Anyone who knows my family, knows that this house is a Mac house, so I thought it only fitting that my first post make it clear where my allegiance lies. This cake was made for my brother-in-law's birthday and with this group of apple addicts, I am sure I'll be getting requests to do more.
I started with two layers of French vanilla cake, with a layer of buttercream between them. Then, I went to work on achieving as close to bondi blue as possible which involved buttercream icing, a lot of blue plus a hint of green gel coloring and plenty of stirring. It's not perfect but it's incredibly close to the iMac in our den-- although my husband tells me that's not actually bondi blue either. Oh well, maybe next time.
In order to get a nice, smooth surface on the cake, I iced it and allowed it to sit for a few minutes just until it started to crust. Then I used a Viva paper towel (these seem to work the best since they are smooth) placed on the cake and gently rolled it out smooth with a fondant roller. If the paper towel pulls up with icing, just allow it to crust for another few minutes and try again.
Next it was time for the apple logo, which I wanted to be exactly right. I knew it wasn't possible for me to do it freehand so I pulled the logo off the internet, resized the PDF to the size of the cake and printed it out as a template. Once the white fondant was rolled out, I cut out the apple with an X-acto knife. Then I laid it on the cake, smoothed it out and made sure to get the leaf at just the right angle.
The birthday boy really enjoyed it but I'm not sure if eating this apple every day would keep the doctor away.
Did this just happen? Did Gretchen Noelle over at Canela & Comino seriously just post a recipe on Slashfood's Flickr account that combines two of the world's best known food groups, cake and pie? (Er - and fruit, too).
You'd better believe she did. This pake (cie?) melds the sweet, juicy fruit filling of a pie with a crust that mixes the slight crumbly nature of a pie crust and the soft, buttery notes of cake.
Upon closer inspection, the recipe was taken from Baking From My Home to Yours, and is officially titled the "Russian Grandmothers Apple Pie-Cake."
Gretchen suggests substituting cranberries for raisins if you're not a huge raisin fan. Some walnuts or pecans might be a nice addition, too. I might also add a dash of nutmeg to the filling, just because it tends to bring out the best flavors in dishes like this. Otherwise...muah *kisses fingertips*.
More than once, I've been caught saying nasty things about my 1997 edition of the Joy of Cooking. It's not that there's anything inherently bad about that volume, I just happened to grow up with one printed in the early seventies (white dust jacket, turquoise fabric cover) and love that one totally because it is so deeply familiar to me. However, last night I had to swallow all my heartless words, because the '97 version came through for me big time.
Last week I went apple picking. Scott and I picked a full bushel of apples. I've made apple sauce, apple crisp, apples with yogurt, eaten about 15 out of hand and still the box of apples doesn't seem to be visibly reducing. So I went looking for a recipe for a baked good that uses apples. I was hoping for a quick bread or muffin recipe that was low in fat, used several apples and tasted good. And I found it. The muffins came out light, tender and amazingly delicious (ate two as soon as they were cool enough to touch). This one is getting copied down and is going in the file. The recipe is after the jump.
This weekend I was out on my usual drive along the back country roads here in Maine, stopping at all the farm stands, and I ran across some great produce. Bright jalapenos, small red potatoes, big shallots, just harvested and cured garlic, beautiful bunches of celery with tons of leaves; and big, fat, sweet local onions that were grown from Walla Walla seed.
I had picked up some different meats over the past few weeks at the local town farmers market and stashed them in my freezer until I had time to play with them. One that kept grabbing my attention every time I fought my way through my overstuffed freezer was this great looking pork shank. It was organic, pasture raised, and from a farm that raises and butchers their animals humanely. It was a great looking joint and since the weather had turned almost Autumn cool for a few days, now was a perfect time to make a dish a bit heavier than I usually do in the summer.
I looked around my kitchen to see what might be sitting there eagerly waiting to join the pork shank in my dutch oven. I had some nice farm fresh local butter, a few super ripe local tomatoes, a Gala apple, and a few bottles of wine left over from a tasting the night before. This looked like the makings of a fantastic dish.
