Apple Custard Pie with Walnut Crust

Sometimes unexpected things happen in the kitchen.  Plans go awry.  I don't always double check my ingredients or recipe timing, and this can lead to happy things like making this pie.  My original plan was to make a cinnamon apple cheesecake for a pie contest.  Partway through this I noticed the instruction line about chilling overnight... oops.  Well, I signed up for making a pie, and a pie I shall make. Apples are the fruit of the season, and I like to shake things up a bit from the traditional apple pie.  

Apple Custard Pie with Walnut Crust and Cinnamon Glaze

Of course things can get a little too crazy in the kitchen for me when I try to bake two things at once, especially when the recipes are similar... my husband came to the rescue to help me out and so far so good with the two pies.  Might as well finish the second one too, right?  (Now we have cheesecake for breakfast mmmmm)  The original recipe didn't make enough glaze to cover the apples so I bumped up the ingredients there to make what I put on this pie.  People seemed disappointed that it isn't caramel, but the cinnamon-cider glaze is so good and I think caramel would overwhelm the delicate custard.  The glaze cooks up very quickly so do not take your eyes off of it while the heat is on.  Okay I did mine on medium not low... what can I say, it was one of those days. 

Local ingredients of the day:
Cameo apples from the Urban Farm & Feed store
Apple cider from Farnsworth Family Farms
Eggs from Clifford Family Farm

Also thanks to the Wasatch Cooperative Market and Salt Lake Culinary Center for hosting the pie contest for inspiration!

No, I didn't win, but I had a lot of fun and was very pleased with how this came out.  I've always wanted to be good enough at baking to be able to enter a contest and feel good about it! 


Apple Custard Pie with Walnut Crust
Pie adapted from Eagle Brand (Sweetened Condensed Milk).

CRUST
1 1/2 cups ground walnuts
3 tablespoons butter 
2 tablespoons white sugar

In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Press the nut mixture firmly into bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate. 

Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for about 10 minutes, or until the edge is golden brown. Cool.

PIE INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups sour cream 
1 (14 ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk 
1/4 cup apple cider
1 large egg 
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
3-4 medium apples, cored, pared and thinly sliced 
2 tablespoons butter

Apple Cinnamon Glaze:  
1/2 cup apple cider
4 teaspoons cornstarch 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
1.  In small bowl, beat sour cream, sweetened condensed milk, apple juice, egg, vanilla and cinnamon until smooth. Pour into prepared pie crust. Bake 30 minutes or until set. Cool.

2.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook apples in butter until tender yet crisp. Arrange the prettiest slices on top of pie.  Eat the other slices. 

3.  Combine apple juice, cornstarch and cinnamon in small saucepan. Over low heat, cook and stir until boiling. Boil for 1 minute. Keep a very close eye on this, it can burn easily. 

4.  Drizzle over cooked apples. Serve warm or chilled. 

Sweet & Salty Apple Shortbread

This is a simple and craving-satisfying dessert to enjoy those late-season apples in something a little less usual.   Apple pie is great and all, but these little treats can be tucked into a lunch bag, purse, or briefcase (um, use a ziploc baggie or something...) for a happy smile when you need a pick me up. 

The recipe for Salty Apple Shortbread is from Vanilla Sugar Blog (reprinted with permission) and is just too pretty not to try.  Utah apples are plentiful and shortbread is one of my favorite desserts.  These are absolutely wonderful in the morning with coffee. Bonus: these are fast and easy enough to make on a weekday evening! 

The most important bit of pre-planning here is bringing the butter to room temperature.  Salted butter does just fine on the counter at normal house temperatures, just pop a couple of sticks onto a plate and leave them out overnight. Oh, and use real butter.  Your recipe will thank you. 

This needs approximately one large apple; maybe two if they are small.  Sprinkle lemon juice over the chopped apples to keep them from turning brown.  My first batch turned out too moist, I think because the apples were too juicy, so I adjusted the recipe for the second batch.  Instead of mixing the sea salt in with the flour and baking powder, I sprinkled it over the apples and let them sit for a half hour so the salt pulled out some of the moisture, then squeezed out the juice and used the drier apple bits.  It's a method I learned with zucchini.  The second batch turned out with that perfect melt-in-your-mouth shortbread texture I was hoping for!  Lesson learned, don't skip that step. 

