Monthly Archives: November 2011

Harvest Pear Crisp

Apple crisp was a common dessert made in my house growing up but it’s not something I think to make now. When I came across this recipe for Harvest Pear Crisp, I knew immediately I had to make it. Pears don’t get much better than they do in the fall and this dish celebrates their sweetness. Sliced pears are mixed with lemon juice to keep from browning and topped with a crumble of brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, butter, and oats. My food processor isn’t working so I made the crumble using a fork and it turned out just fine. But I must tell you a secret: I messed this up. I didn’t realize until after I put the crisp in the oven that I left out two ingredients entirely. A mixture of granulated sugar and cornstarch that was supposed to be added to the sliced pears and lemon juice never made it into the dish. After assuming I’d have to make the dish again, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. The brown sugar in the crumble, plus the pears, added enough sweetness to this dessert that it didn’t really need to be sweeter. In fact, if I make this again (which I probably will!), I’ll make it the exact same way.

The ingredients:

Slice the pears and mix them in a bowl with lemon juice (and sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch if you choose to follow the recipe like I didn’t). Pour pear mixture into a baking dish.

In a separate bowl or food processor, combine flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, and salt.

Cut in cold butter with a fork (or food processor). Mix in oats and chopped walnuts.

Pour crumble over pears in baking dish. Bake at 375°F until pears are tender (mine took 45 minutes).

Serve warm (with vanilla ice cream if you so desire).

Additions: None

Omissions:

Granulated sugar
Cornstarch

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Cheesy Turkey Meat Loaf

I remember when my mom would say we were having meat loaf for dinner, I’d frown and be disappointed, yet I’d eat it like I was supposed to. When I think about it though, other than hamburgers, I wasn’t really a big beef person. I’d much rather have chicken, ham, or pasta than a steak on any given day. I haven’t eaten beef in about twenty years so I’m pretty used to substituting ground turkey in recipes. This recipe for Cheesy Turkey Meat Loaf is slightly adapted from the original recipe which called for ground sirloin and is made into individual portions. Ground turkey has a tendency to become dry so I was a little worried that straight up using it in place of the sirloin wouldn’t be enough to save this meat loaf from heading to dry city. Boy, was I wrong! This meat loaf was so moist, juicy, and flavorful that I couldn’t stop eating it! I added smoked paprika (one of my favorite new spices) to the ketchup on top of the meat loaf and I’m so glad I did. Instead of cubed cheese, I used shredded cheese because it was what I had on hand but I didn’t really notice it much, not that it mattered. This meat loaf is loaded with flavor and this recipe is a keeper.

The ingredients:

In a pan coated with cooking spray, cook onion and garlic until soft.

Add cooked onions and garlic to a bowl with ground turkey and all other ingredients except for half of the ketchup. Mix ingredients together with your hands, careful not to overmix.

Place turkey mixture into a loaf pan or shape into individual loaves as per the recipe. Pour remaining ketchup (mixed with 1 teaspoon smoked paprika if you like) over the turkey.

Bake in a 425°F oven until a meat thermometer reads 165° or 170° (about 45 minutes).

Additions:

Smoked paprika

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

93% Lean ground turkey
Shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
Panko for fresh bread crumbs

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Ciabatta French Toast with Warm Apple Maple Syrup

This recipe for Ciabatta French Toast with Warm Apple Maple Syrup has been silently taunting me for a few months. First of all, anything with McIntosh apples has me at hello. Second, these are stuffed with Gruyère cheese, a pale yellow cheese similar in flavor to Swiss, so the combination of the savory and sweet flavors in the dish peaks my interest. Slices of ciabatta bread are stuffed with the cheese, soaked in an egg and buttermilk custard seasoned with nutmeg and black pepper and cooked in a skillet until golden brown. The French toast is served with a thickened syrup cooked of apples and shallots. There is something very homey, almost holiday-ish about this recipe. The combination of the cooked shallots, apple and ciabatta reminds me slightly of Thanksgiving stuffing (not that it tastes that way, it just reminds me of it!) This is not your mom’s French toast which probably has puddles of melted butter and maple syrup (albeit delicious!) but insteads appeals to a more savory palette. Looking for something different for brunch? Look no more!

The ingredients:

Wisk together apple cider and cornstarch in a bowl and set aside.

Melt butter in a skillet and add shallots, cooking until soft.

Add in the apple cider/cornstarch mixture, apples and maple syrup to the shallots. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, cooking until apples are soft. Set aside to cool.

Cut a deep slit into the ciabatta bread and stuff with Gruyère cheese. (I used individual ciabatta rolls because that was what my grocery store bakery carried.)

In a shallow dish, combine milk, buttermilk, nutmeg, egg, egg white, salt, and pepper. Place cheese-stuffed ciabatta slice (one at a time) into the mix until coated on both sides. (If using ciabatta rolls like I did, slice a thin layer off the top and bottom of each roll first to expose the inside of the bread for better coating.)