best apple pie

 Found this little apple pie and it's simple, but oh so delicious!

apple pie 
makes 1 pie

1 9 inch double crust pie
1/2 cup butter
3 tbsp flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
8 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger powder

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar, brown sugar., cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer. Combine sauce with sliced apples. Stir to coat the apples. 

2. Place the bottom  crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work crust, Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off. 

3. Bake 15 mins in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees. Continue baking for 35-45 mins, until apples are soft. 

apple torte

 a variation of the NYT's original plum torte. We often make this with fruit that we need to eat up, but for whatever reason aren't eating it very quickly. With whatever fruit, it's always excellent!

apple torte
makes 8 servings

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1-2 apples, sliced
sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon for topping

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees

2. Cream the sugar and butter together in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs. Beat well. 

3. Spoon the batter into a springform pan. Place the fruit skin side up on the top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with sugar (use turbinado sugar if you have it) and lemon juice, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle with about 1 tsp of cinnamon, depending on how much you like cinnamon. 

4. Bake 1 hour, approximately. Remove and cool; refrigerate or freeze if desired. Or cool to lukewarm and serve plain or with whipped cream. (To serve a torte that was frozen, defrost and reheat it briefly at 300 degrees). 

one pot garlic parmesan pasta

 an easier and tastier alfredo sauce that actually sticks to your pasta. We ate this with some of our leftover christmas lamb and green beans. 

one pot garlic parmesan pasta
makes 4 servings

2 tbsp butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
8 oz uncooked pasta
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 mins. 

2. Stir in chicken broth, milk and pasta; season with salt and pepper to taste. 

3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta is cooked through, about 11 mins (may vary depending on your pasta). Stir in parmesan. If the mixture is too thick, add more milk as needed until desired consistency is reached. 

4. Serve immediately, garnish with parsley if desired. 

scalloped potatoes

another dish to put into the holiday meal repertoire. this was perfectly creamy, but not overly so.

scalloped potatoes
makes 6 servings

5 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
3/4 cup chopped oinoin
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives or green onions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 2 1/2 quart baking dish. 

2. Layer potatoes and onion in prepared baking dish.

3. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat, stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add broth, mayonnaise, garlic, salt, parsley, and pepper. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly, about 2 mins. Pour broth mixture over potatoes and onion. Cover baking dish with foil.

4. Bake in preheated oven until potatoes are tender, about 1 hour and 45 ins. Remove foil and continue to bake until golden brown, about 15 mins more. Sprinkle with chives or green onions to serve. 

moroccan vegetable tagine

this was wonderful and satisfying, and the perfect dinner of stewed veggies after a heavy lunch.

morroccan vegetable tagine
8 servings

1/4 cup olive oil

8-10 garlic cloves peeled and chopped
2 medium yellow onions, peeled and chopped
4 celery stalks, sliced
6 red potatoes (or 3 russet potatoes), peeled and cubed
salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup dried apricot, raisins or cranberries (I put mine in a strainer and add it for flavor, but remove it since our kids are not fans)
1 quart vegetable or chicken broth
2 cans chickpeas
1 lemon, juiced
handful of fresh parsley or cilantro leaves

In a large heavy pot or Dutch Oven, heat olive oil over medium high heat until just shimmering. Add onions and increase heat to medium high. Saute for 5 mins.

Add the garlic and the chopped veggies. Season with salt and spices. Toss to combine. Cook for another 5-7 mins on medium high heat, stirring occasionally.

Add tomatoes, dried apricot (or raisins/dried cranberries) and broth. Season again with a small dash of salt. Cook for another 10 mins. Then reduce heat, cover and simmer for another 20-25 mins or until veggies are tender.

Stir in chickpeas and cook another 5 mins on low heat.

Stir in lemon juice and fresh parsley or cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt or spices to your liking.

Serve hot over couscous* or rice.

We ate ours tonight with couscous seasoned with lemon rind, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. I also threw in some shredded carrots, cilantro leaves and toasted pine nuts - and it was excellent. :)

lemon dutch baby

when your kids want pancakes, but you have stuff to do! Dutch babies are really fluffy pancake with more eggs and less flour, that bakes and rises, or soufflés (literally French for to breathe or blow) in the oven. This recipe is from Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life.

Dutch Baby Pancake
4 servings

2 Tbsp butter
4 large eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt

For the topping:
freshly squeezed lemon juice
granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put the butter in an 8 inch cast iron skillet and place over low heat. Alternatively, put the butter in a similarly sized cake or pie pan, and place it in the preheated oven for a few minutes. As the butter melts, use a pastry brush to coax it up the sides of the skillet or pan.

Meanwhile in a blender or food processor, mix together the eggs, flour, milk and slat until well blended.

Pour the egg mixture into the warmed skillet. Slide into the oven and bake for 18-25 mins. The mixture will rise and puff around the edges, like a bowl-shaped soufflé. The Dutch baby is ready when the center looks set and the edges are nicely risen and golden brown. 

Remove from the oven and drizzle - or splash, really abundance is good here - with lemon juice and sprinkle generously with granulated sugar (you want to add the sugar just before serving so the granules stay intact and make for an excellent texture in your mouth). Serve immediately. 

cornflake marshmallow cookies

Inspired by the original cookie from Momofuku Milk Bar in New York. Note that in recent years, the bakery has taken to pre-making said cookies and sells them pre-made, prewrapped and they definitely taste like they have preservatives and suck now. In the early years of the bakery making these cookies, they were AH-MAZING, and THAT was what I was trying to recreate now that we live in Seattle.

"momofuku" cornflake marshmallow cookies
makes ~15 cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flor
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 cups cornflake crunch (see below)
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows

For cornflake crunch:
5 cups cornflakes
1/2 cup milk powder or ground cashews
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
9 tbsp butter

Make your cornflake crunch: 

Heat the oven to 275 degrees.

Pour the cornflakes in a medium bowl and crush them with a cup or glass (or use a food processor). Add the milk powder (I used ground cashews as a substitute), sugar and salt and toss to mix. Add the butter, which will act as glue to bind the dry ingredients and create small clusters.

Spread the clusters on a parchment paper or silpat lined sheet pan and bake for 20 mins, at which point they should look toasted, smell buttery and crunch gently when cooled slightly and crispy.

Cool completely before storing or using in a recipe. Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, the crunch will keep fresh for 1 week, in the fridge or freezer for 1 month.

To make the cookies:
*If you have a stand mixer, use your paddle attachment. Otherwise, I just used my handheld mixer and it worked just fine. 

Using a mixer, combine the butter and sugars and cream together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg and vanilla and beat well to combine.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low and combine the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix until the dough comes together.

If using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, use low speed to paddle in the cornflake crunch and chocolate chips until incorporated. If not using, use your hands (I always use gloves, so not sure if your bare skin can handle the scratchiness of the cornflakes!) to incorporate the cornflake crunch and chocolate chips into your batter.

Divide dough into 1/4 cup balls, stuff 3 mini marshmallows anywhere on top and line balls on a parchment paper or silpat lined sheet pan. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or place in freezer for 30-45 mins. According to the original recipe, chilling your balls of cookie dough is critical!

Heat the oven to 365 degrees.

Rearrange the the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on your parchment paper or silpat lined sheet pan and bake for 15-20 mins. Cookies will puff, crackle and spread.

Cool cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to a plate or air-tight container for storage.