Fall is coming!

 There is a different feeling in the mountain air this week and the sky is beginning to change colors. There is nothing like the blue of the fall sky and the clear and crisp fall air.  All of these changes also mean time for fall recipes! Ok, maybe I'm ahead of the season just a smidgen. However, this recipe for French Apple Tart is timeless.

The placement of the apples is a work of art. Take your time and follow the photo for the design and you'll end up with something worthy of the finest Paris patisserie. (Can you tell that I'm missing our overseas trip this year?) this recipe takes a little time, but using the food processor makes a great short cut. You can slice the apples in the food processor or on a mandolin ( carefully!).

If you like this recipe, use the search feature for my German Apple Cake recipe. It is also a favorite!

French Apple Tart

1  1/4 cups flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon sugar
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled, divided
1/4 tsp. table salt
7 Golden Delicious or Pink Lady apples, peeled, cored, and halved
1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup apricot jam, optional

Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving

Combine flour, sugar, 8 tbsp. butter, and salt in food processor and pulse until pea­size crumbles form, about 10 pulses. Drizzle in 3 tbsp. ice­ cold water and pulse until dough is moistened, about 3—4 pulses. (Do not pulse so much that the dough forms a ball. It will clump together when you form it into a disk.) Transfer dough to a work surface and form into a flat disk; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. (Note: This can be made up to three days in advance.)

Unwrap dough and transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, flatten dough into a 13″ circle and then transfer to a 11″ tart pan with a removable bottom; trim edges; chill for 1 hour.

Heat oven to 375º. Working with one apple half at a time, thinly slice into sections, keeping slices together. Press sliced apple half gently to fan it out; repeat with remaining apple halves. Place 1 fanned apple half on outer edge of the tart dough, pointing inward; repeat with 7 more apple halves (or as many as you are able to fit — with a smaller tart pan, you won’t be able to fit as many). Separate remaining apple slices. Starting where the apple halves touch and working your way in, layer apples to create a tight rose pattern. Fill in any gaps with remaining apple.

Sprinkle with sugar (You may not need the full 1/4 cup. Use as much or as little as you like. If your apples are really sweet, you won’t need a full 1/4 cup; if you’re using a 9-inch tart pan, you also likely won’t need a full 1/4 cup.) Bake until golden brown, 60—70 minutes.

Heat apricot jam in a small saucepan until warmed and loose; pour through a fine strainer into a small bowl and set aside. Transfer tart to a wire rack; using a pastry brush, brush top of tart with jam. Let cool completely before slicing and serving with whipped cream.

Scalloped Tomatoes

It's that time of year when instead of having a couple of red, ripe tomatoes, you suddenly have a five gallon bucket full! Abundance is a blessing, but too many tomatoes are also a puzzle. Besides the obvious tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, stewed tomatoes for soups and chili next winter, there are a number of baked side dishes using tomatoes that go well with grilled meats and other fresh veggies. 

I grew up eating Scalloped Tomatoes. Mama made this in winter from canned tomatoes and it was like having a summer meal. I especially like these made from the sun ripened tomatoes of summer. They can be sweet or savory. For sweet, omit the basil and add more brown sugar. For savory, add 1 teaspoon minced garlic and increase the herbs. Either way, this is sure to become a family favorite!

Scalloped Tomatoes

Basil, brown sugar, bread cubes and onions are cooked up with thick, juicy chunks of tomato, and then baked in the oven until your kitchen smells wonderful.

1/4 cup butter

1 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon salt

ground black pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon dried basil ( or 2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil)

4 teaspoons brown sugar

5 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and sliced (or cut into large chunks)

2 cups soft ( 1-inch) bread cubes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sauté butter and onion in a medium saucepan until onion is transparent. Place salt, pepper, basil, brown sugar and tomatoes in the saucepan; stir. Add bread and stir until the ingredients are well combined.

Pour the mixture into a greased 9x13 -inch baking dish.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Blueberry Crumb Bars

One of my friends and I went blueberry picking this morning. The berries are hanging on the bushes like grapes, but all are not quite ripe yet. We picked about 5 quarts of berries and plan to go back in a week when they should just roll off the branches into the buckets! We are hopeful.

