Baked Apples Filled with Fruit and Nuts

My brother-in-law came over for dinner last weekend, which isn’t anything too terribly out of the ordinary. He called me Saturday to invite himself over for dinner on Sunday. Again, not out unusual, but what prompted the phone call was. He had recently been to up to Mendocino County and bought some wine along the way. Among those purchases was a bottle of Gewürztraminer from Navarro; one of my favorite wines. (If you’ve never been to Navarro, go. It’s worth it. Great wines that are only available through the winery.) Needless to say, I told him to come over and bring a straw.

I had to come up with what to cook. I spent Saturday making the Chef of the Month dinner, so I didn’t want to do anything super-complicated. However, I wanted something really good to make up for missing out on dinner the night before. I stuffed a pumpkin. (See Pumpkin Stuffed With Everything Good) I threw a salad together using yet another pomegranate. (Again, see The Problem With Pomegranates.)

And, I made these really easy and very yummy baked apples. With all of the great apples coming into season, it’s fun to use them in different ways. I found this recipe in the same book as the stuffed pumpkin, and it was soooo delicious and satisfying. I used a combo of dried currants, raisins, prunes, and pecans for the filling. And, added cinnamon, cloves, and fresh nutmeg. With a little Vanilla Ice cream? Shut. The. Front. Door.

Next time I might try cranberries or maybe a little maple syrup instead of honey. Mmmmm….
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Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Spicy Caramel Apple Sauce

Ms. October

Every year, my childrens’ elementary school holds an auction to raise money. There’s a dinner and a dance as well as the auction where you can bid on all sorts of things. One item is the Chef of The Month. The idea is that you bid to have a different person each month make you a three course dinner for eight people. At the end of the year, the dinner voted the best of the best gets a prize. This year, I am Ms. October.

Because I love to cook and I admit to being a bit of a food snob I feel the need to make a really fabulous dinner. Did I mention I am also quite competitive? For the last month I have been pouring over my cookbooks trying to come up with something tasty that can be transported, kept warm in the oven and still be juicy and appetizing. I think I have finally come up with an appropriate harvest-themed dinner made with as many things as I can pull from my own garden to up my ante.

Fortunately, Bon Appetit magazine did a great spread on Harvest dinners for a crowd for their October issue. (Grab the issue if you can. The article that precedes the recipes is great.) I tried a few of the recipes out over the weekend, and I am going to use them.

They are: Braised Pork Shoulder with Apple Cider and Ginger Beer, Farro with Wild Mushrooms and Herbs (Really Good!), Brussels Sprouts with Maple Syrup and for Dessert, Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Spicy caramel Apple Sauce (this one is a Bobby Flay recipe). I haven’t decided if I am going to have a salad yet. My persimmons are starting to ripen so if they are ready I might do my grandmother’s persimmon salad. We’ll see…

The recipe for Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Spicy Caramel Apple Sauce is below, and you can pick up the most recent Bon Appetit. Enjoy!
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Malted Vanilla Ice Cream with Peanut Brittle and Milk Chocolate Pieces

Malted Vanilla Ice CreamScreaming for Ice Cream!
I love ice cream and I am not alone. Proof is my husband’s freakish, radar-like ability to locate what’s deliberately hidden from him in the depths of our freezer, and also by the incredible number of choices available in Piedmont Grocery’s freezer section. They’re staggering: Vanilla, Marble Fudge, Phish Food and even Lavender and Basil! While flavor trends change, one thing is for certain: when it’s hot outside there is nothing like that creamy, high-butterfat goodness.

Growing up, we used to go to my grandmother’s house for dinner every Sunday. As a kid, this drove me crazy because I wanted to stay with my friends. Now, as an adult, I look back on it fondly. Gammy was a great cook (as are all the women in my family), and she always had the cool cooking gadgets. Read more…