Apple Cake

It's finally starting to happen; the weather here in The South is turning a bit cooler (low 80s and upper 70s), the fall rains have begun and this weekend it might actually get into the upper 40s at night.  Fall is finally on its way!

This change of season inevitably gets me baking.  The cooler weather simply begs for something yummy and warm to come out of the oven.  After spending some time outside in the fall air--enjoying football, raking leaves, taking a leisurely evening stroll--there is nothing quite like stepping into my house and being welcomed by the aroma of something delicious baking in the oven.  Suddenly, my haven't-mopped-in-a-week kitchen becomes a Norman Rockwell painting and all feels right in the world.

Yesterday, after a day full of grey skies and impending thunderstorms, my need to bake for fall was fully satisfied with Apple Cake.  The light, cinnamon/nutmeg/apple cake, topped with the warm, rich, butter & vanilla sauce is perfect for jump starting the fall baking season. 

Thanks go to my sister, Aerwyn, for sharing this cake with me several times during the falls and winters of my college years.

Apple Cake (Source: Aerwyn Whitlock)

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
6 medium apples--peeled and finely chopped
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4-1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)

Vanilla Sauce

1 1/2 cups butter
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1-1 1/4 teaspoons nutmeg

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Generously grease and flour a bundt pan.  (A 9x13 would work too, but the bundt pan makes it look prettier.)

2.  In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine sugar, shortening, and eggs.  Mix well.  Add apples, stir until combined.

3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

4. Add flour mixture to apples, mix until just combined.  Gently stir in nuts.

5.  Pour batter evenly into bundt pan.  Bake for 45-50 minutes.

6. To make the Vanilla Sauce, combine butter, sugar, and evaporated milk in a medium saucepan.  Cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes.  Do NOT boil.

7. Remove from heat; add vanilla and nutmeg, stir well.  While still hot, serve generously over Apple Cake slices.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

My daughter, who is the official cookie baker in our house, recently tried these yummy cookies from King Arthur Flour. They are tasty, rich, and sturdy- perfect for packing in a lunchbox. They are a dense, but soft cookie and would also be great with a tall glass of cold milk.

P.S. Go check out the King Arthur Flour website, it is chock full of great recipes and great baking items! Here is the link to the original recipe:http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/chocolate-peanut-butter-cookies-recipe

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour (You may want to weigh your flour- you don't want any extra- these cookies are already dense)
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups mini peanut butter cups or peanut butter chips (we used chips)
Note: I was just thinking- you could use a mix of chocolate and peanut butter chips to achieve more of the peanut butter cup taste...

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets, line with parchment paper or use Silpat silicone baking liners.

2) Mix together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl.

3) In another bowl, beat together the sugars, butter, and peanut butter until light and fluffy.

4) Beat in the vanilla, egg, and water, then stir in the dry ingredients, blending well.

5) Stir in the mini peanut butter cups or peanut butter chips.

6) Scoop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Flatten each cookie with your hand or the bottom of a glass to about 1/2" thick. - Make sure you press them down; they do not spread.

7) Bake the cookies for 7 to 9 minutes, or until they're set and you can smell chocolate. Be careful not to overbake. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack. 

Creamy Chicken Alfredo

It's been raining and cloudy here in The South for the last week or so and even though the temps are still in the 80s and the humidity is as thick as ever, if I stay inside and just look out the window, I can almost convince myself that Fall has arrived.  The weatherman says that maybe next week we'll get some cooler, fall-like temperatures;  we'll see if he's right.

For now though, just the idea that Fall is on its way with football games, Halloween, and the changing leaves...my brain automatically switches over from summer-food to comfort food, no matter what the weather is like outside.

I made this Creamy Chicken Alfredo the other night--after a long day of grey skies and stormy weather...and it definitely settled itself into the yummy-fall-day-comfort-food category.  I'm ashamed to admit that I'd never made homemade Alfredo-sauce before...for some reason the possibility of it separating and having a grainy texture had always been intimidating to me.  But this recipe was super quick----I had it on the table in about 35 minutes--and it tasted great with no separating.  Not bad for a new recipe.  I doubled the Alfredo sauce and put the extra sauce over noodles and served with steamed broccoli.

T-Man's Review: Can we have this again tomorrow?

Creamy Chicken Alfredo (adapted from Easy to Bake, Easy to Make)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves (about 4 ounces each) (next time I'll pound these flat a little too so they cook more evenly)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided (or use butter for a richer flavor)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon minced onion
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used fresh shredded Parmesan because that's what I had)
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place flour in a shallow dish or pie plate.  Sprinkle chicken with salt; dredge chicken in flour until coated.  Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil (or butter) in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot.  Add chicken; cook, turning once, until golden, 2-4 minutes per side.  Remove chicken from skillet; place in a 9x13-inch baking dish.

