Apple Slices

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine posted this divine recipe for Apple Slices on her blog.   Here's the link: http://www.ala-murphala.com/blog/2013/10/cheating/.    I was excited to try them, but had a hard time convincing my family that we needed to move this recipe up in the queue.  [We always have a long line of recipes we're wanting to try.] 

I eventually won out, and it was a quick job to make these up with three of us mixing, cutting and rolling.    We made half a batch in a 9x13 pan.

Then we went out and moved a lot of gravel.

I took a quick break to come in and glaze the cooled pastry so they'd be ready to snack on when we were done.

These were a HUGE hit.  There were threats to drop something on them so I couldn't take a pic and, 'Darn.  We'd have to make them again.'   I got the pics, quick, but we're still going to make a lot more of these this winter.   They are fantastic the first day and if you cover them with plastic they'll soften up and be even better the second day.   They won't last longer than that.

Here's the recipe.  It's a half a batch of the recipe here.

April's Apple Slices 
www.rurification.com    Adapted from Flour, Water, Yeast & Salt.

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening or butter
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup water to start, plus a bit more if necessary

Filling:
5-6 cups cored, peeled, sliced apples.  I used 4 large apples
1 cups sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons milk

Preheat the oven to 400. 

We started with the filling. Peel, core and slice the apples.   [I'm too lazy to peel, so we left ours on.   Delicious!] Put them in a big bowl.  Mix the sugar, 2 Tablespoons of flour and cinnamon in a smaller bowl and sprinkle over the apples.   Let sit while you prepare the crust.

Combine the crust ingredients except the water with a pastry blender or a food processor.  Put the crumbles in a bowl and add the water.  Mix with clean hands - it's the only way I've found to really know how wet or dry the dough is.   Add a bit of extra water if the dough won't stay together.

Divide the dough in half and roll one half out right in a 9x13 pan.   I have a small pastry roller with a small roller on one end and a larger one on the other end.  This worked great.    Roll the other half of the dough on the greased back of another pan - I used a jelly roll pan. 

Put the filling in on the first crust in the 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle the extra spice mix from the bottom of the bowl all over the apples.   Invert the other crust on top of the apples.   It's all right if it's not beautiful.    Prick all over with a fork.

Bake for 40 minutes on a lower rack in the oven - the bottom crust gets done well this way.

Remove and let cool.   When cool, make the glaze and drizzle over the pastry.  Let the glaze set up and then serve. 

These are fantastic re-warmed and served with ice cream. 

Note:  This is a short pastry.  You don't need a pan with tall sides. You can double the recipe and make it in a large jelly roll pan.   Great for serving crowds!

Pork Medallions with Apple Rosemary Mint Glaze

Last fall I made some super delicious glazes and we've been working our way through them.

Recently Eric - the Meat Master - came up with a fantastic dish using the Apple Rosemary Mint Glaze.

This recipe also calls for my not-famous-but-totally-should-be Pork Rub.   It's fabu.

I know you're hungry, so without further ado....


Pork Medallions with Apple Rosemary Mint Glaze
www.rurification.com

• 1/2 onion
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• butter to saute the vegetables in
• 1/3 cup Apple Rosemary Mint Glaze concentrate + 1 cup water [OR 1 1/3 cup regular glaze]
• 5 dried apricots, cut in small pieces
• Robin's Pork Rub
• 1 lb or so pork, cut up into medallions.   [We like pork shoulder chops]
• oil to cook meat in

Saute the onion and carrot in the butter until soft.  If you need to thin the glaze, then combine the water and glaze concentrate and heat until thoroughly combined.  Put the cooked vegetables and apricots in the glaze.  Dredge the meat in the pork rub and heat the oil in a large pan.   Brown the meat in the oil until crispy.  Pour the glaze over the meat and reduce.  Deglaze with 1/3 cup white wine.

We served this with quinoa, garden beans and peas.    Absolutely delicious!  

Honey Peach Thyme Glaze

I saved a few peaches back to try a  new recipe and was very happy with how it turned out.

This glaze is sweetened with honey instead of white sugar and the thyme perfectly compliments the other flavors.   I'm thinking this would be fabulous on a slow roasted pork shoulder cut.  Mmmm.


Honey Peach Thyme Glaze
www.rurification.com

4 cups peach chunks
2 sprigs thyme
extra water if necessary so the fruit doesn't stick
4 tablespoons low sugar pectin
1 cup honey

Heat the peaches, thyme, pectin and water to a full rolling boil that can't be stirred down.  Boil hard for one minute.  Add honey.  Return to full rolling boil. Boil hard for one minute.  Remove thyme sprigs.

