Apple Oatmeal Creme Brulee

laugh if you must, but i found this in Oprah's magazine, and thought I'd give it a whirl. It definitely deserves the dessert category, but it was utterly new in my book.

3 1/4 cups apple juice or cider
1 red apple
2 cups oatmeal
1 1/4 cups brown sugar

First off, I do not keep apple juice or cider around. and I really did not want to purchase any apple juice or cider because I wouldn't drink the stuff. Fortunately, there was a lunch meeting and lots of apple juice left over. So I snagged two little 10 oz-ers for the job.
Second off, I didn't have any apples. Silly, since it's apple seaon round these parts. I didn't plan on going to the grocery store, so I simply kept my eyes peeled and whaddya know. Someone left a basket of Macintoshs at the Student Affairs office. So I helped myself to a couple and now, i just needed to find some time to bake this idea.
Thursday night rolled around, and I usually like to make little dinner for my roommate, so since I was already in the kitchen, I thought it'd be a great time to broil some apples, oatmeal and brown sugar. with our delicate evening appetites, i halved the above recipe. (Also i didn't have enough apple juice, and I didn't think I'd have enough eaters.)

Opinionated Instructions:
1. Apples cored and chunked. I left the peel on. s'up to you.
2. boil apples in juice/cider. as soon as it came to a boil, i consider it ready for the oatmeal
3. cooked it three minutes til thick (probably, i cooked it a little longer)
4. Divide into bowls, sprinkle brown sugar on top
5. Broil on high for 1-3 minutes. (until oatmeal turns brown and begins to bubble.

So this worked out all very quickly, the tops are definitely crispy. But I doubted the sweetness, so i added a dash of vanilla, cinnamon, and very little nutmed. Altogether it was extraordinarily sweet. Next time, perhaps, some apple pie spice instead, and better sprinkling technique w/ the brown sugar. very interesting and simple, nonetheless.