As mentioned in the previous recipe entry for apple crumble, I attempted to shoot the process for another stop motion experiment. I think I did a better job than attempt #1, but I've still got lots to learn. I didn't really innovate too much in the process of editing - I nested some sequences to color correct those in groups, but I only applied the fast color correction effect and adjusted input and output levels. Other than that, it's basically as shot. I also can't seem to figure out how to import it in the best way to set it to be the right frames per second - no matter how I try to set the speed/duration so that it will give me 30 fps, I end up with too many seconds and not the right 1:1 ratio of picture per frame. But I'm sure I'll figure that out eventually (feel free to comment with directions or links if you know!).
Showing posts with label apples. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apples. Show all posts
Friday, March 21, 2014
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Apple Crumble
I'll be honest, this was not my favorite recipe. After I made it, I read the comments (yes because I don't learn to do that first), and I noticed many people also found it too dry. Basically, probably not the way you want to go. But the apples turned out well, and when I first got it from the oven and ate it with greek yogurt, it was delicious. It has otherwise been nice to reheat and serve with greek yogurt for breakfast. I used my excess topping that I didn't put on the apples to make a granola pie thing by mixing in peanut butter and maple syrup. Take from all that what you will.
Filling
4 large Golden Delicious apples (about 3 pounds) [I used 4 or 5 smaller apples]
1/4 cup sugar
1 lemon, juiced [didn't have this, just sprinkled on some water]
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Topping
1 cup walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped [didn't use this, but probably would be good]
1 cup all-purpose flour [too much! probably use 1/2 cup]
1 1/4 cups rolled oats [maybe start with 1 cup instead]
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch fine salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold butter, cut into small pieces
Vanilla ice cream, for serving, optional [or greek yogurt, like I had]
Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
Peel, core, and slice apples into 1/4-inch slices [I didn't peel them because I don't mind having peels involved]. Place apples in a large mixing bowl and toss with sugar, lemon juice, flour, and cinnamon. Pour into a lightly greased 9 by 13-inch baking dish, and spread out into an even layer. Set aside.
In another large bowl, mix together the nuts, flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, and salt for the topping. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, gently work in the cold butter until pea-sized lumps are formed.
Top apples evenly with mixture and bake until apples are bubbly and topping is golden brown, about 45 minutes, rotating once halfway through cooking.
Filling
4 large Golden Delicious apples (about 3 pounds) [I used 4 or 5 smaller apples]
1/4 cup sugar
1 lemon, juiced [didn't have this, just sprinkled on some water]
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Topping
1 cup walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped [didn't use this, but probably would be good]
1 cup all-purpose flour [too much! probably use 1/2 cup]
1 1/4 cups rolled oats [maybe start with 1 cup instead]
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch fine salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold butter, cut into small pieces
Vanilla ice cream, for serving, optional [or greek yogurt, like I had]
Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
Peel, core, and slice apples into 1/4-inch slices [I didn't peel them because I don't mind having peels involved]. Place apples in a large mixing bowl and toss with sugar, lemon juice, flour, and cinnamon. Pour into a lightly greased 9 by 13-inch baking dish, and spread out into an even layer. Set aside.
In another large bowl, mix together the nuts, flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, and salt for the topping. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, gently work in the cold butter until pea-sized lumps are formed.
Top apples evenly with mixture and bake until apples are bubbly and topping is golden brown, about 45 minutes, rotating once halfway through cooking.
Chocolate Chip Banana Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins
This is absolutely a mish-mash recipe. I even had two open on my computer, neither of which I committed to following in any way. One for oatmeal pumpkin muffins and one for banana muffins. Then I mixed them, used applesauce instead of something else, and threw in some chocolate chips. Muffins are great bases for whatever you feel like cooking with or just getting out of your pantry/fridge. Don't be afraid.
At any rate, these ended up being pretty good. I calculated the calories to be around 110 each (without chocolate chips). They were definitely not dry at all, and I love anything with bananas cooked in because they get so sweet and caramely.
I can't totally remember what I did, so here's the recipe for pumpkin oatmeal muffins with my notes:
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or apple pie spice or cinnamon/nutmeg/cloves/ginger)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1.25 cups pumpkin [I think I used the full 15 oz can]
1/2 cup milk [I don't think I had/used milk, just a self-serving size cup of applesauce]
2 eggs
1/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup oats
plus chocolate chips if you're into that
plus sliced bananas if you're into that [I think I used 3?]
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray muffin cups with cooking spray or put in liners.
Whisk all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, salt, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined.
Stir pumpkin puree, milk, eggs, and maple syrup into the dry ingredients until batter is smooth; fold oats into batter. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups, filling them to the top.
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 30 minutes; set aside to cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Pumpkin Apple Muffins
Who likes substituting and making things up as they go?! I do. Whenever I make muffins, I throw a bunch of stuff in there, just to use up ingredients that are on their way out and to get interesting flavor combinations tested out.
I honestly can't remember what recipe I used for these, so here's one I found that looks about right, and then I just added in some diced apples because why not? Also there this SK recipe, so I'm sure that's delicious as well.