American Fruits Bourbon Barrel Aged Apple Liqueur is 19.5 % abv. 39 proof and is made by the folks at Warwick Valley Winery in NY. The winery is actually better known for their authentic and tasty Doc's hard cider, then a few years ago they bought a still and started making brandies and eau de vie. I worked for awhile at a dairy farm just down the road from Warwick Winery at the time they just got their still, but was long gone when they released their line of spirits. I was at a farmers market in NY when I ran across their booth. It was late in the day and they were out of all the brandies and eau de vie, but they still had three of their liqueurs available. I got one of each and headed home. Well one thing led to another and they never got opened. Finally I have had the time to give one of them a taste.
The liqueur is like one of those interesting fortified fruit wines such as the Cranberry Smash I mentioned not long ago. They take a sweet, partially fermented hard cider and add apple brandy to it to stop the fermentation process while there is still some residual sugar and to amp up the alcohol level so that the concoction can age well. then they place it in used bourbon casks for aging and to pick up some of the bourbon and oak notes from the cask. The final result is smooth and clean.
The color is a very light gold and the aroma is light as well. A sweet scent of fresh and tart apples and a nicely aged apple cider is what you notice first, followed by hints of smoke, caramel, and bourbon.
The taste is light as well. It tastes exactly how you think it would. Cider and apple brandy, with hints of bourbon. It's very nice. My only thought is that if they could amp up all the flavors it would be a much better liqueur. It's just a little too light for an after dinner liqueur, although it wouldn't be bad as a before dinner aperitif.
Gadget-hungry types who don't have the patience to camp out for days outside their local Apple store all for the chance to plunk down $500 at 6 p.m. tomorrow for their very own iPhone rejoice. It's possible to have your iPhone and eat it, too. Unfortunately edibility is the only function of the particular iPhone model of which I speak, mainly because it's a cake.
I'm going to hazard a guess that this detailed replica of what some have dubbed Apple's "Jesus Phone" costs well less than $500 to bake. Incidentally it's not the only iPhone cake out there. Chris over at apartment therapy: the kitchen is trying to amass a gallery of the sweet gadgets. So far, he's got only two. So get baking all you gadget-crazy confectioners. [via Gothamist]
There is something about Japanese soft drinks, food, and candy treats that fascinates us here at Slashfood, and their chocolate bars are definitely no exception. Could you imagine biting into a Kit Kat stick, but rather than the regular chocolate and wafer flavor, you taste apple? If that isn't strange enough, how about Cherry Blossom or Melon?
The Japanese have certainly cornered the market on different varieties of the Kit Kat bar, with flavors ranging from Green Tea to Red Azuki Bean, to the premium "Exotic Tokyo" - a Japanese limited edition made with milk chocolate, passion fruit, raspberry, strawberry, cherry, blackcurrant and pepper. They even have an adult, Wine-flavored version, just in case the others are a little too tame for you.
In fact, as the folks over at InventorSpot have pointed out, Wikipedia now lists over 80 different varieties of the chocolate bar that have been in production at one point or another. Needless to say, I was a little disappointed this morning when I checked in at my local store and only found two different kinds available, but as we've said before, for some reason the flavored varieties just don't seem to do well over here or in the UK.
This time around I decided to get ambitious with Midnight Snack, or as ambitious as I get when a case of the late-night munchies hits. Earlier in the week I'd purchased a nice hunk of Roquefort cheese, some Polish bacon and a loaf of hearty Russian bread, that, I kid you not, is named "Healing Rye Bread." I've been happily noshing on those all week. Today I grabbed a couple of Fuji apples at the market.
Now I'd love to say that I planned to combine these ingredients in advance, but that's simply not true. Hunger is the mother of invention: And in this case that invention is a savory little thing I like to call the BAC. No, not blood alcohol content, but bacon, apple and cheese. It's essentially a grown-up grilled cheese.
Charlemagne's favorite cheese and the humble apple wait to meet their pal Mr. Bacon. In retrospect, I may have been a bit heavy-handed with the cheese. But the combination of the salty Roquefort, meaty bacon and the sweet apples woke up my sleepy palate.
