Serves 4
My grandmother Birdie, whose oatmeal this is modeled after, was way ahead of her time in terms of women’s liberation. For starters, she worked, when the vast majority of women didn’t. And she didn’t cook, except for one thing: oatmeal. She called her version “oatmeal cocktail,” which made it feel special. And indeed it was special. Birdie stirred tons of brown sugar or honey into her oatmeal, and put a big plop of butter, which melted into glistening golden pools, on top. It was so sweet and decadent, it was like an oatmeal cookie in a bowl. But the best thing about that oatmeal was the salted sunflower seeds, which were strewn throughout like little crunchy salt vessels. I add even more salt, in the form of rock-like gray or pink salt, or flaky sea salt, at the end, because my love of sweet and salty knows no bounds.
When it comes to cooking oats in milk or water, I compromise: I use half milk, so the oatmeal turns out rich and creamy, and half water, just to cut the decadence quotient by half. Do what I do, or use all of one or the other. You could also use a dairy-free milk alternative.
2 cups milk (I like whole cow’s milk here, but use what you like), plus more as needed
1 cinnamon stick, or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup steel-cut oats
1 cup raisins, golden or black
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup hulled roasted salted sunflower seeds
Gray or pink (rock-like) sea salt or flaky sea salt, such as fleur de sel (optional)
Combine the milk and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan. Add the cinnamon and kosher salt and bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Stir in the oats and return the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook gently for 30 minutes, until the oats are tender. Add the raisins and simmer for 5 minutes more to plump them up. Fish out and discard the cinnamon stick if you used it.
Dish out the oatmeal into four bowls and add 1 tablespoon of butter to each dish while the oatmeal is piping hot. Sprinkle the brown sugar, sunflower seeds, and salt over the top, pour a little bit of cold milk around the edges of the bowl, and dig in.