Apple Pie!!!

Awww Apple Pie, how much I love you… When I lived in Union Square in NYC, I used to frequent its Farmers’ Market in search of the perfect apple wonder. I found it once to never see it again since they constantly moved the stands around each weekend and confused me with the other “inferior” apple pie vendors! The pie I had that one time was magical – very thin crust, lots of apples and not too sugary – it was heaven! But as I have mentioned, I have found it and lost it and all I can do now is try to make it myself. I am attempting my first apple pie today, following a recipe from my favorite book that I promise to blog about in a few days since it is incredibly easy yet has about anything you can think of cooking. So here goes my pie experience:  

Apple Pie

Ingredients:

·      6 large Granny Smith Apples

·      Pie crust mix or store-bought crusts (top and bottom)

·      1 table spoon flour (extra for rolling out the dough)

·      1 lemon

·      1/3 cup sugar (1 extra tablespoon for sprinkling)

·      1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·      1 large egg

Directions:

I did not include the ingredients for the dough because I did not make it from scratch and followed the instructions on the package. Since you might prefer to buy the pre-made crusts or another brand of pie-crust mix, it would be useless to list them here. In my case, I used Williams-Sonoma brand pie-crust mix. You start by pouring the contents of the entire package out into the food mixer and mixing for about 30 seconds. Then you add 2 sticks of unsalted butter (250g. each) cut into small square pieces. Mix until the butter pieces have combined with the pie-mixture and slightly decreased in size. Add about 10 tablespoons of ice water and mix until you get the dough mixture. It will be crumbly and falling apart so do not let that scare you – it made me nervous until I reread the instructions and learned that it was to be expected. Transfer the dough onto a pre-floured wooden cutting board, separate into two equal parts and roll into two balls. Wrap each dough ball into saran plastic wrap and cool in the refrigerator anywhere from an hour to two days. I cooled it off for only one hour and it turned out well.

For the filling, peel and core the apples. Cut the apples into chunky pieces (about 1 inch thick) and cook in the juice of 1 lemon in a large pan. After the apples have cooked for 5 minutes on low heat and started to soften, remove them from the pan and drain any liquid. Place the apples into a bowl and stir in 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Set aside to cool and start preheating the oven to 375 degrees.

 

When the dough is ready, take it out from the freezer and place onto a pre-floured board. Using the rolling pin roll out each dough ball into 2 large circles ¼ inch thick. Place one dough sheet into a 9-inch pie pan and push around the sides to fit. Place the apples inside in circles. On the side, take one egg and separate it, preserving the white. Take a pastry brush, dip it into the egg white and brush lightly around the circumference of the crust. Put the second sheet of dough over the top of the apples and press it down at the edges to seal. Trim the extra dough with a sharp knife and slash the pastry over the apples 4-5 times to let the steam out while the apples cook. For decoration, roll out the extra dough and cut out a few leaves and stick onto the pie. Brush the top of the pie with the remaining egg white, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar and put it in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes or until you see an even golden color. Serve with vanilla ice cream or with a glass of cold milk! 

Tea Time!

Today was one very girly day. My friend M. and I have come across a parlor where polka-dot fabrics and hot pink rule and make no excuses. "Crown and Crumpet" in Ghirardelli Square is a charming tea room replacing the stuffy atmosphere of regular high tea places with plenty of humor and wit. Their "tea for two" was a real treat with elegant sandwiches and home-made sweets. The long list of tea selections requires a separate post of praise and, after trying their "Merry Mango" today I knew that they would see my face again...and again...

P.S. And they have a working fireplace!
Crown and Crumpet
207 Ghirardelli Square
900 North Point 
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 771-4252

Flat Bread Duo

Another wonderful dish to entertain a casual party with is flat bread. I always liked baking this pizza-like dish because the toppings are infinite and cooking time (not counting prep work) only takes about 20 minutes, making it a perfect snack to put in the oven right before your guests arrive. It is delicious and goes perfectly with a glass of white wine for a casual movie get-together at home.  

Flat Bread Duo

Ingredients:

·      1 package of pizza dough

·      1 can tomato sauce

·      ½ large yellow onion

·      ½ cup of bell mushrooms

·      1 5 oz. can solid tuna in pure olive oil (“Cento Tonno” is my favorite)

·      3 large eggs

·      1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Start up by heating the oven to 400 degrees. Cook the eggs for 5 minutes after the water reaches boiling point. Let the eggs cool, then peel and cut half oh them into circles and the other half into small pieces. Chop the onion and cook in a medium pan until soft. In a bowl combine onions, small pieces of egg and tuna into a uniform mixture and set aside. Cook bell mushrooms in a saucepan until soft (10 minutes), let them cool, cut into circles and squeeze the excess moisture. On the pre-floured cutting board, roll the dough out into 2 long ovals.  Generously brush one oval with tomato sauce and leave the other one clean. On the oval with tomato sauce put eggs, mushrooms and top with mozzarella cheese. On the second oval, lay out the tuna mixture and top with cheese as well. Bake for 20 minutes to completely melt the cheese and for the crust to form. Serve on a large wooden cutting board for a rustic country feel!

Apple Turnovers

Apple Turnovers - my all time favorite pastries for a lazy morning, especially if my friends are visiting. They are easy enough to whip together after you wake up and also tasty enough served the morning after if prepared beforehand - and they look adorable!

