My Apple Pie

December 28, 2009 by

This is a crumb-topped apple pie simply because I forgot to make a 2-crust pie dough today when I was preparing this! Oh well, mistakes sometimes turn out to be delicious!

Single crust pie dough
Filling:
8-10 granny smith apples, peeled & chunked
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1-1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla extract (pure please!)

Crumbly Topping:
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter – cut up
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and line a rimmed sheet (cookie sheet) with parchment or aluminum foil – you definitely wanna do this so your oven doesn’t get icky from spillage.

Place the pie dough in the pie plate and set in the fridge while you prepare the apples. Peel each apple and cut off chunky pieces and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle on all the rest of the filling ingredients and mix thoroughly. Carefully pour this into the pie crust shell and set aside.

Meanwhile, prepare the crumbly topping. Mix it all together with your fingers and hands in a medium sized bowl. Sprinkle it all over the apples in the shell. Place pan on the parchment/aluminum foil lined sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 for 45 more minutes. It will be juicy and bubbly. Let cool on a rack.

Filed Under: Autumn & Winter, Pies

Decadent Apple Pie

July 24, 2009 by

Yes, this is a bit over the top but it’s an extra special apple pie for those extra special occasions. It’s not a lot of work, just a lot of words.

Graham Cracker Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbsp. white sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
6 Tbsp. butter – melted
3/4 cup caramel flavored ice cream topping
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and then make the crust. In a medium bowl, combine the crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and butter. Mix it well with a fork, the press into a 10-inch (or deep dish) pie plate and press up the sides. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely – this is very important that it cools completely. Then pour slowly and evenly pour the caramel ice cream topping into the cooled pie shell; sprinkle the chopped up pecans on top. Refrigerate while you make the filling.

Apple Filling:
5 peeled, cored and sliced very thin Granny Smith’s
5 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

In a large skilled, melt the butter over medium heat then add the sugar, salt & cinnamon. Stir this with a wooden spoon. Add the apples and stir well. Cook this over medium to high heat for about 15 minutes – until apples have softened and are tender. Let cool for 10 minutes then gently pour/spread into the pie shell. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees and begin the Cream Cheese Topping.

Cream Cheese Topping
8 oz. pkg. Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp. lemon juice (fresh is best)
1 tsp. vanilla

With either a hand held mixer or a free-standing mixer, blend the cream cheese with the sugar, scrape down the bowl, then add all the rest of the ingredients. Blend this well for about 1 full minute, then gently spread over the apple pie filling in the pie shell. Place in oven for 30 minutes or until knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Place on cooling rack on counter for a full 2 hours; refrigerator for at least 4 hours. After 4 hours, place on counter for at least 30 minutes before add the Topping.

Whipped Cream Topping:
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup caramel flavored ice cream topping
1/4 cup chopped pecans

In a medium bowl, place the heavy cream and sugar – whip this until it becomes thick – be careful to not over mix or you’ll make butter! Spread on top of the Cream Cheese Topping on the pie, drizzle (as best you can) the caramel topping over this, then sprinkle on the chopped pecans. Swirl the topping around with a knife as gently as you can to make it decorative. Dig in!

Filed Under: Autumn & Winter, Pies

Herb Slathered & Sprinkled Roast Turkey

September 24, 2008 by

It’s taken me a while to try this method of gently lifting up the turkey skin on the breast meat and spreading the herbs underneath.  Do try this, you’ll be quite happy with the outcome. A turkey cooks at about 20-30 minutes per pound but please consult a turkey timetable for exact specifications. 

Turkey Pan Ingredients:
10-14 lb. turkey, innards removed & used however you wish
2-3 Carrots, cut into large chunks
2-3 Celery ribs, cut into large chunks (use tops too)
1 Lemon or orange , zested then cut into 6-8 chunks – set aside the zest
1 cup chicken stock or water (you may need more stock later, during cooking)
1  onion, peeled and cut into chunks
2 whole garlic bulbs or heaping Tbsp. of minced

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Rinse turkey in cool water and pat dry; place in roasting pan on a rack if possible. Add all the pan ingredients. Now begin the herbed slathering.

Herbed Slathering:
1 cup fresh parsley (please don’t use dried)
2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp. fresh sage
2 Tbsp. fresh thyme
1  onion, peeled and cut into chunks
The left over lemon or orange zest from above pan ingredients
1 heaping Tbsp. of minced garlic
3 Tbsp. extra virgin (or just regular) olive oil + more for brushing
A pair of latex or latex-free gloves if you wish – this gets messy!

Place all these ingredients in a food processor or blender then give it a blitz. Put on the gloves if using. Gently lift up the skin of the bird (you may need to separate the skin from the bird with a small, sharp knife) and spread blobs of the slather in. You will probably have some left over, if so then place in and on bird and spread around. Remove the gloves then pour a little bit (maybe 1/4 cup or less) of oil into a small bowl and brush all over the bird.  Now you’re ready for the sprinklings.

Seasoning Sprinklings:
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black or white pepper
Sprinklings of poultry seasoning
Sprinklings of garlic powder
Sprinklings of paprika

Now, cover loosely with aluminum foil and place on the lowest rack of your oven for about an hour before you open the oven door for the first peek. Keep checking the bird at 30 minute intervals because you want to make sure the liquid in the bottom of the pan has not all cooked away – add 1 cup of chicken broth or water at a time into the bottom of the pan to replenish and don’t forget to baste, baste, baste – every 30 minutes or so! If you don’t, you may have a sawdust turkey.

