Apple Crisp a la mode

One of my favorite fall dessert. Well, actually all year round. This is not your regular crisp recipe, i experimented on some ingredients which i think will add more flavor to the crisp. Well....I'm happy to tell you that this was a success! If you like caramel and apple jam....then you should give this a try!

Ingredients:

4 medium apple, sliced (I used apples that we picked from our Apple picking adventure)***
1/4 C caramel (I melted 1/2 a bag of 14 oz Kraft Caramel) i had some left overs.
1/2 C homemade apple jam or store bought
3/4 C packed light brown sugar
1/2 C self rising flour or All purpose flour
1/2 C Old fashioned oats
8 T butter (one stick)
3/4 t cinnamon

Heat oven to 365 degrees F.

Grease bottom and sides of a baking pan with butter.

Arrange sliced apples in baking pan.

To melt the caramel, follow the caramel package instructions.

Mix together melted caramel and apple jam.

Pour the caramel/jam mixture into the baking pan making sure to spread it all over the arranged apple slices
.
In a bowl, using your hands, mix and stir brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon and softened butter until it forms pea size lump.

Sprinkle over apples.

Bake about 45 minutes or until topping is golden brown and bubbling.

Serve warm with ice cream or whip cream.

 

 

Used different varieties from our apple picking.





 

 

 

 

 



FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

Fall season means good bye to your vegetable plants that is if you are from the Mid-west area. I still have tons of tomatoes. The green ones i have to pick before it gets frozen. We have been on frost advisory lately. I have plans on pickling some of them, hopefully i'd find the time to do so. You can also make them into salad, but frying them is the  best way to go..it's  our favorite.  Frying them while it's fresh is a good thing, in my opinion. It's crunchy and juicy and a hint of tart...yum!!!

This recipe is my version. Traditionally,  fried green tomatoes calls for cornmeal but i used panko. It just gives more crunch to the fried tomatoes. But if you can't buy or find panko don't fret...do the cornmeal or any regular breadcrumbs.

Ingredients:

4 medium sized green tomatoes (wash, slice into 1/3 inch thick) *
½ cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
½ cup flour
1 cup panko bread crumbs *
1 ½  tsp salt (divide into 3)
1 tsp pepper (divide into 3)
Canola oil for frying

* I prefer thick slices to have a crunchy end product as opposed to thin slices that will turn soggy after frying.

*Panko Breadcrumbs are Japanese breadcrumbs. Thanks to “supply and demand” they are now available at every supermarket near you ;) Few years back, you can only buy them at Asian stores. If you haven’t tried using them yet, I highly suggest that you give these a try in lieu of the breadcrumbs we used to know ;). If you want to achieve a crispy/crunchy texture, Panko will definitely give you that!

*** You will need three shallow bowls for the egg wash method.
*** You will also be doing the left hand dry, right hand wet method as well to avoid a mess.

1^st bowl – flour mixed with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2^nd bowl – combine egg and milk, add salt and pepper.  Mix and beat. Set aside
3^rd bowl – panko breadcrumbs mixed with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat.
Dredge tomato slices in the 1^st bowl (flour), then coat them in the 2^nd bowl (egg wash) using your left hand (wet).
Coat sliced tomatoes w/ panko (3^rd bowl using your right hand, dry). Press tomato slices so panko will adhere to the tomato slices.
Gently drop coated tomatoes into the hot skillet by batch. Don’t overcrowd your pan this will produce moisture. Fry the tomatoes for 3-5 minutes on each side or until brown.
Set cooked tomatoes on cookie rack to let excess oil drip. I don’t recommend paper towel, it will make your sliced tomatoes mushy and soggy.
I love to serve this w/ sriracha and vinegar dip.

Tart green tomatoes coated w/ panko and fried perfectly = crispy/crunchy on the outside and warm and juicy on the inside.

What a brilliant way to make use of your green tomatoes before cold season comes.

Patotoes Au Grutin Muffin Style

I can't take the credit for this, it was my daughter's idea. These are old photos, we actually had this for our last year's Christmas dinner. I totally forgot to blog it, but better late than never right?.

I love this idea,  another way to prepare your potatoes other than the same old same old mash potato, i do love  MP but if i could zhuzz (is this how you spell it?=;) or "umph" my potatoes the better for me. A neat and beautiful way to present your au gratin. It is definitely  a good conversation piece to your party.

