This may be a total shocker to some of you, but in third grade I was not the cool girl.

Definitely not the cool girl. But I also wasn’t the weird girl, the girl that smelled nor the girl that was super jockey and athletic.

I was just way normal. Like really normal. Too normal for my own good. So I’m pretty sure I just kinda faded into the background…

The cool girls were the sprightly blond ones. Their hairs were always French braided. They wore a lot of pink. They were talkative and outgoing. The boys liked to punch them, in a good way (I think). And they had awesome packed lunches. (Read: Lunchables, Cheetos, Snack Packs.)

I was like, the antithesis of the situation you just read.

My dad thought it was a genius idea to buy me boys’ tennis shoes because he thought they were “designed” better. So yeah…I have him to thank for that. I was shy and quiet and observant. And my hair was frizzy and always sort of a mess. My mom, nor I, could French braid despite how many times we tried.

And my lunch…ugh…my lunch was always kind of lame. Think like, hummus, crudites and…arroz con pollo. Tell me! …how is a child supposed to be cool with yellow rice in their lunchbox?!?!

But now…I’m a totally different person. I know how to use a blow-dryer. My clothes are better. That lunch would actually make me excited. And I know how to do regular braids, French braids and fishtails. Yeah…I totally graduated to braiding pro status.

Despite who you were in third grade, everyone can braid this cheese danish. Everyone.

Let’s talk frozen puff pastry. Sure…you can make your own, if you’re up for that. But if you’re not, try and buy the good stuff.

You’ll be able to spot it because puff pastry should only have a few ingredients: flour, water, salt and BUTTER. A lot of the ones at the store have oils instead of butter.

I found my puff pastry at Whole Foods for $10 for two sheets. (I usually buy Dufour but this one was the brand Toque.)

A little pricey…but the quality was amazing. So so worth it.

You’re going to start by throwing all of the filing ingredients in a bowl and mixing them up. It’ll smell tart. And delicious.

Next up you want to slice the apples and toss them with a little lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon.

Fall in a bowl. Fall in a bowl.

Take your defrosted puff pastry and roll it out. Mine was an annoying circle, so I had to cut it into a rectangle. No biggie!

Cut off the top corners. And make triangular notches in the bottom part of the rectangle.

Then make slits down both sides. Those are gonna be the pretty braids.

Fill the center with a few tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture and smooth it out.

Lay the apple slices down the center…

Fold in the bottom and top flaps…

And then braid! Sorta. This is when it gets really easy.

Simply fold over the strips, alternating between sides.

P.S. If you need more visuals, this video really helps!

Trim away any leftover strips or dough.

And when you’re done…it’ll look like this!

Brush it with a little egg wash action, stick in the oven and bake.

While it’s doing its thing in the oven, mix up the icing. Just powdered sugar and a tiny bit of milk. I had to play with the consistency a bit. I wanted it to be thick.

And then…pour it all over the warm apple cheese danish..

The filing in this cheese danish is just the perfect amount of tartness; it isn’t overly sweet, which makes the icing welcome…perhaps even necessary?!

And the cinnamon and sugar speckled apples practically become one with the cheese…after the 20 minute baking time. This is all such a good thing.

When I took a bite, the first thing that came to mind was how perfect this danish would be for that certain holiday where people get presents in late December. I can’t bring myself to mention it this early. I just can’t…I’d totally end up hating myself…

But for real, this thing really would be perfect for it.

Apple Cheese Danish

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Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoon ricotta
1 lemon, zest and juice used
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt
5 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 Gala apples
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 box of frozen puff pastry (mine contained two circular sheets of puff pastry), defrosted

Icing:
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon whole milk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, place the cream cheese, ricotta, lemon zest, vanilla, salt, 4 tablespoons of sugar and mix until smooth, using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Set aside.

Peel and slice your apples into 1/4-inch slices. In a small bowl toss them with 1 tablespoon of sugar, cinnamon and juice from the one lemon.

Carefully unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry and roll slightly with a floured rolling pin until it’s about 1/4-inch in thickness. Since mine was a circle, I cut it into an 11″ x 8″ rectangle. Transfer the sheet of puff pastry to a piece of parchment.

