I was out with my good friend this weekend shopping for her wedding dress. So much fun! It was your typical “Say Yes to The Dress” experience. She got to try on a ton of dresses (we went to four different shops), we (as in her entourage), got to watch and give opinions and I got to get ideas for my future (and I mean future) wedding. While we were out on Saturday and in between appointments, we decided to grab brunch. We were in Del Mar so we went to one of our favorite restaurant, Sbicca’s.
I love Sbicca’s. I love their juicy, thick cut, pork chop (I’ve loved pork chops since I was a little and my grandmother would bbq for me), love their Tuesday & Thursday Wine night and watching the cougars hit on anything that resembles a single male. But, seriously, I really like their food. So we get there around 11am. I already had eggs & kale for breakfast (I’m sure I’ll post something soon on that), but wasn’t quite ready for a savory lunch. Their brunch menu had a ton of egg options and savory lunch salads/sandwiches but not much in between.
I opted for the yogurt, fruit and “homemade” granola. It sounded light and totally yummy. Now here’s where the reason of my post comes in. I make my own granola at home and love it, but I was so excited to see how Sbicca’s did theirs. People can interpret “granola” so many different ways, but I’m usually always pleased. This was not the case at Sbicca’s. It didn’t have much flavor and seemed like they were scooping the bottom of the barrel with my serving – I got the dregs. It had whole nuts (large pieces of walnuts and almonds) then powdery bits. Needless to say, I was craving my granola. I know that granola isn’t the main focus of their culinary cuisine, but at least give it a better shot then that.
Of course I have tweaked my own recipe several times to get it just right. My coworkers and friends love it. Since I have given the recipe out several times to others, I thought I would share it with everyone. I’ll even let Sbicca’s use it 🙂 (of course they would have to share the credit)
Dominica’s Totally Awesome, It’s like Crack, Granola
1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not instant and not steel cut)
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons honey
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Prepare rimmed cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
Mix together first 6 ingredients. Then stir in the extracts, maple syrup and honey. Spread granola onto prepared cookie sheet into a single layer. Bake for 15 minutes, then stir & mix-up granola. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Be sure to check it towards the end so the nuts & oats don’t burn. Remove and let cool. Store in airtight container in the fridge.
Recommendations:
I like to chop my nuts small. Almost the same size as the oats. (Seriously, I could barely write that sentence without laughing.) I like to serve mine with greek yogurt & fresh fruit – usually blueberries. Enjoy!
