Pork Chops & Applesauce

 January 10... "Fruit-Full Friday"

A few weeks ago the video came acrossed my news feed and I was intrigued.  Here is the link... https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1BCnfsCXXm/?mibextid=WooXLz

For my one-hit wonder, I basically followed the recipe, lol... only using pork ribs instead of pork chops, Fresh Tri-colored potatoes and garlic instead of carrots and cinnamon, mixing mushrooms and onions in with my green beans instead of soup. 

The whole thing was actually very tasty, we would make it again... 😁

TWD..... Apple Pandowdy

It’s Tuesday.... and So excited.... this week our “Baking with Dorie” recipe was Apple Pandowdy. 

This recipe was amazingly simple ( 5 ingredients) and very tasty, not too sweet and was a wonderful finishing fall complement to our meatloaf & mashed potato dinner. Not to heavy and yet warm and comforting. As you can see, there is no cinnamon in this recipe and as tempted as I was to add it, (because you can’t have baking apples without cinnamon... 🤔) I am really glad I didn’t. I think it would have taken away from the nice and fresh, clean, crisp flavor of the apples. We served ours with whipped cream and Carmel drizzle. 

The little girls choose “Whale” shaped pie dough toppers, they were pretending they were fat baked turkeys.... lol.

You can find the recipe in Dorie Greenspan’s new cookbook entitled “Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty and Simple”

"TBHD"... Tarte Tatin

We love this quick and easy dessert.... It reminds me of the Dutch-Oven / Skillet Upside Down Apple Pie that my Grandma used to make in the old iron skillet. It is so yummy served with a big scoop of fresh homemade ice cream. I followed the recipe in the heirloom desserts cookbook.

As most of you already know when we bake from someone else's published cookbook, we do not post the actual recipe, we encourage others to buy and enjoy right along we us. But, I would like to add my recipe to the pot to show the similarities in how old traditional recipes are passed down through family generations...

INGREDIENTS

1 stick butter (cut into cubes)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cups pre-sliced apples
2 tablespoons apple cider
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons ice water

DIRECTIONS 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  

Combine the  1/2 of the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon  and sliced apples in a large bowl. Heat a 10-inch cast iron skillet, dutch-oven or oven-proof pan over medium-high heat and add the apple mixture.  

While the apples are getting hot, make your pie crust by stiring the flour and salt together in a medium size bowl. With a fork or pastry blender, cut in the cold other 1/2 butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water over flour. Toss mixture with a fork to moisten, adding more water a few drops at a time until the dough comes together. Gently gather dough particles together into a ball. Roll out dough,  

Once mixture begins to bubble, unroll pie crust over skillet. With a wooden spoon, push down edges of crust into hot apple mixture. Cut steam slit in crust and brush with apple cider and sprinkle with sugar.  

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven, tip upside down on a large serving platter, serve warm with vanilla ice cream. 

"Tuesday's with Dorie"... French Apple Tart

Loved this recipe, I made the apple saucy stuff in the morning while I was getting my day started and then I assembled it and baked it for dessert later in the same afternoon.  Even though this recipe is very time consuming, it was easy and very tasty. I would make this one again.

I love the layered look to this dessert, which seems to be very common among the apple tart style dishes. This recipe is very similar to another dessert we baked back in January 2010. So I got to wondering about the history of this layered dessert and this is what I discovered...

        The story begins in the late 1800’s in a small town in the Loire valley, Franch. Where two sisters, both unmarried, ran a small hotel. Caroline Tatin, the youngest, was sought out by many of her friends for her confidential advice on affairs of the heart. The older sister, Stéphanie Tatin, took care of all the cooking and she could be found at any time of day working at the stove with her big copper pots and kettles. She became known for her specialty, "tarte aux pommes", the traditional French apple pie, which she served crunchy and caramelized, with warm melted sugar and butter.
The story goes, that one day when she was preparing lunch in a bit of a hurry, by mistake she put the apples and sugar in the pan without putting the crust in first. In a rush she threw the crust on top, baked it a bit too long, then turned it out on a plate, upside down, not bothering to let it cool as she usually did. Voila! the delicious tarte tatin was born. But the story doesn't end there... Maxim's, the famous Paris restaurant, got wind of the popularity of the tart, and engaged a chef to pose as a gardener for the sisters at their hotel and was assigned to steal the recipe. It has been on their menu ever since."


You can check out other great TWD recipes at "Tuesday's with Dorie". Come join the group and bake with us!