EZ almost no measure Apple Crumb Pie

You can make a forking delicious Apple Crumb Pie in less time than it takes to go the the store and purchase a crappy apple pie. You don’t really need to measure because these pies are forking easy to throw together and do turn out delicious! My recipe is EZ because you blind bake the crust, bake the crumb topping and the apples separably but together in the oven and then assemble. Your pie will be tastier than any apple pie you purchase from your local supermarket.

Ingredients (Set your Oven at 350 degrees)

Apples (3-6 depending on size of apples) pealed and cored and cut in bite size pieces.

Sugar around a cup

Cinnamon depending on how much you like a little sprinkle on the crumb and a BIG sprinkle on the apples.

Flour around a cup or so.

Room temperature soft butter. I used 6oz exactly.

about 1/4 teaspoon of Kosher Salt

Forking EZ Directions

Take your soft 4oz stick of butter and blend it with what you eyeball as about the same amount of flour with a pinch of salt and mix and mix till it’s like play dough.

And then pat the dough into your pie pan.

Now make your crumb topping.

You need 2 oz. of soft butter and add your flour and a little sugar (a couple spoonfuls) and a sprinkle of cinnamon. You need enough flour to make the dough look like crumbs.

Put your crumbs on a small baking sheet.

Now make your apple filling.

Peal and core your apples and cut them in small pieces. Give them a BIG sprinkle of sugar and maybe 2 teaspoons of flour (so soak up juices) and a big sprinkle of cinnamon. Stir and microwave for 3 minutes and place on a small sheet pan. Bake all three pans for about 20 minutes and then assemble.

EZ almost no measure Apple Crumb Pie

Now you have your EZ almost no measure Apple Crumb Pie!

Forking Good!

Festive Holiday Cranberry Sauce

I wanted a traditional tasting cranberry sauce but just very slightly elevated. I know I nailed it because my companion always thought he hated cranberry sauce and tasted mine and said it was really good. The hibiscus syrup is unique but has a very similar flavor to the cranberries and doesn’t compete with them and seems to make the cranberry flavor a little deeper. The small touches of spices just add a small amount of balance still keeping the cranberry sauce very traditional.

Ingredients

24 oz. fresh Cranberries

2 Cups Sugar

1 3/4 Cup Water

1/4 Cup Hibiscus Syrup

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

small pinch of Kosher Salt

small pinch of Aleppo Pepper

(Forking EZ Directions)

Just bring to boil in your sauce pot.

Then reduce to simmer for around 45 minutes.

Festive Holiday Cranberry Sauce

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EZ 3 Hour Chicken Confit Style Onions

Just toss them in your oven and forget about them. The Onions will come out developed with deep flavors and a delicious melty texture. Great for grilled meats, sandwiches and casseroles.

Ingredients Oven set at 350 degrees

3 Large Sweet Onions (cut in halves and sliced thin)

6-8 Bay leaves

about 1/4 C. saved Chicken Fat (Mine is always orange because I always use paprika when seasoning chicken. It is also kept frozen so it looks solid)

1 teaspoon Black Peppercorns

Big Splash of Leftover Wine (for this one I used Rose but any would be fine) (about a 1/4 Cup or so)

Big Drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (about 1/4 Cup)

Directions

Line your baking pan with bayleaves, chicken fat, peppercorns, and wine.

Lay your onions on top

Drizzle the tops of onion with your Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Roast for 3 hours at 350 degrees

If you see any pieces that are too burnt remove.

Now remove onions from pan and leave peppercorns and bay leaves behind.

EZ 3 Hour Chicken Confit Style Onions

Your EZ 3 Hour Chicken Confit Style Onions will be a crowd Pleaser.

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Romesco Sauce

Romesco Sauce is a Nut and Red Pepper based sauce originally from Spain.  Red Bell Pepper is not traditional to Romesco but the traditional Spanish Dried Peppers are very hard if not impossible to find so in the US so nearly all US recipes use Red Bell Peppers and sometimes a combination with some sort of dried pepper. Any combination of Almonds, Hazelnuts or Pine nuts can be used but most often it’s a combination of skinned roasted almonds and hazelnuts. I choose to use all Hazelnuts because of the unique flavor and I didn’t want this sauce to be too similar to the Muhammara Lebanese Roasted Red Pepper Dip also with nuts that I made before. Often but not always a slice of bread is added to Romesco and also Muhammara to thicken it more but I didn’t think it was needed in either recipe.

Romesco Sauce is used for grilled meats, fish and vegetables. Often when used for fish fresh mint is added.

Ingredients

3-5 Tomatoes (I used 5 VERY small tomatoes)

1/4 Sweet Onion (rough chopped)

1 Head Garlic (split in half)

approx 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 Large Red Bell Peppers (roasted, skinned, seeded)

1/2 Cup Roasted and Pealed Hazelnuts

2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika

Directions

Set oven to roast at 375 degrees.

On your roasting pan place your tomatoes on one side of pan and your onions and garlic on the other side of pan and give a good drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive oil over the produce.