Another way to prepare your potatoes check my hasselback potato .

Now for the au gratin recipe, if you have a favorite recipe, by all means make your own, and put them in the muffin cups instead of a caserole dish container.

Here's the recipe for this au gratin:

Quantity would depend on the size of your muffins.
Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced

• ¼ cup diced sweet onions

• ½ cup grated Gruyere or cheddar cheese (i used both)

• ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1/8 teaspoon paprika

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened



Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter muffin pans with softened butter.

Mix heavy cream, diced potatoes, onions, gruyere or cheddar, parmesan, paprika, salt and pepper.

Arrange potato mixture into each muffin cup.

Add more heavy cream if needed.

Cover with foil and bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Or until potatoes are tender and top turns golden brown.

Remove foil halfway through the cooking time.

Carefully remove the gratins and serve.

FRIED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH WALNUTS AND BALSAMIC REDUCTION

I used to abhor brussels sprouts, the smell, the bitter taste...i hate it!  But i was just intrigued by the idea of frying these "little cabbages" so i gave it a whirl and much to my surprise they were good, really, really good. I can eat them as a snack. You've got to try them to believe. Bacon bits will make these dish even more delicious!

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. brussels sprouts
1/4 C walnuts, roasted
1 C Balsamic vinegar (reduced)
Canola oil, for deep frying
S&P to taste.

1. Heat a pan on a low heat, reduce the balsamic vinegar by half until you achieve a syrup consistency. Set this aside.

2. Wash and pat dry the brussels sprouts.

3. Trim and quarter them lengthwise.

4. Pour enough oil into a pot and heat to 350 degrees.

5. Working in batches, deep-fry the brussels sprouts until the edges begin to curl and brown.

6. Mix the brussels sprouts and the roasted walnuts on a plate. Season w/ a little of salt and pepper.

7. Drizzle the balsamic reduction over the mixed brussels sprouts and walnut plate.

This is usually seved as a side dish, but i just love them as a snack as well.

Enjoy!!!

Potato Salad (Purple and Yukon Gold Potatoes)

My version of Tyler Florence’s Potato salad. I did some changes to the original recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/potato-salad-recipe/index.html
Ingredients:

1/2 lb each of Yukon gold and purple potatoes

Kosher salt

1/2 bunch sliced scallions, white and green parts

1 tablespoons drained capers

1 cup mayonnaise (adjust if you want more mayo)

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (i used honey dijon mustard)

2 tablespoons pickle relish

1/2 small red onion, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

few dill, chopped

1/2 lemon, juiced

Freshly ground black pepper

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Directions:

1. Put the potatoes into a big saucepan of cold salted water. Bring to a boil, cook potatoes until a paring knife poked into them goes in without resistance, about 3 minutes longer. Drain the potatoes in a colander and let them cool.

2. Reserve some scallion greens and capers for garnish. Meanwhile, stir together the mayonnaise, mustard, pickles and their juice, onion, remaining scallions and capers, parsley, and lemon juice in a bowl large enough to hold the potatoes.

3. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them in quarters or in half, depending on their size. Place the cut potatoes in a large bowl. While the potatoes are still warm, pour enough dressing over them to moisten.

4. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Drizzle with a little olive oil before serving.

CREAMY PORK ENCHILADAS

I call this dish "Fusion Enchiladas", my go to recipe especially if i crave for one and just don't have the time to prepare the authentic Mexican enchiladas.  This recipe is easy to make and majority of the ingredients are pantry staple.

Ingredients:

2-1/2 cups chopped pan seared or grilled pork or chicken.

1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup

1 pkg. (8 oz.) Shredded Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese, divided

1 cup Sour Cream, divided

1/4 cup chopped cilantro, divided

12 flour tortillas (8 inch)

2 1/2 cups Picante Salsa

HEAT oven to 350°F.

MIX pork or chicken, soup, 1 cup cheese, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup salsa and 3 Tbsp. cilantro until well blended. Spoon down centers of tortillas, adding about 1/4 cup to each; roll up.

PLACE, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with salsa and remaining cheese.

BAKE 25 min. or until heated through. Top with remaining sour cream and cilantro.

