Apple Pie

Our neighbors next door have an apple tree that hangs over our fence. Some of them fell into our yard. (Some of them fell from the tree when Cookie Monster pulled on them, but let's just keep that quiet. They're partly ours, right, since the tree hangs on our side of the fence?)


See? Here are said apples.

Peel and cut up the apples and cover with lemon juice as you're finishing cutting up the rest so they don't get too brown. Then combine with the sugar, flour and spices.

Roll out your pastry crusts. Clearly, mine can be termed "rustic." Sometimes that's also my word for "ugly."

Then dump in all the apples.


Then cover up the apples with another pie crust blanket. Nighty-night, little apples. When I see you again, you will be gooey and sugary and yummy!
Crimp the edges of the crust together with your fingers.
Make sure you score the blanket so steam can escape.


Wrap tinfoil around the edges so they don't burn. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes, then remove the foil and bake some more (about 20 minutes) until the top is golden brown.


Oh Yeah. There's some apple pie!




From the Better Homes & Gardens 75th Anniversary Edition
1 recipe Pastry for Double-Crust Pie
6 cups thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples
1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons AP flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Crust:
2 1/2 cups AP flour (I usually use whole wheat since that's what we have)
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening (I used butter since that's what I had)
8-10 tablespoons cold water

In a medium bowl, stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea-sized. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon water over part of the flour mixture; gently toss with fork. Push moistened dough to side of bowl. Repeat, using 1 tablespoon water at a time, until all flour mixture is moistened. Divide in half; form each half into a ball.
On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten 1 dough ball. Roll dough from center to edges into a 12-inch diameter circle. Repeat with other half. Fill with pie filling and bake. Duh.

The Reason I Exercise

So, it's really no secret that I love food. I mean, I have a food blog, right? So, in order to maintain a 100-cough-ahem-cough-pound body, I have to exercise. Though I used to dread this, I actually like it now. It makes me feel good. So much so, that today, I ran 13.1 miles. Voluntarily. Yep, I ran a half-marathon. Nope, nothing was chasing me, I just ran 13 miles for fun. I've been training for this for some time, and I completed it today, in a time of about 2 hours and 20 minutes.
This was a big accomplishment for me. In junior high and high school, I was an "athlete" in just about every sport my school offered: swimming, track, volleyball, soccer, softball and tennis. Except sports and I don't really get along. See, I suck at organized sports. Pretty much all of them. It's just a fact that I've grown to accept. A 5'2" rotund frame does not a good athlete make. BUT, with running, there's no one to compete against, except me. I can run, and the only person who cares about my time is me. I run fairly slowly, but I ran 13.1 miles today. That's a lot. It was a long training for a really big thing; maybe one of the biggest accomplishments in my short little life to date. And I'm pretty proud of myself. I did it. I put in the time and effort, and today I reaped the rewards.
I consider myself a runner. And runners are athletes, no matter how tall they are.

Creme Brulee

I didn't have much experience with creme brulee until I visited Peohe's in Coronado (across the bay from San Diego) with my grandmother this summer. In fact, I don't recall ever tasting creme brulee until she ordered one for the table. (This is my soon-to-be 86-year-old grandmother who is diabetic. She has to have "a bite" of everything that's on the table. Apparently this is a genetic trait. I am the exact same way, as is my mother. I just want a taste of whatever's around.)

Anyhoo, Gramma ordered the macadamia nut creme brulee, and I promptly fell in love with this simple yet incredibly tasty dessert. I've been craving it ever since, and though I've had it at restaurants, I have read that it is incredibly easy to make at home. It is a bit time-consuming, but it's not hard.

I got the recipe from my classic cookbook, Better Homes and Gardens, 75th Anniversary Addition. Yes, I used a recipe for this. It's not something you can wily-nilly throw together.

I don't have small ramekins, so I used my two individual ceramic baking dishes. They worked just fine.

Here is the cream after being cooked. I refrigerated overnight to make sure it was chilled enough to go under the broiler.


Can you spot the flecks of real vanilla bean?

Close-up after going under the broiler for about 8-10 minutes. Some of the sugar got a little blackened, but that's ok. Most of it turned out hard and caramelized, the way creme brulee topping is supposed to be.


And the finished product! I was worried the custard would melt under the broiler, but it did beautifully. I moved my oven rack to the very top position, so they would be directly under the broiler. Then I cracked the oven door and literally watched the sugar until it was done. As you can see, it is a very thin margin of time between golden and beautiful and scrumptious, and blackened and burned and bitterly yucky.



This was my first shot at this dessert, and it turned out great! I'll definitely be doing it again, but next time attempting chocolate!

Here is the recipe:
2 cups half-and-half or light cream (I used whipping cream)
5 slightly beaten egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla (I used a whole vanilla bean)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 sugar

In a small heavy saucepan, heat cream over medium-low heat just until bubbly. Remove from heat; set aside.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine egg yolks, the 1/3 cup sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat with a wire whisk until just combined. Temper the egg mixture by slowly beating a small amount of cream into egg mixture. Continue until all cream has been incorporated.

Place into ramekins or ceramic vessels, diving custard mixture evenly among them, into a cookied sheet or baking dish. Place dish onto oven rack. Pour enough boiling water into dish to reach halfway up the sides of cooking vessels. Bake in a 325 oven for 30 to 40 mintues or until a knife near the center of each custard comes out clean. Remove dishes from water; coll on a wire rack. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour or for up to 8 hours. (I chilled overnight.)

Here is where I deviated from the main recipe. It says to carmelize the sugar in a saucepan, the pour over custards. This is the boring method. Instead I sprinked sugar over the entire top of the custards, making a thin layer. Then I did the aforementioned broiler step, watching those suckers the whole time.

This was a freakin' awesome dessert, albeit one made rarely. Don't be afraid; go for it!

Fine Dining

And now, for a little change of pace here at ChezVCK...


The sun, sinking lower and lower, reflects off the crystalline water a million times a second. Red fades into orange fades into pink fades into blue fades into finally black depths. The castle keeps sentinel over the tiny town this evening, just another night watch in its schedule of thousands over the centuries. A man peeks from within the fortress, which now provides the town with a different form of comfort. From his perch, he tosses stale bread into the glistening sea. It begins to churn white as hundreds of small fish battle for a crumb or two. Slowly the bread dissipates, and when it’s gone, the waters calm. Peace returns and just the hypnotic lapping of waves is audible, like there was never any disturbance at all. A nearby fisherman, his face leathered but content, watches the scene for a minute, then returns his attention to his pursuit. He reels in a small prize and calls out to his companion. “Gatto,” he says melodically, almost in pitch, and the cat ambles over to examine his dinner. He bats at the fish a few times, as if to inspect its quality. Satisfied, he sits and dines like a king. The sun acquiesces and disappears into the water, leaving traces of muted colors. They too fade, and all is quiet.