Baked Apple Breakfast

The instructions are both in the body of the post and consolidated at the bottom for ease of reference when making. Good luck and enjoy!

These apples are glorious. 

They can be served with greek yogurt for breakfast or a "smart" dessert.

If you are feeling particularly decadent, then you should pair a warm apple with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Preheat your oven to 350°F

Ingredients: 

9 Honeycrisp Apples - cored

1 1/2 cups Rolled Oats

1/2 cup Truvia (brown sugar)

1 tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract 

Juice of 1 Lemon 

1/4 tsp Almond Extract

Brewed Chai Tea

Butter at room temperature

Mix together the oats, Truvia, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and almond extract. Combine them until they become a crumbly mixture.

Core the apples. 

I decided to cut away parts of the tops with a pairing knife to better hold the filling.

Fill the apples with your dry oat mixture. 

Pour about 1/2 inch of chai tea into the bottom of the baking dish. 

Don't be bothered by any fallout from the apples. The oats in the chai will cook while in the oven to become a delicious oatmealish sauce. 

Top each apple with a pat of butter.

Use the rest of your oat mixture on top of the butter. 

Tent your baking dish with Aluminum Foil this will help to steam the apples.

Place your baking dish in the oven for 35 minutes. 

Remove the foil and allow them to cook for another 10 minutes uncovered. 

Take your apples out of the oven. While it may be tempting to dig into them right away, don't. 

A scalding apple cannot be enjoyed.  Let them sit for 5-10 minutes. 

Plate with some of the sauce from the bottom of the pan.

Ingredients: 

9 Honeycrisp Apples - cored

1 1/2 cups Rolled Oats

1/2 cup Truvia (brown sugar)

1 tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract 

Juice of 1 Lemon 

1/4 tsp Almond Extract

Brewed Chai Tea

Butter at room temperature

Instructions: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F
2. Mix together the oats, Truvia, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and almond extract. 
3. Core the apples. Optional, carve the tops into cups. 
4. Fill the apples with your dry oat mixture. 
5. Pour about 1/2 inch of chai tea into the bottom of the baking dish. 
6. Top each apple with a pat of butter.
7. Top the pat of butter with any remaining mixture.
8. Tent your baking dish with Aluminum Foil this will help to steam the apples.
9. Bake--covered--for 35 minutes. 
10. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes uncovered. 
11. Take your apples out of the oven.  Let them sit for 5-10 minutes. 
12. Enjoy!

Netflix + Chocolate = Chill

My recent documentary binge has lead me to Netflix foodie heaven. If you haven't you need  to check out Chef's Table, Cooked, Somm, and Crafting a Nation. 


 "Chef's Table" hooked me within the first 20 seconds, needless to say, I powered through the six episodes in a way that only Dexter Morgan has been able to compel me to do before.

Each episode profiles a single chef [ Season 1: Massimo Bottura, Dan Barber, Francis Mallmann, Niki Nakayama, Ben Shewry, and Magnus Nilsson]. The show does a masterful job at making the viewer feel that they understand the chef, and their philosophy in a very personal way. Each of the chefs that were featured were so incredibly different from the others, each of them made a unique impression and at the conclusion of each episode I was forced to consider a different issue. Bottura challenged the norms that have been so often associated with Italian cuisine.  Barber posed the question of our own agency when it comes to our consumption of food and the responsibilities that poses. Mallmann in particular made an indelible impression on me. I've never seen a person so free, and so committed to the romanticism of their life. Mallmann says, and I'm paraphrasing here; "you don't grow on a secure path... growth requires work and risk.. in order to grow you need to be at the edge of uncertainty." Mallman emphasized the concomitant need for change and uncertainty in order to create growth. Nakayama presented with an incredible strength and showcased how important relationships are. Shrewry's narrative created a juxtaposition between the idea of success and what it actually takes and both he and Nilsson shared a sense of coming home at last. when they stopped trying to cook or force cuisine to be something other than it was supposed to be.  

I highly recommend it.

The final episode focuses on Magnus Nilsson and his restaurant Fäviken. Nilsson has created a restaurant with Fäviken that thrives on an intense Nordic authenticity using primarily local ingredients. 

The idea of seasonal cooking and the utilization of better produce was echoed by each of the chefs and has made me more conscientious about trying to source my produce as locally as possible.  
As Nilsson says, "a dish will never be better than your produce."

 I was excited to see Nilsson's name pop up in Saveur's Instagram feed along with the chocolate cake recipe listed here:

Ingredients

10 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for greasing

¹⁄₄ cup plain bread crumbs

1 cup sugar

7 tbsp. natural cocoa powder

2 tsp. vanilla extract

^1⁄₄ tsp. kosher salt

2 large eggs

1 cup cake flour, sifted

Heat the oven to 400°.

Grease a 9-inch springform pan with butter and coat the bottom and sides with the bread crumbs, discarding any excess.

In a medium bowl, whisk the 10 tablespoons melted butter with the sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt until well combined.

Add the eggs one at a time and whisk until smooth.

Fold the flour into the batter until just combined, and then scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top.

Bake until the cake forms a thin skin on top but the batter is still loose in the center, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the pan to a rack, let cool completely, and then chill for 1 hour. Unmold the cake and serve.

I decided to make this cake to celebrate my brother's birthday, needless to say, the cake got rave reviews. The only additional feedback the boys had was that this cake should always be served with a glass of cold milk. 

 I also didn't have unseasoned breadcrumbs available so I used Panko bread crumbs which gave a pretty nice crunch. 

If I were to make this recipe again, with the same pan, I would double the recipe. 

German Apple Cake

This is by far one of my favorite things about fall... German apple cake. 

This is also a great recipe if you need to bring a dessert to a holiday party. 

However, this is not diet friendly nor diabetic friendly. 

Ingredients: 

- 2 eggs 

- 1 cup of vegetable oil 

- 2 cups of white sugar 

- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 

-1/2 teaspoon of salt 

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 

- 2 cups of all purpose flour 

- 1 teaspoon baking soda 

- 4 cups of apples, peeled, sliced very thing

- Pinch of nutmeg 

- Pinch of powdered ginger

The key to this recipe is mixing. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Flour and grease a cake pan.

Mix the eggs and the vegetable oil thoroughly until they have a creamy consistency. Add the vanilla to the liquid mixture. 

Slowly add the sugar, mixing thoroughly. 

Combine the dry ingredients separately. Slowly add to the liquid batter until thoroughly incorporated, it's going to get a little difficult to stir the batter as you continue.

Fold in the apples to the mixture. 

Pour into the prepared pan. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. 

Once the cake is cooled, you can dust with confectioners sugar or homemade icing from confectioners sugar, water and holiday spices.