At an angle, slice off the top corners and cut two notches in the bottom. Slice 1-inch strips diagonally down both sides of the puff pastry, leaving the center uncut. Try to cut the same amount of strips on both sides. I had about 8 strips per side.

Add three tablespoons of cream cheese filling, spreading it evenly down the center of the puff pastry. Top with apple slices.

Fold in the bottom and top flaps. Braid the puff pastry, by folding the strips over the filing, alternating sides, until you’ve worked your way down the puff pastry. Using your knife, trim off any leftover strips or extra dough.

Transfer the danish (with parchment) to a baking sheet, and brush top with egg wash. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until puffed up and golden brown.

Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry.

While baking, mix confectioner’s sugar with milk and mix. When the danish comes out of the oven, drizzle top with icing and serve warm.

Yields 2 Medium Danishes

BIRTHDAY ALERT!!!

This post is totally not supposed to be about me eating forty apple chips in one sitting. That wasn’t my intention when I went to the store on Friday.

I was there to buy seven-layer-gradient-glitter-birthday-cake ingredients. (I was dreaming up a cake that matched my nails.) Instead I left with a big brown bag of apples.

I think it was a subconcious move to avoid my birthday. Typically, I’m totally not a good birthday person. I don’t like to throw myself parties, or bake myself cakes, or even let most people know it’s my big day.

The whole thing usually just gives me an anxiety attack and makes my face red and arms sweat. But this year I decided to shake the bad birthday attitude, man-up and celebrate. So here I am…

Just making myself some Apple Chips.

These chips are about thirty steps less than what it takes to bake up a birthday cake. There’s no sifting of dry ingredients, dusting of pans, frosting making, decorating…none of that.

Just some apple slicing, tossing with spices…and baking. Can’t get much easier.

They’re crispy, cinnamon-ey…

Think snappy bites of apple pie.

As I ate these bites of apple-pie-awesomness, I started to think about why birthdays give me rashes.

I think birthdays can serve as reminders of, you know, where you are in your life, where you want to be…and where you’re not. This year, though, I’m flipping this whole thing around. I’m looking at the good stuff.

Because this past year I’ve made some good moves, had a few lucky breaks, overcome some things that made sad, and am inching my way closer to things that make me happy. So instead of being all glum about turning a year older, I’ve vowed to enjoy myself…and I’m telling myself:

“Happy Birthday, Adrianna. You look pretty cute today.”

Spiced Apple Chips

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1 1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cardamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 Gala Apples (other flavorful varieties would be great, too!)

Preheat oven to 200F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

In a medium bowl, mix together spices and salt.

Crosswise, cut off both ends of each of the apples. There’s no need to core the apples. Using a mandoline (or sharp knife), slice the apples as thin as possible. (Approximately 1/16″ inch). Remove and discard any seeds from the apple slices. Add the apple slices to the bowl and toss with the spice mixture.

Transfer the apple slices to the baking sheets, in a single layer, being sure they do not overlap. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, then flip them over. Bake for another 30-45 minutes, or until crispy in appearance. Total baking time: 1 hour and 15 minutes.

They’ll become crispier after they cool.

Yields about 50 chips.

There’s a scene an episode of the show “Six Feet Under” where one of the characters describes the perfect lunch as being a block of cheese, a crunchy apple and a piece of crusty bread.

Seriously, truer words have never been spoken. This is absolutely one of the best lunches you can have. Or snacks. Or…whatever excuse you wanna come up with to eat.

Let’s break it down for a second. First, you have a crunchy apple. You’ll wanna pick whatever your favorite one is. I’m a Gala girl myself, but I won’t judge if you prefer Fiji. I might judge a Golden Delicious. Sorry, I just don’t get those things.

BTW – if anyone has access to Honey Crisp apples, will you send me some? Those are the bomb, and apparently as rare as unicorns in LA.

Now we have cheese. You’ll wanna go with a nice sharp cheddar. It’s just better that way. And now the dark bread. If you can find a sweet pumpernickel that would be awesome, but a dark rye is good too. My bread wasn’t really crusty all on it’s own, so I grilled it for a just a bit to get that crunch.

