Forking Adorable and Delicious MINI Apple Pie Bites Recipe

 

Forking Adorable and DELICIOUS Mini Apple Pie Bites

Forking Adorable and DELICIOUS Mini Apple Pie Bites

Tiny desserts don’t weigh you down and are great all the time and especially for family gatherings were you serve an abundant amount of foods. These tiny bite size pies are sure to be a hit at any gathering. I must give credit to Chef Lidia Bastianich here because I used her crostata dough recipe. It’s a great olive oil crust recipe that’s very easy and delicious and comes out perfect all the time. I made the apple filling with tapioca flour. It took me till this year to figure out that no other thickener is nearly as good as tapioca flour for fruit. You can make tapioca flour from just putting tapioca threw a coffee or spice blender. The Apple Pie Bites are FORKING DELICIOUS and you will want to make this recipe. You will need a mini bite size baking pan. possibly a spice grinder for the tapioca and I used a spiral slicer for the apples but if you have a mandolin that will give you a thin cut that will work too.

Ingredients to make 12 mini Apple Pie Bites. About 6 Servings

1 cup flour (plus a little extra for rolling the dough)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/6 cup cold water (more if needed)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 large apple (I used a honey crisp)

1/8 cup tapioca flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

about 6 grates fresh nutmeg

pinch cloves

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup all fruit apricot spread

non stick spray – canola or vegetable

Directions

Get a baking stone and put it in the middle of your oven. Set your oven to 375 degrees F. Spray 12 cups of a mini cup baking pan with non stick spray and set to the side.

In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, olive oil, water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, mix well and wrap in plastic wrap and set to the side.

In a small bowl combine tapioca flour, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, 1/8 teaspoon salt. Mix and set to the side.

Now get out your spiral slicer. Core your apple. Use your ribbon blade and slice up your apple like this.

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Put all your apple ribbons in a bowl breaking them down or giving them a rough chop and pour the small bowl with sugar and spices on the apple ribbons. Mix and set to the side.

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Roll out your dough as thin as you can using a little extra flour for the surface and your rolling pin.

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Use a drinking glass and cut out 12 pieces. I note that you will have to use the scraps and re-roll the dough to get 12 pieces.

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Pat each dough circle into the pan.

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Stuff each one with apple filling the best as you can. if your apple is very large you might have some leftover.

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Place in the oven on the stone at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes.

Take the pan out of oven and brush with apricot spread.

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Put back into the oven for about 10 minutes till they look like this.

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Take them out of the oven and let them cool off a bit till they are at least just warm about 20 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

Forking Adorable and DELICIOUS Mini Apple Pie Bites

Forking Adorable and DELICIOUS Mini Apple Pie Bites

These are FORKING Adorable and DELICIOUS Mini Apple Pie Bites! Nobody is going to eat just one!

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

New Reese’s Peanut butter Cups Stuffed with Reese’s Pieces are Worth a Fork

 

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I am a big fan of Reese’s Peanut butter filled cups. I’d be an even BIGGER fan if I ate Reese’s every time I wanted one…Haha…..My husband found this new variety and brought home a pack for me figuring I’d want to try this new variety. Each of these New Reese’s packs contains two Peanut butter filled  cups stuffed with Reese’s pieces. Package reads Stuffed Wich Pieces.

Pictured on the package it looks like M&M-like Reese’s Pieces are stuffed into the cup. I busted open the package and broke off a piece for my husband to try even though he is in the 1% of the population that doesn’t go for a Reese’s ever.

The candy smells appetizing just as Reese’s Cups always do.

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I look inside the cup and it appears that I only have a few small Pieces of Reese’s Pieces…? Not full Reese’s Pieces like in the Picture on the Package….Slightly bummed because I was expecting to taste a full size Reese’s Piece candy…. A few pieces of sugar shell are embedded in the peanut butter filling. I think the filling might be very slightly smoother but it’s so minor it’s hard to tell. This cup is still delicious and to anyone who already enjoys Reese’s Cups you will still enjoy these New Cups because they are nearly the same.

Next I take another bite.

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I hit a few more crumbs of Reese’s Pieces embedded in the peanut butter filling.

Later I go for the second cup.

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This one is nearly free of Reese’s Pieces.

