Skillet Apple Crisp

Remember when I told you that our farm delivery was a little culinary adventure every week?  Well this week's challenge involved apples.  Several apples came in the farm box, add to that they fact that I had just bough a bag of apples the day before.  Add to THAT the fact that the little one got into the farm box and took a teeny tiny bit out of EVERY apple leaving them defenseless against the hoard of fruit flies trying to take hold in my kitchen.

Something had to be done!!

That something was Skillet Apple Crisp.   (Scroll down for the recipe from Cook's Illustrated.)  The hardest part of this recipe was pealing and slicing the apples.  It was ridiculously delicious even before it was topped with some Ben and Jerry's Vanilla ice cream.  It was also gone in a single day.  And best of all....only one pan to wash!!  YUMM!!

 
  

Ingredients

Topping
3/4	cup (3 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4	cup pecans , chopped fine
3/4	cup old-fashioned rolled oats (see note)
1/2	cup (3 1/2 ounces) packed light brown sugar
1/4	cup (1 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2	teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2	teaspoon table salt
8	tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter , melted
Filling
3	pounds Golden Delicious apples (about 7 medium), peeled, cored, halved, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges (see note)
1/4	cup (1 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar
1/4	teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1	cup apple cider
2	teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
2	tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions

1. FOR THE TOPPING: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine flour, pecans, oats, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt in medium bowl. Stir in butter until mixture is thoroughly moistened and crumbly. Set aside while preparing fruit filling.
2. FOR THE FILLING: Toss apples, granulated sugar, and cinnamon (if using) together in large bowl; set aside. Bring cider to simmer in 12-inch ovensafe skillet over medium heat; cook until reduced to ½ cup, about 5 minutes. Transfer reduced cider to bowl or liquid measuring cup; stir in lemon juice and set aside.
3. Heat butter in now-empty skillet over medium heat. When foaming subsides, add apple mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until apples begin to soften and become translucent, 12 to 14 minutes. (Do not fully cook apples.) Remove pan from heat and gently stir in cider mixture until apples are coated.
4. Sprinkle topping evenly over fruit, breaking up any large chunks. Place skillet on baking sheet and bake until fruit is tender and topping is deep golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack until warm, at least 15 minutes, and serve.

Try Something New Thursday

For a long time I've been collecting recipes for the internet or from random cookbooks thinking that I would try them someday...well today is the day!!  And every Thursday for that matter.....I'm delving into my archives and picking out a new recipe to try.

I'm going to start it off right with Hot Chocolate On a Stick.  This recipe is from Giver's Log and if you haven't visited her site you are really missing out! 

The recipe is very basic....which allows lots of room for interpretation and modification.  I searched around in the pantry and found that I had enough of all of the ingredients to make about 2 batches each consisting of 8 items.  I don't have any fancy silicone molds, and I wasn't big on the idea of using ice cube trays.  What I do have is a cache of mini-muffin liners that I got on sale after Valentines Day.  So I figured that I would give them a go.  I filled one with water and found that they hold almost exactly 1oz - Perfection!!  So I filled up a mini-muffin tray with liners and got started.

The first batch is for the kiddies.  I used milk chocolate and didn't add any extras.  The second batch is for adults.  I used dark chocolate and added some coffee flavoring.

First you need to melt the chocolate.  There are a bunch of ways to melt chocolate, but I prefer the old fashioned double boiler method.  The first rule of melting chocolate is NO WATER.  Even a tiny drop of water will make the whole thing seize up.  So, if you're following along, I just told you to put your chocolate over a pot of steam, but not to get any water in the chocolate.  Life is full of challenges.

After the chocolate is melted you add powdered sugar and cocoa and whatever flavorings you like (remember no water....so no vanilla extract or run or anything like that.)  I left the kid's sticks au natural, and added about 1/4 cup of powdered espresso to the grown-up sticks.

After I added the dry ingredients, the mixture got thick...and I mean really thick.  The instructions said the use a icing bag and pipe it into your mold...but it was pretty clear that that was not going to happen. So instead I used s spoon and just plopped some of the chocolate mixture into each mini-muffin cup. 

The whole project took me about an 45 minutes.  Which means that I was able to get it done before I was informed (in no uncertain terms) that it was time for a nap.

Farm Fresh Wednesday

At our house Wednesday is farm day.  More specifically, it's the day that the shipment from our local farm arrives.  For three years now we have bought a farm share from Great Country Farm, so every week during the summer and into the fall we receive a big box full of fruits and veggie that only a few hours earlier were still attached to a plant.