Apple and Cheddar Crostini

Print this recipe!

1 large apple, cored and thinly sliced
1 block of cheddar cheese
1 demi-loaf of dark bread, or about 6 slices of a regular loaf
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon

In a small saucepan toss together the apple, cinnamon and sugar. Cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, or until the apples are just beginning to soften. Remove from heat and set aside.

If using a demi-loaf of bread, slice into ¼” slices. If using full slices of bread, cut into quarters. Grill or toast the slices until they start they start to darken around the edges.

Using a vegetable peeler, slice away thin strips of the cheddar cheese. Build the crostini by layering the apples and cheese on the bread, in whatever proportions fit your taste. I prefer to go heavy on the cheese, but I won’t judge if you prefer more of the apple flavor.

Saturday I celebrated one more year of being on this earth by learning the difference between Double Red Delicious, Standard Red Delicious, and Starkey Delicious.

And all I can remember is that they’re all delicious. Like really delicious.

I also learned that bees LOVE apples. Who knew!

It all started when I woke up bright and early and went to Los Rios Ranchos with a group of friends to get my apple pickin’ on.  We picked apples, ate apples, contemplated paying a dollar to go through a corn maze, decided not too, then drank lots of beer and had a long lunch.

It convinced me that parts of being a grown-up are pretty dang fun.

And then when I got home with too many apples to stuff in my face, I realized I needed to put ‘em to good use.

I decided that putting them in muffins, along with some apple cider, would be a pretty good idea.

And then I found out that I was right.

These muffins are a total keeper. They’re not super sweet, have little hints of apple and cinnamon, have awesome texture and keep for more than just a day.

Aren’t baked goods that only last a day kind of a drag? I mean, I love muffins but I can’t eat twelve in one day. So it’s kinda nice they’re still amazing and moist after a few days.

That translates to me eating a few muffins with my morning coffee and eating a few with my evening tea. Total win.

Apple Cider Muffins

Recipe from The Craft of Baking

Unsalted butter, for the muffin tin (optional)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

3/4 cup grapeseed oil (or vegetable oil)

3 large eggs

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup apple cider

3/4 cups sour cream

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 crisp baking apples, such as Granny Smith or Mutsu, peeled, cored, coarsely grated, and drained, juices reserved and used as part of the cider measurement

1 tablespoon Demerara sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter a standard 12-cup muffin tin or line it with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and oil. Add the eggs and whisk to combine. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a third bowl, whisk together the apple cider, sour cream, and vanilla.

Add one third of the flout mixture and one third of the apple cider mixture to the sugar mixture, folding with a spatula just to combine. Add the rest of the flour and cider mixtures in two additions. Fold in the grated apple, and then divide the batter evenly among with prepared muffin cups, filling each cup three quarters of the way. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the Demerara sugar.

Bake, rotating the muffin tin halfway through, until the muffins spring back to the touch, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Then turn out the muffins from the pan and let them cool completely on the wire rack.

These muffins are best the second day and will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

I have a friend. His name is Ryan (see the gentleman below with the good form) and he hates cake. But looooves pie. So when he invited me to his birthday party, which promised three-legged races, sack in the hole and an egg and wooden spoon race, I figured it’d be nice to bake him a pie.

And since I spent the whole summer dreaming about some variety of Hand Pies, I thought this was the perfect opportunity.  Hand Pies are basically the cuter, smaller version of bigger pies. They’re portable and perfect for things like fall picnics in the park…or eating in bed with one hand while typing with the other. Whatever.

Oh can we talk about something? It’s been bugging me for awhile…it’s about pie…

“Easy as pie” is probably the dumbest and most inaccurate idiom that exists. Because anyone that’s made a pie knows it’s the farthest thing from easy.

Eating it is totally easy, making it…not so much.

The thing that makes pie a little tough is the crust.  That’s where the main source of stress comes from. Mainly because pie dough has a total attitude. It can be uncooperative, unpredictable and fickle.