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Well maybe it’s for the better that the Reese’s Cups are nearly what they are suppose to be with only a few crumbs, fragments or a dusting of Reese’s Pieces. They are really delicious…I forgot how delicious they really are since I try to stay away from them. The satisfying Milk Chocolate has the perfect sweet and melting in my mouth texture. The peanut butter is salty and grainy in a good way. The Chocolate and Peanut butter is just delicious together. *****Insert angels singing here******

I note I don’t know how they came up with the idea to stuff the Reese’s Cup with fragments of Reese’s pieces but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Reese’s Pieces are just Crumbs and Fragments from  manufacturing that they can sell to us now hidden on Reese’s Cups.

Well any who The Reese’s Cup Stuffed with Reese’s Pieces are Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

Anyone who is already a fan of Reese’s Cups will enjoy them.

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

 

A Forking Better Way to Stuff a Sandwich

 

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I hate when I slice a roll or eat a sandwich out and the end breaks and everything goes slipping out onto my hand or drops out and falls somewhere so I decided to cut rolls different.

I make a cut about halfway threw across the top.

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Then I start in the middle and slice being very careful not to get too close to the end.

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Now the roll folds around the sandwich holding everything in.

This was a FORKING BETTER way to stuff a sandwich.

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

A Peek into Match Cuisine in Phoenix AZ (Warning “R” Rated)

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Match Cuisine recently opened at the hip and unique Found:re Boutique Hotel in Phoenix Arizona. You walk threw an art gallery on the way to your seat. Not all but most of the artwork isn’t appropriate for children. We were welcomed by a larger than life size naked Burt Reynold’s wearing nothing but a flowing blond wig. It was kind of eye catching and I missed the super cool fun thing below on my way in.

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At first I thought this was a rug but it’s an interactive projection with moving fish that swim when you step on it. It’s really cool…my photo doesn’t do it justice.

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A woman wearing a prickly pear cactus skirt…..looks painful to me.

They had a very WEIRD series of elderly people that are in exam rooms or also at home. Many of these photos show naked parts or next to naked parts I am posting only the tamest of these photos.

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The Dining Room has a unique industrial kind of look with a Chef’s Table. The chairs are very solid and heavy made with rebar and heavy metal legs.

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The menu is interesting with globally inspired dishes of mostly small plates. Here you do need to order two plates a person even at lunch time so we shared a lot of things.

I ordered a Green Papaya Salad with added Yellowtail and Black Garlic Roasted Potatoes.

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The salad was light and refreshing with good flavors. The Yellowtail seemed to be seared far in advance because it was ice cold. Potatoes were slightly overcooked and the Black Garlic seemed burnt off. I note that this restaurant is newly opened and all newly opened restaurants usually open with hiccups that work out in time.

My husband ordered The Grateful Shroom Mushroom Pizza and Ricotta Gnocchi.

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I thought the pizza was very tasty with earthy mushroom and truffle flavors. The crust seemed very unusual to both of us and lacked a chewiness and yeast-tee-ous that pizza normally has. I thought it seemed gluten free but it wasn’t.

The manager presented us with a complimentary Eye Popping Dessert named Oaxacan Wreckage.

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This dessert was very detailed with micro layer cakes and also was very rich. It was all Ying and no Yang but the Flavors and textures were very unique and wonderful with a tied together with a Chocolate Chili Mole. This place is new to me but I can tell you that this is a dessert place..and you are missing out if you don’t order dessert here.

Match Cuisine also offers a dog friendly patio with a several item DOG MENU……I so wanted to bring my dogs here….but my husband insisted that we check out the place first. It turned out to be the correct decision because I would have missed all the eye acting artwork.

For more information on Match Cuisine in Phoenix Arizona please visit www.MatchPhx.com or www.foundrehotels.com

Too new to rate…..

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

Chipotle Rice Stuffed Jalapeño Peppers with Potato String Crust Recipe

Chipotle Rice Stuffed Jalapeño Peppers with Potato String Crust

Chipotle Rice Stuffed Jalapeño Peppers with Potato String Crust (Sprinkled with Micro Red Amaranth)

Here we have one of the most satisfying delicious and crowd pleasing appetizer or side dishes you can make that’s just roasted and not fried. It’s not heavy or greasy but full of flavors and textures. This recipe is best to make when you find the large Jalapeño peppers that have lots of flavor and not much heat. It also helps if you have a cup of leftover rice and some previously roasted corn. You do need a gadget that makes Spirals like spaghetti for doing the potato crust. I do note you will have leftover potato because you are only using the long strings. Save the small strings and the spiral middles from the potatoes and hold them in a bowl of cold water till your ready to blot them off and prepare. (I roasted them at 350 degrees F with just some non-stick spray and covered them with foil till they were good and cooked….maybe an hour…then I removed the foil and let them go about half and hour till they got gold crispy ends….came out really tasty…around two servings) The Chipotle Rice Stuffed Jalapeño Peppers with Potato String Crust come out FORKING DELICIOUS! You are going to want to prepare this one.