The rest of the recipe is quick to put together, just a couple of mixing bowls and all the usual suspects for baking.  I tried almond extract in one variation and that is delicious too, but did overpower the delicate apples, so I suggest sticking with vanilla.

I used a 9x13 pan to keep a more traditional shortbread style of thin flat bars, but another option is to use a smaller pan and cook them a little longer.  Mine took longer to cook anyway, about 20 minutes total before reaching that pretty golden-brown stage.  I sifted powdered sugar over the second batch instead of glazing.  Both are delicious! 

A few photos from the making:

Crumbly shortbread texture just before pressing dough into the pan

Ready to go into the oven!  Press it down tightly so it holds its form after baking.

Shortbread with glaze, cooled and removed from the pan.  Parchment paper makes everything easy. 

Sweet & Salty Apple Shortbread

INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups peeled chopped or grated apples (1/2" to 1/4") (choose a kind that is sweet and firm)
fresh lemon juice for the apples (optional)
sea salt for the top (optional but highly recommended!)
powdered sugar for the top (optional)
*Special: Parchment paper - this is to help lift them out when done baking - note that this is NOT wax paper.

For the glaze (optional):
2 Tbsp half & half (or whole milk)
2 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar (sifted to avoid lumps)
1/4 tsp cinnamon


DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 375 F with the rack at the middle level.  Line a 9x13 inch pan with baking parchment and grease lightly.
2. Mix the flour and baking powder, set aside.
3. Cream the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract.
4. Blend in the flour mixture, until just combined, no overmixing. Add in the chopped apples and mix again. This mixture is very crumbly. Dump mixture into pan and use your fingers to press the dough evenly into the pan. Sprinkle a bit of sea salt on the top of the dough if you're using it.
5. Bake 6 minutes, rotate the pan, and bake 7-12 minutes more or until the edges are golden brown.
6. Let cool completely before applying glaze. You’ll know when it’s done when the center is almost firm and edges are golden brown.
7. For the glaze, put all the ingredients in a small saucepan on medium heat.
8. Whisk until smooth and barely bubbly. Drizzle the glaze over the bars. You can drizzle or coat the entire top.
9. Cool until the pan is just warm to the touch and cut into bars with a sharp knife.
10. Makes about 20 bars, depending on how big/small you cut them.

Preserving: Freezer Apple Pie Filling

Tis the season to preserve the last of the local apples!  It's also time to start thinking about the upcoming holidays, guests visiting, parties and potlucks.  I love this season!  Always up for trying something new, I wanted to know if it's possible to make apple pie filling and freeze it... and it sure is!  I have a nifty apple peeler/corer/slicer contraption that makes preparing the apples a snap (only about $20 on Amazon if you don't have one yet, they are amazing!).

Use some cheap aluminum pie plates for this, the ones that are a little smaller than a regular pie size, and line them with aluminum foil for easy filling removal.

The amount of water in this recipe is variable depending on how juicy your apples are and whether you want extra "apple syrup" to put over pancakes or waffles or ice cream... or to eat with a spoon... we made some into pie-flavored ice cream!   For no extra syrup, about half to two-thirds of the ten cups of water will probably work fine, and cut the corn starch down proportionally. 13 small apples makes enough for 3 pies. 

Freezer apple pie filling, ready for pies!

Freezer Apple Pie Filling

INGREDIENTS
18 cups thinly sliced apples
3 tablespoons lemon juice (optional, to prevent browning)
4 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 to 1 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
5 to 10 cups water

DIRECTIONS
1. Prepare pie tins: line aluminum pie tins with foil. (13 small apples makes 3 pies)
2. In a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice and set aside. Pour water into a large pot over medium heat. Combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Add to water, stir well, and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Add apples and return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until apples are tender, about 6 to 8 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.
4. Ladle into prepared pie tins. Cool at room temperature no longer than 1 1/2 hours.
5. Freeze, then transfer frozen discs out of pie plates into zip-lock freezer bags. Can be stored for up to 12 months.

