My Great Menu

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Salted Caramel seems to be all the rage now. I recently purchased some Maldon flake salt and I'm always looking for ways to maximize it's large crystals. When I saw the Salted Caramel Apple Pie recipe from Four and Twenty Blackbirds bakery in Relish magazine, I knew I had to try it. After all, who doesn't like pie.

The caramel took some time to cook. After making the salted caramel sauce, we snuck a little bit with sliced apples. Super yummy.

Instead of a lattice pattern top, I decided to go for cutout hearts for a Valentine's Day pie.  I forgot to add the bitters in the filling. Still delicious! The crust was quite good. I was surprised with the addition of cider vinegar. This could be my new go to apple pie recipe.

Salted Caramel Apple Pie (from Four and Twenty Blackbirds via Relish)

Pie Crust:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces

8 to 10 Tablespoons ice water mixed with 2 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 egg, lightly beaten

Raw sugar for sprinkling on top

 

Salted Caramel

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt (Maldon flake)

 

Apple Filling

5 to 6 medium to large apples (Granny smith, Crispin or Cortland)

Juice of 2 lemons

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup raw sugar (castor or turbinado)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon all spice

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 to 3 dashes Angostora bitters

2 Tablespoons flour

 To make pie crust:

1. Combine flour, sugar and salt in the food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal.

2. Add water mixture a little at a time, while pulsing, until dough forms a ball. Divide into 2 disc, wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour or more.

3. Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 9 inch pie pan.

4. Roll out one disc to fit pan. Place in bottom of pan, allowing sides to overlap rim.

Salted Caramel

5. Cook sugar and water over low heat until just dissolved. Add butter and bring to a slow boil. Continue cooking at a low boil until mixture turns a deep, golden brown color. Be careful not to burn caramel-remove from heat before it smokes or turns very dark.

6. Remove from heat and immediately add heavy cream. Mixture will bubble and steam. Be cautious, as sugar will be very hot. Whisk mixture together over low heat. Allow to cool slightly and sprinkle in sea salt. Set aside.

Apple Filling

7. Core, peel and thinly slice apples. Combine with lemon juice and remaining ingredients.

8. Place half the apple filling in pan. Pour half the caramel over top. Layer remaining apple filling and then caramel.

9. Roll out remaining pie dough and cut in to strips for lattice pattern or cut out desired pattern. Place over aples. Crimp edges of crust. Brush with beaten egg and lightly sprinkle with sugar and sea salt (if desired).

10. Place pie on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce to 325F or 350F (depending on your oven) for 35-45 minutes, until apples are soft and top is golden brown.

 

 

French Fridays with Dorie: mozzarella, tomato, and strawberry salad

Tomatoes and strawberries, together? Another first with Dorie! She pairs the two with fresh mozzarella and basil to put a tasty spin on the classic caprese salad. The results are yummy. The key is to use the freshest and ripest tomatoes and strawberries. I used burrata (the outside shell is mozzarella and the inside is a mixture of mozzarella and cream) and a touch of balsamic vinegar. It looked like a dessert. My daughter and I loved it. I've had it for lunch two days in a row! The salad is really good and easy.

Burrata, tomato, and strawberry salad

Check out how other Dorista's fared with this salad at www.frenchfridayswithdorie.com.

French Fridays with Dorie: roasted rhubarb

Rhubarb is something I've never had until now. Thanks to French Fridays with Dorie, I can check rhubarb off my list. This week's recipe was a super easy and delicious. The rhubarb is thickly sliced and combined with sugar and orange zest.  The rhubarb is oven roasted for less than 30 minutes. It was soft and sweet with a hint of orange. The rhubarb reminded me of a sweet plum. My little guy said it was like watermelon. We had it plain, served over ice cream and over Bob's Red Mill 10 grain hot cereal. They were all great. The tartness was definitely more prominent when served with the hot cereal. I'm looking forward to having it again.