Ingredients for around Four Servings

6 large jalapeno peppers – remove stem end, cut in half (long ways) remove core and seeds

1 cup cooked rice

1 chipotle adobo pepper in sauce (chopped fine plus 1 Tablespoon of the sauce) (or a tad less for  less heat)

1 garlic clove – ground into paste

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon ground annato

1 Tablespoon scallions – chopped

2 Tablespoons roasted corn

2 oz sharp aged cheddar cheese – shredded

1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro – chopped

2 potatoes (I used large red potatoes)

non-stick spray – canola or vegetable

fresh ground sea salt to taste – for finishing

fresh ground black pepper to taste – for finishing

optional – micro red amaranth – two pinches for garnishing

Directions

In a small bowl mix together the rice, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, garlic, cumin, annato, scallions, corn, cheese and cilantro. Mix well.

Use a spoon and stuff your peppers.

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Get out your spiral cutting machine and turn your oven on to 350 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet (s) with non-stick spray.

Use the blade that makes potatoes like spaghetti.

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Pull off around 10 inches and wrap it around the pepper and place on baking sheet.

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Repeat until all your peppers are done.

I note that you will have extra potatoes, smaller strings and the potato core that you can’t use for the peppers. Just save them how I described and either prepare the way I suggested, fry them or discard them if you prefer.

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Spray the top of the peppers with non-stick spray. Put the peppers in the 350 degree oven till the potatoes start to crisp. About 25 minutes.

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Now top them with fresh ground sea salt and black pepper.

Serve them up and enjoy!

Chipotle Rice Stuffed Jalapeño Peppers with Potato String Crust

Chipotle Rice Stuffed Jalapeño Peppers with Potato String Crust

Forking Amazing!…… Something New and Original…….You will love them!

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

 

The STRANGEST FORKING Food I’ve Come Across so Far…HAGELSLAG

 

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Hagelslag translates to “Hailstorm” to Americans this food is also known as “Sprinkles”, “Jimmies” and “Twinkle Coat” depending on what part of the country you are from. I only recently found out that in the Netherlands it’s a normal everyday activity to butter a piece of bread between breakfast and lunch and add Sprinkles to you buttered piece of bread as a snack.

The flavors of Hagleslag are usually Vanilla, Fruit,  Chocolate or Anise.

I read on Wikipedia that in Australia and New Zealand they serve buttered white bread topped with sprinkles, ( the nonpareils kind)  also known as hundreds and thousands at children’s parties and call it fairy bread……???  Sounds fun for a kid but then do they miss out on cake?

Well I always liked Rainbow Jimmies……I’ve had them on donuts.

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I’ve enjoyed Jimmies maybe the most on frozen vanilla custard and now I know that other parts of the world enjoy Sprinkles on Buttered Bread. Some call the Sprinkles Hagelslag.

To me buttering bread and topping it with Sprinkles is a very strange snack…..But maybe people that enjoy Buttered Bread Topped with Sprinkles might think that Sprinkles are strange on Donuts or Frozen Custard ?????  Don’t forking know!

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

 

 

 

Sweet Delicious Crispy Corn Cakes Recipe

Crispy Sweet Corn Cakes

Sweet Delicious Crispy Corn Cakes

These Corn Cakes are crispy and sweet on the outside and LIGHT textured and MOIST on the inside. They do lose the crispness on day two but are still mighty delicious.No worries…the 2nd day you can reheat them in the oven and get the crispness again if you want. They are light, sweet and very corn like in taste. They have that perfect sweet to salt to yummy corn flavor. They come out like you baked them in cast iron. I made a slight accident when I cooked them and I don’t know if that contributes to the yumminess. I accidentally topped up the cornmeal cup of flour with chickpea flour. At the time I thought I added cornmeal flour that looked funny but latter I figured out I used about a 1/4 cup of chickpea flour because I had my chickpea flour in the wrong spot in my pantry.

Well any who these are mighty flavorful and delicious. The come out sweet, moist, (day 1) crispy like fried and yummy.