Michelle, www.browneyedbaker.com, posted this recipe and it looks so yummy that I just lifted it for you and reposted it here. Michelle, I hope this is OK. If not, I apologize now! If you've not visited Michelle's blog, you need to! She has excellent recipes and is so very organized.

This afternoon I baked these bars. They are quick and easy and taste delicious. My husband will, of course, top his with ice cream. I think you'll like them, too!

BLUEBERRY CRUMB BARS

yield: 20 to 24 bars

 

prep time: 20 minutes

 

cook time: 50 minutes

 

total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Crumb bars loaded in the middle with fresh blueberries.

INGREDIENTS:

For the Crumb:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1 egg

For the Blueberry Filling:

4 cups fresh blueberries

½ cup granulated sugar

4 teaspoons cornstarch

Juice of one lemon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

2. Make the Crumb: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter, and then the egg (the dough will be crumbly). Press half of dough into the prepared pan.

3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently fold in the blueberries to coat evenly with the sugar mixture. Spread the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust, drizzling any excess juice in the bowl over the filling. Crumble the remaining dough evenly over the blueberry layer.

4. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the top is light golden brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

(Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com; originally seen on Smitten Kitchen)

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This delicious recipe brought to you by Brown Eyed Baker 

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2013/07/23/blueberry-crumb-bars-recipe/

Herb Salt

Do you sometimes feel like smacking yourself on the forehead and saying " duhhhhh!"? Today was one of THOSE days! Permit me to go back and set the stage and I believe you will agree.

Last fall when we were in Provence, I bought a wonderful sea salt and herb blend similar to Herbs de Provence. I've used it sparingly since coming home, rationed it and on some days, simply opened the jar to whiff those smells so distinctive to that part of the world. Then I began to dissect the contents. Then I began to Google herb salts..... Then I began to feel very foolish! It was the duhhhh moment!

When I looked around my "yard" ( We live in the mountains of NC on a mountain, so I use that word loosely.) I saw several of the herbs in the herb salt. As a matter of fact, I have a rosemary bush that started out 9 years ago as a 1 quart pot holding a tiny sad looking little sprig.  Today it is 4 feet wide and 3 feet tall! Welll.... Maybe not quite as large after I trimmed it this afternoon!

The house smells scrumptious! The herb salt is on the counter drying and my forehead is sore!
Here's what I did. This is almost too easy!


Herb Salt
1/2 cup Kosher or sea salt
4 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
4 cups fresh herb leaves, washed and dried ( rosemary and sage were my choices)

Place 2 tablespoons salt in the food processor. Add garlic and process until finely chopped. Add herbs and remaining salt. Process until consistency of wet sand. If you want the salt more chunky, save out half of it to stir in after processing the herbs. Spread it on a glass dish (I used a platter) and let sit on the counter for several hours to dry. Scoop into glass jars ( or cute bottles available at craft stores), label and store at room temperature.


Sprinkle over cooked veggies, baked potatoes, fresh sliced tomatoes, focaccia (before baking), eggs, omelets....... Etc, etc.....

Confession: I tried drying a batch in the oven for 30 min at 350 degrees. Can you smell the burned salt and herbs! Yuck! Just let it dry on it's own!

What a great hostess gift! I will forever keep some on hand! And it only cost pennies to make!

Chocolate Chess Pie

Chocolate Chess Pie

Isn't it about time for something rich, gooey and chocolate?  I baked this Chocolate Chess Pie recently for a friend recuperating from a medical procedure and she pronounced it "to die for". Growing up in the South meant pies almost every weekend. When there were no fruits in season, the pies were more basic and included Egg Custard, Pecan, Lemon Chess and Chocolate Chess. Unfortunately, I did not learn the fine art of pie crust making. When frozen pie crusts came about, Mama jumped on them and I don't believe she ever made another pie crust from "scratch". I followed suite.

