Adventures in Thyme

Our adventures in food

Fried-Apple Pie

by 1 Comment

Fried-Apple Pie by D Fenwick

Fried-Apple Pie

 

Fall is in the air and apples are proving gravity does exist and falling in great abundance so catch a few and make a delicious apple pie!

Ingredients:

6 medium to large, tart baking Apples
Butter
3 Eggs
1/2 cup Sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons Molasses
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
handful Raisins
1 to 2 tablespoons Raw Sugar
Pie crusts for a 9 inch pie

Instructions:

Peel and slice the apples. Fry the apple slices in a skillet with a pat or two of butter. I fried them about 2 apples worth at a time. You will need 4 cups of fried apples per pie.  When done, set aside and let the apples cool until they are warm, not hot.

While the apples cool, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and begin to assemble the rest of the filling.

Beat two eggs. Add the sugar and molasses and stir until well combined. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg stirring to incorporate. Now add the raisins and stir. Add the fried apples. Toss to coat with the egg and sugar mixture.

Using a 9 inch pie pan place one pie crust in the bottom of the pan. Add your apple mixture. Add a top crust (if solid, slit to allow steam to escape.) Beat your remaining egg and brush the crust with the egg. Sprinkle with raw sugar.

Place the pie on the middle rack in the oven and bake 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Now you can say you DO follow your Mom’s advice and eat an apple a day, okay there’s some sugar involved, and a wee bit of spice, but still – it’s fruit!

Taco Casserole

by Leave a Comment

Taco Casserole by D Fenwick, http://dfenwickphotography.com

Taco Casserole

Today we offer you a dish that can be thrown together with little fuss and can easily feed unexpected guests that drop by around meal time.  Enjoy!

2 lbs ground Bison (ground beef or ground turkey will work just fine)
1 bag Tortilla Chips (family size, not the individual bags)
1 8oz can Tomato Sauce
1 16oz can Refried Beans
Taco Seasoning (use your own or our recipe here)
Grated Cheddar Cheese
Fresh Cilantro, chopped
1 or 2 fresh Tomatoes, diced

Brown your ground meat. Once it is browned, drain off the fat. Add your favorite taco seasoning (no water) and the 8 oz. can of tomato sauce. Stir and bring to a simmer. Let cook a few minutes and then remove from heat.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 F.

Take a 9×13 baking dish and spread the 16 oz. can of refried beans evenly in the bottom. Take two large handfuls of tortilla chips, break them up and incorporate into the meat in your skillet. Take this mixture and spread evening over the top of the refried beans. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until heated through. Remove from the oven and top with tortilla chips. Liberally sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese over the top of the tortilla chips. Place under your broiler for a few minutes until the tortilla chips begin to toast and the cheese melts. Remove from the over. Top with diced tomato and freshly chopped cilantro. (You could also add avocado, sour cream or your other favorite taco toppings.)

Serve hot. Enjoy.

Fig and Nectarine Tart

by Leave a Comment

Fig and Nectarine Tart by D Fenwick, http://dfenwickphotography.com

Fig and Nectarine Tart

This week we have a simple dessert that takes advantage of late summer’s bounty – nectarines and figs.  It’s a simple tart that is not only delightful to look at but super yummy too!

1 large Nectarine
2 or 3 ripe Figs
6 ounces Chevre (if you want sweeter, use cream cheese) at room temperature
Pie Dough (homemade or from the grocery store)
1 Egg
Honey

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Peel and slice the nectarine into thin slices (for 4 tarts you will need about 20 slices).  Cut the figs into wedges (for 4 tarts you will need about 20 wedges).

Beat the egg until well blended.

Roll your pie dough into 6 inch circles. Onto a parchment covered baking sheet lay the circles of dough. Spread 1.5 ounces of chevre onto each circle, leaving about 1 inch of clean dough around the edges. Lay out your nectarine slices and fig wedges on the cheese. Now, carefully fold the clean edge up and over the fruit and cheese (see photo above).  Use a pastry brush and brush all of the exposed pie dough with the egg.

Place your baking sheet in the oven and back for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool until they are warm. Drizzle with honey and serve immediately.

Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes

by Leave a Comment

Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes by D Fenwick, http://dfenwickphotography.com

Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes

Ever have one of those days where a comforting breakfast after work is just what you need to unwind?  Well, we had one of those days.  So what better to forget the stress of deadlines and ease “ruffled feathers” then a blueberry pancake with warm maple syrup.  Oh, and I did I mention the ricotta?  Silly me…

This pancake recipe is based on a standard recipe in many old cookbooks. We’ve modified it for our use here.

Ingredients:

4 cups Flour
2 tablespoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Sugar
4 Eggs
3 cups Milk
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup Ricotta (we used ricotta made from sheep’s milk)
1 pound fresh Blueberries
Maple syrup, warmed

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Form a bowl in the center of the dry ingredients.

Lightly beat the 4 eggs and combine the wet ingredients, except for the cheese. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir gently to combine. Gently mix the cheese into the batter.  Be careful not to over mix the cheese, just gently fold it into the batter.  You’ll want some lumps to retain their plumpness – this will make for a yummier pancake later.

Let the batter stand for a few minutes while your griddle heats.

Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to measure out your batter onto your lightly greased griddle, spread slightly as you pour it on. Immediately place some blueberries into the batter for each pancake (this keeps your pancakes from turning blue.) Cool until golden brown on one side, flip and cook on the other side.

Serve hot with butter, fresh blueberries and warm syrup; and don’t forget your fuzzy slippers.  Enjoy!

Beef Pot Pie

by 1 Comment

Beef Pot Pie by D Fenwick, http://dfenwickphotography.com

Beef Pot Pie

Our little corner of paradise had a wonderful rainy spell lately.   So despite the fact that our normal temperatures are in the 90s, we had a hankering for pot pies.  Ideal for a stormy evening when all you want to do is snuggle down with a good book and listen to raindrops.

For the Filling:

1 1/4 lbs Beef (stew meat, roast, or what have you)
1/2 cup Flour
Salt Pepper

1 can diced Tomatoes
1 cup Red Wine
1 cup Beef Stock
1/2 medium onion
2 white Sweet Potatoes (about the size of a baking potato)
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
few sprigs of fresh Thyme
2 leaves fresh Sage

12 oz. cut Green Beans (fresh or frozen)

For the Pastry:

2 cups Flour
2 sticks Butter
1 teaspoon Salt
2 eggs
1 tablespoon ice water

4 medium ramicans or other containers for baking your pot pies.

Combine 1/2 cup flour, some salt and pepper in a large ziplock bag. Cut your beef into small bite sized pieces and place in the zip lock back with the flour. Seal and shake to coat the beef evenly.

Heat a little oil in a medium sized pan, over medium heat. When the oil is hot, remove the beef from the bag, shaking off any excess flour, and place into the pan. Brown over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides.

While the beef is cooking, slice half of a medium onion.

When the beef is browned, add the onion, canned tomatoes, red wine, salt, pepper, cinnamon, thyme and sage to the pan, stir well and let cook over medium low or medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes.

While this is cooking, we’ll make the pastry. In your food processor, combine the flour, salt and butter and pulse until it forms pea sized pieces. Lightly beat 1 egg and add to the food processor, pulse until it is well blended in. Add about 1 tablespoon of ice water and pulse. The dough should form a ball in the food processor. If it’s too dry, add a little more ice water. (Not this dough is wet and somewhat sticky.) Form the dough into a ball and kneed for a few minutes. Cut the dough into 4 evenly sized pieces. Flour a board and roll the dough out until each piece is larger in diameter than your baking dishes for the pot pies. (You can set the pieces aside separated by parchment if you wish.)

Beat your remaining egg.

Heat your oven to 350 degrees F.

When the filling has cooked, remove from heat and add the green beans. Split the filling evenly amongst your 4 ramicans.  Tip: don’t over fill!   Using a pastry brush, brush egg around the top-outside of your baking dish and place the pastry on top. Fold over the edges and press down. The egg will seal the pastry to the top of the baking dish. Repeat for each baking dish. Make a small slit in the top of each pot pie to release the steam during baking. Brush the top of each pie with beaten egg so it browns up.  Optional: You can sprinkle a little kosher salt on top too.

Place your pot piece on the middle rack in your oven and cook for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes, serve hot.

For variations, feel free to use regular potatoes instead of sweet, add or substitute whatever vegetables you prefer and if you don’t like to cook with wine, substitute a second cup of beef stock, or 1/2 cup of beef stock and a small can of tomato sauce.

Enjoy!