Sweet Crispy Corn Cake

Sweet Delicious Corn Cake

Ingredients for 20 corn cakes 20 servings Extras can be frozen

3/4 cup corn meal

1/4 cup chickpea flour

1 cup flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter – melted

1 XL egg – beaten

1 cup sweet corn – fresh cooked

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

1 cup non-fat Greek Yogurt

non-stick cooking spray

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two muffin pans with non-stick spray and set to the side.  In your large bowl stir by hand with a fork your butter and sugar till mixed well. Now add your egg and mix well again. Dump in all your dry ingredients followed by the yogurt and mix well. Stir in your corn. Now fill the cups of your muffin pan a little over half way.

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Bake for about 25 minutes. They will be brown on top and did look possibly raw but weren’t. I let them cool maybe 10 minutes. Gave each one of them a little turn to make sure they didn’t stick and then lifted each one out.

Sweet Crispy Corn Cake

Sweet Delicious Corn Cake

This is something that everyone would like.

These are Forking yummy and that's The Forking Truth!

These are Forking yummy and that’s The Forking Truth!

 

WTFork Happened to Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips

Photo is from sodahead.com

Photo is from sodahead.com

As a child my favorite fast food chain was Arthur Treacher’s. I loved the Fish & Chips. We didn’t have an Arthur Treacher’s in our neighborhood but when we drove out to the city we’d stop at Arthur Treacher’s once in a while when it was my turn to pick a fast food place. The fish was always clean tasting, mild and meaty but it was that light, tasty and super magical, shattering, crisp crunch around the fish that made it special. It was so good and I always got to take home a yummy fried lemon pie for latter. Loved it! For me this was a treat!

My platter looked like this...Photo is from menuism.com

My Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips platter looked like this..a few pieces of fish, chips and hushpuppies .Photo is from menuism.com

Out here in Phoenix Arizona we have Long John Silvers……I never tried it until this week and thought it might be similar to how I remembered Arthur Treacher’s……

Long John Silvers

Long John Silvers

It not light or crisp but greasy and taste like old oil…. 🙁 ….gross….even the fish isn’t good…it’s muddy tasting…and oily……..I can’t eat this….the funny thing is that my 15 1/2 year old dog also spit it out when I offered it to him and that really is TheForkingTruth ! ….It really is….!

This isn't fit for me to eat....Give it to the other dog.

“This forking fish isn’t fit for me to eat….Give it to the other dog.”

"Hey Old Man....You get more food when your not picky"

“Hey Old Man….You get more food when your not picky”

After a bite of Long John Silvers I kept thinking about WTFork happened to Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips….it was so good….. So I did some research.

Arthur Treacher’s is a fast food chain that was named after the the English Actor that was well known for playing Jeeves the Butler in several Shirley Temple Films. In the late 70s there were about 800 Arthur Treacher restaurants across America. Today according to the website they only list 7 locations. They’ve gone from around 800 locations down to a forking 7 locations….. 🙁

WTFork happened?

The downfall seemed to have started  when Arthur Treacher’s was sold to Mrs. Paul’s Seafood. They replaced the mild meaty Icelandic Codfish with cheap inferior pollack. The chain changed ownership several times and went threw bankruptcy several times as well.

That’s WTFork happened to Arthur Treacher’s.

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

www.Wikipedia.com

www.ArthurTreachersFranchising.com

 

 

 

 

azcentral.com Food & Wine Experience Day 2 Nov 6 2016

 

A Beautiful Micro sized Dessert from Kai at Sheraton at Wild Horse Pass of Chandler AZ

A Beautiful Micro sized Dessert from Kai at Sheraton at Wild Horse Pass of Chandler AZ

The second day of the azcentral.com Food & Wine Experience offered Chef Demos, sampling from around thirty of Metro Phoenix’s well known restaurants, LOTs of Booze, Beer and Wine. General Admission for Sunday was $90 and VIP $120 that got you in an hour earlier and let you into the VIP Lounge were they were pouring better wines, a few nibbles and nicer restrooms with air conditioning.

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Jalapeno Deviled Eggs by AJ's Fine Foods

Jalapeno Deviled Eggs by AJ’s Fine Foods

Freemark Abby Wine provided by AJ's...Possibly the best wine you could drink at the festival

Freemark Abby Wine provided by AJ’s…Possibly the best wine you could drink at the festival

Bread and Butter Provided by AJ's

Bread and Butter Provided by AJ’s

Other nibbles that AJ’s provided were Cocktail Shrimp, Foie Gras, Cheese Cake more wines, Mum’s Champagne and tables.