MAKING PIE
Baking the frozen pie filling is a lot like baking a pie from the store except you can proudly announce that it was homemade.  I like the frozen pre-shaped pie crusts, and the frozen filling discs fit perfectly inside!  I use a crumbly oat topping instead of a top crust.  Bake in a 350 oven for 45 minutes and test for done-ness.  This made the crust a little soggy so I might play with the time and temp a little, but the apples were completely thawed and cooked through and it's always nice to have the house smell like apple pie.  Only thing better is having the house smell like apple pie and hot buttered rum. 

Cheesy Zucchini Biscuits

Cheddar Zucchini Biscuits

This weekend I had a baking spree!  One of the clear winners was these biscuits.  They remind me a little of the great cheese biscuits at Red Lobster, except of course those don't have zucchini and these are smaller.  Smaller means they last longer!  I can't taste the zucchini (maybe I should add more next time?) but I love the nice green color to keep them from looking like normal boring biscuits.  The flavor of sharp white cheddar comes through loud and clear and the texture is outstanding.

I put most of them into the freezer for future enjoyment when I am craving cheesy bready things.  This would be another easy and delicious recipe for autumn potlucks.  The original recipe was published in a magazine but I don't know which.


Cheesy Zucchini Biscuits
Makes 12-18 small biscuits

INGREDIENTS
        3/4 cup shredded zucchini
        1/2 tsp salt, divided
        1 cup shredded aged cheddar cheese (sharp white cheddar is excellent)
        1/4 cup sliced green onions (optional)
        2 cups plus 1 Tbsp flour, divided
        2 tsp baking powder
        6 Tbsp butter, chilled, cut up
        1 cup milk

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 450.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil (or spray with cooking spray).
Combine zucchini and 1/4 tsp salt in small bowl; let stand 20 minutes. Place zucchini in strainer; press on zucchini to drain any liquid.
Combine zucchini, cheese, green onions and 1 Tbsp flour in medium bowl.
Whisk remaining 2 cups flour, baking powder and remaining 1/4 tsp salt in medium bowl.
With pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles small peas.
Stir in zucchini mixture.
Stir in milk just until soft dough forms.
Drop dough by Tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet.
Bake 10-13 minutes or until light brown on top and bottom (13 minutes in my oven). Serve warm.

Make extra to wrap in plastic in the freezer, they are great re-heated.

October Chicken Soup and Stock

One autumn in Portland, I discovered a magic place.  I was taking a tax preparation class and needed a good place to study, and happened upon a little deli/restaurant downtown that played soft jazz music, had beautiful wooden tables, and made the best soup.  I never got around to trying the sandwiches, they looked great but I couldn't bear to trade the soup for anything else.  The combination of squash, cabbage, and turmeric stayed in my mind and I am pleased with my best duplication of it.  This brings to mind the dark stormy afternoons of bright wet yellow leaves, and of running in the rain with my books under my bright red raincoat, with the pleasing soft jingle of the bell on the door and reading the entire chalkboard menu before ordering my favorite soup. 

October Chicken Zucchini Soup

I am still enjoying the bounty of October vegetables and being sick this weekend (again! ugh!) was a perfect time for chicken soup. Using a pre-cooked game hen from the grocery store not only saves a ton of time, it makes a pot of chicken stock for future use.  If you make anything with veggies at other times, save the discards (peels, ends, etc) in a zip-lock bag in the freezer and throw them into the stock pot.  The more veggies, the better!  Onion peels are my favorite because they give the broth that nice brown color. 


October Chicken Soup

INGREDIENTS
*NOTE: Save all of the cuttings from the veggies for making stock!
1 Pre-cooked cornish game hen
4 cups chicken broth
1-2 yellow crookneck squash and/or zucchini, cut in half-slices
5 small white potatoes, cut to bite-size
3 handfuls of baby carrots, cut to bite-size (in thirds is a good size)
3 handfuls of fresh spinach leaves, washed
1 round slice of cabbage, broken into large bite-size pieces
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp turmeric
Salt & pepper to taste
Additional water to cover ingredients

DIRECTIONS
Strip the meat off the chicken bones and break or cut meat into bite-sized pieces.  Add meat, broth, all veggies, and bay leaf to large soup pot.  Add enough water to cover the ingredients and stir carefully.  Bring to a boil, then simmer until all veggies are cooked.  Add turmeric and salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with a big chunk of crusty bread. 


