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Dutch Apple Pie
Yesterday we picked apples at an orchard down the hill from where I live. The type is called Lodi. The largest ones were as big as tennis balls. This is Alaska after all, the growing season is too short for that type of fruit. Normally, I would peel 5 or 6 Granny Smiths in order to make this sublime Dutch Apple Pie, but because these apples were so small I only cored them. I think it will be fine with the peel on. Another confession: I cannot make a pie crust from scratch. I have tried many times and never succeeded. So, I always use the kind found in the refrigerated section at the store, the ones that need to be unrolled. Terrible cheating, I know. What makes it a “Dutch” apple pie? It’s the cream added at the end. Oh, yummy! This recipe is based upon one found online at Teri’s Kitchen.
8 cups pared, sliced tart baking apples (about 3#)
Like I said above, usually I would peel the apples, but these were so small that I didn’t. You will need to use a very, very large bowl.
Combine 1 cup sugar, 2 Tbsp. flour, 1 tsp. cinnamon, ½ tsp. nutmeg, ¼ tsp. salt, ½ tsp. grated lemon peel, 2 to 3 tsp. fresh lemon juice with the apples in the large bowl.
Place bottom crust into 9″ pie plate. Note my pie plate is a little big, but it works well, no problem.
Place the apple mixture into the bottom crust.
Dot with 2 Tbsp. butter.
Cut slits in top crust.
Make an egg wash by mixing 1 egg yolk with 1 Tbsp. water.
Place crust on top of apples and crimp with bottom crust to seal. Brush top crust with egg wash. It makes a beautiful shiny brown color when finished.
Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and enlarge slits as needed.
Pour 1/2 cup heavy cream into the slits. You may find it helpful to stick a knife into the opening and then pour the cream along the knife. It’s a little less messy. This is how my dad taught me to add oil to my motorcycle. Just a useful little tidbit of information.
Pop it back into the oven and bake an additional 5 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool on rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Dutch Apple Pie
Makes one 9” pie
8 cups pared, sliced tart baking apples (about 3#)
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. grated lemon peel
2 to 3 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. butter
Pastry for a 9” double-crust pie
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp. water
½ cup heavy cream
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place crust in 9” pie plate. Combine apple slices, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, lemon peel, and lemon juice in large bowl. Turn into pie plate. Dot with butter. Cut slits in top crust and then place crust on top of apples and crimp with bottom crust to seal. Brush top crust with egg yolk mixed with 1 Tbsp. water. Bake on bottom rack of oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and enlarge slits as needed and pour cream into the slits. Bake an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
I really like sweet potatoes except for canned sweet potatoes with copious amounts of sweetener added. The whole marshmallow topping thing is so unctuously sweet that . . . okay, enough of the trash talk. Here is what I like. I’ve used this recipe for many years and can’t remember where I originally got it, but just found it online at food.com. The recipe calls for fresh sweet potatoes (red yams) and very little sweetener. The pictures illustrate a smaller batch than is called for in the recipe, so use them as a guide on how to do it, but use the recipe for the amounts. I served the dish with shrimp salad, corn muffins, and pork roast that had been slowly baked in mango salsa. A couple days later I took the leftover pork and sweet potatoes, added grated cheese and refried beans and rolled it all up into tortillas for tasty burritos. Two days worth of good eats!
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled
Cut into 1” cubes (about 6 cups)
In a large resealable plastic bag, toss sweet potatoes and 2 Tbsp. olive oil.
Add 2 Tbsp. brown sugar, 1 tsp. chili powder, ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. cayenne and toss to coat.
Transfer to a greased 11×7” baking dish.
Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender, stirring every 15 minutes. Yield 8 servings.
Spicy Sweet Potatoes Recipe
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” cubes (about 6 cups)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cayenne
In a large resealable plastic bag, toss sweet potatoes and oil. Add remaining ingredients; toss to coat. Transfer to a greased 11×7” baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender, stirring every 15 minutes. Yield 8 servings.
