mushy. It can be bland. Nutritious, yes. But something you look forward to come breakfast time? Probably not.

Baked oatmeal, however, changes the game. Baked oatmeal uses the same main ingredient as oatmeal — oats, of course — but has a totally different texture. Instead of being mushy like porridge, baked oatmeal has a delightful firmness to it.

The oats on top get golden and delicious, while the interior remains soft. And it can be tailored to your specific tastes with the addition of nuts, fruits, and spices. Here is my baked oatmeal recipe that will make breakfast anything but boring.

Bechamel is one of those fancy-sounding culinary words. It might bring up connotations of a French restaurant or perhaps a snooty waiter derisively explaining the ingredients in today’s special.

And bechamel is indeed important. So important, in fact, that it’s among the five “mother sauces.” The other four are hollandaise, sauce tomate (tomato), espagnole, and veloute. They’re called mother sauces because they are foundational to others. Think of them as the parent to another sauce.

But here’s the good news: Bechamel is stunningly simple in both its ingredients and how it’s made. If you’ve got a pot, a whisk, and less than 10 minutes, you can make bechamel.

Month: December 2023

Baked Oatmeal Is Way Better Than Mush

Homemade Bechamel Is Your Gateway Sauce