Cheddar Apple Pie

Another fool-proof William Sonoma recipe! I have made this one once before, and it turned out well so I volunteered to make the apple pie this year too. There is a decent amount of cheddar cheese in the crust - I used extra sharp white in a block and hand shredded it. I dont think you would get enough sharpness from teh pre-shredded kind. I also always add extra apples to my apple pie since I prefer it tall and full, and alot of times the apples shrink during baking and you are left with a too-thin pie. There were so many apples in this that I had a hard time stacking them all in the pan without falling! It is nice too, when you eat the pie you get a nice hint of cheddar aftertaste, not overpowering at all. CHeddar and apple is such a yummy combo!

For the dough:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. sugar

6 oz. white cheddar cheese, finely grated

16 Tbs. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water

For the filling:

2 lb. Braeburn apples, peeled, cored and cut into slices 1/4 inch thick

1 1/2 lb. Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into slices 1/4 inch thick (I used granny smith only and 4+ pounds total)

3/4 cup sugar

1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. unsalted butter

3 Tbs. cornstarch

2 Tbs. heavy cream

To make the dough, in a bowl, combine the flour, salt, sugar and cheese, breaking apart any large clumps of cheese. Put the butter in a separate bowl. Place both bowls in the freezer for 10 minutes. In a food processor, pulse the flour mixture until the ingredients are combined, about 5 pulses. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 15 to 20 pulses. Add 1/3 cup of the ice water and pulse twice. The dough should hold together when squeezed with your fingers but should not be sticky. If it is crumbly, add more water 1 Tbs. at a time, pulsing twice after each addition. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, divide in half and shape each half into a disk. Wrap the disks separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. (I made the dough the day before)

To make the filling, in a large bowl, combine the apples, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and stir to combine. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, remove 1 of the dough disks from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes. Place the dough between 2 sheets of lightly floured waxed paper and roll out into a 12-inch round about 3/16 inch thick. Brush off the excess flour. Transfer to a pie dish and press the dough into the dish. Trim the edges, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. (I didnt bother)

Preheat an oven to 400°F. Pour the apples into a sieve set over a small saucepan, then transfer the apples to a large bowl. Set the saucepan with the juices over medium-high heat, add the butter and cook until reduced to 1/3 cup, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Sprinkle the cornstarch over the apples and toss to combine, then stir in the reduced juices. Transfer the apples to the pie shell. Roll out the remaining dough disk into a 12-inch round about 3/16 inch thick. Drape the dough over the apples and press gently to eliminate any air pockets. Trim the dough flush with the rim of the dish. Fold the bottom crust over the top crust and crimp to form a decorative edge. Cut 4 slits in the top of the crust to allow steam to escape. Brush the top of the crust with the cream. Bake for 20 minutes. Cover the edges and top with aluminum foil if they begin to get too dark. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue to bake until the apples are easily pierced with a knife, 65 to 70 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least 1 1/2 hours before serving. Serves 8 to 12.

Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes

I had the idea to make apple cinnamon cupcakes all fall and when we were invited to a Halloween Party, I used that opportunity to make them. I thought they were great!

1 box yellow cake mix (I was going to make from scratch but no time, and it was yummy this way) Make batter according to directions. Add 2 apples, peeled, diced and 1 tablespoon cinnamon, and 1 tsp nutmeg. Mix to combine and bake according to instructions.

I made a quick cream cheese frosting from Joy of cooking, plus of course halloween decor. I didnt think to take a photo of the cupcake broken into but trust me that it was great!

