A Very Good Year... (Apple Pie Shortbread Bars)

Can you believe it's December already?  As the end of the year (and the end of my 27th year as of tomorrow, haha) approaches, I've been looking back over 2011 at all the changes and excitement we've had.  I graduated and passed the boards and started working as a nurse.  We got pregnant and had a baby.  We rearranged the entire house.  We made new friends and stayed close with old ones.  We joined a church and got involved in community service.  

So far, 2011 has been my favorite.  :-)

Traditions (Gluten Free Apple Tart)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Ours was full of family, food and relaxation, which in my book makes it about the best holiday you could have.  Since we've been a little busy, what with having a newborn and all, my mother in law offered to cook this year.  Our families gathered together over turkey, wine and applesauce.

Baby's first Thanksgiving - he was even sleeping excitedly.

It is a tradition in my husband's family that they have homemade applesauce for every family dinner.  Bob's grandmother would make a huge batch of it a few times a year and freeze it, so it was always available whenever the family would eat together.  Since she passed away in 2009, there has been a void where homemade applesauce once was.  My mother in law, now that she's the grandmother, has taken it upon herself to learn the secret applesauce recipe.  This recipe apparently requires a particular kind of apple, which she was able to order online.  And, since apparently it's cheaper to buy said apples in bulk, I now have a giant bag of apples sitting here staring at me.

Lots and lots of apples.  A plethora of apples.

Fridge Fun (Apple Crumble Mini Pies)

I was in the mood to bake the other day.  I was NOT in the mood to go to the grocery store.  

One of my New Years resolutions this year was to waste less, especially where food was concerned.  I try really hard to use up everything I buy, but sometimes I open the crisper to find a wilted crown of broccoli or move the eggs and discover a bag of grapes has turned into raisins.  This has happened more now that my belly stops me from bending completely over.

Old Friends and New Beginnings (Caramel Apple Skillet Cake)

A few weeks ago, some dear friends of ours bought their first home.  In the time between then and now, our area experienced an earthquake, a hurricane, and some massive flooding.  Luckily, their new house has withstood all that nature could throw at it, and they're safely back home to settle in. 

As we were going to visit for the first time and give them a little housewarming, I knew that they had already been through a lot. I'm of the opinion that it's bad luck to visit someone's new house and not bring food.  Something about good luck and best wishes and prosperity and happiness and who knows what else.  Either way, this seemed like a good opportunity for cake.

I don't usually make cakes, as any casual reader of this blog can tell you.  To make an entire cake for hubby and me seems like overkill, so I really need a special occasion that involved a lot of people to even get up the excitement to try.  Also, cake itself just isn't terribly exciting to me.  My entire life I've viewed cake as a mere vehicle for icing.  Even the best, most moist homemade cake seems a little blah.  And don't even get me started on all the birthday parties where I've had to suffer through dry, crumbly store bought cake with hydrogenated oil "icing".  For my birthdays, I always request pie or cheesecake or brownies or something else with some character.  Cake just doesn't trip my trigger like other desserts.

Oooey gooey goodness...

Tate's Bake Shop (Apple Cranberry Crisp)

Recently, I won a give away from The Cilantropist (check her out - beautiful pictures and awesomely yummy food).  It may have been the first time in my life that I've ever won anything, besides a Lisa Frank pencil and paper set in a raffle in fourth grade.  That's a pretty long run, over 17 years.  Hm.  There must have been a $1 scratch off lottery ticket in between there somewhere. Hmmmm...

Anyway, this giveaway was better than a Lisa Frank pencil and paper set AND a scratch off lottery ticket combined.  This giveaway was from Tate's Bake Shop.  A few months ago, I noticed them popping up all over the Internet.  Tate's Bake Shop is a little bakery in the Hamptons that became famous at the beginning for their chocolate chip cookies.  Now they make all kinds of baked goodness, and can ship these treats anywhere.  The gift set included three kinds of cookies - chocolate chip, macadamia white chocolate chip,oatmeal raisin - and a cookbook.  I wish I had some pictures of the cookies, but I don't.

Chappel Pie and Bobby Flay (Chappel Pie)

After the turkey was carved and the plates were mostly washed, it was time for my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner - serving dessert!  I made two desserts for our Thankful Thursday:  Cherry Apple Pie and Bobby Flay's Pumpkin Bread Pudding. 

So much happiness on one little plate...

