Apple Turnovers

Until recently, I was a frozen turnover kinda gal.  I just didn't think that I had the time or skill to create such a wonderful bakery treat; therefore, I turned to the frozen section of my grocery store anytime I had a hankering for one.  


When hunting for recipes for a brunch I was hosting for a few friends, I came across an apple turnover recipe and decided to look into how much time and energy it would take from my already busy weekend.  


Low and behold, the recipe told me it would take very long, and I could make the filling in advance.  I was sold.


The little beauties turned out to be delicious!  I did make a few adjustments to the recipe though.  I could not find all-butter puff pastry and I added about 1 tbs of cinnamon and a tsp of nutmeg to my apple filling to give it more of a pie filling flavor.

French Apple Turnovers (Chaussons Aux Pommes) Bon Appétit | November 2008

by Molly Wizenberg

All-butter puff pastry is available at some specialty foods stores. Yield: Makes 8 servings Filling: 3/4 pound Granny Smith apples 3/4 pound Golden Delicious apples 1/4 cup water 3 tablespoons sugar 3/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice For pastry: 1 14- to 16-ounce package all-butter frozen puff pastry (1 or 2 sheets, depending on brand), thawed 1 egg, beaten to blend (for glaze) Superfine sugar (optional) For filling: Peel, core, and cut apples into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups). Place apples in medium saucepan; add 1/4 cup water, 3 tablespoons sugar, and lemon juice. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until apples are very tender, stirring frequently, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Gently mash apples with fork or potato masher until mixture is very soft but still chunky. Cool completely. DO AHEAD: Filling can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. For pastry: If using 14-ounce package (1 sheet), roll out pastry on lightly floured surface to 15-inch square. If using 16-ounce package (2 sheets), stack sheets together and roll out on lightly floured surface to 15-inch square. Cut pastry into nine 5-inch squares. Place 1 generous tablespoon filling in center of each of 8 squares (reserve remaining square for another use). Lightly brush edges of 1 pastry with beaten egg. Fold half of pastry square over filling, forming triangle. Press and pinch pastry edges with fingertips to seal tightly. Lightly brush pastry with beaten egg. Sprinkle lightly with superfine sugar, if desired. Repeat with remaining squares. Using thin, sharp knife, make 3 small slits on top of each triangle to allow steam to escape. Place triangles on prepared baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Bake turnovers until beginning to color, about 15 minutes. Reverse baking sheets from top to bottom. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F; continue baking until turnovers are firm and golden, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Cool at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com:80/recipes/food/printerfriendly/French-Apple-Turnovers-em-Chaussons-Aux-Pommes-em-350419#ixzz1p7Cs0EQz

French Onion Soup

A few weeks ago, Nick and I decided to make French Onion Soup.  I haven't made it by myself before, but decided to try.  I think it turned out really really well.  Don't get me wrong, I think I can make it better, but it was very tasty.  

French Onion Soup Gratinee - Williams Sonoma Cooking at Home


1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
salt and ground pepper
5 cups brown chicken stock or beef stock
2 bay leaves
1/2 lb gruyere cheese, shredded
4-6 slices French bread, 1/2 inch thick, toasted golden brown


Makes 4-6 servings


In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.  Add the onions, season with salt, and stir to coat well with the butter.  Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until very tender but not yet browned, 20-30 minutes.


Uncover, raise the heat slightly, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions turn a deep caramel brown, about 1 hour.  Take care not to let them burn.


Add the stock and bay leaves, raise the heat to medium, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes longer to lend the flavors.


Preheat the broiler (grill).


Discard the bay leaves.  taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.  Place heavy, flameproof serving crocks or bowls on a rimmed baking sheet.  Ladle the soup into the crocks, sprinkle a little of the cheese into each bowl, then top with the bread slices.  Sprinkle evenly with the remaining cheese.  Broil (grill) until the cheese is bubbly and golden, 2-3 minutes. Serve right away.

Meatless Monday

"One eyed, one horned, flying purple people eater".....eggplants make me think of that song/ I'm very tired this morning lol.

