Mini Toffee Apple Pies

Fall weather comes late to the Carolinas; at least to an Ohio transplant who associates fall with Labor Day. It is the middle of October and I am still wearing shorts and sandals. In the higher elevations, a 90 minute drive from Charlotte, there are wonderful apple orchards. On a recent unexpectedly crisp Sunday afternoon, my sister Joy and I drove to Hendersonville so she could finally pick the elusive Arkansas Black apples she was craving. Nestled in the mountains was an orchard stretching for acres and acres with dozens of varieties. We fortified ourselves with a fresh apple donut, fetched our 1/2 bushel baskets and set out on our quest for Arkansas Blacks; map in hand. Joy found her apples and filled her basket. I decided on three varieties and added Golden Delicious for my dad and Pink Lady because a sample tasted so delicious. Of course I made an apple pie, but developed this recipe as a handheld dessert for my brother's 50th birthday party. It's a scrumptious little pie. The apples are sweetened with brown sugar, and toffee bits are a wonderful addition.

Mini Toffee Apple Pies      Yield:  Approximately 12-15


Ingredients:
Double pie crust recipe or refrigerated double pie crust/softened
2 medium-sized tart apples such as Granny Smith; peeled, cored and chopped
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup toffee bits
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

Place chopped apples in 10" skillet on medium heat.  Cook until slightly soft, approximately 5-7 minutes. While apples are cooking, combine remaining ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Add cooked apples and mix until combined.

Roll 1/2 of dough or one prepared crust on floured board.  Using 4" round cutter, cut circles and place on baking sheet covered in Silpat or foil. Repeat with remaining dough and place on second  baking sheet. Using approximately one teaspoon of filling, place on 1/2 half of dough toward the center. Fold dough in half and crimp with fork.

Bake in oven at 400 degrees F for the first 6 minutes and reduce heat to 350 degrees F for 6 more minutes or until golden brown.

Mini Toffee Apple Pies

Fresh Peach Pie

It's summer, and fresh produce is abundant. This morning I arrived at the Davidson Farmer's Market just as it opened. Davidson is a small college community near Charlotte, and the Farmer's Market is clearly a social gathering spot for all ages. I head for the table laden with fresh Amish donuts to retrieve my breakfast splurge. There is already a long line, two deep and the donuts go quickly.  For a buck fifty I buy an enormous raised and glazed donut.  It is soft and smells of yeast with a sweet, sugary glaze.  To counteract my act of decadence, I also buy a pint of fresh blueberries and feel vindicated as I slowly consume my treat.

Here in the south, peach season is in full swing. I can smell the peaches even before I see them lined up in perfect rows on the grower's table.  Some have stems with beautiful green leaves still attached.  They are tinged with a beautiful rose blush as though God has touched each one.

Every cooking magazine for June and July seems to have cover photos of peach desserts.  For me, the first peaches beg to become a pie.  The perfect pie smells and tastes of peaches, pure and simple.  Not too sweet, the peaches not too soft; a pie should be an homage to the peach.  The pie pastry should be flaky, with a lattice crust to show off the beautiful colors of every slice.  This is summer!

Summer Peach Pie

To peel a peach:  Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.  Drop peaches into water for about 10 seconds and remove with a slotted spoon to a large cutting board.  The skins will peel off easily with a paring knife.

Summer Peach Pie    

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

1 recipe double crust pie dough of your choice
6 - 7 cups of fresh sliced peaches
1 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract or vanilla extract (Your choice-but I love peaches with almond flavoring)
1 tablespoon melted butter if the peaches are not fresh and juicy (I usually don't add butter)

Slice peaches and place in a large mixing bowl.  Toss with fresh lemon juice and extract of your choice.  Combine the sugar and cornstarch.  Add to peaches and mix gently.

Roll half of pie crust and place in deep dish pie plate.  Add peach mixture and top with melted butter if desired.  Roll remaining pie crust and cut into strips 3/4" to 1" wide.  Form lattice crust with an under and over pattern. Cover pie with foil and bake 35 minutes in 400 degree oven.  Remove foil and bake an additional 20 minutes uncovered.  Remove from oven and let cool on baking rack.  Enjoy the taste of summer!