Ingredients:
2 slices Russian rye or other whole-grain bread
5-7 slices of bacon
Half an apple, Fuji or otherwise, sliced
2-3 slices of Roquefort or other blue cheese
Recipe
Slice apple and cheese.
Place each on a respective slice of bread.
Cook and drain bacon.
Place bacon on top of cheese, layer apples on top, close sandwich.
Place sandwich in pan and cook until both sides are golden brown.
Note: If you must, drain the bacon grease before cooking the sandwich. This is a step that I decided to skip. After all, I used "Healing Rye Bread."
School administrators want to show their students that he line between right and wrong is hard and fast. They want to make sure that the students know where the boundaries lie and that they will face the consequences for crossing them. Different administrators do this with varying degrees of success and it is the ones who are firm but fair that end up with fewest disciplinary problems and the most respect from their students. The emphasis here should be on the "fair" part of the equation because it is easy to take this too far. A few months ago, we heard about a student who was punished because his father packed too much "junk food" in his lunch. This week, a student was given detention at the Wessex Community School in Cheddar, Somerset, England for "eating [an] apple outside a designated area, which [the headmaster] said was a breach of health and safety regulations." After refusing to attend after school detention on the grounds that the punishment did not fit the crime, the student was threatened with expulsion. All for eating an apple.
The school stands by the headmaster's zero-tolerance approach to rule breaking and has punished students for "not bringing a muffin to a cookery class" and sucking a mint (like an Altoid) while on the playground.
Waffles are wonderful breakfast food. They are hot, satisfying and a great excuse to use lots of maple syrup. Jess, from Get Sconed! is responsible for this tempting Cinnamon Apple Waffle, topped off with a few spices of fresh apple in addition to the requisite syrup. It is also quite healthy, as far as waffles go, because it is made with whole wheat pastry flour and oats for an extra serving of whole grains. Unfortunately, Jess didn't include the recipe that she used, although since she gave a few hints as to the ingredients in her post, the recipe is probably very similar to this one.
Some people are hesitant to make waffles for breakfast because it seems like a lot of work to do before you've had your morning coffee, but it really only takes a few minutes to whip up the batter and then the waffle iron does the rest of the work for you. And the pleasure of having a fresh waffle to go with that coffee is worth getting up for.
Hot chocolate, eggnog and even gingerbread lattes are all wonderful winter options, but there isn't anything quite like apple cider to warm you up. The smell of apples and spice really is the scent of the season. Cider, Hard and Sweet: History, Traditions, and Making Your Own is a great reference for all things cider-related. It has a detailed history of cider and cider-making, as well as information about the types of apples that make the best cider and exactly how to do it yourself. The author is very enthusiastic about his subject and is an engaging writer, so a casual reader will get a good overview while someone who is really intent on studying the subject will take away a good deal of knowledge. Sweet cider and fermented "hard" cider are covered in depth, but one feature that seems to be unique to this book is the chapter spent on Tasting and Evaluating Cider, which provides some insights into quality that you won't find anywhere else.
Take a good, long look at the picture to the right. The small size of the photo is misleading because that is a giant apple pie.
Weighing in at 13-pounds, the Levee High Caramel Apple Pecan Pie is the signature dessert of The Blue Owl restaurant and bakery in St. Louis. The pie is made by packing a pastry crust with approximately 18 apples, which are then topped with a caramel, pecan sauce. Since you can't easily ship a freshly baked pie, these pies cab be ordered online and shipped, frozen, straight to your kitchen where you can bake them up yourself. Instructions are included, but from the look of the pie, the biggest challenge will be trying to find enough people to help you eat it.
The big pie sells for $34.95 plus shipping, but if you're looking for something smaller, The Blue Owl also makes a Mini Levee High Caramel Apple Pecan Pie that only weighs 4 pounds for $6.95.
Since we were talking about the best apples to use in making pies last week, it put me in the mood to make one myself. I love making pies because, even though there is some prep work involved, the procedure is very straightforward. Also, I really enjoy making homemade pie crust. It's fun to get your fingers dirty and a flaky, homemade crust is better than one you can buy at the store - especially because you can taste the work that went into making it.