Take the foil off at about 1 hour until estimated done time – it’ll crisp up nicely. Discard/strain all the veggies in the pan if you will be using the drippings for gravy. Once you take the bird out of the oven you can let it sit for a good 30-45 minutes on a cutting board on your counter during which you make the gravy, heat the stuffing, etc. Don’t panic, a turkey can mellow on the counter for a little while awaiting you. Just enjoy the day!

Filed Under: Autumn & Winter, Holidays & Special Occasions, Turkey

Sausage and/or Mushroom Stuffing by Roger

November 16, 2007 by

Roger, a friend from work, gave me this recipe. It’s so good, why wait until the holidays? This delicious recipe requires drying out the bread for 3 days. Sounds like too much work? No way! Once you taste it, you’ll be hooked.

1 Giant Loaf Wonder Bread
1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh, minced parsley
1/2 tsp. sage
1 packet dried chicken broth
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. kosher salt

2 sticks butter
1/2 cup olive oil
1 large white onion, diced
4 celery stalks, diced – (I dice the leaves, too)
1 lb. portabello mushrooms OR
1 lb. uncooked crumbled sweet Italian sausage

3 days prior to making stuffing, take 3/4 of a Giant Loaf of Wonder Bread and put in a large paper bag. Add the spices. Fold the top over to close, and shake bag to mix. Place in a closet, or cupboard, or just out of the way for 3 full days – minimum.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 x 2 inch pan and set aside.

In a large skillet, melt butter and olive oil. Add onion, celery and garlic. Saute for 10 minutes. If you are using mushrooms, add them now, mix to warm and remove from heat. If you are adding crumbled sausages, add them now and cook for about 15 minutes – or until browned.

Place paper bag on counter next to a large bowl. Take bread out of bag and break into small pieces into large bowl. Gently add pan ingredients to the bread and add 3-4 cups water, a cup at a time, and mix gently, but well. Let stand covered for 5 minutes, then stuff your bird. OR place into prepared baking dish and cook for about 30 minutes.

Filed Under: Autumn & Winter, Holidays & Special Occasions, Pork

Cranberry Sauce

October 23, 2007 by

Why homemade? Because it’s so much better than the canned stuff. The canned stuff is good enough but why not give it a whirl? You’ll dazzle your holiday guests when you present this.

4 12-oz. bags cranberries
3 cups white sugar
3+ cups cold water
2 Tbsp. unflavored gelatin (Knox brand is good)

In a 4 – 5 quart heavy pan, place the cranberries, sugar and 3 cups of cold water to a boil, stirring this until the sugar is dissolved. Lower the heat to a simmer, partially cover the pan until all the berries have burst, stirring occasionally. This takes anywhere from 10 – 15 minutes.

Into a fine-mesh sieve, which you have placed over a larger glass bowl, pour the pot contents in and let stand until all the juices have strained through – this takes about 30 minutes. You may have to press on the solid berries until more juice gets extracted.

Stir the gelatin with 1/3 cup cold water and let stand 1 minute to soften. In a small pan, bring 1 cup of the strained/drained cranberry juice to a simmer then add the gelatin mixture and stir it until just dissolved. Add this mixture to the rest of the cranberry liquid and stir well. Pour this sauce into a lightly oiled or greased decorative bowl or mold – I even used a glass loaf pan one time and it worked fine. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 12 hours.

When ready to unmold, run the top of a think knife between the edge of the bowl/mold and sauce. Tilt the bowl/mold and invert a plate over the mold then invert onto plate. Serve.

Filed Under: Autumn & Winter, Holidays & Special Occasions, Sauces

Carrot-Nut Salad

October 7, 2007 by

This is an unusual salad that strikes just the right balance between carrots & maple. You can even toss in a tablespoon or two of dried cranberries if you wish. Enjoy.


3-4 cups of shredded carrots
1/2 cup of raisins (regular or yellow)
1 cup celery in small dice
2 Tbsp. chopped pecans, walnut, or pistachios
1/2 cup mayo (I use only Hellmann’s) OR sour cream
1/4 cup good quality maple syrup


Into a large bowl, combine the carrots, raisins, celery and nuts. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the mayo & maple syrup. Add this to the carrot mixture and mix gently but thoroughly to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Filed Under: Autumn & Winter, Salads

Roasted Sweet Potatoes or Yams

September 30, 2007 by

This was created out of pure necessity of getting my family to eat this vegetable. There are a ton of recipes out there for casseroles using these and yams but they are so cloyingly sweet that I went back to the basics and wow! Even our dog eats them!

3 large sweet potatoes or yams
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Peel and cut the potatoes/yams into chunks – like if you were making a potato salad. Spread them onto a cookie sheet. Pour the olive oil on, then sprinkle with the salt & pepper. Using your hands mix it all up. Pop it into the oven for 1 hour, mixing it up half way through.

If you like a little kick, sprinkle on red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper. That’s great too!

Filed Under: Autumn & Winter, Vegetables
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