I wish you could all smell my house right now! It smells like heaven, all cinnamony and sweet! That's because I have been busy making a Hostess Gift today!
Whenever we are invited to someones house for a meal I like to bring a Hostess Gift along as a thank you! We are going to our friend's Tina and Tony's for lunch today and so I thought I would make something special for them to enjoy.
The last time we went I took along a loaf of my Irish Tea Brack. Oh, I know I could bring some After 8 Mints or some such, but I think a homemade gift is so much more personal!
I was going through my Big Blue Binder and this recipe for Pecan Crunch Snack Mix caught my eye and I happened to have everything in the house to make it. For those of you who don't know my Big Blue Binder is a recipe binder that I have been collecting recipes in throughout my life, since I was a small girl.
It is bulging with recipes gleaned from magazines, family and friends throughout the years and it has travelled all around the world with me. It is filled with the best of the best, and this is one of those recipes!
A few are clippings, but most are handwritten. I used to have beautiful handwriting. Not so much anymore. I have gotten out of practise. This is one of the hand written ones!
I have not noted the source of the recipe, but strongly suspect it was taken from an add for Shreddies breakfast cereal!
It makes for the perfect snack mixture and Hostess Gift. Sweet and salty . . .
Crisp and crunchy . . . with plenty of sugared pecans, toasted cereal and sweet stick dried cranberries . . .
And throughout the scent and flavour of cinnamon and honey . . . tantalisingly rich and wonderful . . .
It makes enough for two jars to give away and a small container to keep and is as easy as stirring together some cereal, nuts, cinnamon and cranberries . . .
and cooking a sweet concoction to toss them with, prior to spreading it all out on a baking sheet and toasting it in the oven for about half an hour. Easy Peasy!
Yield: 6 1/2 cups
Pecan Crunch Snack Mix
One from my big blue binder. I am sure I copied it from an ad in a magazine for Shreddies cereal. Delicious addictive! This makes great hostess gifts as well.
ingredients:
- 520g shreddies cereal (4 cups)
- 120g coarsely broken pecan nuts
- 50g dried cranberries (1/2 cup)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 50g soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)
- 60g butter (1/4 cup)
- 60ml corn syrup, golden syrup or honey (1/4 cup)
- 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
instructions:
How to cook Pecan Crunch Snack Mix
- Preheat the oven to 120*C/250*F/ gas mark 2. Butter a large baking sheet with a rim really well. Measure the cereal, pecans and cinnamon into a bowl and toss together.
- Combine the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly over medium high heat. Once it comes to the boil. allow it to boil for 2 minutes without stirring. Take off heat and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. It will foam up. Pour this over the cereal mixture in the bowl and toss to coat using a spoon. (The mixture will be very hot so don't touch it with your hands!!) Spread out on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring it every 8 to 10 minutes until crisp and lightly coated. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
This is so good I am glad that I am giving most of it away. Its far too dangerous to have around for very long! I hope that Tina and Tony enjoy it!
Up Tomorrow: Maple & Spice Corn Bread
If you are a North American who grew up in the sixties and seventies you would have had to live under a rock not to know who the Brady Bunch were!
It was a very popular half hour sitcom on the television! It was about a two widowers with children (her 3 daughters, him 3 sons) who married and became the Brady Bunch!
One episode that really sticks out in my memories was the one where Bobby Brady was doing an impression of Humphrey Bogart whilst saying Pork Chops & Applesauce.
Entitled "The Personality Kid," I believe it is probably the one episode which sticks out in most people's memories.
When I think of Pork Chops and Applesauce, I always think of this particular show and I always think of my mom who was tickled pink with it and used to like to repeat the phrase in Humphrey Bogart's voice as well when we were having pork chops and apple chops for supper! I guess it became a bit of a family tradition!
With fresh Bramley Apples coming into the shops at the moment, there is no time like the present to make a couple of batches of delicious apple sauce! Bramley Apples are the UK's favourite cooking apple.
Large and green and stout with flattened ends, green in colour with a red flush, these apples are perfect for making apple sauce, pies, crumbles, etc. I don't think they are readily available anywhere else in the world, so you will have to make do with whatever your favourite cooking apple is!
Apple sauce is such an easy make and you can do up batches and freeze it in containers for use over the winter. You just can't beat a batch of fresh apple sauce to serve along with your pork chops.
This apple sauce is not as sweet as the applesauce you might want to eat for dessert. It is slightly tart and rich from the addition of some butter.
You just put peeled and sliced apples into a saucepan along with some sugar and butter and cook over low heat until they break down.
Bramley apples are actually quite fluffy when they break down which makes them perfect for this sauce.