 
Roasted Rhubarb with vanilla ice cream

 Tossed with sugar and orange zest

Roasted Rhubarb

Roasted Rhubarb over Bob's Red Mill 10 grain Hot Cereal

Check out what other French Fridays with Dorie folks thought of the roasted rhubarb at http://www.frenchfridayswithdorie.com/

French Fridays with Dorie: cola and jam spareribs

This week's recipe cola and jam spareribs. My family loves baby back ribs so I used those ribs instead of the spareribs. The ribs are rubbed with a Chinese five-spice powder and  ginger, then coated with a apricot jam, orange juice and lemon juice mixture. I marinated the ribs for a few hours but they can also be cooked right away. The Coca-Cola comes in during the baking process as a basting liquid. The end result... the ribs were good. I thought the flavors could have been stronger. The kids enjoyed them and cooking process was easy. I served them with steamed broccoli and cardamom rice pilaf (from a couple of weeks ago).

Check out the cola and jam ribs made by other folks participating in French Fridays with Dorie. http://www.frenchfridayswithdorie.com/

French Fridays with Dorie: warm weather pot-au-feu

 I was pleasant surprised by this dish. Dorie's warm weather pot-au-feu was a fantastic flavorful taste of spring.  The pot-au-feu starts with sauteed spring onion and garlic in extra-virgin olive oil. Next comes, the carrots, new potatoes and broth. For my new potatoes, I used these beautiful fingerling potatoes from the farmers market. The spinach, asparagus, and shiitake mushrooms are next. The pot-au-feu is finished with chopped fresh basil and a poached egg. I choose to have it for breakfast because I'm always looking for a healthy low carb way to start my day. This dish hit the mark.  

 

Check out the variations made by other folks participating in French Fridays with Dorie. http://www.frenchfridayswithdorie.com/

French Fridays with Dorie: cardamom rice pilaf

This week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe was cardamom rice pilaf. It's a rice side dish with a hint of lemon and an Indian accent. It was simple to make and delicious. We typically have our brown or white rice plain or as fried rice. My five year old thought it was too "seasoned" but my six year old loved it.

The tiny seeds inside the cardamom pods were used to season the rice, along with some lemon zest and chicken broth. I was able to turn this side dish vegan by using better than bouillon no chicken base to instead of the chicken broth. The tiny cardamom seeds were crushed in the mortar and pestle to release their citrusy freshness. Since joining French Fridays, I've used my mortar and pestle twice, which is two more times than I've used it in the past ten years. I love being able to utilize my kitchen tools!

Check out what other French Fridays with Dorie folks thought of the cardamom rice pilaf at http://www.frenchfridayswithdorie.com/

Meyer Lemon Cream Tart

We're fortunate to have a couple of dwarf Meyer lemon trees in the backyard. When I have lots of lemons, I love making this lemon cream tart. It's light, creamy with not too tart lemon flavor and a yummy oatmeal cookie crust. The crust recipe makes two crust. I use one and freeze the other for later. The lemon cream can also be used by itself. If you find yourself with an abundance of Meyer Lemons, give this tart a try.

Mini Meyer Lemon Cream Tart

 

Meyer Lemon Cream (makes enough for one tart or 6 mini tarts)

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

zest of 5 Meyer lemons

4 large eggs

3/4 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice

11 ounces unsalted butter softened (cut into tablespoon size pieces)

1 prepared oatmeal crust or other tart crust

Instructions:

Put saucepan with about an inch of water over heat and bring to a simmer. Place sugar and lemon zest in a large deep metal bowl that can be fitted into the pan of simmering water. Off heat, rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs and then the lemon juice.

Fit the bowl into the pan of simmering water. Cook stirring with whisk until cream thickens and reaches 180ºF. As you cook the cream, keep whisking to keep the eggs from overheating and scrambling. You will see the whisk starting to leave tracks as the cream thickens. 

Strain the cream into a blender container. Let cool to 140ºF. Working with the blender on high speed, blend the cream while adding the pieces of butter, about three or four pieces at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed. When the butter has been incorporated, continue to blend the cream for another 3 to 4 minutes.

Pour into the oatmeal cookie crust. Chill in refrigerator until set.

