The Barefoot Kitchen Witch

Apple Strudel

I think my recent fun playing with phyllo (or filo) dough got me wanting to make something else with it.

I’ve wanted to make apple strudel for a while now.  Odd that I’ve never made it before, but you know how easy it is to get stuck in a rut.  You know, a non-phyllo rut. 

I’m sure it happens to everyone.

Anyway, last week, I decided to climb out of my rut and make some strudel….

FFwD - Marie-Helene’s Apple Cake

Marie-Helene would be quite welcome in our home.

Especially if she showed up with an apple cake.

Of course, we don’t know Marie-Helene, and she doesn’t know us, so the odds of her arriving at our door, still-warm-from-the-oven gâteau aux pommes (I’m dabbling in French) are pretty darn slim.

Good thing Dorie gave us a recipe so I can make this myself!

A is for Apple

P is for Pie

Or pies.  One big one and a lot of little ones.

Why Barefoot Kitchen Witch, and How Popcorn Is Keeping Me Humble

Yesterday we went apple picking and pumpkin selecting at Jaswell's Farm with a friend of ours and his daughter, who is a year younger than Julia.  The two girls get along really well, and they leave Alex alone, and we adults don't have to get involved in any altercations, so everyone's happy.

Upside Down Apple Gingerbread

 I felt like making gingerbread the other day.  I also needed to do something with half a dozen apples I'd bought the week before.  They were on the mealy side, and no one wanted to eat them as they were.  

Pork Loin Medallions With Apples, Onions and Herbs

 

I've been so mired in cookies for the past several weeks, I've been neglecting the rest of the menu, at least as far as posting is concerned.

We bought a package of pork tenderloins (2) at some point in December, and after much contemplation of possibilities, I went the medallion route.

TWD (make that WWD in this case) Apple Cheddar Scones

Yes, here I am, late to the party.  But at least I got here before NEXT Tuesday.

Apple Cheddar Scones.  The recipe is from Dorie Greenspan's book "Baking From My Home to Yours", and can be found on page 32, or you can visit Karina's blog, The Floured Apron, if you don't have the book right there in front of you.  (Of course, if you DON'T have it in front of you, that just must mean it's way in the other room, or at home - if you're at work.  It couldn't POSSIBLY mean you don't own a copy, because by all accounts, no home should be without one.)

Anyway.

I made the scones this morning at a bit of a rush, because a) I should have either done them yesterday or I should have done them BEFORE yesterday, and b) because I had a dentist appointment at 9:30 and I wanted to get them done and photographed before I had to leave.  And I was up at 5:30, went for a walk, back by 6:30, so you'd think I could even have managed to post before the dentist appt, but if you thought that even for a fraction of a second, well, you'd be wrong. 

So shut up, Jayne, and get to the scones.

Or "stones" as Alex was calling them.

First of all - yum - the apple/cheddar combination sounded great to me from the start.  I bought dried apple slices yesterday and put my block of cheddar in the freezer so it would be easier to grate.  Of course (note to self) I didn't need to put it in the freezer yesterday, because this morning when I was trying to grate it, it was like grating a stone with a piece of chamois.  I got it done, but the cheese came away from the grater in little wispy bits that pretty much disappeared into the mix.  So no lovely melty cheese shots.  Next time I'll know better.

My favorite part of the recipe was the quarter cup of cornmeal in the dough, which gave a nice bit of crunch to each bite.  And even though I couldn't see the cheese, the flavor was there, along with the bits of apple.  Both my kids liked them - Alex had two for breakfast, topped with strawberry jam.  Bill and I liked them as well, so I'll make these again.  Probably during the next several weeks, as we'll have various family members staying with us.

Julia helped with the mixing, as she often does.  She wanted me to take a picture of her as she stood on her chair, ready to whisk dry ingredients together. 

Like so:

She also cracked the egg and mixed all the liquids together for me, while I took forty days to grate the 3/4 cup of cheddar.

No pictures of those steps - sorry.  I'm off my game today, apparently.  Probably was dental terror.

Anyway.

Once I had the cheddar grated and the apples chopped up, I cut the butter into small cubes and added that to the bowl...

and used my fingers to mash up and combine the butter with the flour mixture.  Big bits and little bits and all kinds of in-between bits resulted.

Julia poured in the liquids and the apples and cheese, and I stirred quickly and gently to combine everything into a very sticky dough.

I turned the dough out onto my floured counter and Julia and I each took a turn kneading the dough.

Then, departing from Dorie's instructions just a tad, I cut the dough into three roughly equal pieces and patted each piece into a circle half an inch thick, cut each circle into quarters, and placed all the pieces on my parchment-lined sheet pan.

Then I baked them for 23 minutes, let them cool for another ten, and then we ate.

While they were baking, my kids came into the kitchen sniffing the air, and asking what I was cooking.  (Julie didn't really know what she was helping me with - she just likes to crack eggs and mix stuff.)  I told them "apple cheddar scones" and Alex asked what "stones" were and I explained, and he said he thought he would probably like them.

And, of course, before anyone was allowed to EAT a scone, I had to take some pictures.  So I set up a few different shots...

and kicked myself for not having some fresh berries handy to add a bit of color to these shots...

and what was I thinking, using an off-white plate for these pictures, anyway?

Hey, Jayne, sure you've got enough butter on there?  It's not overflowing from the plate yet...

And then I thought - oh, yeah, I need some JAM in this picture.  So I got out the strawberry jam and added a welcome splash of color to the neutral shades...

 

And THEN - we ate!

Apple and Brie Quesadillas

From Food 2.0 by Charlie Ayers.