I debated posting this as I don’t think most people are really interested, but then Reno asked me for the recipe today and I thought it would be easier and make a nice permanent record. So . . . here goes with Salmon Pickles. This is a salty pickle, not a sweet pickle. The fish is not cooked, but instead it is preserved with salt and vinegar.
Sanitize quart jars. Making these pickles is a two-step process and I start with quart jars, then finish in a few days with pint jars.
Mix together in a pitcher, or other pouring vessel, 1/3 cup pickling salt and 1 quart cold water. Add 1 quart vinegar . The ratio is one part salt brine to one part vinegar. The vinegar can be any kind as long as it is at least 4 percent (40 grains). I have made this using white vinegar, cider vinegar, and rice vinegar. My favorite is cider vinegar. If you make too much brine-vinegar solution, save it, you’ll need it in four days.
Remove skin from red (sockeye) or silver (coho) salmon, don’t worry about medium and small bones because they soften and are quite edible. Cut salmon into strips, about 1”x4”. You will cut the fish into bite-size tidbits during the second step of the process in a few days.
Place salmon strips loosely into quart jars. Pour the brine-vinegar solution to the top. The salmon strips need to be coated on all sides with brine-vinegar so don’t pack them in. Put lids on the jars and refrigerate for four days. I tip the jars occasionally, even placing them upside down for awhile.
For the second step of the process, sanitize pint jars. Prepare leftover brine-vinegar or a new batch. Drain quart jars, saving the salmon strips, but discarding the used brine-vinegar solution. The salmon is now a pink color and feels firm.
Cut the salmon into tidbits. Slice onions. Slice oranges (or lemons). Have pickling spice handy.
In pint jars layer salmon tidbits, sliced onion, sliced orange, and pickling spice.
Pour brine-vinegar solution to the top, make sure to release bubbles so that everything is thoroughly coated. Put lids on jars and refrigerate for four days. Serve!
Keep refrigerated. Keeps for six weeks under refrigeration.
Side note: Better salmon pickles are made by withdrawing a filet from a salt barrel (salmon filets that have been layered with pickling salt for months . . . or dare I say, years?), let it soak in cold water that is refreshed occasionally for 24 hours. Cut into tidbits and layer with onion, pickling spice, and orange in pint jars. Pour in vinegar that has been cut to about 85 percent vinegar to 15 percent water. Let sit in refrigerator for a few days and then serve. But who has a salt barrel these days? Anyway, that is the way I was taught to make salmon pickles back in the dark ages.
Savory Spinach and Artichoke Bread Pudding
This is a dish I’ve adapted from one posted on Food Network by Emeril Lagasse. It has a lot of ingredients, but is really very simple to make. Instead of Italian seasoning, I dash dried basil and oregano into it at the appropriate times. One thing that I think would enhance this dish is a sauce, but I haven’t quite come up with anything. I think a marinara would overwhelm it. Maybe a balsamic reduction would be good. If anyone comes up with something interesting, let me know! I served this with baked salmon the other night and it was a good accompaniment.
The first thing to do is prepare the spinach by steaming it, cooling, draining and wringing it as dry as possible, then chopping. Set aside.
Saute onion in olive oil until golden brown and tender.
Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds longer.
Add 2 tsp. Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Mix in artichokes. Heat for another 2 minutes. Set aside.
Prepare 7 cups French bread by slicing into cubes. Add onion mixture to bread cubes.
Cut Brie into cubes and stir into bread mixture, along with spinach.
Mix together eggs, cream, milk, lemon juice, more Italian seasoning (about 2 tsp.). Add to bread mixture, along with minced parsley and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Let mixture rest for 20 minutes.
Pour into greased (sprayed or with olive oil) 13 X 9″ baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Drizzle olive oil over top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.Serve warm. Yields about eight servings.