Our adopted kitty, Jonesy. He's aggressively cuddly and hangs out with me while I cook. He's the best behaved street cat on earth.
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp + 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (usually cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, cloves, etc)
2 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp salt
3 cups sugar
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I likely used melted butter instead - I prefer fats & sugars whose existence I understand)
1/2 cup water or orange juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, and water in a mixing bowl. Beat until blended.
Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture - stir just until combined.
Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
I honestly can't remember what recipe I used for these, so here's one I found that looks about right, and then I just added in some diced apples because why not? Also there this SK recipe, so I'm sure that's delicious as well.
Our adopted kitty, Jonesy. He's aggressively cuddly and hangs out with me while I cook. He's the best behaved street cat on earth.
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp + 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (usually cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, cloves, etc)
2 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp salt
3 cups sugar
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I likely used melted butter instead - I prefer fats & sugars whose existence I understand)
1/2 cup water or orange juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, and water in a mixing bowl. Beat until blended.
Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture - stir just until combined.
Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
applesauce cake
I haven't baked anything in a couple weeks, so I was sort of itching for it a bit yesterday. I decided to do something a little different and I.... well, I made a video. On the one hand, it was fun to make and edit and what not. On the other hand, it is a little embarrassing - to have made it, to see myself in it, to watch myself stumble a bit. But oh well, I think I'll live. And when I try it again, hopefully it is all a little better. It is definitely longer than it probably needs to be, so next time I'll work on getting shorter clips to put together to use so it doesn't drag on as long (unless you're just into me chatting away).
[video is still saving/exporting/uploading, so I'll add it in later]
In terms of the recipe itself, I liked it. The final product doesn't have much of a strong flavor at all, but it is good. Like I said in the video (when I very gracefully tried it - note: learn how to eat on camera better), it tastes like a simple breakfast cake. If you wanted to add a bit more spice to it to bump up the flavor, that could be good, and as the recipe suggests, you can add in some nuts or raisins to make it a little more exciting. Or you can frost it and make it more of a sweeter dessert cupcake.
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
(1/4 tsp ground all-spice)
(1/4 tsp ground nutmeg)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup white or packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup lightly sweetened or unsweetened thick applesauce
(1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans)
(1 cup raisins or dried currants)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Have all the ingredients out at room temperature.
Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, spices, and salt together.
In a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy, about 30 seconds. Beat in the sugar for 3-5 minutes until lightened in color and fluffy. Then beat in the egg.
On low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the applesauce in 2 parts, beating after each addition until just incorporated. Then mix in nuts/raisins if desired.
Bake until a toothpick comes out clean:
12 muffins for 15-20 min
8-in square pan for 25-30 min
8-in fluted tube pan for 40-45 min
8.5 x 4.5-in loaf pan for 60-70 min
Frost with caramel frosting, quick butterscotch frosting, or quick brown butter icing, or dust with confectioner's sugar.
Nutritional information (for 1/12 of recipe)
200 calories
8g total fat
31g total carbs
1g protein
[video is still saving/exporting/uploading, so I'll add it in later]
In terms of the recipe itself, I liked it. The final product doesn't have much of a strong flavor at all, but it is good. Like I said in the video (when I very gracefully tried it - note: learn how to eat on camera better), it tastes like a simple breakfast cake. If you wanted to add a bit more spice to it to bump up the flavor, that could be good, and as the recipe suggests, you can add in some nuts or raisins to make it a little more exciting. Or you can frost it and make it more of a sweeter dessert cupcake.
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
(1/4 tsp ground all-spice)
(1/4 tsp ground nutmeg)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup white or packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup lightly sweetened or unsweetened thick applesauce
(1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans)
(1 cup raisins or dried currants)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Have all the ingredients out at room temperature.
Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, spices, and salt together.
In a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy, about 30 seconds. Beat in the sugar for 3-5 minutes until lightened in color and fluffy. Then beat in the egg.
On low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the applesauce in 2 parts, beating after each addition until just incorporated. Then mix in nuts/raisins if desired.
Bake until a toothpick comes out clean:
12 muffins for 15-20 min
8-in square pan for 25-30 min
8-in fluted tube pan for 40-45 min
8.5 x 4.5-in loaf pan for 60-70 min
Frost with caramel frosting, quick butterscotch frosting, or quick brown butter icing, or dust with confectioner's sugar.
Nutritional information (for 1/12 of recipe)
200 calories
8g total fat
31g total carbs
1g protein
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
apple pie cookies
Oh yes, it is what it sounds like. Cookies is only part of the title because they are so tiny. They are really just teensy apple pies. And they are really good. I saw them on SK and then my boyfriend saw them on reddit, and when we knew we'd be hanging out in front of the TV this weekend watching playoffs, we decided it was time to make them. Luckily, I had all the ingredients on hand. That's right, just by having apples + my standard baking supplies + time, we got to have really delicious baby apple pies. There's still one left, somehow, and it's got my name on it as soon as I finish this post. Even a couple days later, they are still flaky and soft and sweet and spicy. Make them!
The little white blobs you see in the dough are butter.
This is why you get them to small pea-sized and no smaller,
because it makes the crust oh so flaky delicious.