Remember last season on Top Chef when all of those amazing chefs were scrabbling and all stressed out over pie? Yeah, that was me Saturday morning. I was sweating, covered in flour, cinnamon and nutmeg, hoping and crossing my fingers that these Apple Hand Pies worked out…or else I would’ve had to revert to my plan b: go to this place, buy one and attempt to pass it off as my own. Awkward.

Luckily they worked out. And I learned the only thing that can make a pie work is patience, care, a whole lot of hope and a few good tips…and I have them!

Okay, this is when the pictures of how to make the crust are supposed to come in…but I don’t have ‘em. BUT if you hop over to Joy the Baker, she has some step-by-step photos, which are super helpful.

After a whole lot of research, I settled on her Buttermilk Pie Crust. I highly recommend it. It was super tender and flakey and it didn’t use shortening!  I also made it the night before which made my life a whole lot easier. It took me about 20 minutes from start to finish.  Amazing.

I used a mix of McIntosh and Granny Smith.  Pretty straightforward, right? I peeled them, cut them in half, cut out the core (since I don’t own a corer) and diced them up.  I’d actually recommend dicing them as small as you can get them (I’ll explain later).

Then I took out my first wrapped pie dough out of the fridge.  I let it sit for 2-3 minutes on the counter to warm up a bit.  It was easier to roll out.  It was still kinda crumbly so I kneaded it a bit to distribute the moisture.

I rolled it out to about 1/6-inch thickness and cut out 5-inch circles using the cup from my juicer machine.  If you have a biscuit cutter that size, then you’re officially more awesome than me.

After I cut them out, I put ‘em on a baking sheet lined with parchment and stuck them back in the fridge for 15 minutes.  If you peek back in the fridge and you see little bits of butter in the dough then just close it and pat yourself on the back.  That means the dough is gonna be awesome.

I took them out and let them sit for 2 minutes so they’d be easier to fold.  If they’re too cold, they’ll just crack when you try to fold them.

Two things that I had on hand that are not pictured: a ramekin of water and a ramekin of egg wash.  Both things will be needed.  Oh and a fork! You’ll need a fork.

I took a small spoonful of the diced apples and put them on one side of the dough.  I stuck my finger in the ramekin of water and ran it all along the edge of the dough.  This is gonna seal the two halves together.  (If you look closely you can see a bit of moisture along its edge. Good eye.)

Then fold it down and press them together using a fork.  If I didn’t have to simultaneously take pictures, I swear they would’ve been a little neater…maybe. I’m not blaming you or anything…

You’re gonna then brush them with some egg wash, make a slit in the top and then stick them back in the fridge for another 15 minutes.

When they’re nice and cold, you’ll then transfer them to a piping hot oven for 20-30 minutes, or until beautiful and brown…

And then they’ll come out looking like this…

Apple Hand Pies

Yields about 13-15 hand pies

Buttermilk Pie Crust recipe from Joy the Baker

Print this gigantic recipe! Please?

Pie Crust:

2 sticks (8 ounces) cold unsalted butter

2 1/2 (12 ounces) cups all purpose flour

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (5 to 6 ounces) cold buttermilk

Pie Filling:

1 pound of McIntosh apples (2 medium)

1 pound of Granny Smith apples (2 medium)

1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest

1/2 cup of sugar

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

Egg wash

For Crust:

Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces and place in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes.  Measure out the buttermilk and store in the refrigerator to keep it cold (you could even put it in the freezer for a few minutes too).

Sift together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.  Take the cold butter from the freezer and toss it with the flour mixture.

Dump the cold butter cubes and flour mixture onto a large work area for rolling.  With a rolling pin, roll the mixture, flattening the butter cubes with the flour into long, thin, floured butter sheets.  Work quickly to ensure that the butter stays cold.  Below is what the rolled butter and flour look like after I’ve gathered them together on the work surface a bit.

Place the flour and flattened butter back in the large bowl and chill for 10 minutes.    When the butter is cold, remove the bowl from the refrigerator, make a small well in the center of the flour and butter mixture.  Add the cold buttermilk to the bowl all at once.  Begin to bring the dough together with one hand (keep the other hand free to answer the phone).

