Apples, Apples and more Apples!

One of my absolute favorite fall foods is apples! I love them fresh, sweet and crunchy, in cakes, crisps, breads, muffins.... you get the picture? The best variety in my opinion is Pink Lady. They come in after the first frost and will last in the refrigerator for months. They are sweet yet tart, crunchy and hold up well when cooked. I'm sure that you have a favorite, too. Just remember that the ones with round bottoms are cooking apples and the ones with pointy bottoms (is that so very technical?) are eating apples and there is absolutely nothing wrong with switching their use! (The photo below says "organic" however, Pink Ladies are not all organic.)

 I am fully aware that I have shared several (OK, a LOT) of apple recipes over the years, but today I think we need a few more! (Use the search feature to find past posts and some really good recipes!)It's one of those sunny fall days that just needs the smell of cinnamon in the kitchen!

This one is an "oldie but goodie" and one mama made every fall that I can remember! Serve it warm with a dollop of cinnamon flavored whipped cream or ice cream... mmmmm

Fresh Apple Cake
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups chopped peeled apples
1 cup chopped pecans (toasted in my kitchen)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine sugar, oil and eggs in large bowl of electric mixer. Mix until well combined. Combine flour, soda, salt and cinnamon; add to sugar mixture. Stir in vanilla, apples and pecans. Pour into greased and floured tube pan. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and pour glaze over warm cake.

Glaze
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk or cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine ingredients except vanilla in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes; stir in vanilla. Pour over warm cake.

Helen's Notes: You can also bake this in a 9x13-inch pan. Double the glaze ingredients and pour over warm cake just as it comes from the oven.

The next recipe is a moist and yummy breakfast muffin or snack! Add raisins, dates or dried cranberries, if you like. Always remove muffins from the pan as soon as they come out of the oven to prevent soggy bottoms.

Apple Muffins
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour (or all-purpose plus 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt)
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup finely chopped, peeled apple
1/2 cup raisins, cranberries or dates
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 12 count muffin pan or line with cupcake papers.
Combine flour, oatmeal and sugar. Add egg, milk and melted butter. Stir to moisten ingredients. Stir in vanilla. Gently stir in apples, raisins and nuts. Spoon into muffin pan. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes.

Helen's Notes: Substitute 1/2 whole wheat flour, if desired. Use firmly packed brown sugar (light or dark). Omit raisins and/or nuts. Sprinkle batter with cinnamon and sugar before baking.

And finally, one of my very favorite and easiest apple "recipes":
Cut 4 to 6 apples into eighths, remove core but leave peel on . Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet. Add apples and 1/2 cup apple juice (water or apple cider). Cover and cook until apples begin to soften. Remove cover and cook until apples are desired consistency and liquid has evaporated. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, if desired. Serve with ham, pork, chicken or as breakfast side dish.

Tuscan Pork Roast and White Beans

My girls are coming to the mountains for the weekend! Hurrraaaahhhhh! My daughter, Kelley, and her two year old daughter, Emmie,  will be here in a few hours and I've been stirring around in the kitchen all morning. I want to have as much done ahead as possible so that I can "play" with Miss Emmie! Emmie likes loves black eye peas, so I found this yummy sounding pork roast with white beans that I hope everyone will enjoy. The roast is sure to be tender and juicy and the beans creamy and tasty. The house smells scrumptious! I just tasted a spoonful of beans and a pinch of pork so that I could vouch for its flavors. Oh my! I want to sit down NOW with a spoon and a plate!

You can cook this in a slow cooker for 8 hours on high or in your oven for 4 hours on 275degrees. Either way, soak the beans ahead (cover with water and let stand overnight, drain and add to recipe) or cover them with water and boil for 20 minutes, pour off the water and proceed.

The recipe calls for a Boston Butt, boneless shoulder pork roast. They were $15. Pork loin end roast was $5. Guess which one I used??? The roast was done before the beans, so I removed it and covered it with foil. I'll shred it and add back to the beans.

