A few days ago, I got it into my mind that I wanted to try making an oatmeal souffle for breakfast. I know this is not an original idea, but for the life of me I couldn’t think where I had heard of this concept before. Luckily we have the Internet, that bastion of all knowledge. I figured that the web would be full of recipes and that I’d be able to get the general gist of how to make one and then come up with my own recipe, although I had already pretty much figured out how I would do it.

***RANT ALERT****

Okay, I’m going to rant a little about something that has been bothering me for awhile, but with my most recent search for recipes for oatmeal souffle, I have decided that I have to say something. It drives me freaking nuts when I come across the same recipe, on site after site, that is exactly the same. Sure the wording of the directions might be slightly different, but in all honesty they are completely the same. It’s obvious that people are just “stealing” recipes and just changing the directions enough so as to not get busted for copyright infringement. Now, being the cynical guy that I am, I am not surprised by all these websites that have page after page of stolen recipes, but what really surprised and bothered me was the number of blogs that have done the same thing, and don’t give any attribution. Come on people! At least have the decency to twist a recipe a little bit to make it your own. Some blogs didn’t even bother to change the order of the ingredients and/or only changed or omitted a couple of words from the directions. Here’s an idea; if you are so lacking in cooking skills that you can’t alter a recipe to make it yours then you have no place in the blogosphere and need to give it up. Or at the very least man up, and let your readers know that the recipe you are offering is not yours. Give credit to those that take the time to create those recipes.

***RANT OVER***

The recipes I did find told me I was on the right track and helped me to refine a couple of the ratios I wasn’t so sure about and last night I had my recipe done. I told my wife that I would be cooking breakfast, which she wasn’t thrilled with. Normally she’d love for me to make breakfast but today is my birthday and she wanted to cook me a special breakfast with the help of your 4 year old daughter. As I really wanted to try out this recipe I convinced her that tomorrow (Sunday) would be a better morning for cooking me breakfast as I am planning on going out tonight, for my birthday, and probably wouldn’t be in any shape to cook breakfast tomorrow.

Overall, I am very pleased with how this turned out. It didn’t rise like a normal souffle does with all the heavy ingredients I didn’t expect it to, but it did come out much lighter than standard oatmeal or most of the baked oatmeal recipes I have had. It had a different texture, but not it a bad way. In fact I really, really enjoyed the fact that it wasn’t as heavy as regular oatmeal is. If I had any issues with this recipe, it might be just a little too sweet. If you like your oatmeal really sweet then keep the recipe as is, but if you prefer it not so sweet, or need to watch your sugar intake I imagine you could cut the maple syrup in half, from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup and still end up with a very good dish. Also, while I often like my oatmeal heavily spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, etc. I keep the spices to a minimum so that they wouldn’t mask the maple flavor, which I would would be subtle.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did. It is definitely the prefect breakfast for a cold winter’s day, when oatmeal sounds good, but you’re looking for something just a little different.

Triple Fruit Oatmeal Souffle
serves 4

1 cup milk
1 1/2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup oats, not instant
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup dried apricots, diced
1/3 cup chopped pecans
3 eggs, separated

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter and sugar a 1 1/2 quart ramekin or baking dish. In a small sauce pot combine the milk, butter and salt. Bring to a boil and add the oats. Cook the oats for the amount of time specified on the container then remove from heat.

As the oatmeal mixture is cooling slightly whip the egg whites to stiff peak. Do not over whip and make the whites dry!! Add the maple syrup, cinnamon, fruits and nuts to the oatmeal mixture and stir to combine. Add the egg yolks and mix well. Take about 1/4 of the whipped egg whites and stir that into the oatmeal mixture to lighten it then pour mix into the remaining whites and gently fold to combine. Do not over fold the mixture. It is okay to have a few streaks of whites remaining. Pour into the prepared baking dish and place in the oven. Cook for 30 minutes without opening the oven door. After 30 minutes remove from oven and serve immediately.

I know I’ve said it before, on this blog, but I’ll say it again, “My wife rocks!!!!” I woke up this morning to the smell of cinnamon rolls baking, and there is no better smell in the world! I love the fact that my wife can cook so well, which, in this day and age, is saying something. I am constantly amazed by the number of people I meet that “can’t cook.” I know I’ve said it here before, but it never ceases to amaze me. Luckily, I think we are starting to see that trend change. Just look at all the good food blogs out there today. It seems that people have finally awakened and have come to realize that cooking doesn’t have to be a chore, but something that we do out of love and passion. It is sad that so many of my generation have to learn this lesson later in life, but I am glad that they are learning it.

So this morning, my wife woke up really early and couldn’t get back to sleep so she decided to make cinnamon rolls (I’ve already established how much I think this rocks!). Being overwhelmed by my ever expanding cookbook collection she headed to the internet in search of a good recipe. Like me, she just can’t leave well enough alone. She found Paula Deen’s Cinnamon Roll, like the dough recipe, found the icing recipe from Todd Wilbur’s “More Top Secret Recipes,” and kind of just winged it with the filling. Whatever she did, they came out great. Try them out and surprise someone you love with a little cinnamon love in the morning!!!

Cinnamon Rolls
makes 12

1/4 oz package yeast
1/2 cup water, warm
1/2 cup milk, warm
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
3 1/2 – 4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon, ground
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup raisins

8 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cream cheese, room temp.
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt

In a bowl dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let sit 5 minutes to activate. Add the milk, sugar, butter, salt and egg. Mix well and add 2 cups of flour. Mix and add another 1 1/2 cups flour. Mix and add the remaining flour only if needed. Knead for 7-10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise until double, about 1-1 1/2 hours. Punch down dough and roll out, on a lightly floured surface, to a rectangle approximately 9″x15″. Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins, mixing well. Gently spread the softened butter over the dough then sprinkle with the cinnamon mixture, using it all. Starting on the long side, roll the dough up, pinwheel style, pinching the seam together. Cut into 12 slices. Coat the bottom and sides of a 9×13 baking pan generously with butter then add the cinnamon rolls. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise until double, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for approximately 30 minutes. While the rolls are baking prepare the icing by combining the butter and cream cheese. Add the sugar, vanilla and salt and beat until light and fluffy. When cinnamon rolls are done, remove from oven, allow to rest for 10 minutes then generously ice the tops. Serve warm!

Okay, I have to admit, I’m a sucker for Monkey Bread!!! Yes, I know, it probably can’t be considered the height of the culinary arts, but damn it’s good. What’s not to like; rich caramel, buttery goodness, a crisp crust and gooey interior. It’s got everything you need to start the day off right!! Add a cup or 2 of coffee and you can start your day in high gear.

There are a number of recipes out there for Monkey Bread. Some use store bought biscuit dough, others use store bought bread dough, and yet others have you make everything from scratch. While “made from scratch” is often my favorite way to go, I have to admit that, in this case, I am partial to the recipes using store bought biscuits. Not only do I like the soft texture of the Monkey Bread made this way, but it cuts down on a lot of prep work, which makes it a great breakfast for when you have overnight guests. Get a couple of the kids involved, they love to help shake the dough in the sugar, and you can have this on the breakfast table in no time.

Money Bread

3 cans (12oz each) biscuit dough
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1 cup, packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350° F. Grease a large bundt or tube pan. Meanwhile mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon and either leave in a large bowl or place in a large ziplock bag. Cut the biscuits into quarters and toss them in the sugar-cinnamon mix until well coated. Arrange the pieces in your prepared pan sprinkling with the optional pecans and/or raisins as you build up the layers. In a saucepan mix the butter and brown sugar over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Pour over the biscuit pieces and immediately put into the oven to bake. Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 8-10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Don’t allow to cool longer or the Monkey Bread might stick to your pan as the sugars cool.