Moisten all of the flour with the milk, using your hand to break up large clumps of milk and flour.  The dough will be rather shaggy, but you can add another tablespoon of buttermilk, if you see that all your flour isn’t moistened.  Form the dough into two disks.  The disks will be rough, and hard to shape together, but once they rest in the fridge for an hour, they’ll be easier to roll out.

Chill the dough for at least an hour in the refrigerator.  At this point, the dough will keep in the fridge for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to three weeks.  For freezing, roll the dough out into sheets and wrap them in plastic film.

For Apple Pie Filling:

Peel, core and cut apples in half, and dice.  You want the dice to be rather small. It’ll make it easier to fill your hand pies. Then toss the diced apples with the lemon juice and zest. In a small bowl, mix sugar, flour, salt and spices together and toss with the diced apples. Set aside.

For Apple Hand Pie Assembly:

Are you having fun yet?! I am!!

Okay, now…remove one half of your pie dough from the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter for 2-3 minutes. Roll the dough out to a 1/6-inch thickness. Grab a 5-inch biscuit cutter (I used the cup from my juicer machine) and cut out as many circles as possible.  I had to re-roll the dough a few times to use it all up. Place your dough circles out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Return the baking sheet to the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.  Take out your second pie dough half from the refrigerator and repeat the steps above.  You should end up with 13-15 dough circles.

Grab a ramekin of water, ramekin of egg wash and the bowl of the apple pie filling.  Remove the first baking sheet of dough circles from the fridge.  You might want to let the dough sit for a 1-2 minutes so they’re a bit more pliable.  If the dough is too cold, then it’ll break and crack when you try and fold it over.

Take a tablespoon of the apple pie filling and place it on one half of your dough circle.  Brush the bottom edge with a small amount of water and fold over the top half so it’s now a half moon shape. Take a fork and press the edges to bind them together. Brush with egg wash and make a slit on the top.  Repeat over and over until you’ve assembled all of your hand pies.  Place them back onto the parchment lined baking sheet and put them back in the fridge for another 15-20 minutes to chill.

At this time, pre-heat the oven 375 degrees. When the hand pies are done chilling, remove from the refrigerator and place in the piping hot oven for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

You’ll know when they’re just about done because your house will be engulfed with the most amazing smell of spices and apples!

Place them on a cooling rack…or eat warm like I did!

Remember when I wrote about what I wouldn’t eat as a kid? Yeah, this recipe would also make it on that list, because it has lots of different foods actually touch each other *gasp*. This recipe also nearly made it on the list of what my adult self won’t eat, because not only are foods touching each other, but they’re foods that I wouldn’t normally put together. Eggs, granny smith apples and curry powder?? What mad scientist came up with this??

Well, I’m glad that someone out there was more adventurous than me. I’m also glad that I was brave enough to try this recipe even though  while making it there were a few times I wanted to call it quits. Not because it’s hard to make (it’s super easy) but when I started mixing the curry-lime dressing over my eggs, apples and onion I began wondering if I would be better off just making a peanut butter sandwich.

Mmmmm…. peanut butter….

Sorry, I get distracted by really delicious foods. There’s definitely something to be said about a classic combo like peanut butter and jelly. And I’m here to tell you, there’s also something to be said about eggs, granny smith apples, and curry powder.

Mmmmm….eggs….curry powder….

Be brave. Remember, you’re an adult now.

Curry Egg Salad Sandwich

Adapted from Epicurious

Print this recipe!

Some of the reviews for the original recipe mentioned that the onion flavor was a little strong, so I cut back on it and thought it was perfect. I also left out the cilantro since I didn’t have any on hand, and I didn’t miss it one bit.

1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (half of one lime)
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 ½ teaspoons whole grain or Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of cayenne
6 hard-boiled large eggs, chopped
1 cup diced Granny Smith apple (roughly 1 apple)
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
8 slices wheat bread
Lettuce for garnish (optional)

Mix together the mayo, lime juice, curry powder, mustard, salt and cayenne. In a separate bowl, add together the chopped eggs, apple and onion. Pour the curry dressing over top and gently stir everything together. Serve on toasted wheat bread with lettuce, or just eat it with a fork as it is.