Slow Cooked Tuscan Pork Roast with White Beans
2 cups dried navy beans
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage, divided
2 teaspoons Kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder (Boston Butt)
4 cups water
2 bay leaves

Sort and wash beans; place in a large Dutch oven and cover with water 2 inches above beans. Cover and let stand for 8 hours. (see note above) Drain beans.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
Combine 2 teaspoons sage, 1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 cloves minced garlic. Rub mixture over pork roast. Place beans, remaining ingredients and pork roast in  large heavy pan (or slow cooker). Cover and bake until pork is very tender and beans are creamy. Discard bay leaves. Pull pork apart into chunks and serve with beans.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Fresh Sage

Pumpkins, cinnamon, cider, Indian corn, mums and apples! Fall is here! It's a welcome relief from summer and brings it's own special flavors and aromas. Butternut squash is plentiful in local markets along with sweet potatoes. Both taste so much better when fresh and local.

Waaaaayyy back in the dark ages, when I was in college, Mama would make special foods when I went home on the weekend. In fall, my favorites were sweet potatoes and turnip greens
( not cooked together!)  Those were the fall tastes that I craved. And I still enjoy both this time of year!

Now that my taste buds have re-adjusted to American food, they are craving foods of fall. The sage plant in the edge of my herb garden is loaded with leaves, so this recipe seems a natural! It's simple and easy and can also be made with sweet potatoes and rosemary. Give it a try. I think it may become a favorite!





Roasted Butternut Squash with Fresh Sage

1 (3-pound) butternut squash-peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch dice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
12 sage leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 425°. In a large bowl, toss the butternut squash with the olive oil and sage and season with salt and pepper. Spread the squash on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast in the oven for about 40 minutes, until tender and lightly browned, tossing once half-way through. Transfer to a bowl and serve.

Tex-Mex Pork

Many of you know that we just returned from a 2 week trip to France. We flew into Lyon, gastronomic capital of France (and, arguably, the world) then drove south to Provence. It was a wonderful trip for seeing exciting sites and eating LOTS of really good food! However, my taste buds are craving something spicy and my jet lag is begging for easy. This recipe satisfies both!

If pork tenderloin is out of the budget,  cut thick boneless pork chops into cubes for this recipe. Either way, it only takes 1 pound of pork.

Tex-Mex Pork
1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups salsa
2 cups hot cooked rice
1/4 cup sour cream
1 avocado, peeled and cubed (toss with a squeeze of lemon to prevent browning)

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork; sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt and 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper. Saute for 8 minutes or until lighlty browned. Add salsa and 1/4 cup water to the pan; bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 mintues or until slightly thickened. Serve pork mixture over hot cooked rice; top with a dollop of sour cream and cubed avocado.

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

My kitchen overflowed with cherry tomatoes last week as my 2 plants hanging halfway off the deck have finally decided to produce! The plants look like they are ready for the compost heap, but after inspecting the trailing vines, I found lots of bright red tomatoes that were sun ripened and ready for picking! What to do with all these little guys? You can only eat so many salads! Then I remembered something I read on Pinterest... here we go again...

The tomatoes were cut in half, placed on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet cut side up, drizzled with olive oil (just a tiny little bit!), sprinkled with sea salt and roasted at 200 degrees for about 4 hours. It was almost overnight, but thanks to DH, I turned them off before going to bed!
The next morning, I put them in a jar (Oh, dear! They shrunk up so much that they fit into a small jar!!) and covered them with olive oil (thanks to my son-in-law for Trader Giotto's). I added a large clove of garlic, sliced, and a few sprigs of rosemary. You can sprinkle them with herbs as they are baking, if you prefer. The little jar is still sitting on the counter, but I haved used them several times this week.

One night, I tossed them into olive oil, red pepper, parlsey, garlic, shrimp, lemon juice and a dash of white wine. Cooked this until the shrimp were done - about 3 minutes - and tossed with angel hair pasta. YUMMM!

Another day, I added the drained tomatoes to a turkey and mozzarella panini. And finally, I added them to stuffed tomatoes. Don't laugh, the roasted tomatoes added a new dimension to the baked stuffed tomatoes. The roasted tomatoes are sweet and almost caramelized. They make a great addition to many dishes... use your imagination and enjoy!

Pear Clafouti

Clafouti is a traditional French dish made by pouring pancake-like batter over fruit - easy to make!
Traditionally, it's made with cherries but pears are in season and beautiful this fall. It's a perfect time to try Ina Garten's recipe for Pear Clafouti.