(I'm not going to post the recipe for Bobby Flay's, because my pictures don't do it justice and the recipe is pretty easy to follow.  The Pumpkin Bread Pudding was featured on Throwdown with Bobby Flay:  The Pioneer Woman, and Husband decided he must have it.  So we did.)

Going to the Chappel and we're gonna eat piiiiiiieeeeee...

My dad coined the "Chappel Pie" name:

Me:  Do you want pumpkin bread pudding or cherry-apple pie?

Dad:  Do you mean cherry pie OR apple pie?  Or cherry-slash-apple pie?  

Me:  Cherry-slash-apple pie.

Dad:  So that makes it....chappel pie?

Goodness (Good Caramel Apple Goodness)

Things that are good:

Layla.

Husband.

 

Friends.

Family.

Pretty flowers.

 

Dessert.

And this dessert is good.  Gooey, like a candied apple.  Handy, like a bar cookie.  Sweet and cinnamony, like any good fall treat.  Gooey Caramel Apple Goodness. 

Gooey Caramel Apple Goodness

(from Taste of Home Halloween)

Crust:

5 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/4 teaspoons sugar

1-1/4 teaspoons salt

1-1/4 cups butter, cold

3 eggs

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons + 1-1/2 teaspoons white vinegar

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt.  Cut or rub in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, water and vinegar.  Gradually add to the flour mixture, tossing with a fork until a ball forms.  Divide the dough into two portions, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

Filling:

10-1/2 cups sliced, peeled tart apples (about 12)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1-3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup butter, cubed

1 cup chopped walnuts

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

In a large bowl, combine the apples, sugars, flour, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and cream.  In a dutch oven, melt the butter, than add the apple mixture.  Cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, until the apples are tender.  Stir in walnuts and vanilla.  Roll out one ball of crust gently and press into the bottom of  a 15"x10" pan.  Spread the apple mixture into the crust.  Roll out the remaining dough ball and press gently over the apples.  Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack.  Serve warm with ice cream.

Anticipation (Hot Cross Apple Buns)

Anticipation.  That's about probably the best word to describe my day.  The gang and I are going to San Francisco this weekend.  Wait - let's rephrase that.  At this moment, my husband and all my local friends are in San Francisco or on a plane there.  I am at home.  I have one more day of clinical before I can hop on my own flight and spend the glorious three day weekend on the other coast, drinking California drinks and doing California type things.  Oh, and going to the Eagles football game.  (That's why they're all going - I'm going because I love San Francisco and I have an innate fear that if I miss out on group fun I'll turn into a pumpkin.)

This arrangement was OK with me, until this morning when my instructor canceled today's clinical.  Now I'm stuck doing some 22 page crap assignment and counting down the hours until tomorrow.  Tomorrow I'll go to the "Disaster Simulation" training at school (which is probably just 6 hours of trying to keep Sim Man alive while people laugh at our nursing student ineptitude) and count down the hours until my weekend starts. It didn't help that my father in law showed up 24 hours early to take me to the airport.

Maybe that's not totally fair - I did get to catch up on some things like I'm happy to accomplish before I leave.  And I took Layla on a long walk to make up for leaving her here with my sister while we're off having fun.  However, when your loved ones call you from a bar across the water from Alcatraz, and you're stuck inside on a beautiful fall day writing a pretend care plan for a made up pediatric cardiac patient, what's a girl to do?

Turn on the oven, of course.

Let's call it a "thank you" present for my sister.  After all, she has graciously agreed to give up her weekend of living it up to stay here with the pup.  I think that deserves some Hot Cross Apple Buns.

Let's hope she does, too!

Hot Cross Apple Buns

(adapted from The Pampered Chef)

2 large granny smith apples (or whichever kind you prefer), peeled, cored and chopped

1/4 cup pecans

1/4 cup raisins

1-1/2 tablespoons whole wheat flour

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1 package refrigerator biscuits (or you can make your own)

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Oven:  350 degrees

Mix the apples, pecans, raisins, flour, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a medium bowl.  Microwave for 2.5 minutes or until hot.  Grease eight muffin tins with butter or cooking spray.  Mix the remaining sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Melt the butter into another small bowl.  Roll out the biscuits into 5 inch circles.  Place 1/3 cup of the apple mixture into the center, then gather the edges and pinch together.  

Holding the pinched edges, dip the top into the melted butter, then into the cinnamon-sugar.  Place butter/cinnamon sugar side up into a muffin tin.  With a serrated knife, lightly cut an X into the top of each biscuit.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and finish cooling on a wire rack.

Turn off the oven and go to San Francisco!