French Apple Turnovers

Ingredients:

·      2 Granny Smith Apples

·      1 package puff pastry

·      1 ½ tea spoons fresh lemon juice

·      ½ cup brown sugar

·      ¼ tea spoon cinnamon

·      2 table spoons butter

·      1 egg yolk (not shown)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss together apples (cut into small square pieces), sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and butter (previously melted in the microwave or on the stove). Cook in a saucepan until apples turn soft and the mixture has a jam-like consistency (about 10 minutes). Set aside and let it cool to room temperature. Spread the puff pastry dough into a rectangle on a pre-floured wooden cutting board. Cut the dough into 4 equal squares. In my case, the puff pastry came in the form of pre-cut squares so I decided to only make 3 turnovers. Put the apple mixture into each square and fold to create triangles. Press fork on the edges to seal the dough. Transfer to baking sheet and put in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes. After the time is up, brush each turnover with an egg yolk and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until a beautiful golden brown color.  Tasty!!!      

Shrimp Fattoush Salad

Shrimp Fattoush Salad

Ingredients:

·      2-3 romaine lettuce hearts

·      1 package of grape tomatoes

·      1 large cucumber

·      1 small red onion

·      1 cup of kalamata olives

·      1 cup of crumbled feta cheese

·      ½ lb of fresh shrimp

·      Cumin (seasoning)

·      Pita bread chips (I usually exclude those)

·      Olive oil

Directions:

Start by cooking the shrimp in a medium pot. When ready, set the shrimp aside to cool down. Cut lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and onion and combine together in a large salad bowl. Add kalamata olives and cooked shrimp. Add olive oil and season with salt and cumin. Finish up with feta cheese crumbles (and chips, if desired) and serve. Simple, fresh and delicious. 

Omelette with pancetta

Being a rather busy but hungry student I have recently ran out of all the food in my refrigerator.  It was 4 pm, I was doing some collage gluing for my visual merchandising project and I was in no mood to venture out grocery shopping.  Luckily, I had some eggs, leftover pancetta (from yet another pasta experiment…do NOT judge me) and some Herbes de Provence mixture. A quick and savory omelette in the making!

Omelette with pancetta

Ingredients:

·      2-3 eggs

·      1/3 package of Italian pancetta

·      Herbes de Provence mixture

·      Olive oil

Directions:

Heat the pan up with a few drops of olive oil, add pancetta and wait until it starts to turn crispy. Add eggs and a few pinches of Herbes de Provence. Cook until the omelette is ready and serve. All in all it takes about 5 minutes to make– a perfect breakfast or lunch option for a busy day!

Papardelle al Salmone

It is winter and I am craving pasta…all the time. If it was not for the gym and swimming pool that I make myself attend semi-religiously, I would look like a hippopotamus…no joke. But, alas, my fitness torture is effective and I can keep eating pasta in all possible variations. Today it is Salmon Papardelle, the simple recipe I came up with five years ago and love to this day – for its simplicity yet mouthwatering taste.

Papardelle al Salmone

Ingredients:

·      1 package of Papardelle pasta (preferably fresh)

·      1 table spoon sour cream

·      1 package of grape tomatoes

·      1 piece of fresh salmon

·      1 teaspoon of olive oil

·      Salt and pepper

Directions:

Since I am only cooking for myself tonight, I will be using ½ package of 10oz. pasta, 1 piece of salmon and about 10 grape tomatoes. By increasing all the ingredients proportionally, you can obviously change the serving size based on your dinner/lunch needs. 

Since bringing water to boil takes some time, start your cooking by heating it (salted) in a medium pot. While you are watching the water, why not get our pan ready as well? While your pan is preheating on the stove with a few drops of olive oil, cut the tomatoes into halves or quarters. Mince 1 garlic clove and add it to the pan. Keep an eye on it since it burns pretty quickly and can potentially ruin the taste of the whole dish for its taste is rather delicate. When the garlic gets slightly golden in color, add tomatoes. When tomatoes get soft (usually in a fast 1 minute or so) add salmon. Salmon cooks pretty quickly as well, just toss it around in the pan until it is consistent pink color from all the sides. That usually happens in less than 5 minutes and it is important not to overcook it since it will get pretty dry then. Add 1 spoon of sour cream and season with salt and pepper. Stir everything for a minute for consistency, turn the stove off and set aside.

While we were cooking the sauce, the water came to a boiling point. Add pasta. Fresh pasta usually gets ready in 2-4 minutes, while the dry kind can take up to 10 minutes. 

When the pasta is soft and ready, pour the salmon sauce mixture over it and enjoy!

P.S. Another pasta variation I have enjoyed lately is the same Papardelle but with pesto sauce. I will admit that for pesto, I used the organic pre-made store version and cooking the whole thing took exactly 5 minutes. I promise, however, that soon I will post the recipe with pesto made from scratch. I am actually curious to see if it will taste better than the store version… I sure hope so : /

Long time no blog...

Wow… has it really been that long?! I can lull my feelings of sweet guilt by blaming it on the short 28-day February... Since I have obviously been away from my blog, swamped with work, I am overcompensating now by trying to post as many recipes as possible within the next few weeks – my spring break would not hurt either in trying new dishes and finally having time to cook again…