{things i learned} my week through instagram
1. raisin scone #morning #yummy #bakery #food
2. snuggling with our friend's dog #cute #mushy #dog #puppy #pet #shihtzu #notminebutwishhewas
3. chocolate soufflés, hot from the oven #chocoholic #desserts #baking #yum #foodporn
4. champagne & raspberries #drinks #cheers #saturday #datenight
5. steamer clams #appetizers #food #amazing
6. salmon en croûte #dinner #food #yum
{things i made} dutch apple pie
It's hard to imagine improving apple pie, but somehow topping the treat with sweet crumbs does just that. It's funny to think that I used to be overwhelmed by the idea of baking a pie from scratch–homemade crust? cutting the fruit to the perfect size? a super-long bake-time?–but to be honest this is now one of the easiest desserts I make. Don't skimp on the spices (I've put in much more than I've written here and the results always have been spectacular). So what's the most difficult thing about this dessert? Deciding whether or not to pair a finished slice with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream or both.
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Pastry:
2-2/3 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup canola oil
6 tablespoons skim milk
1. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Put the oil in a measuring cup then add the milk without stirring. Pour mixture into the flour and mix briefly. Do not refrigerate.
3. Flatten dough by rolling on floured surface or between two sheets of wax paper (the crust is easily repairable). Place in pan.
Crumb topping:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup Flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3-4 tablespoons canola oil
1. Mix oil into dry ingredients until well blended. Set aside.
Filling:
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 pound(s) Granny Smith and/or Braeburn apples, peeled, cored, and cut into wedges
1 tablespoon(s) fresh lemon juice
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In large bowl, combine sugar with cornstarch and spices. Add apples and lemon juice and toss to coat evenly.
2. Spoon apple mixture into prepared crust. Fold overhang up over the pie-plate's rim and pinch to form a decorative edge. Top evenly with crumb mixture.
3. Bake pie 1 hour 10 minutes or until apples are tender when pierced with knife (to prevent burning, cover pie loosely with tented foil after 40 minutes). Cool pie on rack 3 hours to serve warm, or refrigerate to serve cold later.
{things i made} chocolate-almond crinkle cookies
I would be lying if I said I had a favorite dessert–there are just too many that I love for me to pick only one. However chocolate is definitely the ingredient that unites them all so these rich little cookies easily earn a top spot. If you've never tried so-called "crinkle cookies" you're in for a treat. Not only are they delicious, they are a lot of fun to bake: they start out small, puff up in the oven to crack their powderd-sugary coating, and stay perfectly chewy for days.
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Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
3 tablespoons of canola oil
3 large eggs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
1 cup confectioners sugar
Directions
1. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Melt chocolate with oil in a medium pan over low heat, stirring until smooth.
3. Remove from heat and stir in eggs, granulated sugar, and almond extract.
4. Stir in flour mixture, then stir in almonds. Chill covered until firm, about 2 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 350 F. Sift confectioners sugar onto a plate. Roll heaping tablespoons of dough into balls and roll balls as formed in confectioners sugar to generously coat.
6. Arrange balls 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until puffed and cracked but centers are still a bit soft, 10 to 12 minutes total. Transfer to racks to cool.
{things i learned} disney dining
[an iconic mickey premium bar: vanilla ice cream with a dark chocolate coating]
[a decadent breakfast: macadamia pineapple pancakes from the polynesian's kona cafe]
[an individual torta di nocciole "cortemilia": hazelnut polenta cake with piemonte sweet cream from epcot's tutto italia]
[a coconut paleta: traditional mexican fruit popsicle from epcot's la cantina de san angel]
[smoked salmon on toasted sourdough bread with a goat cheese spread, hard boiled egg slices, and red onion: a traditional norwegian favorite from epcot's kringla bakeri og kafe]
[a sweet-but-tart 1970's classic: the citrus swirl ice cream cup from the magic kingdom's sunshine tree terrace]
[a handmade dark chocolate-covered sea salt caramel piece from the epcot's german karamell-küche by werther's original]
[poolside drinks: a coconut water mojito and a grand margarita on the rocks]
[exuberantly-colored treats: chocolate-dipped sprinkle-coated marshmallows on a neon mickey-shaped twist straw]
At some point while I've been going through my vacation photos, I've realized that I may have taken more pictures of food than of people (just kidding–sorta…there really are a lot). It was almost impossible to choose which ones to share with you–they all look as good and as interesting as they tasted. I've said it before and I'll say it again: if you think Walt Disney World simply features "classic" (read: unappetizing) theme-park fare, you couldn't be more wrong. Their food selections are varied and range from the wildly kitschy to the carefully authentic. My personal favorite? That Torta di Nocciole "Cortemilia"–I have a huge weakness for anything with chocolate, hazelnuts, or cream. It was heaven on a perfectly decorated plate.
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