Ladle into clean jars and cover with clean lids and rings.  


Note:  I left the peaches in chunks, but if you want a smoother consistency, you can puree the peaches before you start.

Happy glazing!

Orange Garlic Basil Chicken, Quinoa and Veg Stir Fry

I gave a friend of mine a jar of this beautiful Orange Garlic Basil Glaze that I made last year.   She's a much more creative and knowledgeable cook than I am and I was thrilled when she emailed me the recipe that she'd come up with for this glaze.  You'll love it! Take your time and enjoy the resulting feast.  

Thank you, Sharon!! 

Sharon's Orange Garlic Basil Chicken and Quinoa w/Vegetable Stir Fry

www.rurification.com

• 1 small half pint of Robin’s Orange Garlic Basil Glaze  (you will use most if not all of it)
• 1 chicken breast half – butterflied
• ½ cup quinoa
• 1 cup of water, plus 3 TBS of water for veggies.
• 3 cups (or more) vegetables - cut small (eggplant, onions, zucchini, brocollini, mushrooms, carrots – whatever combo you like!)
• 1 TBS soy sauce
• 2-4 TBS chopped fresh basil
• Olive oil – as needed.

Thin 2-3 tbs of Orange Garlic Basic Jam in enough Olive Oil to thin to a thick liquid in a zip lock bag.  Add 1 butterflied skinned chicken breast.  Let sit in the refrigerator 4 hrs or longer.

25 minutes before you are ready to eat pre-heat the grill.

20 minutes before dinner put the chicken on the grill.  At the same time, combine ½ cut of Quinoa in 1 cup of water, salt to taste and simmer.  

Meanwhile: chop ½ small onion, sauté in a bit of olive oil, when translucent add up to 3 cups of vegetables (brocollini, mushrooms, kale, grated carrots, or whatever you like)

About 9 minutes later flip the chicken. At this point add a bit of water to the vegetables to help steam them (if the vegetables are thick – cover to condense heat – else, leave the lid off!).  Your vegetables should end up a bit on the crisp side.

15 minutes after you started the chicken and quinoa, take the chicken off the grill, take the quinoa off the stove (the quinoa should be a soupy and a bit underdone – adjust your time if needed).

Dump the soupy quinoa in the vegetables.  Dollop 3-4 TBS (or to taste) of Orange Garlic Basil Glaze in the pan and stir to dissolve.  Slice the chicken and add it to the same pan.

Continue “evaporating” the liquid until thickened – about 5 minutes.  Add 1 tbs of soy sauce and some fresh chopped basil. Serve.  Will easily feed 2 – 3 if accompanied with a side dish (VERY filling – and light at the same time)

Maple Glazed Pecans

One of the nicest things about boiling our own maple syrup is that we have plenty for cool treats like these glazed pecans.     Lily made them, put them out, and they were gone.   Gone. 

Maple Glazed Pecans
www.rurification.com

2-3 cups pecans
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup sugar

Roast the pecans on a baking sheet for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.   Let them cool while you're making the glaze. 

Put the butter and syrup in a medium pan and bring to boil.   Boil for 2 minutes.   Reduce heat to medium low and add the nuts.   Stir to coat the nuts.   Add the sugar.   Stir to coat.  Spread them out to finish cooling and dry a bit.

Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Over the next few months, I'll be showing you a bunch of things you can do with a jar of jam.   Or glaze.   Or chutney.   Or whatever.

This is an easy recipe for sweet potatoes using the Apple Thyme Sage glaze that I showed you how to make a couple of weeks ago, that even my picky eater liked. 

All you do is peel your sweet potatoes and slice them into rounds.  Spray an oven safe dish and put the sweet potatoes in it.   Pour the glaze on them and stir them up.  Bake and serve.

I cooked these covered at 350 for an hour.   Divine!   

Eric cooks them at 425 covered for a half hour, then uncovers them until they're crispy on the edges.   Divine, divine, divine!

If you use the thicker glaze, like what I showed you in the recipe for Apple Rosemary Mint glaze, then just mix a big spoonful of the jam with a roughly equal amount of water.   It will have clumps.  Ignore them.   Pour over the potatoes and bake.  

Apple Rosemary Mint Glaze

We've been talking about glazes for the past few days and by now, you might be a little confused over the pectin/no pectin options when you're making a glaze.

It's an interesting choice.

Do you want a thick glaze to spread around a piece of meat? 