 
 
 

 

Vincenzio's Cioppino

One of my favorite soup. This is my brother-in-law's recipe. To check the history of this Italian/American soup check Cioppino .

FRESH SEAFOOD IS BEST FOR THIS DISH IF YOU HAVE THE ACCESS BUT FROZEN FRESH SEAFOOD WOULD BE GREAT AS WELL.

Ingredients

Part I
• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1 large sweet onion, chopped medium

• 1 cup tomato sauce ( I used my homemade tomato sauce )

• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper  (optional)

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped fine

• 1 small sprig of fresh rosemary

• 2 bay leaves

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

• 4 celery, finely chopped

• ½ cup carrots, chopped

Using a soup pot or Dutch oven, sauté the chopped onion, garlic, celery and carrots,  in olive oil, until translucent. Add the herb and spices, sauté for another minute. Add tomato sauce and cayenne pepper. Simmer and cook for 25 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste

Part 2

• 1 lb raw shrimp, cleaned

• 1 lb bay scallop

• ½ lb sea bass, cut into1-2-inch cubes

• 1 fresh cracked dungeness crab (I used Snow crab on this occasion)

• 1 lb mussels, in shell

• ½ cup white wine (Always use a wine that you will drink, never use cooking wine)

• 1-2 cups shrimp broth or clam juice (I used homemade shrimp broth)

Arrange the seafood into the Dutch oven (Part I). Add crabs first, then the mussels, shrimps, fish and the bay scallops last. Pour the rest of the liquid. Cover and bring to a boil on medium high heat. After it reaches a boil, lower heat to low. When shrimps, crabs, fish are cooked and mussels are open, the soup is ready.

I love to serve this w/ any artisan bread or any crusty bread.

PRIME RIB

Yes, You can make your own prime rib even for a small family of 3! This is what we had for Christmas aside from the usual ham w/ pineapple glaze, potato and egg salad. Roasted asparagus with butter and garlic and drizzle of lemon juice.

Arrange the asparagus on a baking sheet, put cubes of butter and minced garlic on top of the asparagus then roast for about 15 minutes in the preheated 360 degrees F oven

This is a 5 lb. standing rib roast (3 bones). Bring the rib roast to room temperature before baking. Finely mince medium sized sweet onions, 4 cloves of garlic, parsley and rosemary. Season this w/ Montreal Steak Seasoning. Rub the meat w/ 3 T soften unsalted butter (room temperature), this will not only add flavor, moisture to the meat but this will serve as the paste to the seasoned spices you will be rubbing to the meat as well.

The bones will serve as the rack so i just used a deep casserole pan, i nestled the rib roast on top of the mirepoix and little of beef broth w/c later served as the au jus.

I found this great site about Prime Rib. It's thorough and detailed, i highly recommend that you check this site Cooking Perfect Prime Rib. I followed the instructions step by step and it came out perfect. Just exactly how we liked it. Medium to Medium Rare.

I deliberately left the crust because i like the flavor and see the first slice...i had to taste it! Yum!!! and oh the bones? We gnawed on it w/ gusto! yes, there.. i said it...lol!

This is how our Prime Rib came out after 1 1/2 hrs. in the oven at 375 degrees F with an internal temperature of 130. Took it out of the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes covered w/ foil, which had a carry over cooking. Final internal temp was 136 degree.

See!!! If i can do it you can do it!!! You can make perfect prime rib at home!

SUCCOTASH

A Native American dish. Read THIS for more fyi. I didn't have lima beans, so i opted to use canned black beans. Overall the dish was good and lesson learned..never to use canned beans w/ fresh veggies. I will be grilling all the veggies next time i make this.

This is the kind of recipe that doesn't really need exact measurements. It'll all depend on how much veggies you would like to cook with. This can also be cooked w/ meat such as rendered pork or bacon. I went vegetarian this time since i made this as a side dish to my Chipotle Chicken w/c i will be blogging too.

Ingredients:
Fresh sweet corn kernels ( i used 3 ears)
Lima beans or any beans (i used canned black beans)
Sweet bell pepper (any color)
sweet onions
garlic
celery
tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste


Shuck corn then slice the kernels from cobs.
Chop veggies in the same sizes
Saute garlic and onions until cooked.
Add corn, celery and sweet pepper, stirring until cooked.
Add tomatoes right before serving to keep tomatoes fresh.
Add vegetable broth or water if necessary
Season with salt and pepper.