Actually, I don't even particularly like pie crust and have been caught eating the filling and leaving the crust. But don't tell anyone, OK. 

Chess pies are very rich. No wonder! The ingredients are sugar, eggs, butter and maybe cream and something for flavor. Sometimes just the rich buttery flavor is enough. This one happens to be a very rich chocolate, is easy to make and will " wow"  your friends! Go out and buy a frozen pie crust and whip this one up for dinner tonight.

Chocolate Chess Pie

1   1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

Pinch of salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup melted butter

1 (5oz.) can evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 unbaked (9-inch) pie crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar, cocoa and salt. Mix well and set aside. 

Combine eggs, butter, milk and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Beat well. Add sugar mixture and mix well. Pour filling into a 9-inch pie unbaked pie crust. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Cool to room temperature before slicing. 

You can top each slice with whipped cream, if desired. Serve small slices! Warning! This is VERY rich! 

Sweet Summer Peaches

There is a bowl of peaches sitting on my kitchen counter and every time I pass by it I get a whiff of the most delicious smell of summer! Fresh peaches eaten out of hand with juice drooling down your arm or fresh peaches dressed up for dinner are both a special treat and best eaten in the warm summer months. However, every summer I freeze enough peaches for a cobbler or two in the cold winter time ( usually my birthday treat in January! ). While they are abundant and deliciously ripe, try one of these yummy recipes. 

Peach Cobbler

4 cups fresh ripe peaches, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces

1 cup sugar

1 stick butter (REAL butter, unsalted)

1 cup self-rising flour (or 1 cup all-purpose + 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder + 1/2 teaspoon salt)

1 cup sugar

1 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine peaches and 1 cup sugar in medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils. Remove from heat. Set aside.

Place butter in 2-quart baking dish. Place in oven and heat until butter melts. While butter melts, combine flour,sugar, milk,lemon juice, and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl. Stir just to combine. Pour mixture over melted butter. Pour peach mixture over batter. Bake for 40 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream!!

Peach Puffs

1 large or 2 medium peaches, peeled and sliced

2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed according to pkg. directions

 1/4 cup King Arthur Almond Schmear

Vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Combine peaches, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside. Cut thawed puff pastry into 6 rectangles. Place rectangles on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread each rectangle with Almond Schmear. Top with peach slices. Bake for 20 minutes or until peaches are tender and pastry is lightly browned. Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream.

If you're really ambitious, try making the pastry yourself. Here is the link to the recipe from King Arthur Flour. You can count on them for excellent products and dependable recipes. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/raspberry-puff-turnovers-recipe

Squash Casserole

Rain, rain, rain! Have you noticed that we're having a cool wet summer? I can handle cool, but wet! Ugh! Our joint plot in the community garden is just sitting there waiting for sunshine. Except for the squash! It seems to LOVE the rain and has yielded zucchini the size of my leg and yellow squash almost as big! Surprisingly, they are tender and tasty. I've made a number of new recipes using both types of squash and even used a combination of the 2 for the following casserole.  I like this casserole because it doesn't have any eggs and has a nice texture. I'm not a huge fan of squash casseroles, but I like this one. Hopefully, you will too! 

Squash casserole

1  cup water

2  lbs yellow/summer squash, sliced

1/2 cup chopped onion

1  teaspoon salt

1/8  teaspoon sugar

3  Tablespoon  unsalted butter, softened

1¼  cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1  cup sour cream

1/3  cup shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Salt and pepper to taste

1  cup crushed Ritz cracker crumbs

3  tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan, then add the squash, onion, salt and sugar. Cook over moderate heat, covered, for 20 minutes (or until tender).

Drain well and return squash mixture to pan. Add softened butter and mash with a potato masher or fork until squash is broken apart but not entirely mashed. Drain off water. Stir in cheese, sour cream, Parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.

Combine cracker crumbs and melted butter in a small bowl.

Pour the squash mixture into a buttered  11-inch gratin dish ( or 2 quart casserole) and top with the crumb mixture. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until bubbling and golden. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.