Chicken Stock or Vegetable Stock

INGREDIENTS
1 poultry carcass, all good meat removed (obviously leave this out to make vegetable stock)
Veggie discards: This includes onion peel, garlic peel, ends of zucchini or carrots, stems from broccoli or kale, etc.  The more the merrier, this is all flavor! 
Enough water to cover everything, and as much as you want to make into broth
** Ingredient note: Don't use potatoes.

DIRECTIONS
Put everything into a large soup pot and cook on low to medium for several hours.  Do not add seasoning other than what may have been on the poultry skin.  Refrigerate or freeze until needed.
This can be used to make future chicken soup or anything else that calls for chicken stock - pumpkin soup, pot pies, risotto, etc.

(Photo by me)

Autumn Risotto with Kale and Acorn Squash

Autumn in Utah is too short.  The leaves start to change, the weather cools down, and before you know it there is snow on the ground, so I have to get to celebrating it as soon as I can tell the seasons are changing.  The farmers markets are going strong and are full of beautiful colors and a wide variety of late-summer veggies.  Kale and acorn squash are a great combination of colors and textures.  Autumn is the perfect time to eat them, when they are both fresh and locally available.  Everything tastes better straight from a farm!

Don't be intimidated by the fancy-sounding name of risotto, it's far easier than it sounds.  This recipe is adapted from one I found on Food.com.   I used a dry sake for the white wine and the flavors combined beautifully.  I only used half of the squash since it I was rushing off to a potluck and forgot to allow it time to cool from the oven.  Half seemed good but one can always use more squash.  This is best fresh and hot and also made delicious leftovers. I paired it with an apple cobbler to continue the autumn fruit/veggies theme. 

The original recipe did not call for pre-cooking the squash but I don't think it would be fully cooked otherwise, although my biggest reason for making that change is that squash are hard to cut in half let alone into bite-sized pieces while raw.  Baking it first makes this far easier (in fact I did it using a spoon).  Swiss chard would be another great winter greens option. 

Later edit: Banana squash works very well in this dish too!  I have added the variation below.

Autumn Risotto with Kale and Acorn Squash
4-6 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 acorn squash or about 1/4 lb banana squash
4 1/2-5 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup minced onion
2 -3 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
3 cups stemmed and chopped kale, packed (about 1/2 pound before stemming)
1/8-1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt & fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (for serving)



DIRECTIONS
Squash
1. Heat the oven to 350.  Cut the acorn squash in half  (do NOT remove the seeds, they help retain moisture) and place cut-side-down on a foil-covered baking sheet.  Bake for 30 to 45 minutes until almost cooked.  Remove from oven, allow to cool, remove seeds/pulp, and cut the orange flesh into bite-sized pieces.  Note that this is needed part-way through the risotto cooking, so prepare the squash before starting the rice.
Variation:  For banana squash, cut it open and clean out the seeds.  Bake a nice big chunk with a tablespoon of butter at 375 degrees for 40-60 minutes, until soft.  Let cool and slice into butter-pat sized pieces.

Risotto
2. In a medium saucepan, bring the stock to a boil then reduce it to a simmer.
3. In a large wok or heavy saucepan, preferably nonstick, saute the onions in 2 tsp oil for about 5 minutes, until softened but not browned.  Add more oil if needed to prevent sticking. 
4. Add the rice in small portions, stirring until it is well coated with oil.  Add the wine and stir.  
5. When the wine is absorbed (it won't take long), ladle in 1/2 cup of the simmering stock at a time, stirring frequently for 2 to 3 minutes between each addition, until the rice has absorbed the liquid.  Do this until 2 1/2 cups of the stock have been absorbed.
6.  Add the cut squash and kale and stir. 
7. Continue adding 1/2 cup of broth every few minutes, stirring often, until all of the stock has been added and absorbed and the rice is tender but firm. 
8. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste.  Remove from heat, sprinkle with parmesan, and serve immediately.

Zucchini Fritters

Zucchini fritters are a great side dish for fall... or appetizer, or breakfast, or snack.  They are earthy and green, use in-season vegetables, and make a lovely colorful contrast with the pumpkin soup I posted. They are also pretty easy.  I don't have a serving size listed because I can't get a complete count of how many are made - before the last batch is done the first batch doesn't have many left.  I'd guess that it serves about three, so the official servings is probably close to six... but why would anyone discourage the eating of delicious vegetables?