I don't mash it when done, I just beat it up with a fork. Perfection!
Bramley Apple Sauce
Yield: 6
Perfect in every way. Slightly tart with just a hint of sweetness. The perfect condiment to go with pork.
ingredients:
- 3 Bramley apples, peeled cored and sliced (or the equivalent of another cooking apple)
- 50g caster sugar (1/4 cup)
- 50g butter (3 1/2 TBS)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
instructions:
How to cook Bramley Apple Sauce
- Tip all of the ingredients into a pan. Cover with a lid. Cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, or until the apples are very soft and have broken down. Beat with a fork. Serve immediately or tip into a bowl, cover and chill until needed.
The chops themselves are also very easy to make. It is an old, old recipe that I copied out of one of my mother's recipe books many years ago.
It was a little paper back book containing recipes for cooking meats. I can still see the cover in my head, but the name escapes me. I must be getting old!
These chops always turn out tender and delicious. It is a very simple way to cook them and is really more of a technique than a recipe.
Bone in loin pork chops are dusted with some herbs and seasonings. I like to slash the fatty edge with some kitchen scissors.
This simple trick prevents them from curling up when they are cooking.
I then lay them on a buttered baking sheet and sprinkle some bread crumbs over top and dot with butter.
The original author used to pour water or stock around them in the baking dish, but I have always used apple juice.
It imparts a slight apple flavour to the sweet succulence of pork that is quite delicious!
You could use pineapple instead if you wanted to. The acid from the fruit juice helps to tenderise the meat.
That's my story anyways and I'm sticking to it. Sometimes I flip them over and repeat the treatment on the other side halfway through the cooking. Sometimes I don't.
They always come out delicious no matter what. Pork Chops and Applesauce! Why not cook some today!
Yield: variable
Oven Baked Breaded Pork Chops
This is more of a method than a recipe. It is the way I have been doing my breaded pork chops for years and years. They always end up tender and moist. The crumbs on the bottom don't alway stick, but they do meld into the juices to make a lucious sauce and the crumbs on the top always stay put. All in all they are truly delicious.
ingredients:
- 1 bone in pork chop per person
- salt, pepper, dried sage and onion granules
- 2 TBS of fine dry bread crumbs per chop
- butter to dot
- apple juice
instructions:
How to cook Oven Baked Breaded Pork Chops
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Cut the fatty edge of the chop (s) with some kitchen scissors at 1/3 inch intervals and place it/them onto a baking sheet with a raised edge, which you have lined with foil and buttered. the size of baking sheet depeds on how many chops you are cooking. Obviously if you are only cooking one or two you will want a smaller baking tray.
- Dust the top surface of each chop with some salt, pepper, sage (rubbed between your fingertips) and onion granules to taste. Then sprinkle a tablespoon of bread crumbs evenly over top of each one. Dot with butter. Pour apple juice into the baking tray evenly around the chops, trying not to disturb the crumbs on top.
- Place the tray into the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, checking to make sure the apple juice does not boil dry in the pan. Once the crumbs have begun to brown on top, remove the pan from the oven.
- Carefully turn each chop over without disturbing the crumb topping and repeat the process for seasoning and crumbing on the underside. If you need more juice in the pan, once again pour it around the chops.
- Return the pan to the oven and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, until nicely browned on top and the juices have thickened into a bit of a sauce. Check every 5 to 6 minutes or so to make sure the pan is not going dry and top up with more juice if need be. Serve hot with some of the pan juices spooned over top. Fabulous!
My husband loves pork chops. He was in heaven. I served these with the apple sauce, baked potatoes, green beans, carrots and cauliflower cheese. Yes, he is a bit spoiled, but why not! He's always most appreciative!
I love living where I do in Chester. When we lived down in Kent, I really missed Chester.
It is in a beautiful location, right on the border to Wales, with quick and easy access to the Coast, the Welsh Mountains, the North along with the Lake District, Lancashire, and the Yorkshire Dales.
Once you get into that area we are also only an hour or so from Scotland. Chester itself is a magnificent city filled with lots of things to see and do.
The area we lived in down in Kent was a prime fruit growing area and we were surrounded by orchards. They were filled with apples and pears.
I do confess that at this time of year I miss having access to drops for use in pies and such. My Husband loves apple pies and desserts. I don't make them for him often enough I don't think. Most men are quite fond of apple desserts I think!
My father always loved it when my mother would bake an apple pie for him. He liked apple turnovers also!
The recipe I am sharing with you today comes from this Pillsbury Cook booklet that I got in Canada, back in 1991. In Canada they used to have (not sure if they still do) an area by the Til's in the grocery stores where they kept some magazines and such.
