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"Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits."

Henry David Thoreau   

Among myriads of flavors and aroma of Autumn, that of apples is one of the first that comes to mind.  This month, they are in such abundance that I decided to experiment with a few recipes.

Pomander

 

An Unknown Lady, Holding a Pomander on a Gold Chain (1560-65) by Pieter Janz. Pourbus source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple http://onknow.blogspot.com/2008/04/blog-post_4991.html http://poneag.myfri3nd.com/blog/2011/07/07/entry-5

Recommended song: Song of Wandering Aengus (Golden apples of the Sun)

I baked this pumpkin pie from a gargantuan jack-o-lantern pumpkin my neighbor gave me. This filling recipe is much better than the one that calls for condensed milk. I learned that this is a more traditional recipe. And I like it a lot.

Cooking Jack-O-Lantern pumpkin: Cut the pumpkin into 4-5 inch squares. Take away the pith and seeds. Then bake the pieces in baking dish at 350 degrees for about 90 minutes. Some people suggest 30-45 minutes but mine didn’t get done. There’s no need to add water because this type of pumpkin is pretty watery.

Drain, scoop out of peeling, and blend in blender until smooth. This pumpkin is wetter than canned pumpkin it needs to have liquids cut down in regular pumpkin recipes. (I use extra pumpkin in place of the liquid called for.) Or it can be used in exact measurements with any apple sauce recipe.

I adapted the recipe for cranberry syrup from Eat Boutique (Cranberry Champagne Cocktail) and really love it.  I usually buy fresh cranberries and use them in season and freeze the rest to be used later.

• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons palm sugar (or 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup and 3 tablespoon granulated sugar)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup fresh cranberries

1. In a saucepan over low heat add the sugar and the water;  stir.  Cook until the sugar is dissolved, about 8 minutes.  Do not bring to a boil, keep at low heat.
2. Add the cranberries, stir, and remove from the heat.  Let cool.  Bottle and then store in refrigerator until ready to use.

The sweet and tart tastes of the cranberry and Myer orange are refreshing and really goes well with my homemade yogurt or piece of toast.  Yummy :))

One of my favorite menus for Sunday brunch is Quiche and recently I just adapted this bacon-less quiche Lorraine from this original recipe... again from Joy of Cooking.

Quiche Lorraine is a specialty of the Lorraine region of Northeastern France, where it was first made as early as the sixteenth century.  Traditional quiche Lorraine contains no cheese.

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Prepare the pie crust.
3. Cook the bacon in heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the fat is almost rendered but the bacon is not yet crisp. Drain on paper towel. (Skip this step if you don't use bacon).
4. Beat together the rest of the ingredients.
5. Arrange the bacon on the bottom of the pie crust and pour the custard (egg mixture) into it.  Bake until the filling is browned and set, 25-35 minutes.

I made this perfect crust from Joy of Cooking after gazillion years of reluctance :)... As it turned out, it's not as hard as I thought.



This dough makes a light, flaky crust that shatters at the touch of a fork.  The recipe makes two 9-inch pie crusts, or two 9 1/2- or 10-inch covered pie crust.  I made mine in a couple of 4-inch ramekins and it works well too.  If you need only a single pie or tart crust, decrease all ingredients by half or freeze half the dough for future use. 

• Using a rubber spatula, thoroughly mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
• Add the shortening and/or butter and break it into large chunks; if using butter, cut it into small pieces, then add it to the flour mixture, Cut the fat into the dry ingredients by chopping vigorouly with a pastry blender or by cutting in opposite directions with 2 knives, one held in each hand.  As you work, periodically stir dry flour up from the bottom of the bowl and scrape clinging fat off the pastry blender or knives.  When you are through, some of the fat should remain in pea-sized pieces; the rest should be reduced to the consistency of coarse crumbs or corn-meal.  The mixture should seem dry and powdery and not pasty or greasy.
• Drizzle over the flour and fat mixture the ice water.
• Using the rubber spatula, cut with the blade side until the mixture looks evenly moistened and begins to form small balls.  Press down on the dough with the flat side of the spatula.  If the balls of dough stick together, you have added enough water; if they do not, drizzle over the top 1-2 tablespoons ice water.
• Cut in the water, again using the blade of the spatula, then press with your hands until the dough coheres.  The dough should look rough, not smooth.  Divide the dough in half, press each half into a round flat disk, and wrap tightly in plastic.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, and preferably for several hours, or for up to 2 days before rolling.  The dough can also be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 6 months; thaw completely before rolling.

The secret of rolling dough is to lean into the pin rather than down on it:  The goal is to enlarge the dough, not press and crush it. Use firm, decisive sweeping strokes and try to get the job done as quickly as possible.

