A Nutella Ganache Risin' From The Dead

I cannot believe it is OCTOBER and this is my first post since July. Ahhhhh, writer's block, busy summer, lack of inspiration, too many house guests in short order and a ton of travel. This blog hit them all, but we're still here. Believe it or not, when I returned to write tonight I saw five half written posts in draft form, unfinished. Two in July, two in August, one in September, I vaguely remembered they existed. Whoa. Don't worry I just started mindfulness classes, guess it's overdue.

All of this ended at my breakfast table this morning. See the picture to right and you'll understand.

Last night I suggested oatmeal cakes, as they were a huge blog hit, I really like them and we haven't made them since. While AC was cooking I ran to the corner Super America for half and half. I scoured the shelves for yogurt to top the cakes and stopped to stare at the glazed donuts. It's mostly childhood nostalgia that causes me to do this. My childhood best friend and I used to go on walks that included the local SA and buy glazed donuts, joking that our exercise made up for the calories. Ever since, I have a hard time passing without at least checking them out. I reminded myself of the breakfast in progress, gave up on finding the yogurt, figuring we could use half and half with some preserves instead.  

I walked into my house to the most amazing hazelnut smell. We're talking the best-chocolate-croissant-you- can-find-smell. Peeking at the mixing bowl AC was standing over, I saw the jar of  Nutella that we always forget about and what looked like a rich, smooth ganache. Okay, somebody tell me again why I deserve this man? Oh yeah, never mind, there are lots of reasons. But the blog drought has ended!!

Make the sauce while the oatmeal is cooking.

• 3 tbsp Nutella
• 1 1/2 tbsp honey 
• 1-2 tbsp B&B liqueur (which is a spiced brandy, you could use spiced rum, if you don't want alcohol, use the equivalent amount of half and half with a pinch of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.)
• Stir together in a mixing bowl until smooth and creamy, it will thicken a bit.

Oatmeal Cakes:

• Heat a skillet on medium high.
• Put 1 1/2 cups of water and 1/2 cup milk in a sauce pan. 
• Add a pinch salt, 3-4 fresh ground cloves, 1 ground allspice seed(?), 1/2 tsp vanilla, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 tsp fresh, finely minced ginger.
• Bring the mixture to a boil.
• Add just over 1 cup Old Fashioned Oatmeal 
• Boil for a little more than 5 minutes 
• When the oatmeal is fairly dry without burning, add 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground star anise. 
• Blend, cover, let sit for 3 minutes to continue to thicken. 
• Melt 1/2 tbsp butter on the skillet and coat. 
• Divide the oatmeal into four portions and place on the skillet. 
• Form a patty and with the spatula and cook one side only until it is nicely crisped. 
• Place on plate, fried side up, pour the Nutella sauce and put cut fresh, ripe peaches on top.  

Can you say wow?