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I noticed two Chef Demonstrations. One was Chef Alex Stratta doing a Rissoto dish and the other was the headliner Celebrity Chef Scott Conant preparing a Big Juicy Rib Eye Steak. He cut it up when it was done and nearby people got to taste it.

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It seemed like more of the hotels participated on day two and that brought more steaks or steak like items to the Sunday tastings. I didn’t take any notes but this is how I remember it.

Buffalo from Kai

Buffalo from Kai

Beef Carpaccio from the Farm at Q

Beef Carpaccio from the Farm at Q

Beef Empanadas from El Toro

Beef Empanadas from El Toro

Moroccan Meatballs from Match Cuisine

Moroccan Meatballs from Match Cuisine

BBQ Brisket and Lamb from Little Miss BBQ

BBQ Brisket and Lamb from Little Miss BBQ

The Little Miss BBQ Team

The Little Miss BBQ Team

This was a team of two restaurants preparing Carnitas Potstickers

This was a team of two restaurants preparing Carnitas Potstickers

A Rustic Beef Stew from Virtu Honest Craft

A Rustic Beef Stew from Virtu Honest Craft

French Toast from Scamble

French Toast from Scramble

Line of Alcohol

Line of Alcohol

Muffulettas and Smoked Tomato Soup from Beckets Table

Muffulettas and Smoked Tomato Soup from Beckets Table

Pozole from The Pig and Pickle

Pozole from The Pig and Pickle

Yummy sandwiches from Sweet Republic

Yummy  Coconut Curry ice-cream sandwiches from Sweet Republic

Bone Marrow with caviar and squid ink bread from Roka

Bone Marrow with caviar and squid ink bread from  Roka Akor

I never dreamed in a million years that I’d try bone marrow with caviar but this was truly amazing…..maybe the most outstanding dish of both days…

A bar and music

A bar and music

Pad Thai from Wild Thaiger and Little Thaiger

Pad Thai from Wild Thaiger and Little Thaiger

Lamb Chop

Lamb Chop

.....

Elk from Different Point of View

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J & G Steakhouse - Crab Balls and Flat Iron Steak and Beef Cheeks. The Chef himself served everyone.

J & G Steakhouse – Crab Balls and Flat Iron Steak and Beef Cheeks. The Chef himself served everyone.

Pork -

Pork –

Detailed Steelhead Trout and the Famous Chopped Salad from Citizen Public House

Detailed Steelhead Trout and the Famous Chopped Salad from Citizen Public House

This man was disruptive and instead of using trashcans he dropped off his trash on tables with people eating

This man was disruptive and instead of using trashcans he dropped off his trash on tables with people eating said, “I don’t feel like finding a trash can”

Tasty desserts from AJ's Fine Foods

Tasty desserts from AJ’s Fine Foods

There was more alcohol than food This is one of four lanes plus several other booths

There was more alcohol than food This is one of four lanes plus several other booths

Well nobody left hungry. Of course I couldn’t eat everything but did ok. For me it was too hot to get many drinks in. The azcentral.com Food & Wine Experience is a hit and certainly is up there with the best of Food Festivals in Metro Phoenix AZ. Can’t wait for next year!

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

 

 

 

 

 

 

azcentral.com Food & Wine Experience Day 1 2016

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The azcentral.com Food & Wine Experience  this year took place at Salt River Fields at The Talking Stick in Scottsdale Arizona November 5th-6th 2016. Over the course of two days there were around 60 restaurants, a combination of 200 wines, beers and spirits, chef demos, discussion panels and more! The superstar headliner for day 1 was Celebrity Chef, Restauranteur and Cookbook Author Mario Batali.

General Admission was either $90 a day or $150 for two days

VIP Admission was $120 a day and bought you one hour early access, close seating to the stage, AJ’s Fine Foods Lounge and Preferred Restrooms.

Photo of discussion panel

Photo of discussion panel

Mario Batali appeared in the discussion panel, was present for an optional addition lunch service and signed his new cookbooks that were given out at this event.

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Local Celebrity Chef, James Beard Award Winner  and former host of public television TV Show called Check Please very own………….  Robert McGraft participated in a cooking demo.

And now to the Grand Tasting….. 🙂

For whatever reason I was gifted with VIP Tickets 🙂

This is how it looked when you were a VIP

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This is how it looked when general admission arrived.

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Here were a few of the tastings

From AJ's Fine Foods

From AJ’s Fine Foods

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Can’t wait till tomorrow!

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth