Monday, October 5, 2009

Its feeling more "fallish" every day!


The weather today was cold and damp, but that makes it feel even more like Fall. Granted, the clear "Carolina blue" skies are preferred, but with the leaves getting more color each day, it still feels like Fall!
We have fresh apples! Crunchy, crisp, tart, sweet and ooooohhhh so good!
Many thanks to our dear friends for thinking of us and bringing us our first bag of this fruit of the gods. Nothing makes it feel more like fall than fresh apples. Even Murphy, our dog, loves them! When I slice through one, he's at my side in a flash, waiting on a small bit to fall his way!

I'm not wasting much, so poor Murphy is out of luck. But, I will be making favorite apple recipes... starting with something like this....



APPLE BUTTER ICE CREAM PIE with WARM CINNAMON APPLES

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
¾ cup finely chopped toasted pecans
4 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
½ gallon homemade style vanilla ice cream, softened
½ cup apple butter
½ teaspoon ground apple pie spice
½ cup chopped toasted pecans
4 tablespoons butter
4 Fuji (Pink Lady, or other crisp tart apple), peeled, cored and thinly sliced
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup maple syrup (or pancake syrup)

Combine graham cracker crumbs, pecans, butter and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Mix well. Press mixture onto bottom and up sides of 10-inch spring form pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until set. Set aside to cool completely.

Spoon half the softened ice cream into the cooled crumb crust. Combine apple butter with apple pie spice. Top the ice cream with half the apple butter mixture. Swirl into ice cream with a sharp knife. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup pecans. Repeat with remaining ice cream and apple butter. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup toasted pecans over top. Return to freezer overnight or until ice cream is firm.

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large heavy skillet. Add apples and cinnamon; sauté until apples are almost tender (about 8 minutes).
Stir in maple syrup and cook until mixture is sticky and apples are tender. Remove from heat and set aside.

To serve: Cut Apple Butter Ice Cream Pie into wedges. Top with warm apples. Serve immediately.

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