If there is a farm in your area that offers this service I highly recommend that you take advantage of it.  Not only will you be getting pretty much the freshest in-season produce available, but you will be supporting a local business and it's fabulous to know exactly where your food is coming from!  Top that all off with the fact that you will be exposed to new produce that you may not have purchased in the grocery store.  Every week brings a little culinary adventure!

Here's what came this week:  Beets with the beet greens
                                                Apples (Look for upcoming post on skillet apple crisp featuring these!)
                                                White patty pan squash
                                                Asian Pears
                                                Green beans
                                                Banana pepper (I have NO IDEA what to do with these...suggestions??)

Raiding the Pantry

My pantry and freezer are a disaster.  I'm not talking a little cluttered.  I'm talking a call out hazmat and put on the yellow biohazard suit sort of disaster.  Okay....maybe not quite that bad.  But still, not ideal in any sense of the word.  I've got a lot of stuff in there and I don't even know what most of it is.

So here's my plan...every Tuesday I'm gonna stick my hand in there (hope nothing bites it) and pull something out.

This week I've got this:

Long Grain Wild Rice.

I don't know when I bought this, or why I have never bothered to cook it.  I really like wild rice.  So I went to my go-to source for recipes - Cook's Illustrated and found a recipe for Wild Rice Pilaf with Pecans and Dried Cranberries.  Not only would this allow me to use the wild rice, but the pecans and cranberries in my pantry as well.  Score!!

I will post the full recipe from Cook's Illustrated below, but here are the highlights.

First I collected up all my ingredients.  I'm using cranberries and pecans, but I bet you could use just about any dried fruit and nut that you had on hand.  You may also notice that I'm using store bought stock here.  This is one of the concessions I had to make when I went from being a foodie to a foodie momma.  Someday, when the kids are all in school, I'll make real stock again, until then it's Swanson.

You boil the wild rice in some stock with a bay leaf and some thyme. 

Meanwhile I sauteed the veggies in some butter and then added the white rice and some water.  The cranberries get sprinkled on top and both pans putter away for a while.

 Finally, you mix the rices together with some parsley and the toasted nuts. 

 

This dish turned out to be really delicious.  Making the wild rice was harder than making regular white rice, but really not that much harder.  And I think that the extra effort is worth it.  My oldest son has already given it the thumbs and and ate some for his after school snack!  

I'm serving it with Roasted Pork with Peach sauce and steamed Broccoli.

Check below for the complete recipe!

 

 

 

Wild Rice Pilaf with Pecans and Dried Cranberries

Ingredients

1 3/4	cups low-sodium chicken broth
2	bay leaves
8	sprigs fresh thyme , divided into 2 bundles, each tied together with kitchen twine
1	cup wild rice , rinsed well and picked over
1 1/2	cups long grain white rice
3	tablespoons unsalted butter
1	medium onion , chopped fine (about 1 1/4 cups)
1	large carrot , chopped fine (about 1 cup)
	table salt
3/4	cup dried cranberries , sweetened or unsweetened
3/4	cup pecans , toasted in small dry skillet over medium heat unitl fragrant and lightly browned, about 6 minutes, then chopped coarse
1 1/2	tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
	Ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Bring chicken broth, 1/4 cup water, bay leaves, and 1 bundle thyme to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add wild rice, cover, and reduce heat to low; simmer until rice is plump and tender and has absorbed most liquid, 35 to 45 minutes. Drain rice in mesh strainer to remove excess liquid. Return rice to now-empty saucepan; cover to keep warm and set aside.
2. While wild rice is cooking, place white rice in medium bowl and cover with 2 inches water; gently swish grains to release excess starch. Carefully pour off water, leaving rice in bowl. Repeat about 5 times, until water runs almost clear. Drain rice in mesh strainer.
3. Heat butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat until foam subsides, about 2 minutes. Add onion, carrot, and 1 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring frequently, until softened but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add rinsed white rice and stir to coat grains with butter; cook, stirring frequently, until grains begin to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, bring 2 1/4 cups water to boil in small saucepan or in microwave. Add boiling water and second thyme bundle to rice; return to boil, then reduce heat to low, sprinkle cranberries evenly over rice, and cover. Simmer until all liquid is absorbed, 16 to 18 minutes. Off heat, fluff rice with fork.
4. Combine wild rice, white rice mixture, pecans, and parsley in large bowl; toss with rubber spatula. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper to taste; serve immediately.