Okay, I know that Adrianna already spilled the beans. I am no longer living with my boyfriend in LA. No, I am now living with my FIANCE, which by the way, I’m still having trouble  saying to people. Fiance is one of those words that seems a little too big and surreal to say out loud. It’s a word that says that I am NEVER going to have a boyfriend ever again, which makes me feel grown up in ways I never thought possible. It also means that I, the girl that has never worn rings throughout her entire life, now has a ring that is never going to come off, and I’m actually okay with this.

There’s something else that I have to tell you is never going to happen again. I am never making apple butter again. Never. Again. I know, it must be a rare blog post when the author confesses that although the final product turned out perfectly, she has no desire whatsoever to return to it. To fully understand this, I need to explain my reasoning for making apple butter in the first place. When Adrianna and I made the fig jam a couple months back, I was stunned at how easy it was to make. I couldn’t help but ask, “Why haven’t I been making my own jam all my life?” So for Christmas I decided I would make a homemade canned gift for friends and family, and after much debate I chose to take on apple butter.

However, it turns out that apple butter and jam are two entirely different beasts. To make jam, you cut up fruit, throw it in a pot with water and sugar and cook it down for an hour or so, checking the pot occasionally. It’s actually pretty hard to screw up. Apple butter, on the other hand, requires first one hour of cooking, until the apples are soft enough for you to grind them and remove all of the seeds, skin and other impurities. After you’ve grinded apples long enough that your arm is sore and throbbing, you put the resulting apple puree back in the pot and cook it for another 2 hours during which you have to stand over the pot and constantly attend to it.

Imagine that first you babysat a 6 year old who just wanted you to put in her favorite Disney movie, after which she sat peacefully until her parents returned. Now imagine that you then you moved on to care for a screaming infant with colic. This is what I felt like after two hours over the pot of apples, thinking, “what more do you want from me, apples?? I’ve mashed you and stirred you for hours and you’re still not right! What else can I do?!”

So why am I writing about this if I’m never going to make it again? Because, at the end of the day, I did end up with some tasty apple butter. And if you’re looking for ways to kill 4 hours of your day or if maybe you’re just a glutton for punishment, this may still be a recipe you would enjoy. But mostly, it’s because when I was looking through all the different recipes for apple butter out there, not ONE of them mentioned just how difficult this would be, and I feel like someone has to be honest with you. Someone has to speak the truth.

Apple Butter

Adapted from Simply Recipes

Print this recipe!

4 lbs of good cooking apples
1 cup apple cider vinegar2 cups water
Sugar (about 4 cups, see cooking instructions)
Salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

Cut the apples into quarters, without peeling or coring them (much of the pectin is in the cores and flavor in the peels), but be sure to cut out damaged parts. Put them into large pot, add the vinegar and water, cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cook until apples are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat .

Ladle apple mixture into a sieve (or foodmill) and using a pestle force pulp from the sieve into a large bowl below. This will cause your arm to turn to jello, but hey, you wanted real apple butter, right? Measure resulting puree. Add 1/2 cup of sugar for each cup of apple pulp. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add a dash of salt, and the cinnamon, ground cloves, allspice, lemon rind and juice. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Cook, uncovered, in a large, wide, thick-bottomed pot on medium low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. (yes, CONSTANTLY!) Scrape the bottom of the pot while you stir to make sure a crust is not forming at the bottom. Cook until thick and smooth when a bit is spooned onto a cold plate and allowed to cool (1 to 2 hours).

Canning

(directions are also from Simply Recipes)

Print these directions!

There are several ways to sterilize your jars for canning. You can run them through a short cycle on your dishwasher. You can place them in a large pot (12 quart) of water on top of a steaming rack (so they don’t touch the bottom of the pan), and bring the water to a boil for 10 minutes. Or you can rinse out the jars, dry them, and place them, without lids, in a 200°F oven for 10 minutes. I chose to put them in the water since I had to heat it up to can the puree anyway.

Pour the apple butter into hot, sterilized jars and seal. If you plan to store the apple butter un-refrigerated, make sure to follow proper canning procedures. Before applying the lids, sterilize the lids by placing them in a bowl and pouring boiling water over them. Wipe the rims of the jars clean before applying the lids. I use a hot water bath for 10 minutes to ensure a good seal. Now, enjoy that this process is finally over, and laugh at yourself for ever deciding to do it in the first place.

Thursday’s a big day for me.  Not just because I love cooking and it’s the biggest cooking holiday of the year, but this Thanksgiving is the first time I get to cook for it in 3 years.  First, there was was a massive renovation at my parent’s house where the kitchen literally did not exist.  We went out to eat.  And then the past two years they sort of dreaded the cleaning and cooking and the hoopla of Thanksgiving, which was heartbreaking for me.  The idea of having a simple holiday sans stress was attractive so, again, we went out to eat.  I fought for a cooked meal every year, but lost every time.  But this year it’s different.  We’re cooking.  I think they missed it  so since it’s going to be a big deal I wanted to make sure I was prepared.

I get like that sometimes when it comes to food.   For example, most of the time when I’m going out to dinner at a place of anticipation, I’ll look at the menu a few days prior and choose what I want to eat, down to the appetizer or glass of wine .  I get a little neurotic about it. It’s actually kind of an awesome feeling not needing a menu.  It’s that feeling when you studied for a test and you looked around the room at all of the other kids panicking, cramming, looking over their notes.  It’s a good feeling.  If you’re a planner or feel like planning a little this Thanksgiving, I think this stuffing is right up your alley.  It takes a good amount of prep work, but if you do some of it the night before, assembling it the day off will be super easy.

Sage smells amazing; sauteed in butter it’s even more amazing.

The apples some sweetness to the stuffing which is really nice paired with the sage and crunch of the parsnips.

Apple, Sausage, and Parsnip Stuffing with Fresh Sage

Adapted from Bon Appetit November 2005

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The original recipe yielded 12 servings, which I thought was way too much so I halved it and adjusted some of the measurements.  I used chicken sausages instead of pork, but you can do as you like, or eliminate them all together for a vegetarian stuffing.

(1) 1 ½ pound loaf sliced sourdough bread with crust, cubed
1/2 pounds sweet Italian sausages, casings removed (I used chicken sausages for both)
1/2 pounds hot Italian sausages, casings removed
3 cups chopped onions
1 cups chopped celery
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, divided
1 1/2 pounds Pippin or Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cubed
3/4 pounds parsnips, peeled, cubed
1/2 cup packed fresh sage leaves
1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth

Preheat oven to 325°F. Bake bread cubes on 1 large rimmed baking sheets until lightly toasted, about 20 minutes.

Sauté sausages in very large skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through, breaking into pieces with spoon, about 15 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to large bowl; add bread.

Add onions and celery to same skillet and sauté until golden brown, about 10 minutes; transfer to bowl with bread. Melt 1/4 cup butter in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes; mix apples into stuffing. Melt 1/4 cup butter in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add parsnips and sauté until golden, about 10 minutes; mix into stuffing. Melt 1/4 cup butter in same skillet. Add sage and sauté until dark green, about 2 minutes. Mix sage and butter into stuffing. Season with salt and pepper.

Butter 12x8x2-inch glass baking dish.  Transfer stuffing to prepared dish; drizzle with 1/2 cup chicken broth. Cover with foil. (Can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake stuffing covered until heated through, about 1 hour. Uncover and bake until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.

Sometimes there are moments that make me super grateful I have good friends. Wonder what I’m talking about? Well, I’ll name off a few instances in the past few days that have proven to me that without friends I’d be too drunk for my own good, an unattractive eater and an insecure Mexican wrestler.

First there was Ryan who said, “Did you know that when you eat, you open your mouth as big as it can open? Even if it’s for something tiny, like an almond.” Hmm…thanks, Ryan. I didn’t know that. Thanks. That makes me feel really attractive.

Then there’s Ian, who on Saturday night, when I drunkenly demanded another shot, said, “Sure, Adrianna. I’ll make you another shot.” He didn’t protest and instead poured juice into a shot glass and handed it to me and watched me, unknowingly, down the juice and then I cheered. (This actually happened, seriously.)

