Overnight steel cut oats

• 1 tsp butter
• 1 c. steel cut oats
• 1 c. milk
• 2 c. water
• pinch of salt
• handful of dried cranberries
• splash of vanilla extract

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Toast oats in butter for a few minutes.  Add water, milk, salt, and cranberries.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes.  Stir in vanilla.  Remove pan from heat, cover, and let sit overnight.

French bread

(Makes 2 loaves)

• 1 packet yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp yeast)
• 1/4 c water
• 1/2 c milk
• 1 c water
• 4 1/2 c flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 TBS melted butter
• 1 TBS sugar

Dissolve yeast in 1/4 c warm water (following temperature directions on yeast package).

While the yeast rests, mix milk and 1 c water and heat to appropriate temperature for yeast.

Mix together flour, salt, and 2 tsp sugar.

Add butter, 1 TBS sugar, and yeast mixture to milk-water mixture.  Pour liquid mixture into dry ingredients and stir thoroughly.

Cover bowl of dough with a damp cloth and put in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.  (I like to put it in the oven with the oven light on for a little warmth.)

Grease French bread pan very thoroughly.  Generously flour counter surface.  Pour dough onto floured surface.  It will be very goopy.  Divide dough in half.  Mix enough flour into each half that it can be patted flat without sticking.  Pat or stretch each half into an oblong.  Roll oblong into a roughly cylindrical loaf and place in greased pan.  Make sure the bottom of the loaf has a good amount of flour on it to minimize sticking.

Return dough to warm place to rise until again doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Put a pan of water in the bottom rack of the oven.  Preheat oven to 400.

Put bread pan in hot oven above pan of water and bake for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 and bake about 30 minutes more until done.

Loosen bread from pan promptly after removing from oven.

Cranberry bread

1 1/2 cup cranberry sauce, divided

1/3 c. oil (canola, vegetable, or olive)

1/2 c. white sugar

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 large egg

2 teas. vanilla

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 teas. kosher salt

1 teas. baking soda

1 teas. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350; grease 9" loaf pan.

Beat 1 c. cranberry with oil, sugars, egg and vanilla.  Combine dry ingredients and add to cranberry mixture.  Stir until evenly combined. Spread into prepared pan.  Dollop remaining cranberry sauce on top.  Bake 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Raspberry lime punch

• 2/3 c. ginger simple syrup, plus more to taste
• 2/3 c. fresh lime juice (about 1 bag of limes), or more
• 18 oz. fresh raspberries
• 2 2L bottles of seltzer water, chilled
• raspberry ice cubes
• 2 more limes, sliced

Blend raspberries in blender until smooth.  Use a spatula to press raspberry puree through a sieve to remove seeds.  (Alternately, and preferably, use a food mill.)

Mix ginger simple syrup, lime juice, and raspberry puree in a container and refrigerate overnight for the flavors to blend.

Put raspberry mix in punch bowl.  Carefully add a 2L bottle of seltzer water.  (It will fizz violently.)  Add seltzer water from second bottle to top off.  Add more ginger simple syrup to taste.  Add raspberry ice cubes and lime slices.

For raspberry ice cubes:  Fill one ice cube tray with water and 1 fresh raspberry per cube.  Freeze.

For ginger simple syrup:  Put into a small saucepan 1 c. water, 1 c. sugar, and peeled, sliced ginger (at least half a cup, most of a Trader Joe's pkg).  Bring to a simmer.  Remove from heat and steep for a while.  Strain out solids.

Hot chocolate

• 1 Trader Joe's 70% dark pound plus bar
• 8 c. (1/2 gal) whole milk

Chop chocolate.  Put milk and chocolate in slow cooker on low for 2 hours.  Stir occasionally while heating.  Sweeten to taste if desired.

Note:  Even at its best, chocolate wasn't fully smooth and incorporated.  Next time try the immersion blender after it's heated.

Note:  Remaining hot chocolate kind of congealed after several hours in the slow cooker and after most of it had been drunk.

Scotch broth

Broth:

• 1 lamb shank
• 9 c. water
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp all-purpose seasoning
• dash of dried celery flakes (or chopped leaves from ~1 celery stalk)
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 12 peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf

Soup:

• 1/4 c. salted margarine or butter
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• small handful of dried celery flakes (or 1/2 c. diced fresh celery)
• dash of garlic powder
• 1/2 c. barley
• 3 TBS flour

For broth, combine all ingredients and simmer slowly, covered, for 3-4 hours.  Strain.  Reserve meat from lamb shank (pulling it apart into bite sized pieces).  Ideally, refrigerate broth overnight and then skim off the fat.

For soup, melt margarine in a large pot.  Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic powder.  Saute 5 minutes.  Do not allow to brown.  Add barley and flour.  Cook 2 minutes longer.  Add stock; stir well.  Simmer slowly, covered, for 1.5 hours until barley is fully cooked.  Add reserved meat to soup and heat through.  Season to taste as needed.

Butternut squash with bourbon, browned butter, and amaretto

(from http://www.cincinnatinomerati.com/2010/02/roasted-butternut-squash-with-bourbon.html)

• 1 butternut squash
• olive oil
• 2 TBS unsalted butter
• 2 TBS bourbon
• 2 TBS amaretto
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• salt to taste

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Cut squash in half.  Scrape out seeds and fibrous material.  Place cut side up on a baking sheet, brush cut sides with olive oil, and then bake 45-60 minutes until tender.

Melt butter in a saucepan.  When it has just browned, add bourbon then amaretto.  Add remaining ingredients.  Simmer until it has a syrupy consistency, stirring frequently.

Allow squash to cool somewhat.  Scoop out flesh and stir to achieve a more homogeneous consistency.  Stir in syrup.