Insalata Caprese with Fresh Basil Pesto Topping

Basil is wonderfully fragrant and so flavorful.  Last year I carefully planted basil in patio containers.  Critters carefully ate almost all of the plants.  This year my basil plant was purchased at the nearby Davidson Farmer's Market the day before Easter.  It was carefully planted...but this time the pot was placed on a small patio table instead of on the ground.  It has been yielding beautiful, perfect green leaves right from the start.  

One of my favorite uses for basil is pesto.  There are so many recipes from which to choose.  After years of trying a virtual plethora of recipes, I've got a winner.  And it really isn't a recipe at all.  It's more of an old fashioned 'handful of this and pinch of that' recipe.  At my house pesto is eaten on bread, pasta and Caprese salad. Basil has so many uses, and so does pesto! 

Fresh Basil Pesto

A large handful of fresh basil leaves (about 1 cup packed) washed and patted dry with a paper towel

A few sprigs of parsely (about 1/4 cup) washed and patted dry with a paper towel

Fresh minced garlic to taste (1/2 to 2 cloves as your preference dictates)

A small handful of pine nuts (about 1/4 cup), toasted if desired
1/3 to 1/2 cup freshly grated Reggiano Parmesano cheese 

Extra virgin olive oil 

Place all ingredients except olive oil in a food processor or mini food processor and pulse until pine nuts are chopped.  Add olive oil in small amounts and pulse until you reach desired consistency.  Sprinkle with sea salt to taste.  The addition of parsley helps the pesto keep a beautiful green color and fresh taste.

For the Caprese salad slice a ripe tomato, layer or top with fresh mozzarella slices and fresh basil leaves.  Drizzle with aged Balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Top with a spoonful of pesto and enjoy!

The Do It Yourself Project or How to Bite Off More Than You Can Chew

Dining Room-Before

March brings thoughts of Spring and cleaning.  This year I took Spring cleaning to the extreme.  After living in my home for five years and  recently refinancing, it was time for a face lift.  My house was move-in condition when I bought it. Not my color choices, but not bad enough to change back then.

One Sunday morning while eating breakfast I decided the wallpaper had to go.  It was shades of green, beige, burgundy and just plain ugly.  I began the process by tearing a piece in a spot that would not be missed by anyone walking through my front door.  No turning back now!  Each night I would come home from work and tear more paper.  It was a solitary project. Just me. Read--no help. What was I thinking?!  I have nine foot ceilings, 36" cupboards and I'm not much over five feet tall!  Neighbors to the rescue with a taller ladder.  

It is now nearly mid-May and I'm working hard to complete my painting mission.  The kitchen and dining room are finished and the result is a wonderful transformation.  So much so, I started on the living room. Read-not in the original plan, there are vaulted ceilings, but I can't stop in the middle of the room! My deadline for completion is fast approaching. Memorial Day is looming and I have vowed to have the painting finished. 

The first weekend in June will bring friends from Ohio, Virginia and maybe Florida for a girls get-together.  My friend Sherry says they are coming to see me, not my house.  At least it will look fresh and clean.  Nothing like having company to get everything spruced up.  I just bit off more than I can chew. Speaking of chewing--that reminds me, I have a menu to plan for an entire weekend. Now that is a project I will enjoy.

Dining Room - After

Cheddar Cheese Straws

Until moving to North Carolina, the only cheese straws I had ever eaten came from a box.  It left me wondering what all the fuss was about cheese straws.  Fast forward six years and many issues of Southern Living (including the cookbooks).  Now I know! Cheddar goodness with just a hint of spicy ground red pepper; cheese straws are the perfect finger food appetizer.  Serve with a bowl of chili, a cold drink and enjoy before they disappear!

  

CHEDDAR CHEESE STRAWS

16 ounces (4 cups) finely shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (use a block of cheddar, not pre-shredded)

1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (your preference)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1.  Shred cheese, cover bowl and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.  

2.  Combine cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended.

3.  Combine flour, salt and red pepper; add to cheese mixture with a wooden spoon (or my preference of two clean hands) until dough is no longer crumbly.

4.  Roll dough to about 1/4 inch thickness on an unfloured surface or silicone mat.  

5.  Cut into 1/2 inch by 3 inch straws using a pizza cutter.  

6.  Place 1 inch apart on baking sheets covered in Silpat or prepared with no-stick spray.  

7.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool on wire racks.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

From Wikipedia--Whoopie pie (alternatively called a gob, black-and-white, bob, or "BFO" for Big Fat Oreo), an American baked good that may be considered either a cookie, pie, or cake. It is made of two round mound-shaped pieces of chocolate cake, sometimes pumpkin cake, with a sweet, creamy filling or frosting sandwiched between them. 

