Pork and Apple Pie

As the quest to use my half bushel of apples continues...
Jo Anna knew I was having trouble using up all my fruit, so she sent me this article. I decided to aim high and go for the pork and apple pie with a cheddar sage crust. It just sounded delicious and I thought it was time to test a form of pie crust again.

Crust

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons dried sage, finely crumbled

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

3 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated

6 to 8 tablespoons ice water

Filling

1 1/2 pounds (about 3 large) firm-sweet apples (such as Braeburn, Honey Crisp, Pink Lady), unpeeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch thick wedges

1 1/2 pounds (about 3 large) firm-tart apples (such as Granny Smith, Rome or Winesap), unpeeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch thick wedges

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 small onion, very finely chopped

2 pounds ground pork (preferably 15 percent to 17 percent fat)

1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

3 1/2 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs

1 egg blended with 1 tablespoon water

Fresh sage leaves for garnish

This looks like a ton of ingredients but it is mostly spices, so don't be afraid. I cooked down the apples and made the crust the night before and then finished it off the next day. (I used Rome and Nittany apples)

This crust went surprisingly well for me. I did not have sharp cheddar so I used a cheddar jack blend and it tasted fine. As I did this part the night before, the dough was in the fridge for a long time. I had a tough time rolling it out because it was so chilled. Next time I will let it sit for a few before attempting that. But I did manage to roll out both pieces and get them in the dish successfully!

The crust was what I was worried about so after that I had no problems. The only issue I ran into was finding ground pork! I went to three stores and became convinced it doesn't really exist so I bought plain pork sausage that was not in casings. It tasted fine but was maybe a bit too seasoned with all the spices the recipe called for. I guess next time I find a butcher...

I had left over meat and apples even though this dish is super deep



Before going into the oven. Isn't it cute?

Finished product!

Failure to Success! Tomato, Bacon, and Cheese Quiche

So tonight I was sitting here thinking about how I’m hungry and how I’ve been so lazy lately that I had almost nothing to eat.  I could go with chips and salsa, a bean and cheese taco, the last tiny bit of hummus.   A sad state for a girl who used to have a stocked fridge and cook regularly. Then I realized I had eggs!  And old tomatoes! And goat cheese!  Something could be made of this.  So I decided to whip up a quick dinner…by making a tart from scratch.

I found this recipe for Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart and got to work.

I didn’t have any of the herbs recommended but I did have dill and figured that could work. Then I realized that my goat cheese was rotten…I’ve been known to stretch the expiration on a bottle of milk (as long as it tastes ok of course), but weird smelling goat cheese?  No thanks. This was going to require some improvisation.

The only other cheese I had was bean and cheese taco cheese my mom gave me, so it was probably Longhorn.  I figured tomatoes could go with this pretty well.  And bacon would also be a nice addition.  This resulted in what I would say is a pretty tasty dinner, and in reality I’m pretty sure it was just a quiche but I’m not sure what the difference is between that and a tart. 

Someday I would like to try the actual goat cheese tomato tart I was planning on because it sounds freaking delicious, but that will have to wait for another day.

Tomato, Bacon, and Cheese Quiche

Crust

1 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour

½ tsp. Salt

6 T Butter cut into cubes

4 T Chilled solid vegetable shortening cut into cubes

4 T ice water

Combine everything except water in a bowl and cut it together with pastry cutter or forks (You can definitely do this in a food processor but I don’t have one big enough).  Add water until it sticks together and you can form a ball.  Flatten ball into a disk in wax paper and chill.  (I put it in the freezer for about 10 min and it rolled out pretty well. It could stand to chill a little while longer though.) Roll out the crust and place in a tart tin, fold the excess over to double up the edges.  I had a 9 inch tin but I’m sure any size would work. Prick the bottom with a fork to prevent it from bubbling up. Bake at 400 for 25 min until lightly golden. 

I use this crust recipe for almost any quiche I make.  I don't remember where I got it, and I'm not a huge crust person and I like this one quite a bit and it's easy to make.

Tomato Filling



Layered Tomatoes



3 Tbs Dijon Mustard

2-3 Sliced Tomatoes

2 pieces cooked crunchy bacon

3 Eggs

2 Tbs Half and Half

Cheddar Cheese

Salt and Pepper

After taking the crust out of the oven reduce the heat to 350.  Spread enough Dijon over the bottom of the crust to coat it in a thin layer, it may not take a full 3 tablespoons. Layer the tomatoes, overlapping slightly until the crust is covered, sprinkle with salt and pepper and crumble the bacon over the top.  In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, half and half, salt and pepper and cheese and pour over the tomatoes.  Bake for 25-30 min until it is set and doesn’t wobble much in the center. 

Let the quiche rest about ten minutes and serve! 