PAM'S CARAMEL APPLE

Pam went apple picking w/ her friends before she left for a "long long vacay" in Chicago. She made 2 apple dishes- Caramel Apple and Apple Pie.

There are still apples left so i'm making apple butter as i'm posting this blog. The house smells so good..Autumn is here!!!


Ingredients:

Six apples, 1 (14 oz) package individually wrapped caramels, 2 T milk.

Process:
Remove stem from each apple, Push a craft stick into the top. Place unwrapped caramels and milk in a microwave safe bowl and zap in the microwave for 2 minutes, stirring once. Let caramel cool briefly.

****To make them more authentically Autumnal, use sturdy sticks, and use these as the handles for these sweet treats.

APPLE CHIPS and APPLE ALMOND SALAD.

After all the apple butter, apple pies, apple muffins i have made. I have two other simple yet healthy ways to serve apples, apple chips and apple almond salad.

Chips, one of our favorite snack esp. autumn season.
Salads are always my go to lunch or dinner.

I don't have a food dehydrator so i make my chips using the oven at a low temp. No specific variety of apple is needed. No peeling is necessary, i like mine unpeeled for a rustic look and to achieve that curly effect and maintain the starlike shape in the middle.

All you need are the following:

Mandoline to slice your apples , but using your knife skills in slicing very thin and uniformed sliced apples is good as well=;)
Confectioners sugar
cinnamon
nutmeg (optional)

Mandoline is the best tool to make apple chips.

Preheat oven and set at 300 degrees F.
Lay and spread out sliced apples on a silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheets.
Take out seeds as you spread the slices.
Sprinkle w/ cinnamon, nutmeg then confectioners sugar and then flip and repeat process.
Bake for at least an hour, no more than that, it'll burn!
Flip apples half way through the baking.
I usually let the chips sit for few minutes to cool down and become crunchy.
Keep and store in airtight container.

APPLE ALMOND AND CHICKEN SALAD

SLICED APPLES, ROASTED ALMONDS, ROTISSERIE CHICKEN (STORE BOUGHT), BABY ARUGULA SALAD BLEND, OLIVE OIL AND WHITE BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

ENJOY!!!!

APPLE CRUMB MUFFINS

This is a California Blue Ribbon Winner recipe by a friend of mine Marina who is also a food editor for Taste of Home Magazine. She's got more great accomplishments check HERE


For this recipe, she suggested to use gala, Fuji or Golden Delicous. I used gala and cortland variety.

Y: 12 muffins.


3 1/2 C Flour
3 C peeled and chopped apples (i chopped them small)
2 C sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 C vegetable oil
1 1/2 c walnuts, chopped
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c raisins
Sifted confectioner's sugar
dash of nutmeg ( my addition)
1/3 cup milk (pls. check ****, i didn't have buttermilk)

***Marina's footnote was to add 1/3 cup buttermilk if desired, or if mixture is too dry.

Preheat oven to 30 degrees F.
Greased and flour muffin tins (I used muffin liners)
Combine flour, apples, sugar, salt, soda and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Stir in oil, milk, walnuts, raisins and vanilla. Mix well.
Divide batter into prepared tins and bake 30 minutes. (I cooked mine for 40 minute coz i know my oven will not cook the muffins in 30 minutes)
If desired lightly sprinkle tops of muffins w/ sugar and bake as directed.
When completely cooled dust w/ sifted confectioners sugar (W/c i forgot to do so)

ENJOY!!!!

APPLE BUTTER

This is my first time making apple butter. I first saw and learned about apple butter at the farmers market and was determined to make them during apple season. Well, this will not be my last, i'm definitely making more of this.
Great as holiday gift!

I got this recipe from Dinner and Drinks with some tweaking ofcourse=;)

Ingredients:

10 big apples or 12 medium apples, peeled cored and diced
2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 C apple cider
2 1/2 pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 T lemon juice

Mix all the ingredients in a slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
Puree the cooked apples ( I used my immersion blender), you can also mash the apples if you want some texture.
Cook uncovered on low heat for 30 minutes just to thicken the mixture.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

*Shelf life 3 weeks inside the fridge.

I've been enjoying the apple butter on my toast every morning.