Rigatoni with Eggplant and Pine Nut Crunch
from Bon Appetit

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 unpeeled large eggplant (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 medium yellow bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch squares
2 cups grape tomatoes
3 large garlic cloves, divided
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cups (firmly packed) fresh basil leaves, divided
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes in juice
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 pound rigatoni
1 pound whole-milk mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray; add eggplant and peppers. Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise; add to sheet. Using garlic press, squeeze 1 garlic clove onto vegetables. Drizzle vegetables with oil; toss. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast vegetables until tender, stirring often, 35 to 45 minutes.

Combine 2/3 cup basil, 1/2 cup Parmesan, pine nuts, and 1 garlic clove in mini processor. Blend until crumbly. Season topping with salt.

Blend tomatoes with juice, cream, 1 1/3 cups basil, and 1 garlic clove in processor until smooth. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

Cook pasta in pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally; drain. Return to pot. Toss with vegetables, sauce, and 1/2 cup Parmesan. 

Transfer to 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with mozzarella and pine nut topping.

Bake pasta until heated through, 25 to 35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes and serve.

- I made a few adjustments to this recipe.  We didn't use the pine nut crunch part.  Nick doesn't like pine nuts.  Also, we used dried basil, but I think it would have been better with fresh.

Meatless Monday...FAIL

"The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry."- Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck




So, I've had this awesome dish of pasta, eggplants, yellow bell peppers and cheese planned.  I bought all of the ingredients and was ready...but I never made it.  


The recipe is from the latest issue of Bon Appetit.  I hope to be making it this evening for dinner, and tell you all about it next Monday.  


I'll be back tomorrow though, with a great post!

Meatless Monday

For Valentine's Day, we did fondue, which was very meat based; however, we had bruschetta for an appetizer.  I didn't have a recipe just a picture in my head of the bruschetta that Julia makes in Julie and Julia.  


So I mixed red and yellow peppers, garlic and stewed tomatoes in a skillet and heated them all up.  Then Nick sliced up some french bread, and brushed the slices with olive oil.  They were delicious!

Meatless Monday

This post is a little late in the day, but this soup is amazing.  Once again, this comes from Perrys' Plate.  Oh and you should all stop by there because she is celebrating three years of blogging with an amazing give away!

Okay, back to Meatless Monday!  

White Bean and Garlic Soup

 We replaced the onions with leeks, because that's what we happened to have in the refrigerator.  

Nick took this last picture.  He was so proud of his staging, and I think he did a great job.  He ate this soup for lunch a few days later, and said that he tasted even better later.

Valentine's Day Dessert

So... we did make some vegetarian dishes this week, but I wanted to focus on dessert instead.  For Superbowl weekend, we made lots of little treats.  This was my favorite though...

Fresh strawberries and dip.  I used 1 block of cream cheese, vanilla extract and powdered sugar to make this lovely dip. We ate these strawberries like there was no tomorrow.  


Have a lovely Valentine's Day! Spend some time with your love!

Meatless Monday

Flexitarianism has begun.  Last week our vegetarian dish was red beans and rice.  I have to admit, this dish did not turn out how we wanted it too.  We both had an idea of what red beans and rice was before we made this recipe.  The end product, however, was something very different.  

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It looks so pretty, but the taste didn't match.  The dish had carrots, celery, onions, red beans and rice in it.  I was planning on posting the whole recipe for you, but I don't think it is good enough to share...sadly.  I would have skipped this post all together, but I didn't want to miss my first Meatless Monday post.


Do you have a recipe that just didn't turn out the way you planned?  Let us know.

Happy Birthday Whitney!

Nick's sister, Whitney, had a birthday over the weekend.  Nick and I decided to make her a birthday cake. 


We decided, with the input of Whitney, to make a Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.  

The phases of cake batter, as well as the frosting.  It was a fairly easy recipe adapted from Bon Appetit Desserts cookbook.  The recipe can also be found HERE at the Bon Appetit Web site.  We used strawberries instead of raspberries and only put them on top and not in the inside layer.

I need to explain this picture.  We have white counter tops that stain easily; therefore, Nick was not allowed to mix the batter together because of the red food coloring.  As mentioned in an earlier post, he is a rather messy cook and I feared for my counter tops.

The first layer of icing was critical.  I wanted to make sure I didn't have cake flakes all over the top layer. 

Nick finished the final layer without me; he did such a good job.  Check out his design for the fruit!

Happy B-day Whit!

We got Whitney a new cookbook for her birthday and used it to make her cake!

