Yes, Mom... it's National I Love Food Day!

Are you like me... there's just too many to list!

The following are my favs, and in no specific order...

1.  See's dark chocolate scotchmallows

2.  Hot cinnamon rolls with raisins (Fred's has the best!)

3.  Toast with something savory and something sweet (cottage cheese and fruit or honey)

4.  Onion rings (well done, of course)

5.  Grilled salmon where it's crispy on the outside

6.  A yummy veggie salad with a little drizzle of olive oil, lemon & salt

7.  A deliciously BBQ'd hamburger, rare

8.  Tropical fruits

9.  Delicious tomatoes, red onions, basil, israeli feta and herbs

10.  Melon with cottage cheese

11.  Ice cold, crispy fresh veggies

12.  A white pizza with extremely thin and well-done crust (pref. Pizzeria Mozza)

Yes, i do love food!

Now please tell me... what are your favorites?

Bon Appetit!

L'shana tova 5776!

A blessed and sweet new year to all!

L'shana tova, and a blessed new year to all!

A Rosh Hashanah tradition.

Enjoy a sweet bite!

I send best wishes for a sweet and happy new year blessed with good health, love and happiness.

L’shana tova!

~ Aunt Lollie

Thanksgiving Day Butternut Squash Soup With Apples & Bacon

Audrie and i thought it would be nice to have a pumpkin soup "starter" this Thanksgiving.  She had a delicious one in Germany, and Laurence has been eating a pumpkin-cider soup in NY that he keeps raving about.  So i was determined to give them a good pumpkin-type soup this Thanksgiving. 

I made three different soups - all with pumpkin or butternut squash and apples - but two of them were disappointing.  One was so healthy that it had no taste; the second one, made with pancetta, was disappointing, but it had potential.  So i decided to modify the recipe with pancetta, and now i think i have the perfect Thanksgiving butternut squash soup!

Ingredients --

• 8 slices of bacon, cut into 1/4-inch strips
• 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch dices (yields about 6 cups)
• 1 small Granny Smith or other tart-sweet apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch dices (yields about 1 cup)
• 1/2 small Gala or other sweet apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch dices (yields 1/2 cup)
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons of finely chopped fresh sage leaves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups of chicken broth
• 1 cup of apple cider

In a large stockpot set at medium heat, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp and golden.
Use a slotted spoon and transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels.
Increase the heat to medium-high, and add the squash to the pot with the bacon fat and cook until lightly browned.  Try to resist stirring too often or it won't brown.
Stir in the apple, sage, salt and pepper and cook for about 4 or 5 minutes.  (You'll see more browning occurring on the bottom of the pot than on the veggies.)
Add the broth and apple juice, scraping up any browned bits in the pot with a wooden spoon.
Bring to a boil over high heat.
Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until the squash and apples are very soft.
Remove from the heat and let cool somewhat.
Add about half the bacon to the soup and, using an immersion blender, puree.
Add more salt or pepper if needed.
Reheat the soup and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and the remaining bacon.

The players!

Buon appetito, and a joyous Thanksgiving to all!

An apple crumble a day...

 

I really enjoy making desserts with apples this time of year.  I think it starts with Rosh Hashanah and i stick with apples for a while.  Especially since i found a "keeper".

Beth and I were talking about our Rosh Hashanah dishes, and we both mentioned that we do an apple crumble (or maybe she calls hers an apple crisp).  She told me hers is a super easy apple crumble that her sister-in-law made and everyone loved.  I thought the apple crumble i made for Rosh Hashanah was good, but apparently there was room for improvement.  I then decided to make Beth's/Andrea's apple crumble for break fast, and i practically got a standing ovation.  Debbie said this latest one was definitely much better than the earlier one, and Enrico devoured two plates full.  So now we're all making Andrea's super easy apple crumble, and this is definitely a keeper.

This afternoon at lunch, Karen mentioned that she wants this recipe, and I realized i never blogged about this delicious crumble since i had forgotten to take pictures of it.  When i went into the market today the Fuji apples were staring at me so i decided to buy a few apples to add to the ones i have at home and make this "keeper" to bring to my office.  I'm hoping it comes out as good as the last one because i realized while making it that i have one big problem -- no oats.  Instead of going back to the market, i decided i could use a cereal i have that i use in my morning yogurt.  It's Nature's Path Organic Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola.  I was confident this would work.  The question is: will it be as good as using regular oats?  We'll find out tomorrow.  (Debbie, Karen, Elliot, i hope you'll post your honest opinion of this crumble.)