Do you want a syrupy glaze that you can pour on?

Both options are good ones and it's entirely up to you which way you go.   The nice thing about a jam glaze is that it takes up less shelf space and it's easy to dilute.   Just mix half as much liquid [water or juice] to your jam to thin in down a bit.   Easy.     If you bottle it in 4 oz. jars, then one little jar thinned up is enough to glaze a chicken.

The nice thing about a syrup is that you don't have to do anything except open the jar and pour.   Even easier.

To make a syrup from a jam recipe, all you have to do is leave the pectin out.   That's all.   So that recipe that I gave you yesterday for Orange Basil Garlic Ginger Glaze can easily be syrup if you leave out the pectin.

Well here's another apple recipe.   If you want syrup, leave out the pectin.   If you want jam, make it with pectin.   Easy.


Apple Rosemary Mint

• 1 1/2 cups apple juice, apple cider or apple juice concentrate
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Ball Low Sugar pectin [optional – use if you want jam instead of a thinner glaze]
• 3 sprigs mint [3”]
• 3 sprigs rosemary [4-5 inches]
• 1 cup sugar

Combine juice, pectin [if making jam] and herbs in pot. Bring to boil. Boil one minute. Add sugar. Return to boil. Boil one minute. Remove herbs. Ladle into jars.

Note: This makes a well jelled jam. It is an excellent glaze concentrate. Just mix equal parts jam and water (or juice) in a pan and heat it up for a thin glaze or mix half as much liquid as jam for a thicker glaze. Stir until well incorporated. You can add more liquid if you need to in order to get the right consistency.

Orange Basil Garlic Glaze

So,  yesterday we started talking about glazes.   Remember?

Today I want to talk about another option you have when you're making glazes.  It's the plain juice vs. juice concentrate option. 

You can make fabulous glazes with regular old fruit juice or with concentrated fruit juice - like the frozen stuff.

Which means, you can use it straight out of the frozen juice can.   I don't think it gets much easier than that.  In fact, the hardest part of the whole process is opening those frozen juice cans in the first place.

I just don't think you should have to use pliers to get to your juice, is all I'm saying.

When you use concentrate, the flavor is much more intense.  That's a good thing.   This recipe has plenty of sugar and herbs to compensate for the extra kapow of concentrated orange flavor. 

A note about the garlic and basil.   They're really really good in jam this way.   In fact, you can add a bit of ginger, too for a totally knock your socks off glaze for chicken.

For more terrific recipes like this one, check out my book - A Simple Jar of Jam.   Follow the links in the sidebar for a preview and to purchase the ebook from our Etsy shop.  

Orange Garlic Basil Glaze
www.rurification.com

• 2 cups orange juice or orange juice concentrate
• 2 Tablespoons Ball Low Sugar pectin [optional – use if you want jam instead of a syrupy glaze]
• 4 cloves garlic sliced in half long ways 
• 1 cup basil leaves or sprigs. 
• 1 inch ginger root, sliced [optional]
• 3 cups sugar

Combine juice, pectin [if making jam] and herbs in pot. Bring to boil. Boil one minute. Add sugar. Return to boil. Boil one minute. Remove herbs. Ladle into jars.

Apple Thyme Sage Glaze

Glazes.   I've been thinking a lot about glazes.    

Basically, they're jam or jelly that you put on meat during cooking.   Meat and jam, can you get any more awesome than that?

Plus, PLUS, glazes are a multitasking food - you can put glazes on fruit, too, for tarts and stuff.   I love tarts and stuff. 

SO,  you have lots of options.  I love options.

And speaking of options, you have even more options when you make your own glazes.

Options like:  Do I want thick glaze like jam, or thin glaze like syrup?   

And:  Do I want to use plain old juice or juice concentrate?

I know.   The possibility are endless.   I love endless possibilities.

But what I like the very best about glazes are the awesome combinations of fruit and savory herbs.

Here's a thin glaze that you can make with plain old juice and easy to find herbs.   Over the next couple of days, we'll talk about the other options and I'll give you some more fabulous recipes.  


Apple Sage Thyme Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups apple juice, apple cider or apple juice concentrate
• 2 sprigs sage [3 inches each]
• 3 sprigs thyme [4 inches each]
• 2 cups sugar

Combine juice, sugar and herbs in pot. Bring to boil. Remove herbs. Ladle into jars.

Note: This glaze is a syrup that easily pours over your meat. You can use this technique instead of using pectin to make jam with any of the juice/herb combinations that I'll show you later, too.

This is a great glaze for pork and chicken.