This dish would probably work for any meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner, brunch…whatever.  For dinner it would have been nice to have a salad on the side too.

I was worried about this at first, I’ve never winged it on a tart/quiche but it ended up being delicious.  I would definitely use cheddar rather than what I had on-hand to make it a little more flavorful. 

Also - I don’t mind making crust and waiting for things to bake so I think it’s a pretty easy dinner.  It does take some time though. Between making the crust, baking everything, and eating, you'll want to allow at least an hour if not a little more.  Happy baking!



This is not the prettiest pic, but I promise it's yummy



Apple Bread

Some of my friends and I went apple picking this week at a farm not terribly far from where we live. We had a great time even though it was freezing and I picked a 1/2 bushel of apples. We are not 100% exactly what kind all of them are, but I know there were Golden Delicious, Rome, Nittany, Red Delicious, and Ida Red somewhere in them. The first of my apple creations is an apple bread that turned out almost like a combination of a coffee cake and a bread. I found the recipe here and for once managed to stick mostly to it! (The only exception being I only had one loaf pan so I once again used the 9x9 pan. It worked fine I just baked them for less time and it made more of a muffin bar, and I was taking these to school so I did not use nuts)

cooking spray

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

3 cups apples - peeled, cored, and chopped

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups white sugar

3eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Prepare 2 loaf pans (8 1/2x4 1/2-inch loaf pans) with cooking spray.
2. Mix flour, baking soda, salt, walnuts, and apples in a large bowl. Whisk oil, sugar, eggs, and cinnamon together in a small bowl; add to flour mixture and mix until just moistened. Evenly divide mixture between prepared loaf pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 90 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

The Rome apples we picked were so huge that to get 3 cups I only had to use one Rome and then one medium sized Nittany. The bread was really moist and delicious, even in the 'muffin bar' form. I will definitely make this recipe again. I will also be posting more apple tastiness as I only used 2 apples out of a 1/2 bushel to make this...

Magic Birthday Bars

My roommate's birthday was late in September and he did not have a specific request for his cake. At some point recently I saw an episode of Giada at Home where she made these double layer cookie/brownie bars and I decided to try them out. She had adapted this recipe from her own friend's recipe, and I made a few changes myself.

Brownie Layer:

• One 21-ounce box brownie mix, such as Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Because I did not have expresso powder, I actually found a Pillsbury Mocha Fudge Brownie mix and figured that would kill two bitds with one stone. I also added a packet of dark hot chocolate mix. I have found doing this to boxed brownies always makes them a touch richer in flavor.

Cookie Layer:

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/4 cups chopped walnuts

I really liked this cookie recipe. It worked really well in the baking pan and if doubled I think you could make a large cookie cake with it, no problem.

Caramel:

• Three 9.5-ounce bags soft caramel candies (about 90 caramels), such as Kraft Classic
• Caramels, unwrapped
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

I actually used fewer candies than this and it worked out fine. (Maybe 50 candies?)

 

Directions

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 13 by 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dishes with cooking spray. Line each dish with a 15-inch-square piece of parchment paper, allowing the excess to overhang the sides. Spray the parchment with cooking spray.  At the time I did not have 2 9x13 dishes so I used a mostly equal sized but oval shaped ceramic dish and a 9x9 brownie pan. I knew I would have to trim the edges of the oval to make it match the square but I figured that was more for me to nibble :)

For the brownie layer: In a large bowl, blend together the brownie mix, vegetable oil, 1/4 cup water, espresso powder and eggs. Using a hand mixer, beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Pour the batter into one of the prepared pans. Sprinkle with the coconut and bake until a toothpick inserted about 1 inch from the edge of the baking dish comes out clean, 25 to 27 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for 1 hour.

Using the excess parchment paper as handles, lift the brownie layer from the pan. Run a thin spatula underneath to loosen it from the parchment paper. Keep the oven on.

For the cookie layer: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and egg. Add the flour mixture and beat until a dough forms. Stir in the chocolate chips. Using your fingers, press the dough evenly into the bottom of the other prepared baking dish, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Bake until light golden, 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes.

Sprinkle the walnuts over the crust.

For the caramel: In a medium, heavy saucepan, combine the caramel candies, 2 tablespoons water and vanilla over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the candies have melted and the mixture is smooth, about 10 minutes. Pour the caramel evenly over the cookie layer. Working quickly, place the brownie layer on top of the caramel. Gently press the brownie layer into the caramel. Refrigerate for 1 hour until the caramel has set. Allow the layers to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Cut into 24 bars and store airtight in a plastic container. As usual I was not patient enough about letting these cool before pouring the caramel so they were a bit oozey. They eventualy hardened up though and were really super tasty.

Happy Birthday!