Oops... one more ingredient i didn't have was brown sugar.  I opted to use three-fourths demerara (partially refined cane sugar, as opposed to regular brown sugar which is fully refined with molasses) and one-fourth muscovado (unrefined natural cane sugar with a natural flavor of molasses).  I guess i should have some regular brown sugar sitting around, just in case.

Now that i've finished cooking this dish, my only question is, why did this dish come out with much more liquid than the last two?  Perhaps we should pat the apples dry before adding them to the baking dish.  (I keep the sliced apples in an acidulous bath until i've finished peeling and slicing all of them.  Perhaps they take on too much water.)

 Mixing oats, flour, sugar...

... and now i've added the melted butter.

Ingredients -

• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1 cup of rolled oats
• 1 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 7 apples, peeled and sliced
• a few hand fulls of berries (I used raspberries, but Beth's recipe called for blueberries)
• 1/2 cup of white sugar
• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, oats, flour and melted butter and mix until crumbly. 

Place half the mixture in a baking dish.

Spread apples and berries over mixture.
Sprinkle with white sugar & cinnamon.
Top with remaining crumb mixture.
Bake 40-45 Minutes until golden brown.

Ready to pop in the oven.

Serve  warm, and enjoy with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!

 

APPLE OATMEAL CRISP not quite sweet enough for Rosh Hashanah

A good apple crumble... just a bit too tart to start off the new year.

Monday i was thinking about Rosh Hashanah and decided it would be nice to make something a little different (or "different" insofar as the holidays are concerned).  I've already offered to bring a round challah,  so now i want to think of a sweet apple dish.  Well, i guess i wasn't in the mood to think too hard.  I found what looked like a simple recipe for an apple crisp.  This recipe came from the Cafe Beaujolais cookbook which I've had for over 20 years and can tell you it's provided me with some wonderful dishes and stories that i will never forget to go along with those dishes.  This recipe (and probably most recipes that call for apple slices) called for soaking the apple slices in lemon juice.  I get the idea of not wanting the apples to oxidize so you keep them in an acidulous bath, but... Rosh Hashanah is supposed to be sweet, sweet, sweet.  No tart.  No sour.  We want to start the year out on the sweetest note possible.  So why did i use the lemon?  In fact, i also used granny smith apples which tend to be tart.  Next round i'm using golden delicious (sorry, Rosa.  I'm aiming for sweet on the second version).  I made the apple crumble (which smelled delicious as it was cooking) and brought it to my office on Tuesday.  The RPD taste testers seemed to like the dish, although some commented on how tart it was.  In fact, my sister said it reminded her of a lemon meringue pie.  Not a good sign, especially for Rosh Hashanah. 

Apples bathing in lemon juice and zest.  Bound to be more tart than sweet.
What was i thinking?!?!

 I decided that the second apple crisp would be made with apple juice, honey and a splash of lemon juice, and i would try golden delicious apples.  Yes, the honey and golden delicious apples should make a tremendous difference, and hopefully this dish will be perfect for the holiday! 

Although the pictures in this posting are from the tart apple crumble made on Monday (with the lemon juice and lemon zest), as i write this post i'm in the process of baking a new, revised crumble using the apple juice/honey/splash of lemon juice mixture along with golden delicious apples.  I'll have to post tomorrow after our Rosh Hashanah lunch to let you know the consensus.  I have a feeling this one will be a lot less tart.

Assembled and ready to bake

Fresh out of the oven and smelling delicious!

Recipe is adapted from Margaret Fox's Cafe Beaujolais, Mendocino, California

When i refer to "my first crumble", it's the tart version; "the second version" is the one i'm hoping turns out much sweeter.

Ingredients -

• 6 firm apples, peeled, cored and cut in 1/4-inch slices (my first crumble i used granny smith; the second one i used golden delicious) 
• juice of 1 lemon
• zest of 1 lemon (i omitted the zest on the second version)
• 1/4 cup of apple juice
• 1/4 cup of honey (this became an afterthought that i used in the second version only)
• 1 teaspoon of cinammon
• 1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground ginger
• 3/4 cup of flour
• 3/4 cup of light brown sugar (I used 3/4 cup of demerara plus 1/4 cup of golden brown sugar for a little extra sweetness)
• 1/2 cup of regular oats
• 1/4 cup of slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter
• optional toppings:  vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or vanilla custard sauce

Mix together the apple slices, lemon juice, lemon rind and apple juice (or brandy, water or Calvados).  Place in a buttered 9-inch round cake pan.
Using an electric mixer at slow speed, blend the sugar, butter, flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger until crumbly.  
Mix in the slivered almonds.
Scatter evenly on top of apples.
Bake at 350°F. for 1 hour.
Serve warm.

And enjoy this dessert knowing i send you best wishes for a new year filled with an abundance of health, happiness and peace.