Every time I type clafouti, I hear Julia Childs saying (in her unmistakable voice) cla-foo-tay'! And I smile! Did you see the movie Julie and Julia? We were in Paris after it came out and saw the movie poster on a circular "billboard" on the street. Of course, I saw the movie - several times! I'm not that crazy about Julia, but I do love Paris!!

So, here is Ina's recipe for Pear Clafouti. Bake it in a quiche pan, if you still have one. Or you can use a pie plate or any round casserole dish. It needs to be eaten warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar and DH would dollop it with whipped cream.

Pear Clafouti
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temp
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3 large eggs, room temp
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (it IS French!)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 firm, but ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and sliced
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 10x1 1/2-inch round baking dish and sprinkle bottom and sides with 1 tablespoon sugar.

Beat eggs and 1/3 cups sugar in the bowl of electric mixer on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. On low speed, mix in flour, cream, vanilla, lemon zest and salt. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Arrange pear slices in a single layer in the prepared pan. Make them pretty.... pinwheel or spiral.
Pour the batter over the pears and bake until the top is golden brown and custard is firm, 35 to 45 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm!

           

Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Salted caramel. Have you notice that this is one of THE most popular flavors? I like sweet and salty and so does my daughter, Kelley. For her birthday at our house this weekend, I made these cupcakes. I found them on the blog "Sprinkle Bakes" via Pinterest. (I also "borrowed" her photo complete with caramel frou frou!) They are "from scratch" (unlike the box variety that most home cooks call "homemade" these days!) and improve with age. I'm not going to kid you, they are NOT quick and easy, but they ARE well worth the effort. I knew Kelley would love them too and appreciate the effort. After all, she is the cupcake Queen having her own baking business for several years. I was really nervous making them, especially when it was time to frost! Her decorating skills are on an entirely different level than mine thanks to instruction from master cake baker/decorator Eileen Carter. But, Mama always said I didn't have sense enough to think there was anything I couldn't do, so I spent a good part of the day Friday baking these beauties!

Wouldn't you do anything for your children? I would. I love my two better than anything you can name. They are such very different people, but both are dear to me in their own way. Kelley and I have been buddies since she was little. She's a fantastic mom, loving wife and dear daughter/friend. I am so proud of the young woman she has become, but I do wish she would stop having birthdays!!!

Here's the recipe, but as you would expect, I made a few changes! The original was Triple Salted Caramel Cupcakes. I had already made 2 batches of caramel and was not about to make the 3rd just for decoration. If you want to go that far, go to the blog and get the entire recipe. I'm giving you the Double Salted Caramel version! Pay attention to where the recipes call for unsalted or salted butter. NO SUBSTITUTES! ( I also did NOT say this recipe is inexpensive to make!)

Confession: I burned the 2nd batch of caramel! PHEW!! If that happens, throw it out and start over.

Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon SEA SALT
1 stick UNSALTED butter, room temperature
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin pans with papers. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
Cream butter and brown sugar on medium- high speed of electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Mix well. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat well after each addition.

Fill muffin pans 2/3 full. Bake for 25 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool for 10 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Salted Caramel Filling
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons SALTED butter, cubed
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream, room temperature

Melt sugar in heavy bottom pan over medium high heat. Whisk the sugar as it melts and cook until it becomes a deep amber color (shiny new penny color for me). Add butter and stir until melted. Pour in the heavy cream (mixture will foam and pop!) and whisk until you get a smooth sauce. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Cut a small round piece (plug) from the top of each cupcake. Pour in 1 teaspoon caramel sauce and replace the cake piece. Set aside.

Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick SALTED butter
1 stick UNSALTED butter
1/2 teaspoon SEA SALT
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Combine sugar and water in heavy bottom saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook without stirring until mixture turns a deep amber color (shiny new penny, again). Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla. Set aside to cool for 20 minutes or until it is just barely warm but still pourable.
Beat butters and salt in large bowl of electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and mix until thoroughly combined.  Add caramel; beat on medium- high speed until light and airy and completely mixed (about 2 minutes). Mixture should be ready to use immediately. If it is runny, refrigerate until creamy. (Your caramel was too hot!). Top caramel-filled cupcakes with frosting.