Rolling the dough: Start by clearing a large work surface, as you will need lots of elbow room.  You can roll dough on a wood or plastic pastry board or on a marble slab (which remains cold and thus helps keep the dough from softening)  or directly on a clean smooth countertop.  Do not roll dough next to the oven or in a hot corner of the kitchen, for the fat will melt.  If the dough has been chilled for longer than 30 minutes, let it stand until it feels firm yet pliable, like modeling clay, when pressed.  If too cold, the dough becomes to soft during rolling, loosen it from the work surface, slide a rimless cookie sheet beneath it, and refrigerate until it firms up.

Flour the work surface-lightly if you are an experienced pastry maker but a bit more generously if you are starting out.  Excessive flouring toughens dough, but sticking is a disaster.  Place the dough in the center of the floured surface and flour the dough as well.  Exerting even pressure on the pin, roll the dough from the center out in all directions, stopping short of the edge.  In order to keep the dough in a circular shape, each stroke should be made in the opposite direction from the one that preceded it.  You can do this by rotating the dough itself rather than by moving the pin.

Be sure to check the dough for sticking by periodically sliding your hand beneath it; strew a little flour on the work surface as necessary.  Seal cracks and splits by pushing the dough together with your fingers.  If the split reopens, your dough is probably too dry.  Dab the edges of the split with cold water, overlap the edges slightly, and press firmly with your fingertips, sprinkling a little flour over the repaired area if it feels moist and sticky.  If the dough assumes an irregular shape, cut off the protruding piece, moisten the edge of the patch with cold water and press it over the short spot.

Roll the dough roughly 3 t o4 inches wider than your pan.  This will allow plenty of dough for covering the entire pan and for constructing a rim.  Place the pan (right side up for a tart pan, inverted for a pie pan) in the center of the dough to calculate the width by eye.

Fitting the Dough into the Pan:  Fold the dough in halves or quarters place it in the pan, and unfold the dough it to cover.

I adapted this recipe from the original from pear liqueur recipe at eatboutique.com and it turned out so yummy.


Put the apples and spice in mason jars, close the lids and shake them several times;
Put away the jars in dark and cool cupboard for 1 week. (Do not peek)

After a week, drain the liquid into a bottle;

Boil 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups water over medium heat to make simple syrup. It should take about 10 minutes (but mine took much longer. I also used palm sugar here. It has distinct flavor but tastes good;

Let the syrup cool a bit and pour into the bottle. Shake the bottle a bit.

The concoction is ready to drink but you can put back into the dark cupboard for 2-3 more weeks or months for even sweeter and more gorgeous elixir :)

Persimmons are in season again...Yum! There are generally two kinds available here in California: Fuyu persimmons which I love to eat fresh and Hachiya persimmons which are horribly astringent when raw (and I learned that the hard way :)), but turned divinely sweet when completely ripe. The other day, I was wondering if persimmons would make good cakes and found this super easy recipe on http://allrecipes.com. I tried half of the recipe with hachiya persimmon and a little modification and they turned out really great. I've found another favorite recipe :) INGREDIENTS  (Note: for this batch, just to try it out, I made 1/2 of everything and reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup instead of 1 cup. The half recipe baked as cupcakes only needed 40 minutes baking time. So keep your watch. Half recipe yielded 8 cupcakes. For convenience, half recipe is shown in red:
  2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour / 1 1/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder / 1/4 t. baking powder  2 teaspoons baking soda / 1 t. baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt / 1/4 t. salt 1 1/2 cups sugar (reduced from 2 cups in the original recipe) / 3/4 c. sugar 1 cup milk / 1/2 c. milk 2 cups persimmon pulp (I only had 1 fruit that only gave 1/2 c. but it still turned out great) / 1 c. persimmon pulp (about 2 persimmons 2 eggs / 1 egg 2 teaspoons vanilla extract / 1 t. vanilla extract   DIRECTIONS   - Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch loaf pan or line muffin pan with muffin cups  - Whisk together the flour baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a bowl, set aside. - Whisk together the eggs, persimmon pulp, milk, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl until smooth. Fold the persimmon mixture into the flour mixture until no dry lumps remain. Pour into the prepared pan.  - Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes Half recipe needed only 40 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan, and allow to cool completely on a wire rack     Fast Facts: The word Diospyros means "the fire of Zeus" in ancient Greek. As a tree, it is a perennial plant. The word persimmon is derived from putchamin, pasiminan, or pessamin, from Powhatan, an Algonquian language (related to Blackfoot, Cree and Mohican) of the eastern United States, meaning "a dry fruit". (Source: wikipedia)