Get some foil and cover the half with the onions and garlic.

Let it roast for about an hour.

After an hour it will look about like this.

The Skin with peal easy off your tomatoes. And just squeeze the Garlic Halves to get the cloves out.

Toss your cleaned up tomatoes, garlic, onions and all the liquid into your blending container.

Add your roasted Peppers and Hazelnuts.

Blend till smooth. It will have a slight texture from the nuts.

Add your dry spices, vinegar and blend some more.

Now you have Romesco Sauce.

Romanesco Cauliflower with Romesco Sauce

Brown Rice topped with Romesco Sauce, Giant Beans and mint.

Forking Good!

Parval

I saw fresh Parval at the market and they looked fresher than the Tindora that I buy sometimes. The tindora look the same but are smaller and you can use them like cucumbers. Both the Tindora and the Parval are members of the watermelon family. The seeds in the tiny Parval are very similar to hard watermelon seeds but the seeds in the tindora are soft and edible.  I thought the Parval would be good pickled and I used a whole sweet onion so I’d have the sweet onion flavor and also a good amount of pickled onions for sandwiches.

This recipe is quick and easy you just bring ingredients to boil and pour over your cored Parvel, Sweet Onion and Fresh Dill. Place it all in a sanitary container, set in your refrigerator and it will be ready in about three days.

Ingredients

About 3/4 Lb. Parval (cored)

Sweet Onion Sliced Thin (I used a whole onion but you can use less if you don’t eat pickled onion)

Bunch of Fresh Dill

1 1/2 Cup Water

1 Cup Vinegar

1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt

1/4 teaspoon Celery Seed

1 teaspoon mustard seed

1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

1 Bay Leaf

4 Garlic Cloves Minced

1 teaspoon Black Peppercorns

Bring all the liquids and everything except the Parval, Onions and fresh Dill to a boil and then pour over the Larval, Onions and Dill and mix. Place in a sanitary container in your refrigerator and the pickles will be ready in about three days.

Forking Good!

Rainbow Carrots two ways with Apple, Basil and Black Rice

I used Heirloom Carrots and infused each color differently.  While the carrots roasted I also threw my pan of rice in the oven since it was on. I added seasoning to the rice so this was a very easy dish to whip up.

Ingredients (Oven at 375)

6 Yellow Heirloom Carrots pealed and cut in chunks

6 Orange Heirloom Carrots (either pealed or not and cut in chunks)

6 Red Heirloom Carrots (either pealed or not and cut in chunks)

about 1 1/2 Cup Vegetable Stock

1 orange cut in 1/8 wedges

1 Apple cut in small pieces (only edible parts no core) Peal if you like

1lb. Black Rice

Water

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 small hot pepper minced (I used a chile de arbor)

1/2 Sweet Onion Sliced Fine and then Chopped

Fresh Ground Sea Salt

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

about a Tablespoon of Kosher Salt

A couple splashes of Heavy Cream

Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Some Fresh Basil

Directions

Rice goes in a pan, add 2 parts water per one part dark rice, salt, garlic, hot chile, onion. splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Cover pan. Place in oven and it will be done in an hour.

Place yellow carrots in a pan with vegetable stock, and a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and cover.

Place Orange Carrots in a pan with Oranges, Cup Water, Drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Cover.

Place Red Carrots with Apples, Cup Water, Drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Cover.

Add all the carrot pans to the oven. Depending on how you cut them and how the carrots are they will be done in about 1/2 hour or up to an hour to be fork tender. I found that my yellow carrots cooked up much quicker than the others.

When Carrots and Rice are done remove them from the oven. Throw out the oranges from the orange carrots.

Take the yellow carrots and blend with a little bit of the vegetable stock.

Add about two splashes of Heavy Cream. Taste and determine if it needs any more seasoning.

Plate up your Black rice, add some pureed Yellow Carrots, Top with orange carrots, red carrots and apples. Add Fresh Basil, Sea Salt, Black Pepper and drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Rainbow Carrots two ways with Apple, Basil and Black Rice

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Zucchini and Korean Leek Whole Wheat Pancakes

These Pancakes come out light airy and custardy. The Korean Leek Tops add the perfect complimentary flavor to the zucchini.

Ingredients (makes about 20 pancakes)

1 Zucchini Shredded (mine came to a little over 2 cups)

1 Cup of Chopped Korean Leek Tops

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

2 Beaten Extra Large Eggs

2 ounces melted Butter

1/2 Cup Heavy Cream

Canola Cooking Spray

Combine Zucchini, Korean Leek Tops, Whole Wheat Flour, Baking Powder, Salt, Pepper and mix well.

In another bowl mix your beaten eggs, heavy cream and pour in your melted butter and then combine with your other mixture.

Get your Fry Pan on a medium high heat with cooking spray when hot drop a heavy Tablespoon of batter into the pan. (you should be about to do about 4 at a time. When they bubble on the ends you can flip them.

They come out really perfect. You don’t need any toppings.

Zucchini and Korean Leek Whole Wheat Pancakes

Forking Good!