It's the same recipe as the one I used from SK for my Thanksgiving pies
So we didn't have the right cookie cutters, so I just used an overturned mug or glass
The set up, using every inch of space in my teensy kitchen. Including the sink.
*I made 1/2 the recipe and that yielded about 14, I believe?
Crust
2 1/2 cups (313 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting surfaces, dipping fork
2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar (doubled from my standard pie dough to make this more cookie-like)
1 teaspoon (4 grams) table salt
2 sticks (225 grams, 8 ounces, 16 tablespoons or 1 cup) unsalted butter, very cold
1/2 cup (118 ml) water, very cold (I pour 1 cup and add ice while I work, then measure 1/2 cup from it when I need it)
Filling
3 medium apples, whatever you like to bake with
Squeeze of lemon juice (optional)
1/3 cup (67 grams) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon (2 grams) ground cinnamon
Few gratings fresh nutmeg
A pinch of any other spices you like in your apple pie
To finish
1 large egg
Coarse or granulated sugar for garnish
Additional stuff
A couple baking sheets covered with parchment paper
Rolling pin, pastry brush (for egg wash), fork (for crimping and dipping) and sharp knife (to make slits)
Two round cookie cutters of different sizes. I used 2 1/2-inch and 1 1/2 to 1 3/4-inch rounds. You’ll want to make sure there’s at least a 3/4-inch different in the sizes, as you’ll need the extra margin to crimp your dough.
Make your pie dough:
Whisk together flour, sugar and salt in the bottom of a large, wide-ish bowl. Using a pastry blender, two forks or your fingertips, work the butter into the flour until the biggest pieces of butter are the size of small peas. (You’ll want to chop your butter into small bits first, unless you’re using a very strong pastry blender in which case you can throw the sticks in whole, as I did.)
Gently stir in the ice water with a rubber spatula, mixing it until a craggy mass forms. Get your hands in the bowl and knead it just two or three times to form a ball. Divide dough in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and flatten a bit, like a disc.
Chill in fridge for at least an hour or up to two days.
Meanwhile, get everything else together:
Line up six small dishes. In the first one, pour some water. Leave the second one empty; you’ll use it for your apples in a bit. In the third one, mix the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and any other spices you like in your pie, such as a pinch of cloves. In the fourth one, place a little bit of flour to dust your surface and dip your fork for crimping. In the fifth one, whisk an egg with one teaspoon of water until smooth. In the last one, or in whatever container you keep it in, add some coarse or regular sugar for decorating the tops of the pies.
On a well-floured counter, roll out your pie dough pretty thin, a little shy of 1/8-inch thick. Lift and rotate your dough as you roll it, to ensure that it rolls out evenly and so you can be sure it’s not sticking in any place. Use the larger of your two cookie cutters to cut as many rounds as you can from the dough. Transfer them to parchment-lined baking sheets and keep them in the fridge until you need them. Once you’ve finished the first packet, repeat the process with the second packet of dough.
[I didn't have round cookie cutters so we just cut the apples to fit and used a mug to make circles. It worked.]
Prepare your apples:
Peel your apples. Cut thin (1/8-inch thick) slices from one side of whole apple, stopping when you hit the core. Repeat on opposite side. I got about 10 usable slices from each side of my small-medium-ish apples. Use the smaller of your two cookie cutters (mine was about 1 2/3 inches) to cut the apples into cute little discs that will fit inside your pie cookies. Place them in your second bowl, covering them with a few drops of lemon juice if you find that they’re browning quickly.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
And now, assemble away!
Grab your first disc of chilled dough and lightly dampen it on one side with the water. This is to help it seal. Take your first disc of apple and toss it in the cinnamon spice sugar. Place it on the damp side of the bottom disk. Place a second disc of dough on top; I found it easiest to seal it by picking the whole thing up (this is when you’ll be glad that your dough is cold and semi-firm; if it’s soft and getting sticky, chill it until it’s easy to pick up) and press the tops and bottoms around the apple with your fingers. Back on the floured counter, cut decorative slits in your “pies”. Dip your fork in the flour and use it to create a decorative crimp on the sealed edges. Brush your cookie with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Replace on baking sheet and chill while you prepare the others.
Bake your apple pie cookies for 25 minutes, or until puffed and bronzed and very pie-like. (If this is your first batch, peer in at them at 20 minutes, to make sure your oven doesn’t run hot.) Transfer to a cooling rack to cool before eating them.
Do ahead:
These will keep for a few days at room temperature, though not in my apartment. You could also make a larger batch of these, doing everything but brushing them with egg and sprinkling them with sugar, and keep them frozen until needed. Bake them directly from the freezer, just adding a couple minutes to the baking time.
Friday, December 2, 2011
honey apple challah
I really love making bread. Although I was teased on facebook, I will say it again - there is something beautifully rhythmic and physical about kneading dough, and I love it. This was definitely a process to make - I think the whole process took me about 5 hours, but a lot of the time was spent letting it rise and bake. In terms of overall effort, it wasn't too much: initial mixing, kneading, mixing in the apples, and braiding were the active steps. And I promise, even though braiding bread sounds hard, it really isn't! If you get confused, check out SK's post for this and look at her step by step photos. I didn't have any trouble at all and have never made challah before.
My only comments about this recipe, which she does mention and I just didn't pay close attention ahead of time, are that I think the apples should have some cinnamon-sugar mixture on them first before mixing them into the bread and that this makes great french toast. I made it today for brunch for myself and sprinkled cinnamon-sugar on the eggy bread before I put it in the pan, and it tasted heavenly. So there's a good chance that the rest of my roll/loaf/whatever you call a whole challah will be eaten in that delicious form.
*If you measure your oil in your 1/3 cup measuring cup first, and then your honey, the honey will slide right out.
Makes 1 round woven challah
Bread
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 standard 1/4-ounce packet) active dry yeast
1/3 cup (79 ml) plus 1 teaspoon honey
1/3 cup (79 ml) neutral oil, plus more for the bowl
2 large eggs plus 1 large yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons (8 grams) table salt
4 1/4 cups all-purpose (530 grams) or bread flour (578 grams), plus more for your work surface
Apple filling
2 medium baking apples (I love baking with MacIntoshes), peeled, cored and in 1/2- to 3/4-inch chunks
Squeeze of lemon juice, to keep them from browning
[I recommend mixing some cinnamon-sugar on them]
[Also, I found that my chunks seemed rather large, so I would make them smaller even though I'm sure mine measured 1/2 - 3/4 inches]
Egg wash
1 large egg
Coarse or pearl sugar for sprinkling (optional)
[Total time for this: mix + knead, 1 hour rise, apples in, 30 min rise, braid, 45 min rise, 45 min baking = work time + 2h15m rising + 45 min baking = 3h45 min at the least]
Make your dough:
Whisk yeast and 1 teaspoon honey into 2/3 cup warm water and let stand until foamy, a few minutes.
With a stand mixer:
In the bowl of a stand mixture, whisk together yeast mixture, oil, remaining honey (1/3 cup), eggs and yolk. Switch to dough hook and add 4 1/4 cups flour and salt. Use dough hook on a moderate speed until it pulls all of the flour and wet ingredients together into a craggy mass. Lower the speed and let the dough hook knead the dough for 5 minutes, until smooth, elastic and a little sticky.
[I have a weird attachment for my mixer that I assume is for dough, so I used that, but after it got everything combined into a ball, I went ahead and kneaded it for 5 minutes on my counter instead of having it do that since it didn't seem quite as good. Perhaps if I had the correct dough hook instead of the loop that I have, it would have worked, but I don't know.]
By hand:
In a large bowl, whisk together yeast mixture, oil, remaining honey (1/3 cup), eggs and yolk. Add flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until you get a craggy mass of uneven dough. Turn dough out onto a floured counter and knead it into a smooth, elastic dough, about 5 to 8 minutes. Try to use as little flour as necessary when kneading the dough; you don’t want to toughen the bread. A bench scraper can make it really easy to remove it from the counter if it gets stuck in a spot. [More bread tips here.]
Both methods:
Transfer dough to large oil-coated bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 1 hour, or until almost doubled in size.
Add apples to dough:
Weave your bread:
Transfer the dough to a parchment-covered heavy baking sheet or baker’s peel (if you’ll be using a bread stone). Beat egg until smooth and brush over challah.
Let challah rise for another hour but 45 minutes into this rise, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Bake your loaf:
Before baking, brush loaf one more time with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar if you’re using it. Bake in middle of oven for 40 to 45 minutes. It should be beautifully bronzed; if yours starts getting too dark too quickly, cover it with foil for the remainder of the baking time. The very best way to check for doneness in any bread but especially on like this where the wetness of the apples can slow down the baking time a bit, is with an instant read thermometer — the center of the loaf should be 195 degrees.
My only comments about this recipe, which she does mention and I just didn't pay close attention ahead of time, are that I think the apples should have some cinnamon-sugar mixture on them first before mixing them into the bread and that this makes great french toast. I made it today for brunch for myself and sprinkled cinnamon-sugar on the eggy bread before I put it in the pan, and it tasted heavenly. So there's a good chance that the rest of my roll/loaf/whatever you call a whole challah will be eaten in that delicious form.
*If you measure your oil in your 1/3 cup measuring cup first, and then your honey, the honey will slide right out.
Makes 1 round woven challah
Bread
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 standard 1/4-ounce packet) active dry yeast
1/3 cup (79 ml) plus 1 teaspoon honey
1/3 cup (79 ml) neutral oil, plus more for the bowl
2 large eggs plus 1 large yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons (8 grams) table salt
4 1/4 cups all-purpose (530 grams) or bread flour (578 grams), plus more for your work surface
Apple filling
2 medium baking apples (I love baking with MacIntoshes), peeled, cored and in 1/2- to 3/4-inch chunks
Squeeze of lemon juice, to keep them from browning
[I recommend mixing some cinnamon-sugar on them]
[Also, I found that my chunks seemed rather large, so I would make them smaller even though I'm sure mine measured 1/2 - 3/4 inches]
Egg wash
1 large egg
Coarse or pearl sugar for sprinkling (optional)
[Total time for this: mix + knead, 1 hour rise, apples in, 30 min rise, braid, 45 min rise, 45 min baking = work time + 2h15m rising + 45 min baking = 3h45 min at the least]
Make your dough:
Whisk yeast and 1 teaspoon honey into 2/3 cup warm water and let stand until foamy, a few minutes.
With a stand mixer:
In the bowl of a stand mixture, whisk together yeast mixture, oil, remaining honey (1/3 cup), eggs and yolk. Switch to dough hook and add 4 1/4 cups flour and salt. Use dough hook on a moderate speed until it pulls all of the flour and wet ingredients together into a craggy mass. Lower the speed and let the dough hook knead the dough for 5 minutes, until smooth, elastic and a little sticky.
[I have a weird attachment for my mixer that I assume is for dough, so I used that, but after it got everything combined into a ball, I went ahead and kneaded it for 5 minutes on my counter instead of having it do that since it didn't seem quite as good. Perhaps if I had the correct dough hook instead of the loop that I have, it would have worked, but I don't know.]
By hand:
In a large bowl, whisk together yeast mixture, oil, remaining honey (1/3 cup), eggs and yolk. Add flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until you get a craggy mass of uneven dough. Turn dough out onto a floured counter and knead it into a smooth, elastic dough, about 5 to 8 minutes. Try to use as little flour as necessary when kneading the dough; you don’t want to toughen the bread. A bench scraper can make it really easy to remove it from the counter if it gets stuck in a spot. [More bread tips here.]
Both methods:
Transfer dough to large oil-coated bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 1 hour, or until almost doubled in size.
Add apples to dough:
- Turn dough out onto a floured counter and gently press it down into a flat, oblong shape. The shape does not matter so however it goes, it goes.
- Spread 2/3 of apple chunks over 1/2 of the flattened dough.
- Fold the other half over the apple chunks and press the dough down around them, flattening the now lumpy dough.
- Spread the remaining 1/3 apple chunks over half the folded dough.
- Fold the other half over the apples, pressing the dough down again. Your dough packet will likely be square-ish.
- Fold the corners under with the sides of your hands and form the dough into a round.
- Upend your empty bowl over and set it aside for another 30 minutes.
Weave your bread:
- Divide dough into 4 pieces.
- Roll and stretch each one as carefully as you can into a rope — don’t worry about getting it too long or thin, just 12 inches or so should do.
- If any apple chunks fall out as you form the ropes or at any other time in the forming of the loaf or risings, just poke them back in with your finger.
- Arrange two strands in each direction, perpendicular to each other, like a plus sign.
- Weave them so that one side is over, and the other is under, where they meet. So, now you’ve got an 8-legged woven-headed octopus.
- Take the four legs that come from underneath the center and move them over the leg to their right, i.e. jumping it.
- Take those legs that were on the right and again, jump each over the leg before, this time to the left. If you had extra length to your ropes, you can repeat these left-right jumps until you run out of rope. For me, this was enough.
- Just as you had with the folded packet of apple dough above, tuck the corners/odd bumps under the dough with the sides of your hands to form a round.
Transfer the dough to a parchment-covered heavy baking sheet or baker’s peel (if you’ll be using a bread stone). Beat egg until smooth and brush over challah.
Let challah rise for another hour but 45 minutes into this rise, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Bake your loaf:
Before baking, brush loaf one more time with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar if you’re using it. Bake in middle of oven for 40 to 45 minutes. It should be beautifully bronzed; if yours starts getting too dark too quickly, cover it with foil for the remainder of the baking time. The very best way to check for doneness in any bread but especially on like this where the wetness of the apples can slow down the baking time a bit, is with an instant read thermometer — the center of the loaf should be 195 degrees.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
pumpkin/squash soup
Another throwback! In fall of 2009, when I was beginning my cooking exploits, I was talking to my friend Andy online and he told me about a soup that he makes. I don't think we had squash available the next time I went to the market, so I just followed the recipe using pumpkin instead. At least as far as I remember. Anyway, the recipe looks good and what I ended up with tasted good. Plus it was my first foray into cooking homemade soup, which I ended up doing pretty frequently in the cold months. Inevitably, it pretty much cooks itself, tastes good, and makes a lot of food.
As you can see, I'm still trying to figure things out. This probably was one of the first times I used the oven other than to heat bread or cook asparagus (which I only knew how to do because my college boyfriend used to cook us dinner frequently once he graduated and lived on his own; I just sat around, teased him, and looked pretty). Eryn and I liked this soup; it was a bit sweet, but it still worked as a dinner.
In Morocco, our kitchen was pretty limited: cups, plates, bowls, silverware, three pots, one skillet, knives that I routinely bent/broke until Courtney sent me a nice set of three stainless steel ones (thank you!), and that's pretty much it. Did I mention measuring cups or spoons (or blenders or any other fancy gadgets)? Nooo. Because I didn't have them. So I used actual cups and spoons and eyed it. Recipes like Andy's were nice because I could just sort of estimate and it was fine. And since I had no choice but to measure imperfectly and just try it out, it gave me confidence when using formal recipes (like SK) to just do my best with what I had. If I was missing a spice or a particular type of cream, I just used what was similar (like in this recipe, I just mashed it up as much as I could). I estimated what a teaspoon might be or a 1/4 cup. The food generally turned out fine. Probably not perfect, but fine. It kept me trying things and experimenting, and now I'm rarely discouraged by a recipe because it looks difficult or complicated. I know to just do the best I can with what I have.
Andy’s Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
butternut squash (or pumpkin)
4 apples, quartered and cored (next time, I would maybe leave the skin on because it is so flavorful, especially if you do have a blender or don't mind chunks)
3 cups of chicken/vegetable stock (or water)
spices, cloves, olive oil
lemon/lime juice
Quarter a butternut squash and rub the exposed flesh with olive oil. Roast on a baking sheet in the oven until soft at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Quarter and core the apples and bake until the flesh is soft.
Let it cool, and scoop it out of the rind with a spoon into a big pot. Add ~3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock (to keep it vegetarian) or water, some spices, maybe a little cloves, salt, and a glug of olive oil. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Puree with a blender. You can stir in some acid when you serve it - either lemon or lime.
As you can see, I'm still trying to figure things out. This probably was one of the first times I used the oven other than to heat bread or cook asparagus (which I only knew how to do because my college boyfriend used to cook us dinner frequently once he graduated and lived on his own; I just sat around, teased him, and looked pretty). Eryn and I liked this soup; it was a bit sweet, but it still worked as a dinner.
In Morocco, our kitchen was pretty limited: cups, plates, bowls, silverware, three pots, one skillet, knives that I routinely bent/broke until Courtney sent me a nice set of three stainless steel ones (thank you!), and that's pretty much it. Did I mention measuring cups or spoons (or blenders or any other fancy gadgets)? Nooo. Because I didn't have them. So I used actual cups and spoons and eyed it. Recipes like Andy's were nice because I could just sort of estimate and it was fine. And since I had no choice but to measure imperfectly and just try it out, it gave me confidence when using formal recipes (like SK) to just do my best with what I had. If I was missing a spice or a particular type of cream, I just used what was similar (like in this recipe, I just mashed it up as much as I could). I estimated what a teaspoon might be or a 1/4 cup. The food generally turned out fine. Probably not perfect, but fine. It kept me trying things and experimenting, and now I'm rarely discouraged by a recipe because it looks difficult or complicated. I know to just do the best I can with what I have.
Andy’s Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
butternut squash (or pumpkin)
4 apples, quartered and cored (next time, I would maybe leave the skin on because it is so flavorful, especially if you do have a blender or don't mind chunks)
3 cups of chicken/vegetable stock (or water)
spices, cloves, olive oil
lemon/lime juice
Quarter a butternut squash and rub the exposed flesh with olive oil. Roast on a baking sheet in the oven until soft at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Quarter and core the apples and bake until the flesh is soft.
Let it cool, and scoop it out of the rind with a spoon into a big pot. Add ~3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock (to keep it vegetarian) or water, some spices, maybe a little cloves, salt, and a glug of olive oil. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Puree with a blender. You can stir in some acid when you serve it - either lemon or lime.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
apple sauce
I was looking back through our recipes a bit and saw Katie's apple sauce that she made in the fall. Not being from Massachusetts, I have never made, or maybe even eaten, homemade applesauce before. The recipe looked simple, not actively time consuming, and had ingredients that were available to me here. I wanted to bake something today anyway, and so was going to the store, so I decided to add this to my afternoon activities list. When I got to the HIT, I saw a bag of about 10 apples on sale for 2 лева or $1.35 and just couldn't think of a reason not to.
I basically just followed Katie's instructions. I had about 10 apples, so I halved what she said she used for her 25 apples, except I think I accidentally added the same amount of nutmeg, which explains why my applesauce is so spicy. Also, brown sugar is a bit odd here in Bulgaria - you can either get light brown sugar, but it comes in big granules like normal sugar, or you can get very dark brown sugar that is the same texture as brown sugar in the states, but it has a much stronger rum-molasses flavor. So anytime I use brown sugar, I generally just use the dark brown to have the right consistency but the result is a darker mixture and a stronger flavor.
All in all, the recipe was a success and made the kitchen smell wonderful. My roommate was excited about it (but not as excited as she was for the cupcakes I was also baking) and helped me blend them up, and now I have a container of dark, spice-flecked, homemade applesauce in my fridge for breakfast and snacks. Definitely worth the 10 minutes of prep time and hour of back burner time.
Plus it was sunny and nice today, so in addition to having my Vonnegut elective outside in the garden/mini amphitheatre, I walked to the HIT, jamming to my ipod, enjoying the sun.
I really love the way brown sugar sort of melts and and expands and moves on its own as you pour it out. It is almost liquid, and I find it really beautiful...
Appx. 10 apples
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tbsp nutmeg
water as needed
As per Katie's advice, I left the skins on, which I wanted to do anyway because I am lazy. I diced the apples and tossed them in the pot, dumped the spices on top, mixed it around, and set it on the back burner on low. I let them cook for about an hour, stirring randomly and adding water when it looked like it was thickening up. My roommate mashed them a bit towards the end, but I decided I wanted fairly smooth applesauce, so I got our immersion blender out and quickly buzzed through it. Very tasty!
I basically just followed Katie's instructions. I had about 10 apples, so I halved what she said she used for her 25 apples, except I think I accidentally added the same amount of nutmeg, which explains why my applesauce is so spicy. Also, brown sugar is a bit odd here in Bulgaria - you can either get light brown sugar, but it comes in big granules like normal sugar, or you can get very dark brown sugar that is the same texture as brown sugar in the states, but it has a much stronger rum-molasses flavor. So anytime I use brown sugar, I generally just use the dark brown to have the right consistency but the result is a darker mixture and a stronger flavor.
All in all, the recipe was a success and made the kitchen smell wonderful. My roommate was excited about it (but not as excited as she was for the cupcakes I was also baking) and helped me blend them up, and now I have a container of dark, spice-flecked, homemade applesauce in my fridge for breakfast and snacks. Definitely worth the 10 minutes of prep time and hour of back burner time.
Plus it was sunny and nice today, so in addition to having my Vonnegut elective outside in the garden/mini amphitheatre, I walked to the HIT, jamming to my ipod, enjoying the sun.
Appx. 10 apples
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tbsp nutmeg
water as needed
As per Katie's advice, I left the skins on, which I wanted to do anyway because I am lazy. I diced the apples and tossed them in the pot, dumped the spices on top, mixed it around, and set it on the back burner on low. I let them cook for about an hour, stirring randomly and adding water when it looked like it was thickening up. My roommate mashed them a bit towards the end, but I decided I wanted fairly smooth applesauce, so I got our immersion blender out and quickly buzzed through it. Very tasty!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
lemon ricotta pancakes
A few Mondays ago for my weekly dinner, I made SK's lemon ricotta pancakes with sauteed apples along with scrambled eggs and cyrene cheese. My roommates liked the pancakes; I found them too different of a texture from normal pancakes to really wrap my brain around them. They are light and fluffy from the whipped egg whites, and the resulting texture is a foamy batter. The taste is also a little different, unsurprisingly, due to the ricotta cheese and lemon zest. All in all, they were good, but I think I will stick to more traditional pancakes. What can I say, my dad made great breakfast food and it's hard for me to break my strong associations with his dishes. The sauteed apples were delicious, though, and I would definitely make them again to go with ice cream or other pancakes or anything you might want to eat sauteed apples with. We kept leftover apples in the fridge and continued to eat them for a couple days.
For the sauteed apples
4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced - this is a surprising amount of apples, use a large pan
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon - I added more because I really like a solid cinnamon flavor to my apples
fresh lemon juice to taste
For the pancakes
4 large eggs, separated
1 1/3 cups ricotta
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Melted butter for brushing the griddle
Maple syrup, as an accompaniment - I didn't have any because it isn't available here, but I think it would have been quite delicious, so I recommend it.
Prepare the sauteed apples:
In a large heavy skillet, saute the apples in the butter over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until they are softened, sprinkle them with the sugar and the cinnamon, and cook them over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes, or until they are tender. My apples took significantly longer to cook, so I alternated having a lid over the middle and stirring them around to get them more moist and tender. Stir in the lemon juice and keep the mixture warm.
Make the pancakes:
In a bowl whisk together the egg yolks, the ricotta, the sugar, and the zest, add the flour, and stir the mixture until it is just combined. In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold stiff peaks, whisk about one fourth of them into the ricotta mixture, and fold in the remaining whites gently but thoroughly. Heat a griddle over moderately high heat (Deb firmly believes that pancakes should be cooked medium-low) until it is hot enough to make drops of water scatter over its surface and brush it with some of the melted butter. Working in batches, pour the batter onto the griddle by 1/4-cup measures and cook the pancakes for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, or until they are golden, brushing the griddle with some of the melted butter as necessary. Keep them warm in a preheated oven.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
vegetable soup, cheddar apple scones
I haven't been cooking, really, lately because of my trip to Athens last weekend. The week leading up to the trip, I made my Italian host mom's vegetable soup for my Monday night dinner and then cleared out my fridge and pantry so nothing would go back while I was out of town (only for 3 days, but I don't really stock up on much). We got back plenty early on Monday for me to go to the grocery store, but I decided to be lazy and lounge around the house instead. I made Pia's tomato sauce, always simple and delicious, and SK's pizza dough with the alteration of 1/2 cup of wheat flour instead of the 1/2 cup of white flour. I then spent the rest of the week eating peanut butter on rice cakes for breakfast, lunch in the cafeteria, and my roommate's meals for dinner. Thus, it wasn't until Saturday that I made it to the HIT and got groceries (after a delicious stop at the bagel place for bagel sandwiches, oh America, and 12 dozen frozen bagels to go!). I picked out a recipe to cook for dinner tomorrow, which I will post about once it's done, and the cheddar apple scone recipe. It was fun to sort through SK's recent recipes and pick out which ones I want to make. Autumn is a wonderful time to cook.
Briefly, Pia's vegetable soup. It is so simple, healthy, and delicious; I love having it as an anytime option. Essentially, you chop up whatever vegetables you want to use, throw them in a pot, pour in a can of diced tomatoes or paste, cover with water (an inch over the top, ignore the floaters), add a couple tablespoons of olive oil and boil. Once the vegetables are all soft, use an immersion blender to puree everything into a smooth soup. Season to taste - I found that it makes a lot of soup and I need a lot of salt to get the flavors to be evident, but I just kept sprinkling and adding until I got there. Add a handful (about 1/4-1/2 cup) of small pasta per person and bring back to a boil for as long as it takes to cook the pasta in the soup. When the pasta is cooked, serve! I like it because it uses potatoes and tomato paste as a base and then you can add in whatever vegetables are around and that you like. It tastes really healthy but still yummy, and was a hit with my roommates. It also made quite a bit of soup, so even after seconds, I had it for lunch for the next four days.
recipe, as I made it on Monday - I starred the items that I added to her basic recipe
2 cups peas
2 medium onions
3 potatoes
3 carrots
1 stick of celery (I didn't include this)
*1 lb chunks of pumpkin
*1 head broccoli, cut into florets
3 tbsp olive oil
salt
water (enough to cover and a little above vegetables)
½ cup tomato paste (I used canned diced tomatoes because it was available)
Pia's instructions (translated):
if water goes down, add hot water while cooking
cook/boil for 30 minutes (until soft)
mix with electric mixer
when its mixed and boiling again, add handful of small-type pasta for each person,
cook until ready
***
Briefly, Pia's vegetable soup. It is so simple, healthy, and delicious; I love having it as an anytime option. Essentially, you chop up whatever vegetables you want to use, throw them in a pot, pour in a can of diced tomatoes or paste, cover with water (an inch over the top, ignore the floaters), add a couple tablespoons of olive oil and boil. Once the vegetables are all soft, use an immersion blender to puree everything into a smooth soup. Season to taste - I found that it makes a lot of soup and I need a lot of salt to get the flavors to be evident, but I just kept sprinkling and adding until I got there. Add a handful (about 1/4-1/2 cup) of small pasta per person and bring back to a boil for as long as it takes to cook the pasta in the soup. When the pasta is cooked, serve! I like it because it uses potatoes and tomato paste as a base and then you can add in whatever vegetables are around and that you like. It tastes really healthy but still yummy, and was a hit with my roommates. It also made quite a bit of soup, so even after seconds, I had it for lunch for the next four days.
recipe, as I made it on Monday - I starred the items that I added to her basic recipe
2 cups peas
2 medium onions
3 potatoes
3 carrots
1 stick of celery (I didn't include this)
*1 lb chunks of pumpkin
*1 head broccoli, cut into florets
3 tbsp olive oil
salt
water (enough to cover and a little above vegetables)
½ cup tomato paste (I used canned diced tomatoes because it was available)
Pia's instructions (translated):
if water goes down, add hot water while cooking
cook/boil for 30 minutes (until soft)
mix with electric mixer
when its mixed and boiling again, add handful of small-type pasta for each person,
cook until ready
***
Now, onto the cheddar apple scones from SK.
I followed her recipe except that I used whole milk instead of heavy cream, because I have yet to find heavy cream here (or maybe I just don't know where to look and how to translate it) and I just used some regular cheddar instead of sharp cheddar because our non-cyrene/kashkaval options are pretty limited. I also was terribly disappointed in myself for my first batch - I don't know what all the symbols on our oven mean, and I must have been on the wrong one because it burned the outsides of the first scones (not terribly but enough to be brown and make me sad) even though they hadn't even cooked the full 30 minutes. I kept a close eye on the second batch and they turned out fine, so that was a relief. And they were quite delicious.
2 firm tart apples (1 pound or 2 454 grams)
1 1/2 cups (6.75 ounces or 195 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar plus 1 1/2 tablespoons for sprinkling (total of 2.2 ounces or 63 grams)
1/2 tablespoon (7 grams) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (3 grams) plus additional for egg wash
6 tablespoons (3 ounces or 85 grams)unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes plus additional for baking sheet if not lining it with parchment
1/2 cup (2.25 ounces or 65 grams) sharp cheddar, shredded (white is recommended, I assume for aesthetics)
1/4 cup (2 ounces) heavy cream
2 large eggs
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel and core apples, and then cut each into 16ths. Line a baking sheet with parchment, place the apples on, and bake them for 20 minutes. SK says until dry, but mine were pretty juicy - I am not sure if I should have let them go longer or if it was because I used a different type of apple, but they were fine anyway. Set aside to cool.
Sift and whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together.
In a separate bowl, mix cubed butter, 1 egg, grated cheddar, heavy cream, and apple chunks. I couldn't tell from her instructions exactly the order for all of this, so I put them all in a bowl and mixed them together with a wooden spoon. Then I poured in half the dry ingredients, mixed it a bit, poured in the rest of the dry mix, and mixed it until it came together. It started out really dry, but after some patient mixing, ended up being a sticky wet dough. In my experience, that is pretty standard for scones.
Roll the dough out into a thick circle and cut into 6 (I made 8) triangles. Mix second egg with some salt and brush on top of scones. Sprinkle with sugar.
Bake on either a parchment lined or buttered baking sheet for about 30 minutes. Keep an eye on them, you don't want yours to burn like mine did. Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)