Apple Walnut Cake

Use a cast iron skillet for this one. I used coconut palm sugar which made it nice and brown. This is from Epicurious.

• 1 cup raw walnuts or pecans
• 10 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 small or 3 large baking apples (such as Pink Lady), peeled, halved, cored
• ½ c (packed) light brown sugar, divided
• 1 c flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ c granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ c Greek yogurt, room temperature
• Lightly sweetened, softly whipped cream (for serving)

1. Place a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350°F. Spread out walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast, tossing once, until golden brown, 10–12 minutes. Let cool.
2. Meanwhile, heat a 10″ ovenproof skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium. Add 2 Tbsp. butter and swirl to coat; arrange apple halves cut sides down in a single layer in skillet. Cook apples, undisturbed, rotating skillet on burner as needed for even browning, until cut sides are golden brown, 5–10 minutes (the timing depends on the juiciness of the apples; juicier apples will take longer). Turn apples over and cook on rounded sides just until they start to release their juices and the tip of a knife slides through with slight resistance, about 5 minutes. Transfer apples to a plate, arrange cut sides up, and let cool.
3. Add ¼ cup brown sugar and 1 Tbsp. water to skillet and set over medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon or heatproof rubber spatula until sugar is dissolved, then cook, swirling skillet occasionally (do not stir at this point), until thick and bubbling in a thin layer, about 1 minute. Let caramel cool in skillet.
4. Meanwhile, pulse toasted walnuts, flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, and 1½ tsp. cinnamon in a food processor until combined and nuts are finely ground. Transfer walnut mixture to a medium bowl.
5. Combine granulated sugar, remaining ¼ cup brown sugar, and remaining 8 Tbsp. butter in food processor (no need to wash it) and process in long pulses until mixture is light and smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and process in long pulses, scraping down sides of processor once, until mixture is smooth. Add half of walnut mixture and pulse to combine, then add yogurt and pulse just until incorporated. Add remaining walnut mixture and pulse just to combine.
6. Arrange apple halves cut sides down over cooled caramel in skillet, spacing evenly. Fold batter a few times with spatula, scraping sides to make sure everything is well mixed. Scrape batter over apples and work into spaces around apples. Smooth surface (it’s okay if there’s only a thin layer of batter in places; it will rise in the oven).
7. Bake cake until it is browned across the entire surface and the center springs back when gently pressed, 30–40 minutes. Let cake cool in skillet 10 minutes, then run an offset spatula or a small knife around the sides of the pan to loosen. Set a wire rack upside down on skillet and flip over to release cake; carefully remove skillet. If any apples or cake stick to skillet, scrape them off and press back onto the top of the cake.
8. Serve cake warm or room temperature. Slice into wedges and top with dollops of whipped cream and a dusting of cinnamon.
9. Do Ahead: Cake can be baked 2 days ahead. Let cool completely. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.

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Waldorf Chicken Salad

This salad is so wonderful, creamy, crunchy, and oh so delicious! It comes together quickly too!

• 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 2 stalk Celery, Thinly Sliced
• 1 whole Apple, Chopped
• 3/4 cups Dried Cranberries
• 3/4 c roasted nuts
• 3/4 c Mayonnaise
• 1/4 c Sour Cream
•  Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1/4 Lemon, Juiced

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Place chicken on a baking sheet and season generously with salt and pepper. Bake in preheated oven for about 23–25 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF. Allow to cool completely and slice into bite-sized pieces.

Place chicken, celery, apple, cranberries, nuts, mayonnaise, and sour cream in a large bowl. Mix until well combined. Taste and add salt, pepper, and lemon juice if needed. 

Serve immediately. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Apple Brie Grilled Sandwich

This is my version of Skinny Taste’s sandwich. I added some mustard and used thinly sliced apples.

• 4 slices of bread

1 Apple sliced thin

TJs light brie or other soft cheese (remove the ribs if using brie)

Fig spread

Dijon

Butter

Spread fig spread on 2 slices of bread, top with thinly sliced apples and brie, spread Dijon on the other two slices and top with thinly sliced apple, and sandwich together. Spread some butter on the outside of the bread and cook low and slow on a griddle until they outside is toasted and the cheese is melted. Flipping a couple times so it browns evenly. Cut in half and serve.

Serves 2.

Green Juice

I just toss everything in the Vitamix for this one – why waste the fiber? So good!

• 1 green apple, cored
• 1/2 English cucumber
• 1 rib celery
• 1 c firmly packed spinach
• 1/2 lemon peeled
• 1/2 inch piece of ginger
• 1 c filtered water

Toss in the blender and process till smooth.

Serves 1 – 2.

Breakfast Bowl

This is a quick and easy whole 30 breakfast – just make sure you eat an extra serving of veggie at lunch or dinner. This is quite tasty and would also work well as a pancake.