These served as a further temptation for you while you were waiting for your turn. I always found these far more tempting than the candy, chips or chocolate bars!
I have quite a few of these cook booklets in my collection, probably about 30 or so. I have my favourites and you can tell which ones those are because the covers are loose and the pages splattered.
This particular one is one of my favourites. I look forward to taking it out every Autumn and cooking from it's pages, even if I do have to adapt some of the recipes to what I have available here in the UK! This hasn’t always been easy, I confess!
I have learned to adapt through the years. It was a bit hard doing so at first because I wasn’t all that knowledgeable about British ingredients!
I learned as I went along, however and I think I could adapt most things now, quite reasonably.
This recipe I am sharing is for a quick and easy Apple Pie Fold-over tart. It uses a sheet uses a sheet of ready roll pie pastry, or what they call short crust pastry here. In North America, just use ordinary pastry.
You could also make your own pastry if you wanted to. I have a great recipe for that here.
You will need to scroll down the page a bit to near the bottom. It is a butter/lard pastry and is excellent! It is my pastry recipe of choice!
Lovely and flaky. It does make two crusts, but that's not a problem as you can easily freeze one half of the pastry to use another time.
Just shape it into a disk, wrap it up tightly, and freeze. Ready to remove from the freezer and thaw overnight sometime when you are in need of a single crust.
This simple tart boasts a delicious and easy to make apple filling. In the autumn/winter months I always keep a bowl of apples in the house.
I like to keep a mix of eating and cooking apples. My favourites are Pink Ladies of Jazz for eating, and Granny Smiths for cooking.
For this recipe peeled and sliced apples are cooked with a bit of brown sugar and lemon juice just until the apple softens . . .
I used a mic of sweet eating and sour cooking.
Once the apples have cooked, the mixture is thickened with a mix of flour, sugar and salt. It thickens up lickety split.
It actually goes together very quickly.
You stir in a knob of butter and some vanilla and your filling is made. You just need to allow it to cool down before using it.
Lay out your pastry on a sheet of baking paper. I like to cut some fancy holds out of one half of the pastry.
Our ready roll pastry sheets are rectangular shaped here in the UK, I know they are round in North America.
Today I used one of my "Autumn" cookie cutters. I reckon it is probably a pumpkin shape, but it also works well as an apple shape.
You can save the cutouts to use as a decoration on top. They look quite pretty I think!
Spread your filling on the uncut side of the pastry, and fold the cut side over top, crimping the edges all around. Brush with some milk, apply the cutouts, sprinkle with some demerara sugar or sanding sugar and bake.
Easy peasy, lemon squeasy as they say!! Half an hour or so later your loved ones are enjoying it!
Yield: 4
Apple Pie Foldover
A simple and quick and delicious apple tart that your family will love.
ingredients:
- 3 medium tart apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
- 50g soft light brown sugar (1/4 cup)
- 1 TBS water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 TBS plain flour
- 1 TBS white sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp mixed spice (apple pie spice)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 TBS butter
- 1 single sheet of ready rolled short crust pastry
- 1 TBS milk
- demerara sugar for sprinkling
instructions:
How to cook Apple Pie Foldover
- Combine the apples, brown sugar, water and lemon juice in a saucepan. Cook over moderate heat until it starts to bubble, stirring occasionally. Cover and reduce the heat to low and cook for 6 to 8 minutes until the apples are tender, stirring occasionally. Mix together the flour, white sugar, salt and spice. Stir this into the apple mixture and cook until the mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla and butter. Let stand and cool for 15 to 20 minutes. Take the crust out of the packet and leave it to sit while the filling cools.
- Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Unwrap and unroll the pastry, pressing out any fold lines. (I do this on a sheet of baking parchment.) Spread the filling onto half of the pastry to within half an inch of the edges. (I like to cut out shapes from the other half.) Fold the other half of the pastry over top of the apple filled side. Press together and flute the edges. If you have cut out shapes apply the cut outs now. If you haven't cut some vents in the top of the pastry. Brush with milk and sprinkle with demerara sugar.
- Transfer the sheet of baking paper holding the pie onto a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool somewhat or completely before serving.
Hubby was in Seventh Heaven when he was enjoying this. I liked that it only made a small tart, enough for four. Larger pies don't really get eaten up here.
I either have to give half of them away, or they get thrown. This was the perfect size! He had to enjoy it with some ice cream on top this time as I didn't feel like making custard. But then again, what is vanilla ice cream really but frozen custard!
Up Tomorrow: Pork Chops with Homemade Applesauce
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons