100th Post! And Applesauce

This is my 100th post! But I have a lot to say about this simple little recipe so I will jump right in.

First off, this is applesauce the way I like it, but it's so versatile you can change it however you want. Reduce the spices, or leave them out all together. Or use white sugar instead of brown. The brown gives it almost a maple flavor (but not really maple. In fact, forget I said that.), and made it really dark. I like it chunky, but if you want a smoother sauce, run it through a food processor. Add dried fruit to liven it up. Mix apples and pears. The possibilities are endless. Just remember, this recipe is for a crockpot.

It's a good thing I like it chunky, because I was completely sick of mashing this with a fork by the end (on my wishlist: potato masher). Here's the recipe based on what I made but with changes to make it even better.

6-7 apples, chopped (enough to fill the crockpot about 3/4)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice

Chop apples and place in crockpot with sugar and lemon. Halfway through cooking add the spices. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or until apples are soft. Let cool slightly, mash or blend to desired consistency.

Apple and Brie Stuffed Chicken

I only have one picture of this, from the prep stages:
The pics of the final product turned out awful. I mean really bad. The dish looked good in person, but in the photo, the chicken looked pasty, and the apples are not recognizable. But it tasted great! I was pretty pleased with this one. The combination of apple and brie can never be bad. I've been eating ham sandwiches with them as well. All apple, all the time; that's me!

Apple and Brie Stuffed Chicken
Makes one serving

1 tbsp butter
1/4 of a white onion, chopped
1 apple, chopped
Dash of ground ginger
2 whole cloves
Salt and pepper
About 1 oz Brie, without rind, cut in small chunks
1 boneless chicken breast

Sauce:
1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1-2 tbsp honey

Heat a skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add onions and cook until tender, 3-5 minutes. Add apple, ginger, clove, salt and pepper, and a little bit of water. Continue cooking until apples soften but are not mushy. REMOVE THE CLOVES (I forgot to do that). Let sit off the heat to cool while preparing chicken.

Preheat oven to 375°. Prep the chicken for stuffing*. When apples are cool enough, stir in the brie chunks, and stuff all but 1 tablespoon of the mixture into the chicken. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes.

For a simple sauce, return leftover stuffing to the stove, and reheat, adding 1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and 1-2 tablespoons honey. Whisk to combine.

*You can use whatever method of stuffing you'd prefer. I simply butterflied my chicken breast and placed the filling in like a taco, using toothpicks to hold it closed.

Welcome to Apple Week!

Yes, for my first-ever theme week, I chose apples, since I have an unholy amount of them from apple picking. My apples are of an unknown varietal; I kept the Macintosh seperate for eating, but for baking I don't know which are Gala and which are Jona Gold. I also have a few green ones which are definitly not Granny Smith. So all my baking and cooking this week is with apples which are probably too sweet to cook with. Oh well.

First up: Apple Scones. If you will recall from my last scone post, I love those darn things. And any time I get to fuss with them and make them extra great, is a good time for me. This recipe is only slightly changed from my last one; basically I just added apple spices and such. They turned out incredibly moist. Just be sure to add the apples after the butter, especially you are using a food processor to cut the butter into the flour. That is what I usually do, unless I don't feel like cleaning up after it; then I use forks or my hands. On my wishlist: a pastry blender.

For these I used my favorite Oatmeal Scone recipe from Joy of Baking, so here it is again, revised:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 large apple, diced small
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
2/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375°. Grease a baking sheet with butter.

Combine apples with cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, and half the sugar. Stir to coat, set aside.

In a large mixing bowl place flour, the rest of the sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder and oats and whisk to combine. Add the butter and using two knives or a pastry blender cut in the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the apples, saving a few tablespoons of apple for topping. Mix until combined. Stir in the buttermilk (adding more buttermilk or flour if necessary) and mix just until the dough comes together.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough four or five times and then pat, or roll, the dough into a circle that is 7 inches round and about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut this circle into 8 triangular sections. Place the scones on the prepared baking sheet. Top with remaining apples.

Bake for about 15 - 18 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

We Picked Things

It was a beautiful day for apple picking on Sunday! Partly cloudy, with a nice warmth when the sun was out and not too much chill when it was clouded over. TG and I went up to Warwick Valley Winery in New York with a few friends and two toddlers. You can go there and hang out on the lawn for the day, then buy a bag and fill it with apples. They also had a store for wine and wine tasting. The crowd was ridiculous, there was a line for everything: food outside, food inside, buying wine, using the bathroom, etc etc. The apple selection was great though, we got some really big ones, along with a couple bottles of wine to enjoy on a forthcoming winter evening.


I hope I didn't get any syphillis-ridden ones like The Spiteful Chef. Or maybe its ick, like fish get.

To celebrate our beautiful bounty, I will be making a lot of apple recipes and posting them here during Apple Week, in the near future. You'll be coming to the blog, when suddenly, all-unexpected like, there will be daily apple posts for a whole WEEK*! Check back soon!

*Length of week to be determined. Calendar may be shortened for blogging purposes.

Mini Things

Isn't this the cutest thing you've ever seen? I always get neat stuff from Mini Cooper. This year celebrates the 50th birthday of Mini, so they sent a special edition of their magazine with a note and this cute little paper clip. I just can't wait to clip mini things with my Mini paper clip!


Things like this, the copy of Mini International magazine they sent, which celebrates the birthday. Here is my favourite page:


"Mayfair" Special edition trim with brown paint and tan bonnet stripes. Droooool. I'm not looking to give up my Sasha just yet, but wow. Apparently it's not available in the US. Maybe they didn't figure out how to put the steering wheel on the other side.

Just look at the awesome side-mirror caps. Little tan stripes?! Craziness!

I am definitely a Mini fan for life.

Cool as a Cucumber

No vegetable screams "Summer!" to me like the cucumber. It's light, crispy, and refreshing. This summer, I've made salad, pita sandwiches, and even cucumber water. Now, with the last decent ones of the season, here is Chilled Cucumber Soup. Cold soup: isn't that gazpacho? I'm not sure, so we are sticking with Cucumber. I got the recipe from a book, and as usual, changed it up. Try to guess what's different!

2 medium cucumbers, peeled and chunked
1/3 green bell pepper or 1 jalapeno seeded and chopped
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup plain yogurt
Juice of 1/2 a lime
1 tsp dried dill or 1 tbsp fresh (can also use mint leaves)
Salt to taste
Feta cheese for garnish

Combine everything in a food processor and process until smooth. Serve with feta cheese on top, in your awesome Campbell's Soup cups.

Stewart, Suburban Hero

Part Three!