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana, mashed
2 eggs
1/2 apples, chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp almond butter
2 tbsp unsweetened coocnut flakes
Coconut oil or ghee for cooking
2 tbsp almond

Whisk together eggs, banana, apple and cinnamon. 

Heat ghee or oil in a small pan over medium heat, add egg mixture and cook until cook through, either like an omelette or scramble.

Too with coconut flakes and almond butter.

Serves 1.p

Langoustine Salad

  
This salad is so simple, perfect for a hot summer night. 

Ingredients:
1 lb cooked langoustines or lobster
8 oz green beans, steamed for 3 minites, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 granny smith apple, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 avocado, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 c greek yogurt
1 TBSP dijon
1/4 c chives, snipped fine

Whisk yogurt and dijon and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Gently toss with remaining ingredients. 

Serves 2 – 4.

Chicken Salad

 Patricia Wells does it again with this tasty chicken salad!

Ingrediets:
1 c greek yogurt
1 tsp curry powder
1 TBSP lemon juice
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 c celery, diced
1 lb cooked chicken, cubed
1 granny smith apple,diced

Combine all ingredient in a large bowl. Serve on bread or lettuce.

Serves 4.

Apple Galette

This is from Bon Appetit. It’s a quick and easy dessert that looks impressive and tastes heavenly.

Ingredients:
1/4 c salted butter
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
All-purpose flour (for dusting)
1 pound baking apples, scrubbed, sliced 1/8″ thick
3 TBSP dark muscovado or dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 TBSP granulated sugar

Tart Dough:
1 TBSP sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 c flour
6 TBSP chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 egg, beaten to blend

Pulse sugar, salt, and 1 c flour in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with a few pea-size pieces remaining. Drizzle egg over butter mixture and pulse a couple times until dough just comes together.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth (a few dry spots are okay). Form dough into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, at least 2 hours.

For the galette:
Place a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 375°.

Place butter in a small saucepan and scrape in vanilla seeds; add pod. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until butter foams, then browns (be careful not to burn), 5-8 minutes. Remove pan from heat and remove pod.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into a rough 14×10″ rectangle about 1/8″ thick.

Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Arrange apples on top, overlapping and leaving a 1 1/2″ border.

Brush apples with brown butter and sprinkle with muscovado sugar. Lift edges of dough over apples, tucking and overlapping as needed to keep rectangular shape.

Beat egg with 1 tsp water in a small bowl and brush crust with egg wash. Sprinkle with granulated sugar and bake, rotating once, until apples are soft and juicy and crust is golden brown, 40-50 minutes. Let cool slightly on baking sheet before slicing.

Serve with whipped cream.

Serves 6 – 8.

Porchetta, Fennel, and Apple Hand Pies

Trader Joe’s is now selling cooked Porchetta – simply reheat and voila you have dinner, it’s really quite amazing. I decided to use this porky goodness to create a hand pie with fennel, apple, onion and hazelnuts – they turned out delicious!! You can always freeze these for a quick weeknight meal. Serve with salad and your all set.

Ingredients:
2 sheets of puff pastry, defrosted
8 oz Porchetta, medium dice
1 fennel bulb, medium dice
2 apples, cored, medium dice
1 onion, small dice
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp thyme
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/4 hazelnuts, toasted, chopped
Egg white

Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicon mat.

In a large skillet heat some oil over low heat, add fennel, apple, onion, garlic, thyme and sauté about 10 minutes, until softened. Add pork and hazelnuts stir to combine and remove from heat.

On a floured surface, roll out puff pastry, until it is thin. Cut into rectangles and place about 1/2 c of filling in each (you may need to adjust, you want the pies pretty full), fold over the puffed pastry and form into a crescent shape, crimp the edges and place on baking sheet. Repeat.

Chill pies for 15 – 30 minutes.

Combine 2 TBSP egg white with 1 TBSP water and brush pies with wash.

Bake 20 – 30 minutes until golden brown.

Makes 8 – 12 pies.

Apple Sharlotka

I love a simple apple dessert – thanks F&W for the inspiration.

Ingredients:
5 Granny Smith apples:cored, halved and thinly sliced
1 TBSP lemon juice
3/4 c sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 TBSP flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
Salt
3 eggs
1/2 tsp almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease the bottom and side of an 9-inch springform pan.

In a large bowl, toss the apples with the lemon juice and 2 TBSP of the sugar and let stand for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the flour with the cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

In a stand mixer, beat the eggs with the almond extract and the remaining sugar at medium-high speed until thick and pale yellow and a ribbon forms when the beaters are lifted, 8 to 10 minutes. Gently fold in the dry ingredients just until incorporated.

Spread the apples in the prepared pan in an even layer, then pour the batter evenly over them. Let stand for 5 minutes to allow the batter to sink in a little.

Bake for about 1 hour, until it is golden and crisp on top and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Transfer to a rack and let rest for 15 minutes. Unmold and transfer to a serving platter.

Serves 8 – 10.