Hearty Apple Crisp with Maple Cream

Apple Crisp with Maple Cream

So, as I usually do, I take the end of week ingredients I have left in my refrigerator and pantry, and depending on what I have, I try to put together something tasty. This week, I had a few apples left in the fridge, some sour cream with no plans to use, and a few graham crackers left in an open package. I took the inspiration for this dessert from my favorite “go-to” breakfast. This certainly can be served as a breakfast too as it has the basic elements of a morning meal, but also works as a hearty dessert. Hope you give the recipe a try! It’s a bit of a twist on a traditional recipe…

Hearty Crisp:

 3 sheets Graham cracker, finely ground (about ½ cup crumbs)

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

¼ cup ground flax seed

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. salt

~mix well in a bowl, then add:

1 stick  (1/2 cup) butter or margarine

1 tsp. maple extract

1/3 cup roughly chopped almonds or walnuts (set aside for garnish before baking)

~blend with a pastry blender or fork until crumbly in texture. Set aside.

Apple base:

4 diced apples, skin on. I used Fuji Apples

1 TBSP lemon juice

3 TBSP sugar (white is fine)

2 ½ TBSP cornstarch (or 5 TBSP flour)

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

~mix thoroughly, then spread in an even layer in a greased 8x8” square pan. Top with crisp mixture. I topped this all with 1/3 cup roughly chopped almonds, which is completely optional. Walnuts would have been equally delicious.  Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.

Maple Cream:

1 cup light sour cream (or full fat if you don’t care)

¾ cup powdered sugar

Dash or two of salt

½ tsp. maple extract

~mix until smooth, and refrigerate until ready to use.

Serve warm crisp with a generous spoonful of maple cream, and above all…ENJOY!!

Balsamic Glazed Chicken

BALSAMIC GLAZED CHICKEN

So my oldest son Brendan is totally awesome to have around because he likes to try different foods. Okay, he’s awesome for more than just that, but for my cooking habits, he totally ROCKS! He keeps me on my toes by asking me to make new things, which I am more than happy to do for him. So last summer, he had gone to dinner with his grandparents and came back saying I HAD to make balsamic glazed chicken for him. His description of this sweet, tangy, and sticky glaze did not match any recipes that I had been able to find. So I combined a few recipes from the internet, and tweaked it until I got the results he and I were both looking for. So here it is…

So, take your boneless, skinless chicken breasts, and pan fry them in a little bit of olive oil. I seasoned mine with a light sprinkling of salt, pepper, and rosemary. After you flip halfway through cooking (once you get a nice golden brown on the first side) I like to “steam cook” it the remainder of the way using a lid. While that is cooking….let’s make the glaze!

Balsamic Glaze (makes enough for 4-6 breasts):

¼ c. balsamic vinegar

2 TBSP soy sauce

1 TBSP honey

3 TBSP brown sugar

Zest from ½ lemon

1 TBSP minced garlic

1 tsp dried thyme

2 tsp dried rosemary

Bring all ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan, then reduce heat to simmer (make sure heat is hot enough to continue bubbling) for approximately 5 minutes, or until reaches a syrupy consistency.

During the last 5 minutes or so of cooking the chicken, drizzle about ¼ of the balsamic glaze over the chicken in the pan, and baste the pieces with the glaze. When the chicken is done, use remaining glaze to taste on top of chicken prior to serving.

Tim’s Garlic Bread (makes enough for 4-6 pieces):

1 TBSP margarine or butter

2 TBSP mayonnaise

1 tsp minced garlic

½ tsp rosemary

2 TBSP parmesan cheese

Mix ingredients together until well blended, and spread a somewhat thick layer on top of bread pieces. Broil in oven on cookie sheet until browned to your liking. If you prefer crispier toast, broil straight on rack. I served this dinner with steamed broccoli florets, but really, this glazed chicken will go with your favorite sides dishes in a pinch. ENJOY!!

Poached Egg Bruschetta - Two Ways

Poached Egg Bruschetta – 2 ways

So, this is me trying to find somewhat easy recipes using truffle oil. Even if you don’t have truffle oil, I think this recipe is still worthy of trying, as in my opinion, eggs make everything better! Now, I adapted yet another recipe I found on The Food Network site, this one was a “mini challenge” from one of the contestants on The Next Food Network Star (Jeffrey Saad) from Season 6. He sadly was not the winner that season,  Melissa D’Arabian was. She is lovely and cooks wonderfully too though! So ANYWAY…here’s the link to the recipe, and again, since it is not my own, I will note the changes I made after:

  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mini-challengebruschetta-with-poached-egg-truffle-oil-and-arugula-recipe/index.html

Now, to start, I just used regular French bread that you find in any bakery. I sliced the bread at an angle to make them pretty. I lightly brushed the pieces with olive oil, and then toasted them in a hot pan, grilled cheese style. I toasted both sides, but if you prefer one side softer, by all means, do what you like! Rather than waiting to drizzle the truffle oil over the top, I opted to make truffle butter by mixing 1 pound of butter with several tablespoons of truffle oil. My taste buds have not yet become accustomed to the strong flavor, and this is how I ease myself into the experience. It really is a nice taste, but not something I want to overdose on! So, I used the truffle butter on the warm bread. I wilted my lettuce mix) I could not find arugula, so I used a baby lettuce spring mix) with olive oil and minced garlic. That goes directly on top of the toasted French bread.  The poached egg goes on the lettuce, and the gremolata on top of the egg.

I did make a second version of this egg Bruschetta dish, and that was just by making garlic bread, slicing a fresh tomato and placing it on top of the bread, then adding a poached egg, followed by grated parmesan cheese. BOTH of these versions were absolutely wonderful! I don’t think I can pick a favorite one, because they each had a distinct flavor. Because of how lovely they looked on the plate together though, I would strongly consider serving them together because, not only will the plate look deliciously colorful, but your taste buds will be deliciously satisfied! ENJOY!!