Savory Spinach and Artichoke Bread Pudding Ingredient List
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper (divided in half)
1 14-oz. can quartered artichoke hearts
7 cups cubed French bread
1# spinach (steamed, cooled, wrung, and chopped)
½ # Brie, rind removed, cut into cubes
3 eggs
1-1/2 cup cream
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. minced parsley
Olive oil for pan and drizzle
Chicken a la King
There are many ways to make Chicken a la King. This way is my favorite. It is based upon the recipe in Betty Crocker’s Cookbook (Golden Press 1972). In a pinch, you could use leftover chicken or turkey and canned broth. You could also use canned mushrooms. My way has better flavor. Served over popovers makes it fun. I will post the popover recipe as well.
Add water, at least two cups, to cover chicken in medium pan and simmer until chicken is cooked.
In the meantime, melt butter and sauté mushrooms in batches until nicely browned. Set aside mushrooms.
Saute bell pepper in the butter (don’t use more than 1/2 cup butter total while cooking this dish).
Add mushrooms to bell pepper and sprinkle with 1/2 cup flour, salt, pepper. Stir, over low heat, until flour is absorbed by melted butter and coats vegetables. Remove from heat. Remove chicken from water and save the water which is now chicken broth.
Into the mushroom, bell pepper, flour mixture, stir in 2 cups cream and 2 cups reserved broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir one minute. Shred or dice chicken. Stir chicken and 4-oz. pimientos into cream sauce. Heat through.
Serve hot over rice, toast cups, or popovers. Serves 4-6 people.
Chicken a la King Ingredient List
2 chicken breasts or other chicken parts
½ cup butter
1/3 lb. sliced mushrooms
½ cup diced bell pepper
½ cup flour
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
2 cups cream
1 4-oz. jar pimientos
Popovers
I have tried several different popover recipes and I’ll give you the one that works best. I’m still on the hunt for a better one, though. This is based upon a recipe by Ina Garten (2001 Barefoot Contessa Parties). Popovers are a little like puffs (think cream puffs), in that they are egg based. In a perfect world I suppose that you could quickly remove your perfectly rounded popovers from the oven, slice off the tops, and fill the popovers with Chicken a la King. I have never been so lucky. This does not detract whatsoever from how good they are. The recipe calls for room temperature eggs and milk. I am never so advanced in planning. One trick I do use is to preheat the muffin tins for 2 minutes before pouring in the batter.
Whisk together 1-1/2 cups flour, 3/4 tsp. salt, 3 extra-large eggs, 1-1/2 Tbsp. melted butter and 1-1/2 cups milk. I use a 4-cup measurer as a bowl so I can pour the batter into the muffin tins without a mess.
Place buttered, greased, or sprayed muffin tins (18) in 425 degree oven for 2 minutes exactly. Fill each hot muffin cup half full of batter and bake for 20-25 minutes. DO NOT PEEK!
Remove from oven. Don’t they look crazy! Serve as quickly as possible. They fall very fast. Have your guests open with a fork, being careful not to burn themselves, and spoon Chicken a la King over the top. Delicious!
Popovers Ingredient List
1-1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp. salt
3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1-1/2 Tbsp. melted butter
1-1/2 cups milk at room temperature
Whisk all together. Makes 18.
Line a baking sheet with foil and drizzle olive oil on it.
Trim the blunt end of asparagus spears by bending each spear and discarding the part that breaks off. Place the asparagus on the olive oil.
- Chop a shallot.
Toss the olive oil, asparagus, and shallot with your hands, then arrange in a single layer across the foil-lined baking sheet.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
Pork Steaks Creole
I opened a package of pork loin rib chops the other day only to find one pork chop and the rest pork steaks. A quick change of plans was in order, but fortunately I had a really great pork steak recipe and all the ingredients. This recipe is based upon one found in The Best of Food & Wine (Doubleday, 1984) and is a dinner staple in my repertoire.
In a large deep skillet or kettle, heat 1-1/2 Tbsp. oil and add 4-6 pork steaks (in batches if necessary), frying till browned on both sides. Remove from skillet and discard fat.
Heat another 1-1/2 Tbsp. oil in the skillet and add 2 medium onions, sliced. Heat, stirring occasionally, for 3-5 minutes until lightly browned.
Add 1 bell pepper, sliced, and 2 cloves garlic, minced. Saute for about a minute.
