Monday, November 28, 2005

Apple Pan Puff

It was beautiful, and I forgot to take a picture. It was also very good, and "held" me for most of the day. Steve liked that it was not too sweet, and Sam ate a bunch too.

Apple Pan Puff
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
.25 cup butter
3 eggs
.50 cup flour
.50 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
dash salt

Preheat oven to 450. Saute apples in butter until soft. Spread apples evenly over the bottom of a glass or ceramic pie plate. In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Add flour and beat until smooth. Stir in milk, vanilla and salt. Pour over apples. Bake for 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Serve immediately.

This is how the recipe appears in the cookbook ("Breakfast in Bed" -- a wedding gift). I made a few modifications: I used three small fuji apples, because that is what I had on hand. I did not peel them. I had four eggs and three hungry people, so I used all four eggs and increased the flour and milk a bit. I baked it in a rectangular Emile Henry ceramic dish, which made for lovely presentation but caused some butter to bubble out onto the bottom of my oven (joining the other miscellany encrusted there). Next time I'll use a larger dish or put a baking sheet under the pan to catch the drippings. I also sprinkled some cinnamon-sugar on top when I removed it from the oven. Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Beef Stew

I think it has been at least 15 years since I made beef stew, maybe longer. And before that, well, we're talkin' High School or Jr. High Home Ec class. Yeah, I'm not a big stew person. But today at the store I was pondering what I had in my pantry/fridge, and saw a nice big pack of beef chunks just calling out to me. So here is what I made:

Beef Stew in the Crock Pot

stew meat
flour
salt & pepper
corn oil

Dredge stew meat in flour that has been liberally sprinkled with salt and pepper. Heat enough corn oil to just barely cover the bottom of a large straight-sided skillet. Brown stew meat.

carrots
parsnips
potatoes
onion
diced tomatoes

Coarsley chop root veggies (peeled or not) and place in bottom of large crock pot. Add browned stew meat and any leftover oil in the pan. Top with chunky slices of onion. Pour a can of diced tomatoes (I used the kind with jalepeno peppers in it) over all and pat down to make sure the juice gets to the bottom. Cover and cook on LOW for 4-5 hours.

Remove cover and stir. Turn heat up to HIGH and cook for another hour or so, until a nice gravy forms. Enjoy!

ps- I will probably add some fresh garlic next time, but I was short of prep time today. Quantities are individual preference, and will vary with the size of crock pot you have and also whether you want left overs or not. A bit of salt and pepper wouldn't hurt either; we just seasoned ours at the table.

Saturday, November 12, 2005

The Best Pound Cake

This is what you bake when you need something sweet and comforting but you have nothing except the very basics in your cupboard. Just be sure you have enough time, as it needs to bake for quite a while. Delicious on its own, or with some fresh berries or a scoop of sorbet.

Bishop's Cake
(makes one bundt or two loaves)

1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
5 eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour pan(s).
Cream butter and sugar gradually; beat until fluffy.
Add flour, stir just enough to blend.
Add lemon juice and vanilla; stir well.
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. You can cover it with foil for final 30 minutes if it starts to get too dark.
Cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely.

Note: I double this recipe and it makes three nice sized loaves. They keep for a week, wrapped in foil. I expect they would freeze well also.

Disclaimer: This is from the original "Silver Palate Cookbook."

Saturday, November 05, 2005

The littlest Wilmart loves her food too

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Roasted beet and fennel salad


I made this a few weeks ago, so I hope I remember what I did. It was very tasty. I roasted the beets and fennel a day in advance. I wrapped them each in foil, with a little olive oil on the fennel (just the white part, with the tough core removed). The beet skins slip right off when done. The next day, I chopped the beets and fennel, and tossed them with some chopped kalamata olives. I drizzled a little olive oil and vinegar on a bed of arugula, then heated the veggies in the micro and spooned them over the greens. Some salt & pepper, and voila! Posted by Picasa