2. Heat remaining olive oil (or butter) in same skillet over medium heat until hot.  Add garlic and onion; cook until garlic is fragrant and onion is tender, 1-2 minutes.  Increase heat to medium-high; add whipping cream, Parmesan and pepper.  Cook until sauce is bubbly and slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes.  Spoon sauce over chicken in dish.

3. Bake chicken until an instant-read thermometer inserted in center of chicken registers 180 degrees, 8-12 minutes.  Sprinkle with parsley.

Lime Coconut Rolls

I know I have posted three days in a row now, but the weather turned cool today and I felt like baking. I guess it wasn't quite cool enough, because I made up these lime coconut rolls instead of making the traditional cinnamon ones. They turned out mouthwatering-  tangy lime and sweet coconut in a soft lime-scented dough. Just right for the first touch of fall at the end of summer.
Notes: I like lime, if you want to accentuate the coconut, use less lime juice in the frosting and filling. You could also add coconut extract to the icing or filling to up the ante on the coconut. If you don't like the feel of coconut, but love the flavor, use only the cream of coconut and reduce the amount of lime juice in the filling. In the future I may try using coconut milk in place of regular milk in the dough.~W

Lime Coconut Rolls(dough adapted from McCall's Cinnamon Twist Bread)

Ingredients for the dough:
1 c. milk
1/4 c. shortening
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 pkgs. active dry yeast (2 TBS instant yeast)
1/2 c. warm water
6 cups sifted flour
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tsp. lime zest

For the filling:
3 TBS lime juice
3/4 c. cream of coconut
1 1/2 cups sweetened, flaked coconut

For the icing:
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 -1 tsp lime juice
1/2 c. cream of coconut
1 -1 1/2 tsp. milk

Directions:
1. Scald milk; stir in shortening, 1/2 c. sugar and salt. Cool to lukewarm.
2. Sprinkle yeast on warm water in large bowl: stir to dissolve. Stir in 3 c. flour, eggs and milk mixture. Beat with electric mixer 2 minutes at medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally. Or beat by hand until batter sheets off spoon. Mix in lime zest. Mix in enough remaining flour with hands, a little at a time, to make a soft dough that leaves the sides of the bowl.
3. Turn out onto lightly floured board: knead until smooth, about 19 minutes.
Bread Machine Method: Put all ingredients into pan of bread machine. Use dough setting to mix and knead bread. Add lime zest with other ingredients or during second kneading. Continue with step 4. 
4. Place in lightly greased bowl: turn dough over to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
5. Gently deflate dough with hands. Cover and let rise again until almost doubled, about 30 minutes. Turn out onto lightly greased board or Rollpat.  Let rest 10 minutes.
6. While dough is resting, mix together lime juice and cream of coconut for the filling.
7. Roll dough out into a 26" X 14 " rectangle. Spread with lime juice and cream of coconut filling. Sprinkle flaked coconut over the filling.
8. Roll the dough up from the long sides, like a jelly-roll. Cut into 24 slices (about 1 inch each). Place in greased pan. (Will fill (2) 9X13 pans). Cover and let rise until doubled 45-60 minutes.
9. Bake in a 350° oven for 18- 20 minutes or until tops are golden brown. If using glass or dark pans, watch carefully, so as not to burn the bottom of rolls.
10. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
11. While rolls are cooling, mix together icing ingredients. Mix until smooth. Use enough milk to make a thick drizzle. Drizzle and spread icing on warm rolls.
12. Serve warm or at room temperature. Cover leftover rolls tightly.

Whitney's Garden Salsa

 

We came up with this recipe for salsa after we started gardening a few years ago. We bring it out in the bleak winter months and eat it right out of the jar with chips. 

Whitney's Garden Salsa

Ingredients:
14 cups peeled, chopped tomatoes
5 medium onions, coarsely chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)
2 green bell peppers, chopped
8 jalapeno peppers seeded and chopped (wear gloves while seeding and chopping)
8 cloves garlic finely chopped
2  5.5 oz. cans tomato paste
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin
4 TBS. salt (use less, if desired)
1 large lime, juiced

Directions:
Boil all ingredients together in a large stockpot for about 30 minutes to thicken.
Put in hot jars. Seal. Water bath for 20-25 minutes. Makes 10-12 pints.

Summer Salad

This is a more- or- less recipe. Add more or less of whatever suits you. I like lots of mango, cilantro and lime and less black beans.

Summer Salad

Ingredients:

2 mangoes, peeled and diced

1 14.5 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

4 ears corn, boiled and kernels cut off cob (or use high quality frozen, thawed and drained)

2 cups cut strawberries (quarters or eighths)

2 medium avocados, peeled and diced

1/2 bunch cilantro, washed, stems removed and chopped

1 lime

Directions: 

Combine mango dices, black beans, corn kernels, strawberries, avocado dices and cilantro in a large bowl. Cut lime in half and squeeze juice over the salad. Gently toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours before serving.