Add 1/2 cup white wine and bring to a boil, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Add 1 16-oz. can tomatoes with their juice, 3 Tbsp. lemon juice, 1-1/2 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce, 1/8 tsp. Tabasco, 1 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper, 1 bay leaf.
Return pork steaks to the pan and add enough water to just barely cover. Stir around so everything is mixed well and the pork chops are mostly covered.
Partially cover the pan and let simmer for about an hour, turning the pork steaks occasionally, until they are tender. If the sauce is too watery, uncover and increase the heat to high. Let boil to reduce the liquid.
Serve over rice.
Pork Steak Creole Ingredient List
3 Tbsp. oil
4-6 pork steaks
2 medium onions, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup white wine
1 16-oz. can tomatoes
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1-1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp. hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 bay leaf
Baked Oatmeal
I don’t often eat breakfast, but I really enjoy this baked oatmeal dish. Today I used frozen lingonberries, but any kind of fresh or frozen berry should work fine. The dish keeps in the refrigerator for several days and reheats nicely in the microwave. This recipe makes 6-8 servings, so I like using several small baking dishes and then saving the unused portions in the refrigerator until someone gets hungry enough to pull one out and eat it.
The recipe is based upon one I found on Epicurious, April 2011 by Heidi Swanson – Super Natural Every Day.
While preheating the oven to 375 degrees, chop 1/2 cup walnuts and place on a oven-proof dish to toast. I put them on a dessert plate, but a pie tin works well too. Shake or stir the walnuts around occasionally as the oven continues to heat up. Remove from oven once walnuts are a light brown color.
Mix together: 2 cups rolled oats, 1/3 cup sugar (or maple syrup-if using, add later with wet ingredients), 1 tsp. baking powder, 1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon, scant 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 of the toasted walnuts. In a separate bowl (I use a 4-cup liquid measuring cup so I can easily pour the mix into the baking dishes) whisk together 1/3 cup maple syrup (if using), 2 cups milk, 1 egg, 1-1/2 Tbsp. melted butter, and 2 tsp. vanilla extract.
Arrange 2 bananas in a single layer in the bottom of a buttered 8″ baking dish. [Note: I used three small baking dishes.] Sprinkle 1 cup berries over the bananas.
Picture of my third dish baking dish.
Cover the fruit with the oat mixture. Then slowly drizzle milk mixture over the oats. Tap the baking dish on the countertop to make sure the milk moves through the oat mixture. Scatter 1/2 cup more berries and toasted walnuts across the top.
Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes, until the top is nicely golden and the oat mixture has set. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Serve with a little milk or other favorite oatmeal topping.
Banana Muffins with Mascarpone Frosting
Based on a recipe by Giada de Laurentiis on Food Network, this is a delicious and super easy breakfast/dessert.
Set the oven to 325 degrees. Chop 1/2 cup walnuts. Place the walnuts in a pie pan or oven-proof saucer and then into the oven while it preheats. Give the walnuts a shake every once in awhile so they toast fairly evenly. Watch that they don’t burn. Remove from heat once toasted and set aside.
Stir together the dry ingredients: 3 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 2 cups sugar. Set aside.
Mix together the wet ingredients: 1 cup oil, 3 eggs, 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract. Peel and mash 4 ripe bananas.
Mix together the dry ingredients, the wet ingredients, and the mashed bananas. Stir until evenly moistened. Do not over-mix. Divide batter among 24 prepared (either paper liners or greased tins) muffin cups.
Bake the muffins at 325 degrees for about 25 minutes or when tops are golden brown and bounce back when lightly pressed with a finger. Remove from heat and let cool, either in the pan or out, doesn’t really matter. (The missing muffin was delish, BTW.)
While the muffins are cooling, stir together 3 oz. cream cheese, 6 Tbsp. butter, and 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese, all at room temperature. Stir in 3 Tbsp. honey. Spread a dollop of frosting over each muffin and sprinkle with toasted walnuts. Dig in!
Foods Passion 