Apple Pie with Crumb Topping

Apple Pie with Crumb Topping

I wanted to unplug this weekend so I baked a pie. Well, I guess I didn’t totally unplug, but I love
to cook and bake because it always feels like another form of creativity coming through. So, writing down a recipe and taking a photo of the final product seemed a nice and easy thing to do.

This is a wonderfully simple recipe and you can adjust the sugars to make it as sweet or tart as you’d like. Of course, you may wish to have it a la mode or as my Dad used to eat apple pie (he was born and raised in Wisconsin), a nice slice of sharp cheddar cheese! Enjoy.

Ingredients:
Apples (approx. 6 medium to large) either Granny Smith or Pippen
Brown sugar- ¼ cup
white sugar  ¾ cup
flour 1 ¼ cup
butter 6 Tbsp. melted
pie crust (I buy mine, but you can certainly make your own crust!)
Lemon juice
cinnamon ½ tsp.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Peel and thinly slice apples. Mix together apples, white sugar, cinnamon and 1 Tbsp. lemon juice. After thoroughly mixing, fill the pie crust with the apple mixture and don’t be afraid to pat down the apples to make it compact.

Mix together the brown sugar, flour and melted butter until you have a nice crumb mixture. Place in the freezer.

Place the pie in the oven. (I put the pie on a cookie sheet covered in a piece of aluminum foil to catch all the juices!) All the pie to bake for 30 minutes; take the “crumb” mixture out of the freezer – remove the pie from the oven (be careful!) and spread the “Crumb” mixture generously over the entire top of the pie. Place the pie back in the oven for an additional 30 minutes or until the apples are done to your liking. (I like mine fairly smooshy!)

This is such a nostalgic, heartwarming desert and also serves as a great breakfast with a nice, strong black cup of French Roast.

Bon Appétit!

The Wonderful Asparagus

The humble asparagus.

Just a mention of it in a home with children under the age of 18 strikes fears in the hearts of the immature palate. It's difficult to defend the asparagus to children. They don't care that it's a good source of iron, magnesium and zinc. They don't care you can get a full day's requirement of fiber in a single serving

But those of us with mature intestinal tracts care about those things. And we have no qualms about eating them out of a can either.

Here's a few ways to use this under-touted vegetable.

1. Sesame Asparagus

2. Cream of Asparagus Soup

3. Fried Asparagus

4. and...are you ready? Asparagus Ice Cream

Bon Appetit ~

My Beef Wellington Obsession

Years ago - too long ago - Sam Choy (renowned Hawaiian chef) made me dinner. Actually, he made alot of people dinner on that same night. It was a charity for the Boys and Girls club and I had to get a ticket. I support the cause, I do, but I also wanted to eat food prepared by Sam Choy and Masaharu Morimoto (renowned Iron Chef on the Food Network).

It was a ten course meal, and yes, I wore a pretty pink flowered aloha sundress with high heeled sandles. I didn't eat for 18 hours before hand to prepare for the meal but I was still bulging out of my pretty pink dress.

The two memorable dishes from that night - even after more than 10 years afterward - was the fried sushi on a stick by Morimoto (they looked like little corn dogs) and the Beef Wellington by the great Sam Choy.

It's since remained foremost on my mind and I talk about it a lot when I'm out to dinner but for some reason, I've never made it. I just thought it was too time consuming. I find that it's a common misunderstanding among us layman cooks. Food that often seems out of reach to prepare really isn't. We just haven't done it before so all it takes is a little bit of an adventurous spirit to attempt.

Before you know it, you'll be making Thai food every day.

And it was so with Beef Wellington - though I didn't make it, the husband made it for Christmas Eve dinner. It was wonderful. And it will heretofore be a tradition in our home. I didn't take many photos but I didn't have to because -

I have become addicted - addicted - to Pinterest. I spend way too much time there. During one of my many excursions, I found some Beef Wellington recipes and then stumbled upon this beautiful food photography blog, What Katie Ate.

Oh. My. Goodness - the photography. Beautiful.

Check it out - CLICK HERE.

I think that you too will become Beef Wellington connoisseur or at least all things Katie Quinn Davies.

Enjoy!

Green Chili Corn Chowder/Soup for the Soul

Green Chili Corn Chowder

This soup is absolutely delicious and perfect for a chilly day and in every season! Green chili might only be available here in the southwest; it’s certainly one of New Mexico’s claim to fame. If green chili is not available in your part of the world I’ll be happy to send it to you!

Ingredients:

Leeks 6-8
Potatoes 4-6 good medium sized (I use Russet or Yukon gold)
Green Chili roasted/peeled/chopped 13 oz. container Bueno brand
Chicken broth 8 cups or (water or a combination)
1 can of whole corn
Heavy Cream

Potatoes:
Clean, peal, and cut into chunks. Simmer with all the chicken broth for 20 – 30 minutes or until the fork easily pierces the potatoes.

Leeks:
Clean (really well, they’re usually pretty dirty!) sauté in 4 tsbp. butter or ¼ c. of olive oil until tender (about 20 minutes).

Mix:
Sautéed leeks into potato broth mixture, stir mixture well and continue cooking until the potatoes can be pierced.

Blend/puree ( and have your crock pot ready)
Carefully pour 2-3 cups of the mixture, at a time, in your blender or food processor and once pureed place the mixture into your crock pot. Once the mixture is all blended, turn your crock pot on as you will be simmering the soup for 1 - 2 hours. Mix in the can of corn and the green chili into the soup.
Finally, for a wonderful creamy texture add 1 cup of heavy cream. Put the lid on and let it simmer for a couple of hours.

Serve with fresh pepper and some good crackers or a hearty bread (ciabatta or sour dough are my faves!)

This hearty soup will keep nicely in the refrigerator for a week and may also be frozen.

Aunt Ruth's Kreplach Soup

5 lbs brisket to make 50+ kreplachs

Roast the brisket in a pan, fat side up.  Cover it with LOTS of onions and pour 1 bottle of chili sauce over the top.  Add a can of beef broth and cover the pan with heavy foil.

Roast at 350 until fork tender (about 3-4 hours).  Keep a careful watch on the liquid to see if you have to add more beef broth.

When done, put the brisket on a platter.   Place the drippings and the onions in a separate bowl and refrigerate overnight. 

The following day, degrease the drippings and trim ALL the fat off of the brisket, and then cut it into pieces and grind it in a meat grinder (I use my Kitchenaid) while adding the drippings and onions a little at a time. Brisket-drippings-onions, etc. 

You will want the brisket to be pasty, so it will hold together when rolled into balls the size of an egg yolk which you will place into the kreplach noodle.  Some years ago, I began using wonton skins, so follow the directions on the wrapper for any wonton questions!

Roll the brisket into a ball, lay on wonton, and tightly pinch closed.  At this point, I freeze them in a single layer on a cookie sheet, so they may be bagged for later use.

Simmer them in a pot of water with a chicken broth cube for about 8 minutes or until hot and remove and serve it in a delicious chicken stock.

Of course, she makes her own soup.

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 You can read more about Aunt Ruth and her mouth-watering recipes here.