And then Travis who told me (when I was in my Halloween costume), “You’re a really hot Mexican wrestler!” Friends are there to make you feel really good, even when you look like Nacho Libre.

So last week, when I was debating between four different butternut squash recipes to make for you guys, my friends were there to help me pick the tastiest sounding recipe.

That’s how we ended up here with a butternut squash soup that has this amazing layer of sweet apple flavor, accompanied with another interesting hint of spiciness from the curry.  I suggest that you get a group of awesome friends and make this soup for them. They’ll be grateful–trust me!

Butternut Squash Apple Soup

Recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa

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Yields 4 servings

I cut the recipe in half because it was just too much soup for me.  You can either peel the butternut squash, cube it and put it in the soup or do what I did, which was cut it in half and roast it on a baking sheet for 30-40 minutes.  I then extracted the seeds with a spoon and scooped out the flesh and set it aside in a bowl.  If you decide to peel and cube the butternut squash, you should add 20 minutes to the cook time of the soup to ensure that the squash is nice and tender before you put it in the blender.

I also added less apple juice and replaced the water, from the original recipe, with chicken stock. You’re more than welcome to use water, if you want to stay vegetarian, or use a veggie stock. Adding water to soup seems like a tragedy to me, but hey, do what ya want.  Also, at the end I tasted it and it was sweet–perfectly sweet, so I didn’t added less apple juice.

1 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoons good olive oil
2 cups chopped yellow onions (1 medium sized onion)
1 tablespoons mild curry powder
2 1/2 pounds butternut squash (1 large)
2  sweet apples, such as McIntosh
1 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chicken stock (veggie or water will also work)
1/2 cups good apple cider or juice

 

Warm the butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.

Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks.  Either peel, cube the squash or see the above instructions on how I did it, which was cut the squash in half and roast on a baking sheet for 30-40 mins and then scoop out the flesh.  Either way will do just fine.

Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of chicken stock to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 20 minutes (if you cubed the squash add another 20 minutes), until the squash and apples are very soft. Process the soup through a food mill fitted with a large blade, or puree it coarsely in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, or a blender.

Pour the soup back into the pot. Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Check the salt and pepper and serve hot.

Holy heck, is it September already??? Summer, where did you go?!?! I haven’t seen nearly as much of you as I would have liked, and now, you’re leaving already.  There’s so much to do in LA, and I feel like I didn’t do nearly as much as I had hoped. I wanted to see a concert at the Hollywood Bowl at least 3 times (I only went twice) I wanted to go to Cinespia at least every other weekend (I went 3 times all summer) and I swore that I would take much more advantage of the beach being only an hour away (I went twice, and one of those times was in April).

In addition to activities, I’ve had recipes bookmarked specifically for summer, and time is running out. Frozen fruit yogurt pops, you’re going to have to wait until next year I guess. White kiwi-apple sangria, you are not waiting another minute.

And thank goodness for that, because this was delicious. A word to the wise: make twice as much as you think you’ll need. Trust me on this one. I made one pitcher for some friends that came over to cheer on the designers of Project Runway, and that sucker was gone in about 30 seconds flat.

Okay Summer, when you come back next year, there will be many more concerts, days at the beach, and sangria for us to enjoy together. I promise.

White Kiwi-Apple Sangria

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I originally found this recipe on Food Network, but what I ended up with is a pretty butchered version of the original. First, instead of using water, sugar & lemon juice, I just poured in a cup of the fresh lemonade that was in my fridge and it worked perfectly. I decreased the amount of orange liquer since I thought it would make the taste of alcohol too strong. I also realized after finishing the pitcher that I never added the soda water that it recommended, but trust me, nobody missed it.

Ingredients
1 (750 ml) bottle white wine
1/2 cup orange liqueur (recommended: Cointreau)
1 1/2 cups lemonade
3 kiwis, peeled and cut in thin slices (save a few slices for garnish)
1 large or 2 small green apples with skin, cored and thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups green seedless grapes, halved

In a large pitcher, combine all ingredients and stir. Allow to chill for at least an hour so the flavors can combine. Serve over ice. Then, make another pitcher.