I (Kate) started making pear sauce both as a way to use up pears and as food for baby Persephone. Ina Garten bakes her applesauce, so I decided to do the same with pears. Once I started making it, there was no going back.
Read MoreBasics
Old-Fashioned Oatmeal
When I (Kate) first lived in Russia as a twenty-year old, I had an older roommate from the Ukraine who made us oatmeal every morning for breakfast. Ludmila Romanina was her name, and during the few months we lived together she took on oatmeal as a challenge. Had she lived in Brookline, Massachusetts during those early years of Cooks’ Illustrated magazine, I’m certain a symbiotic relationship would have flourished. As it was, she planted an understanding in my heart that oatmeal had considerable potential in terms of flavor and texture worth even more than its offering of sound nutrition.
Preparing oatmeal is easy, but the many approaches out there can be misleading. Made with water as the only liquid, you deprive yourself of any creaminess. Using only milk, the resulting richness overwhelms the oats’ chew and delicate flavor. Omit salt and you’ll understand why some people consider oatmeal slop—it’s the equivalent of abducting the poor oats and asking them to communicate with scarves stuffed inside their little mouths.
The following recipe will get your oatmeal just exactly where it needs to be, freeing you to experiment with toppings—from a simple spoonful of jam to more elaborate glories. On vacation, weekends, or if we awaken five minutes early enough on a weekday, we adorn the oatmeal with granola and, depending on the season, fresh or canned fruit, a spoonful of nut butter, dried currants or cherries, a sprinkle of nuts, muesli—really, the potential combinations are so stimulating you can work yourself into a state. And we have—it’s a state called bliss.
Old-fashioned Oatmeal
Serves 2 or 3
1 cup rolled oats (aka Old-fashioned oats)
1 cup milk (of your choice)
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
Brown sugar, to taste
Place oats, milk, water, and salt in a saucepan. Turn heat to medium-high, bring to a simmer, then turn heat to medium low or low, to maintain a simmer but prevent boiling. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add sweetener (I like brown sugar; Amelia prefers it without; it’s also good with honey or maple syrup).
If you are serving the oatmeal in a fairly plain way, these quantities make two satisfying servings. On a busy morning where timing-wise the choice to squeeze in oatmeal was a bit dangerous, we’ll top it with a spoonful of jam and be perfectly content.
Our Favorite Crêpes
Every year, Lucia requests crepes for her special birthday breakfast in bed. She has an unwavering and contagious love for them, and they' really do make the perfect breakfast. I (Amelia) have many memories of a tiny, messy-haired Lucia, waking up in her pink bed to a plate full of crepes or Swedish Pancakes.
Read MoreThe Most Delicious Artichokes
These artichokes are the best. With very simple ingredients (lemon) and an easy cooking technique, these tough and spikey vegetables transform into tender, melt-in-the mouth bites that no one can get enough of. I promise, they’re DELICIOUS!
Read MorePie Crust
when you want a pie crust that doesn’t vie for attention, but beautifully compliments the filling, here is your recipe. You don’t have to obtain ice water for this crust or wash the food processor after you make it, either. This is pie crust the simpler, old fashioned way.
Read More