In 2011, the Maine State Legislature considered naming the Whoopie pie the official state dessert. The proposal received bipartisan support. L.D. 71, officially known as "An Act to Designate the Whoopie Pie as the State Dessert", read "The whoopie pie, a baked good made of two chocolate cakes with a creamy frosting between them, is the official state dessert".

Wow!  Who knew this decadent little dessert was so popular?  While it may have been a New England and Amish tradition, the Whoopie Pie has recently become a nationwide phenomena.  A Google Search will give you endless recipes and photos.  

Of course we all think our recipe is the very best.  My recipe is a variation made during the holidays. My friend recently returned an empty container previously filled with Whoopie Pies and this note:



CHOCOLATE WHOOPIE PIES 
(Servings: Makes 28-36 sandwich cookies)


Ingredients:
Cookies:
2 cups flour
1/4 cup Hershey's Special Dark cocoa (substitute 1/2 cup cocoa powder if desired)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1  1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk (substitution: 4 Tablespoons Saco buttermilk powder and 1 cup water)


Filling:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1  jar (7 or 7.5 oz) marshmallow fluff/creme
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar


Cooking Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powders, baking powder, baking soda, buttermilk powder (if you aren't using buttermilk) and salt; set aside.


In large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar with electric mixer (or my method of muscle power and a wooden spoon), until light and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla; mix well.  Slowly add flour mixture and buttermilk (or water), alternating, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Cover dough and chill 30 minutes. Note:  I have made them without chilling the dough, and they taste just as good!  Just a bit easier to handle when the dough is chilled.


Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet, placing cookies 2 inches apart. Bake cookies 9 to 12 minutes (I favor the 9 minutes for softer cookies), or until firm.  Cool cookies 2 minutes or until set, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.  


For Filling, in large bowl, cream together butter, marshmallow fluff and vanilla extract until light and fluffy.  Add powdered sugar slowly; mix well.  Spread flat side of the cookies with heaping tablespoon of filling; top with second cookie to create the sandwich.  Chill cookies to set the filling (if you can wait that long)! 


Store filled cookies in airtight containers in refrigerator for up to 3 days.  Bring cookies to room temperature before serving.  


You can find the original recipe at www.EatWisconsinCheese.com sponsored by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. 

Chicken soup for a cold winter night

Charlotte, North Carolina has had more snow on two single days in the brief three weeks it has actually been winter, than the entire average total snowfall.  Unlike my home state of Ohio, the south comes to a grinding halt.  There aren't a lot of snowplows, there ARE a lot of hills and there is usually ice that follows the snow. My office, as well as the majority of businesses was closed for two days.

A day off for me means more time to bake and cook.  Yesterday was bread.  Today was chicken soup.  An entire afternoon of simmering goodness on the stove.  Large chunks of carrots and celery swimming in golden broth and seasoned with a large bunch of fresh parsley, sea salt, fresh ground pepper and a bay leaf.  No onions in this pot...couldn't get to the store.  This soup is wonderful with hot noodles and a freshly opened bag of saltines.  For me, it is the quintessential meal for a cold winter night.

CHICKEN SOUP
1 - whole chicken cut up (3-4 pounds)
1 - small onion chopped
6 - whole carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
2 - celery stalks cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 - handful of fresh parsley (about 1/4 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper or to taste
1 bag of noodles cooked as directed on pkg.
1 bay leaf

Depending on how much time you want to spend, there are two methods of preparing this recipe.  The quick way is throw all the ingredients in a large stock pot  with 3 or 4 quarts of water and gently simmer, never boil for about 3 hours (the secret to clear broth). For a more gourmet version, saute' the mirepoix (onion, carrots and celery) in butter until the onions are transparent and add them to your stock pot with the water.  Lightly brown the chicken pieces in the same pan and add them to the pot. Add seasonings and simmer.

After 3 hours, transfer chicken pieces to a plate and remove skin.  Discard skin and bones and shred chicken into bite size pieces.  With a slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to a large bowl, removing pieces of parsley and discarding.  Strain broth into one or two large bowls using a strainer placed over the bowl.  This process assures all sediment is removed from the broth, leaving you a clear, golden broth.

Combine chicken, vegetables and broth.  Add cooked noodles and enjoy.  I put leftovers in lunch size containers and take them to work with my pack of saltine crackers.  Mmmm good.

Crab Cakes and Flounder with Roasted Broccoli

We all know fish is good for us.  I happen to live in North Carolina, one of the "stroke belt" states. Down south the preferred way of eating fish is fried. Come to think of it, the preferred way of eating almost anything is fried. As much as I love a big plate of breaded fish, I seldom indulge.  Flounder is my favorite. It is mild, flaky and requires a short cooking time.  Crab is a natural accompaniment for flounder.  The combination is a great meal with a side of roasted broccoli. Pan frying in olive oil omits butter and saturated fat. I admit to using butter in the biscuits you see in the picture, but you can substitute Italian bread with olive oil as a healthy alternative.

I used flounder fillets instead of whole flounder and pan fried the crab cakes just prior to the flounder. They were used as a topping rather than a stuffing. The broccoli can be roasting while the crab cakes and flounder are frying. It was served with a dab of homemade tartar sauce, but lemon juice is wonderful too.

Crab Cakes and Flounder  with Roasted Broccoli (serves two)
8 oz. lump crabmeat (preferably fresh, not canned)            
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 egg, beaten                                                                    
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
2 tablespoons low fat mayonnaise                                       
1/3 cup crushed crackers
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning                                        
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

Mix all ingredients except crabmeat. Squeeze all liquid from crabmeat and gently blend into mixture. Form into 4 cakes. Cover loosely with wax paper and refrigerate for about an hour before cooking. Pan fry in hot olive oil 4-5 minutes, turning gently halfway through cooking time until golden brown.

1 package of fresh or frozen flounder fillets (4 fillets or approximately 12 oz) thawed in the refrigerator for about 5 hours. Pat dry and give them a light dusting of flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Pan fry in hot olive oil for about 2 minutes on each side. Place a crab cake on top of each fillet and serve with tartar sauce or fresh lemon juice.

Roasted Broccoli (cooking time approximately 9-12 minutes)
1 medium broccoli crown, stems trimmed and cut into bite size pieces to lay flat on a jelly roll pan.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with foil and place in preheated oven. In a medium bowl combine the trimmed broccoli, olive oil and sugar. Toss to coat. Remove hot pan from oven and place broccoli pieces, cut side down on hot pan. The pan should be hot enough for you to hear them sizzle. Return to oven and bake for about 9-12 minutes until roasted. Watch carefully so they don't burn. The small amount of sugar will help help them caramelize. Season with sea salt and serve.

Popovers

Popovers are happy food.  They are light and full of air, yet slightly crisp outside. Making them always reminds me of childhood when my grandmother made Yorkshire Pudding, the English "cousin" of popovers.  Made with only four basic ingredients, they are so simple, yet elegant.  Traditionally served with roast beef, I'm happy to eat them with stew, pork ribs, or just out of the oven when they are the best.

A popover pan is ideal for a light as air creation, however a muffin or cupcake tin is a good substitute.  To guarantee a perfect popover there are two things to remember. First, have your eggs at milk at room temperature for best results.  Second, once you put them in the oven--DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR!  That said, it's a breeze to make popovers and you'll feel like a top chef when you serve them to your family and friends.

Popovers (yield 6 - 8)

2 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup of milk at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour (as you know I prefer King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour)
1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

In a medium bowl:  With a hand-held mixer, beat the eggs into the milk until they are frothy.  Add the flour and salt.  Beat about one minute until the mixture develops large bubbles.  If time permits, let the batter sit for 30-45 minutes at room temperature and beat again.

About 15 minutes before the second beating, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Grease popover pan or muffin tin with butter.

For Parmesan popovers, add the cheese just before filling the cups.  Fill the cups about two-thirds full of batter and place in the hot oven.  Bake about 30-35 minutes until the popovers are lightly browned and puffy.  DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR!  Turn the light on and watch them rise.  It doesn't take much for the popovers to deflate if you open the door to peek.

After you remove the pan from the oven, let the steam escape by poking them with a knife.  They are best when served warm.