Saturday Breakfast: #5

I decided to try something new this Saturday.  We are typically a pancake family, but we have been dabbling more and more with eggs to add more protein to my vegetarian diet.  We had some red potatoes on hand and Nick wanted to sleep in a little, so I took my time making my own version of home fries/fried potatoes and eggs.


First I diced the potatoes as uniformly as I could.  I frequently struggle with this process, but I wanted them all to cook at the same pace so I took my time.

Next, I heated up some olive oil and let that heat up and added my diced potatoes.  It took FOREVER for them to cook!  Let's be honest, I am rather impatient, but it did take a while.  About half way through, I added about 2 Tbs of butter to add more flavor and to help the potatoes cook {or out of boredom, whatever}.  I also added generous amounts of salt and pepper to keep the good flavors going.

The finished product also included some over-easy eggs and cheese.  This dish ended up better than I expected.  

Vegetarian Week #4

January's vegetarianism is officially over.  I have to say, I enjoyed it.  The challenge was refreshing and easier than I expected.  In fact, meat doesn't really sound appetizing to me right now.  I'm sure I will change my mind and want a hamburger soon enough, but I'm nervous about it.  


Nick is very excited about the end of vegetarianism.  He has a plan of which restaurants he wants to visit and which recipes he has missed {most of which will appear here, no worries}.  


This week we had some very good recipes/creations. 


Bean Soup: Nick was very concerned about this idea.  He loves bean soup and corn bread, but couldn't figure out how we were going to get the desired flavor without ham or bacon.  

 Bean Soup

2 cans Great Northern Beans (drained)

1 can Kidney Beans (drained)

1 can Garbonzo Beans (drained)

2 Carrots (diced)

1/2 Onion (diced)

2 Celery ribs (diced)

Vegetable Broth (I used the big jug)

4 small Red Potatoes (diced at different sizes)

2 Garlic cloves

1 Tbs of Olive Oil

Heat the olive oil, add carrots, onion, celery and garlic to oil and saute until onions are clear.  Add the drained beans, vegetable broth and potatoes.  Heat until boiling and simmer for roughly 1/2 an hour.  

I diced my potatoes and different sizes so at the end I could smoosh them against the sides of the pot to thicken the soup.  We added generous amounts of salt and pepper and proceeded to devour this lovely soup.

Cheesy Tortellini: Nick was the master of this dish.  He combined prepared cheese filled tortellini noodles with farfle noodles, pasta sauce and an Italian mix of cheeses on top and baked the finished product.  It was so good!

Pizza...again.  


Pizza was the easiest thing for us to eat during this process.  We made another pizza over the week, with grilled peppers and onions and fresh mozzarella cheese.  It was amazing.  Have I told you that originally Nick thought homemade pizza was inferior to pizza shop pizza....he has been converted! 

We also made Garlic-Slathered Cheese Bread courtesy of Perry's Plate.  Natalie mentioned a few recipes that had changed her life a few weeks ago and this was one of them.  Let me just say, our lives have been changed too!  This was amazing!  Natalie provides a link to a quicker bread recipe {which we used} that works just as well as the one in the link.  Thanks again Natalie!

Cheesy Bean-y Enchiladas {kinda}


Nick was the master of this as well.  He took spanish rice, diced tomatoes, onions, refried beans {vegetarian of course}, enchilada sauce, Mexican cheese and tortillas to make an amazing dinner that tastes just as good reheated as it does the first time.

Any new dishes you want to share?  Just tell us about them in the comments!

Vegetarian Week #3

Okay, so this post is super overdue.  There is a reason though.  Last week, I had a bug and, as a result, Nick did a lot of the cooking.  He did an amazing job cooking, but when he cooks, he forgets that we are blogging and doesn't take any pictures.  


So instead of going into detail about our meals, I'm going to tell you about "flexitarianism."  Flexitarianism is a growing trend of people who are conscious of their meat consumption for health, environmental and economical reasons.  It is the one of the best diets around.  The idea is to seek out vegetarian meals more often and to have meals focus less on meat.


An article from MSNBC and an article in the Feb. 2011 issue of Bon Appetit helped me decide that this is what I will do once January's vegetarian diet is over.  One of the keys to our new lifestyle (that's right, Nick too), is to have Meatless Monday's.  It is also perfect for blogging, as well as for our health and the environment.