Autumnal Breakfast for Dinner

Who doesnt love breakfast for dinner? Not us, we love it every so often. And who doesnt love apples and pumpkin stuff? I sure do! Last weekend I tried to make pumpkin pancakes and it was a huge disaster. I should have taken pics to illustrate their terribleness. Burned on the outside... raw on teh inside... yummm. ;)

ANYHOW. This week I saw a recipe for pumpkin pancakes on Confections of a Foodie Bride and the accompanying pics looked great - not burned and not raw :)

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 cup sugar

1 1/8 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I used various spices - cinn, allspice, ginger, nutmeg - instead)

1 eggs

1 cup buttermilk* (I added extra milk since the batter seemed kind of thick for pancakes)

1/8 cup melted butter (I used Canola instead)

1/2 cup canned pumpkin (i used 1/2 a can)

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Sift together dry ingredients in medium bowl. Beat the eggs, buttermilk together and stream in melted butter while whisking. Whisk in the canned pumpkin - taste for pumpkin-ness and adjust pumpkin pie spice/pumpkin as desired.
Whisk the dry and the wet ingredients - batter will be lumpy but do not over-mix. Ladle 1/3 cup of batter onto the skillet and cook until the bubbles pop and the top of the pancake loses the “wet look” (about 2-3 minutes). Flip and cook 1-2 minutes more.
Top the stack of pancakes with a pat of butter and serve with syrup and a garnish of pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon.
Yields 6-8 pancakes, depending on size. (mine made about 12 smallish ones)
*I was out of buttermilk (go figure) so I “made” some: 1 cup milk, minus 1 Tbsp. And then I added 1 Tbsp white vinegar (can use lemon juice) and let sit on the cabinet for a few minutes while I was measuring the dry ingredients and melting butter. Whisk together and voila! Buttermilk! ***I did the same but with lemon***

The pancakes were PERFECT. Fluffy, soft, pumkiny and not at all burned/raw. Well actually... one got away and burned but that was just user-error!

Apple Cheddar Scramble

This one was of my own creation. At first I thought I would do an omelet but then I remembered that 1) I cant make omelets 2) even if I could our pans kinda suck right now and 2) I dont really like omlelets anyhow and much prefer scrambles so why on earth was I making my life too complicated!

I sauteed 1 large apple (peeled, cored, sliced to 1/4 inch and then in 1/4s) with a little butter until soft and browning, on med high stirring occassionally. Added 5 eggs beat with milk and cook until almost done. Add cubes of good cheddar and let melt and serve. We all know (and if you dont, try it, so good) that apples and cheddar are an amazing combo and they were so good in eggs that I think this is a new favorite scramble for me!

Pork Chops with Apples and Shallots

I wanted to make some savory dishes this week with the apples we picked at Granby's Bushy Hill Orchard. The first dish that came to mind was the natural paring; pork and apples. A quick search on some of my favorite cooking sites and I found this recipe that looked simple, quick, easy, healthy and yummy. And it proved to be all three! Recipe by Martha Stewart.

I only made two large bone-in chops but the same amt of apple/shallot mixture

2 tablespoons butter (I used veggie oil instead)
1/2 pound medium shallots, halved or quartered lengthwise (pieces should be about 3/4 inch thick)
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into eighths (I used 3 empires)
1/2 cup white wine
4 pork rib chops (each 1/2 inch thick and 6 to 8 ounces)
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Heat broiler; set rack 4 inches from heat. In a large skillet, heat butter over medium-high. Add shallots; cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Cover pan; reduce heat to medium. Continue cooking until shallots are soft, about 5 minutes more.
Add apples and wine; cover, and cook until apples are beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Uncover; cook, stirring, until most of the liquid has evaporated and apples are tender, 2 to 4 minutes more. Remove from heat; cover to keep warm.
While apples are cooking, season pork chops generously with salt and pepper; place on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil until cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes per side. To serve, spoon warm apple mixture over chops.

This was SO good and I will definitely make it again. I am not normally a huge fan of pork chops but wow, they are often paired with apples for a reason... yum! And of course, ryan loved it too :)

Apple Crumble

I made this the same way as all my other crumbles but yummm was it good with apples! I sliced up 4 smallish apples, peeled, cored and sliced to a 1/4 inch. Throw that in a loaf pan, and top with a generous sprinkle of cinnamon (you dont need to bother tossing it, it will mingle when cooking), a thin layer of oatmeal, a layer of brown sugar, and top with slices of butter. Cook at 350 for about 30 minutes or until top it golden and apples are just cooked through.

I truly love this easy dessert!