If you've never made a homemade pie before, winter is the perfect time to start and apple is the best kind to start with. Not only are the apples easy to work with, but the fact that the weather is colder makes it easier to handle the dough for the crust. In summer, you need to work faster to keep the butter from melting as you work it in to the flour. After the jump, you'll find a photo-heavy, step-by-step guide to making both the crust and the whole pie. I make my crusts with a combination of shortening (non-hydrogenated, for those who are concerned) and butter. The combination of butter, which adds flavor and some leavening, and shortening, which adds tenderness and flakiness will produce the best crusts. I use a 3-1 ratio, so not much shortening is needed.
The best apple for making a pie, or any sort of baked apple dish, is not necessarily the type that is best for eating out of hand for several reasons. When you choose an eating apple, the primary consideration is flavor, but even though flavor is reasonably important to the apple destined to go into a pie, the most important thing is texture. A pie apple must keep its shape during baking so that you have something to bite into and don't end up with apple sauce pie. The best apples for pies include Jonathan, Jonagold, Winesap, Pippin, and the classic Granny Smith. All, excluding the fairly tart Granny Smith, have a moderate level of tartness, which will be tempered by the sugar in your pie. If you want sweeter apples, Fuji, Pink Lady, Suncrisp, Rome Beauty, and Empire will work well, too. You will probably want to avoid Red Delicious apples, which are popular for eating, but won't hold their shape in the oven, turning watery and mealy instead.
If all else fails, it is a good idea to go for a mixture of apples, not only because you won't have to remember to look for one particular type, but to give the pie a well-rounded flavor.
If you are fortunate enough to have access to an apple tree (or several), you probably have had the pleasure of having fresh, homemade apple cider. Cider, in this case, is not the alcoholic beverage, but a minimally processed apple juice made by pressing as much juice as possible from the whole fruit. Often, cider apples are used to make commercial ciders, but if you want to try making cider at home, you will probably have good results with most types of apples, using a mixture of whatever fresh ones are available. A farmer's market is the best place to get apples if you can't get access to an orchard.
Once you have the apples and they are scrubbed clean, they are pulverized and the juice is strained out. For big batches, a cider mill and press is the easiest tool to have, but if you are willing to put a bit more muscle into yours, the food processor and a jelly bag (a very fine cheesecloth bag) can be used. Apples should be quartered and pureed, then the juice can be extracted by carefully pressing it out through the bag with pressure from a rolling pin.
Anyone who knows my family, knows that this house is a Mac house, so I thought it only fitting that my first post make it clear where my allegiance lies. This cake was made for my brother-in-law's birthday and with this group of apple addicts, I am sure I'll be getting requests to do more. 
American Fruits Bourbon Barrel Aged Apple Liqueur is 19.5 % abv. 39 proof and is made by the folks at Warwick Valley Winery in NY. The winery is actually better known for their authentic and tasty Doc's hard cider, then a few years ago they bought a still and started making brandies and eau de vie. I worked for awhile at a dairy farm just down the road from Warwick Winery at the time they just got their still, but was long gone when they released their line of spirits. I was at a farmers market in NY when I ran across their booth. It was late in the day and they were out of all the brandies and eau de vie, but they still had three of their liqueurs available. I got one of each and headed home. Well one thing led to another and they never got opened. Finally I have had the time to give one of them a taste.
School administrators want to show their students that he line between right and wrong is hard and fast. They want to make sure that the students know where the boundaries lie and that they will face the consequences for crossing them. Different administrators do this with varying degrees of success and it is the ones who are firm but fair that end up with fewest disciplinary problems and the most respect from their students. The emphasis here should be on the "fair" part of the equation because it is easy to take this too far. A few months ago, we heard about a student who was punished because his father 
The 
If you are fortunate enough to have access to an apple tree (or several), you probably have had the pleasure of having fresh, homemade apple cider. Cider, in this case, is not the alcoholic beverage, but a minimally processed apple juice made by pressing as much juice as possible from the whole fruit. Often, cider apples are used to make commercial ciders, but if you want to 
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