 

Oatmeal Cookie Crust (makes enough for two 9-10" tarts)

Cookie for Crust 

2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (3 ounces) flour

Scant 1/8 teaspoon baking powder

Scant 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter

1/3 cup (2 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar

3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) sugar

1 egg

Scant 1 cup (3 1/2 ounces) rolled oats

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and sugar until light and fluffy. Whisk the egg into the butter mixture until fully incorporated. With the mixer running, beat in the flour mixture, a little at a time, until fully combined. Stir in the oats until incorporated.

Spread the mixture onto a parchment lined 9-inch-by-13-inch baking sheet and bake until golden brown and set, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to the touch on a rack. Crumble the cooled cookie to use in the crust.

Crust

Crumbled cookie for crust

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1 1/2 tablespoons (3/4 ounce) brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

Combine the crumbled cookie, butter, brown sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until evenly combined and blended (a little of the mixture clumped between your fingers should hold together). Divide the crust between 2 (10-inch) pie tins. Press the crust into each shell to form a thin, even layer along the bottom and sides of the tins. Set the prepared crusts aside while you prepare the filling.

 

French Fridays with Dorie: bacon, egg and asparagus salad

 

I've seen a lot of recipes and on menus with a soft cooked egg and salad. I always wondered is that good?  This week's French Fridays with Dorie assignment was her bacon, eggs and asparagus salad. I was able to get extremely fresh eggs (3 days old), asparagus and mixed salad greens from the Farmers Market. I showed the photo of the salad to my family and only got one additional taker, my six years old. She loves eggs, bacon and salad. Sounds like a perfect dish for her.

Since I was only making the salad for two, I decided to dice the bacon before cooking it in a small skillet. It worked great. The small pan of bacon fat was perfect for warming the eggs just before serving. I did sub pecans for walnut/hazelnuts because that's what I had on hand.

 Cutting open the egg

My six years old and I enjoyed the salad. The combination of the runny yolk with the vinaigrette, bacon and asparagus was delicious.

Check out what others thought of the bacon, egg and asparagus salad at French Fridays with Dorie (http://www.frenchfridayswithdorie.com)

Fried Cardoon, a Car what??

I've read about cardoons in cookbooks and magazines. They're very popular in Italy & France. Apparently, they taste a little like artichoke. I love artichokes. They look like gigantic celery gone wild. Recently, I saw some at the farmer's market and had to give it a try. The cardoon leaves need to be trimmed and removed. Some recommend peeling the back to remove the tough strings.  Then they need to be parboiled in salted, lemon water to help tenderize them and remove some of the bitterness.

I got them the same day I was making Ad Hoc buttermilk fried chicken. So I decided to make fried cardoons. After parboiling them for 45 minutes, drain and air dry. I cut them into thick fries shapes. Dip the cardoons in the seasoned flour coating, then buttermilk and  back into the flour coating. Fry until crispy. Sprinkle with salt or grated parmigiano-reggiano.

The cardoons were good with a very slight bitter artichoke flavor. I saved some plain cardoons to have serve as part of a crudite platter.

Check out the size of the cardoons. I put a dollar bill put the size into perspective. Plus each stalk cost a dollar.

Parboiled Cardoons

Fried Cardoons

 

French Fridays with Dorie: spinach and bacon quiche

I'm not a huge quiche fan but always willing to give a recipe a shot. This week's French Friday with Dorie recipe was a spinach and bacon quiche. I knew that I was going to be the only real eater in the family. The quiche was delicious, not too eggy, just the right ratio of spinach, bacon and egg. The kids were not a fan of the filling but they sure do love the crust. My little guy was wondering why I couldn't just cut off the crust around the edge and give it to him.

The quiche was easy to make. It uses the same crust as the tourteau de chevre from last week. So I knew what to expect there. I had picked up some bloomsdale spinach at the Farmers Market and Niman Ranch bacon. Those items combined with sauteed onions and garlic, eggs, cream and a sprinkling of grated parmesan made up the filling. This dish is perfect for a brunch or light lunch.

Check out how others did with the spinach and bacon quiche at French Fridays with Dorie (http://www.frenchfridayswithdorie.com)