Breakfast for Dinner

Coconut milk, cinnamon and quick oats are just three of the numerous ingredients in my pantry that need to be used up before I move to Vancouver in three months. Since I was seeking an easy-to-make dinner tonight, I thought I would make this recipe that I've had in my "to try" pile for almost a year. And since I missed breakfast this morning due to staying up too late last night and the time change one hour ahead, I figured, "Why not have breakfast for dinner?" And so I did.

This oatmeal is creamy, delicious and requires only a short amount of time to prepare. I adapted a few amounts of the ingredients and cut the original recipe yield in half. If you need six servings to feed a crowd, just double the amounts below. Note my ingredient changes in parentheses, too.

Horizons Breakfast Oatmeal

Source: Gourmet Magazine - April 2006
Adapted from Horizons at the Ritz-Carlton, Montego Bay

Serves 3

Substituting coconut milk for part of the regular milk gives this oatmeal an undercurrent of tropical flavor.

2 cups whole milk (I used 1%)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk, shaken and well-stirred
2 T. packed light brown sugar
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
1/8 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups instant oats (I used quick oats)
1 1/2 tsp. unsalted butter

Bring milk, coconut milk, brown sugar, cinnamon stick and salt to a boil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring. Reduce heat to moderate, then stir in oats and return to a boil. Cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in butter, then remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes (oatmeal will thicken as it stands). Remove cinnamon stick and stir oatmeal before serving. (Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar for extra sweetness.)

The reason you will see so many recipes in the next few months that have cinnamon as an ingredient: