Homemade Applesauce

Last night I made homemade applesauce for the first time in my life. It is so easy! This morning for breakfast I had this delicious, thick, homemade applesauce with cinnamon sprinkled on top.

I used fuji, cameo, and delicious apples of the red and gold variety. I used 20 medium-sized apples which made about a gallon of applesauce. 

Ingredients:
20 apples of any variety, unpeeled, cored, cut into quarters
1 cup sugar
3 cups water
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

In a large saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  

Cover and cook over medium heat for 25-30 minutes, or until apples are soft.
 

Allow to cool, then mash with a fork or potato masher. After mashing, remove the biggest pieces of apple peel. The peel comes off of cooked apples much easier than it does on raw apples.

If you'd like, you can freeze the applesauce in freezer bags. Store any remaining applesauce in the fridge.

This recipe is a great way to use up apples if you have an abundance. You can also use applesauce as a healthy substitute for oil in recipes. 

Rigatoni Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

So many different ingredients can be added to pasta. And there are so many different pastas to add ingredients to! Tonight, my choices were what was conveniently located in the pantry and fridge.

1/2 package rigatoni pasta
1/2 package sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Boil the pasta according to package directions. I cooked the rigatoni for 11 minutes, and then drained it for a minute and shook out the water. Don't rinse it with cold water unless you are planning to make a cold pasta salad.

While the pasta is cooking, add the olive oil to a small frying pan that has been heated over medium heat. Remember: hot pan, cold oil, food won't stick. Add the garlic and tomatoes and cook until the garlic is just starting to get brown. Remove from heat.

Place the drained pasta back into the saucepan in which it was cooked (I used a 4 quart pan). Mix the garlic-tomato-olive oil into the pasta. Spoon into a plate or pasta bowl. Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Mom's Apple Crisp

Autumn is here.  The smells, the sights, the sounds (mostly of rain around here).  Here is an easy recipe for an apple crisp, and a great way to use your fall apple harvest.

4 large apples, cut into chunks
Cinnamon and nutmeg as you choose
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
4 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter cut into bits

1/2 cup each of walnuts and pecans
Dash of salt

Preheat over to 350.  Put apples in a pie pan.  Dust with cinnamon and nutmeg.  Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

In a food processor, chop nuts with a few short pulses.  Add sugar and flour and process to combine for five seconds.  Add salt and butter and pulse 8-10 times, until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Sprinkle topping over baked apples and continue baking until topping is lightly browned and crispy – about 30 minutes.

You can mix in 1/4 cup of apple cider with the apples, but not necessary if the apples are juicy.  Be sure to have a cup of hot apple cider with your crisp while you sit by the fire!  

5 Must-Have Julia Child Books

From our friends at foodista.com, article written by Leah Rodrigues.
http://www.foodista.com/blog/2011/08/11/5-must-have-julia-child-books

Julia Child may be the most famous food writer in the United States.  Her books have taught generations of people how to cook.  In honor of Julia's upcoming birthday, I thought I would pay tribute by highlighting some of my favorite Julia Child publications.  Every cook should have at least one of her books in their cookbook collection.

Mastering The Art of French Cooking Vol. 1 and 2
These books are the backbone of all Julia Child's work, her magnum opus.  They fueled American's interest in French cooking.  Her recipes and techniques are still relevant in today's kitchen.

The Way to Cook
This book speaks to anyone with little or no cooking experience. Child describes basic cooking techniques in great detail to give the beginner confidence to get in the kitchen and cook.

Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home
This book is the companion to their hit PBS series of the same name.  The book is divided into chapters on appetizers, soups, eggs, salads and sandwiches, potatoes, vegetables, fish, poultry, meats, and desserts. It is written in a she said-he said format which allows both cooks to give culinary advice on the same topic.

As Always Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis Devoto
Avis Devoto is one of the main reasons why Julia Child was able to publish Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  This book is a collection of letters recounting the writing process and the budding friendship between the two women.

My Life in France
A memoir of Julia and Paul Child's life in France beginning in 1948 when they first arrived in Paris until their last days enjoying their cabin in Provence.  It gives personal insight to Julia's life and tells of how she became a food icon.

Magical Blackberry Cobbler

This easy recipe makes a sweet cobbler that screams out for a scoop of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt. And get this, even though the blackberries start out on the top of the crust batter when you place it in the oven, they are slowly but surely surrounded by the crust by the end of baking time. The baking powder is responsible for this magical event.

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
3 cups fresh blackberries

Melt butter and pour into a 2 quart casserole dish. Combine thoroughly the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and milk in a small mixing bowl. Pour the mixture over the melted butter without stirring. Place blackberries on top of the batter. Bake at 350°F. for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

I'm Out of Eggs! What Can I Use Instead for my Recipe?

Kitchen Tip:  Egg Substitute

1 whole egg =
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons baking powder

From chow.com

Italian Potato Salad

I think I was Italian in another life. I love Italian food. This recipe and photo came from a fabulous website called Great Chicago Italian Recipes. 

This is not the traditional potato salad we often see at summer gatherings. This recipe is a nice change and it's full of veggies. Grab someone you like to cook with and make it together (it's nice to have a chopping helper).

Ingredients:

3 pounds of red potatoes

4 hard boiled eggs, sliced

1 red onion, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 cucumber, chopped

4 roma tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tsp of dried oregano

1/2 tsp of dried thyme
1/4 cup of fresh basil, shredded
1/4 cup of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup of red wine vinegar
1/2 cup of mayonnaise

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of fresh ground black pepper

In a medium size pot of boiling water, cook the potatoes until tender, around 10-20 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the water and let them cool.

Place the eggs in a pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Run the eggs under cold water to cool.

Peel and slice the eggs and cut the potatoes in half and place in a large bowl. Add the onion, celery, cucumber, tomatoes, garlic, oregano, thyme, basil and parsley and gently mix. Stir in the oil, vinegar, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Chill over night in the fridge to blend the flavors.

Prosciutto Crisps with Goat Cheese

Two ingredients: goat cheese & prosciutto. Awesome flavor in this little treat. What is prosciutto you ask? It is the Italian word for ham which is dry-cured. Prosciutto is simply delicious on sandwiches, wrapped around cantalope slices, and you can bake or broil it as well. I was having dinner at a friend's recently and to my delight was given a yummy little appetizer of prosciutto-wrapped dates. They were baked in the oven until the prosciutto was a bit crispy and they were to die for! After that, I felt compelled to come up with a prosciutto treat.

Ingredients:

1/4 lb. thinly sliced prosciutto

4 oz. goat cheese (I used peppadew, a new find I'm very happy about)

Take the goat cheese out of the fridge ahead of time. Broil the prosciutto slices in a baking pan lined with foil for 2-3 minutes on each side. My pan was about 6" from the broiler. Watch it carefully because it can burn since it's so thin. Remove from pan and place on a plate to let cool and crisp up. Spread each piece with goat cheese.  Voila! You have a nice little appetizer to take next door and share with your neighbors.

Baked Chicken with Feta Cheese

Easy alert! Sometimes, less is more--know what I mean? Fresh lemon juice is always best, but I did use that stuff in a plastic jar for this recipe and it was still delicious. 

4 large boneless, skinless, chicken breasts

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

6 oz. feta cheese

1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. 

Put chicken in a 13" x 9" baking dish lined with parchment paper. Drizzle chicken with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Season with salt & pepper. Top chicken with feta cheese, bell pepper, and drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of lemon juice over the chicken.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with parsley.

Caprese on a Stick

You've seen or perhaps made, Caprese salad. It's the colorful one that layers tomato, fresh mozzarella cheese, with a basil leaf on top. I drizzle extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and give it a dash of Kosher salt, when I make this salad. 

This recipe for Caprese on a stick is basically the same, but it uses cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls for ease of skewering, and is placed on a wooden skewer for easy eating.

Ingredients:

20 small fresh mozzarella balls

20 fresh basil leaves

20 cherry tomatoes

Extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper

20 small wooden skewers

Place the mozzarella, basil and tomatoes on small skewers. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.