Saturday Breakfast: #4

In the past, these posts have focused on breakfasts when we have done something snazzy or new.  This time, I decided to focus on some of the basics instead. 


Introducing....


Cheesy Scrambled Eggs and Toast with Peanut Butter and Honey (oh and OJ)

I absolutely love breakfast.  Sometimes I forget how important breakfast is to me.  I know it is odd, but breakfast has always been my favorite.  Oh yeah, that lovely salt and pepper shaker set came all the way from France.  Nick's sister and her husband got them for me while on their European excursion.  

Stir-Fry Redo

Lately I have been trolling the blogging world for popular blogs to follow.  I found a site that listed some of the top blogs by category and began my search for new ideas on food, art and decor. 

One of the first blogs I decided to follow is Perrys' Plate.  The blog focuses on fresh, homemade and healthy food.  While sifting through the blog, I came across a post on some stir-fry gone wrong (much like ours).  She, Natalie, that is, did not give up there though.  Instead of ditching the leftovers, she made egg rolls out of them.  With the theory, that just about everything tastes better when fried. 

Here is a link to her post and my inspiration on what to do with Nick's, ummm, how shall I say this, not so appetizing leftovers. 

This is what we did...

Icky left overs.

We put about 2 tablespoons worth of the chopped up leftovers into each egg roll wrapper.

 Before frying.

After frying.

We also made some noodles to go with the egg rolls.

The new version of the stir-fry was so much better than the original.  I am so happy it turned out.  Nick was also excited that I salvaged his "disaster."

Nick's Vegetarian Stir-Fry

Nick here...Long-time lurker, first-time poster, I think. My name's on the blog, maybe I should actually write about something!

After having a wonderful supper at Thai Taste earlier in the week, I thought I'd try my hand at stir-fry on Friday evening. We bought broccoli, carrots, sugar snap peas, water chestnuts, and I thought I'd even make the most dreaded of vegetarian foods, tofu. Lauren had ordered tofu with her meal at Thai Taste and it was honestly delicious. It was dry, tasted like the sauce, and almost had the consistency of a strip of meat, so I thought I'd be able to replicate it and make an awesome stir-fry.

I've made stir-fry in the past, and the trick is to have everything ready before you start cooking, because the pan is super hot and you need to stir it constantly to stop the food from burning. I had already pressed, sliced and dry-fried the tofu and it was marinating in store-bought stir-fry sauce with extra minced garlic. The vegetables were washed and cut so I added them to the hot oil and started cooking. The smell was great, and in a few minutes I added the tofu and sauce. Another minute to warm it all up and off the burner it went.

 

I made an easy fried rice (well, easy but time-consuming) to go with the stir-fry and then we sat down to our meal. 

The spoon that I scooped out the stir-fry looked like it was sticking out it's tongue on a face of water chestnuts and a carrot when I put in the pan...that should have been my first suspicion that something wasn't quite right.

 

We dug in to eat, ....and it was awful. Well, at least I thought it was. Nothing had blended, the vegetables tasted raw, and the tofu... oh, the tofu... it was plain gross, like really really bad. It hadn't taken any of the flavor of the marinade and tasted like something you weren't supposed to stick in your mouth. Almost like a plastic-rubber-snot mixture that was chewy on the outside but turned into cottage cheese before you could swallow it all away.

So, in case you want to keep track, it was 3 hours of work = disgusting meal. We ate some of the meal and the fried rice, but I was not satisfied and pretty angry. So we went out and I got chicken teriyaki takeout from a restaurant nearby, and Lauren got a chocolate milkshake. YUM!

Friday night supper, done.



Lauren would like for me to point out at this juncture that there is a reason that I don't cook too often. Not because what I cook always taste bad, far from it in fact. I think my meals, as a whole, are some of the best tasting that we eat. (What's a blog for if I can't brag a bit) No, the reason I don't cook often is because as a rule, whoever cooks doesn't do dishes. And I am a MESSY cook and it takes Lauren ages to clean up my disaster area. This isn't something I do on purpose, just happens.

Let me submit for evidence, Exhibits A and B...

Anybody have a good story about botched meals they want to share? Let us know in the comments. Help me feel better about this meal by laughing at your misery.