This recipe is adapted from versions from both Martha Stewart (who is totally one of my idols) and Cooking Pleasures magazine.  I make it a little bit differently each time, mostly because I tend to have zucchini when I have misplaced my recipe book, but now I have it typed in on Pepperplate.com and can access it from my phone.  So much easier!  Someday maybe I'll get an iPad and use that for cooking instead. 

I find it easiest to put all of the ingredients into a 9x13 casserole dish after draining the zucchini and onions, draw a grid in the mixture, and scoop up one forkful-sized square for each fritter.  This keeps the scoops from getting bigger and bigger until the last ones I make are twice the size of the first ones.  This trick works for cookie dough too!

Zucchini Fritters
Serves 3-6 as a side dish, depending on how hungry you are

INGREDIENTS
        3 medium zucchini
        1/4 tsp coarse salt
        1/2 to 1 medium onion
        1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese (1 oz) (optional)
        1/2 cup flour
        1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional)
        1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
        Salt and pepper
        2 large eggs, lightly beaten
        Olive oil, for frying
        Plain yogurt or sour cream (for serving)
        Applesauce (for serving)


DIRECTIONS

1. Grate zucchini on the large holes of a box grater, then toss with 1/4 tsp coarse salt. Let rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, grate the onion.
2. Squeeze zucchini dry in a clean kitchen towel or press in a ricer. Repeat with onion.
3. Mix together zucchini, onion, cheese, flour, and herbs. Season with 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Stir in eggs just before frying.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, coat skillet with 1-2 Tbsp oil. Scoop mounds (2 Tbsp each) of the mixture into skillet; flatten slightly using a spatula. Cook until golden brown and cooked through, 2-3 minutes per side.
5. Transfer fritters to paper-towel-lines plates to drain. Serve with plain yogurt and apricot jam or sour cream and applesauce.
Enjoy!

Spicy Pumpkin Peanut Soup

The weather isn't cooling off much yet but already I am craving soup. Having a guest this past weekend gave me a great excuse to make one of my favorites, Spicy Pumpkin Peanut Soup. This is something that can be put together pretty quickly or more fancy depending on how much time and energy you want to put into it. The more time spent, the deeper and more complex the flavors get.

Roasted red peppers can be purchased in a jar to save time but they are even better when done fresh. To do this: lay a sheet of aluminum foil on a cookie sheet. Halve a red pepper and put it skin-side-up on the foil. Put this under the broiler until the skin turns black. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Peel the skin off (should be very easy to do by hand) then chop.

Pumpkin Peanut Soup

Homemade chicken stock, fresh lemon juice, and fresh ground pepper are completely worth the extra effort. Homemade pumpkin puree didn't make a huge difference so if you aren't already making it for something else, the canned is just fine.

If you don't have an immersion blender, chop everything finely so it keeps the smooth consistency. Do not be crazy and put hot soup in a regular blender.  It's tough to learn things the messy way but the lessons sure do stick!  Anyway, onward to the soup!


Spicy Pumpkin Peanut Soup
From Women's Health Magazine
Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS
2 tsp butter
1 small onion, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili pepper flakes (adjusted because I like it a little spicier, use half for not-spicy)
1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
7 oz roasted red peppers, chopped (reserve 1 Tbsp for garnish) (1 whole red pepper)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (Adams brand or something organic)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup sour cream (optional, for serving)
2 Tbsp chopped roasted unsalted peanuts (optional, for serving)
2 Tbsp chopped scallion greens (optional, for serving)

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat butter in a 4-quart NON-STICK soup pot over medium-high. Add onion and cook, stirring, until golden, 8-10 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes.

2. Add turmeric, paprika, and chili flakes; stir. Add pumpkin puree, broth, peppers, and peanut butter; whisk to incorporate and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 5 minutes (or until ready to serve), then stir in sugar, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Remove from heat.

3. Using an immersion blender, carefully puree until smooth. Divide among 4 bowls and garnish with sour cream, peanuts, chopped peppers, and scallion greens.

Per serving: 270 cal, 18 g fat (4 g sat), 22 g carbs,
450 mg sodium, 4 g fiber, 10 g protein
(Nutrition Facts from Women's Health)