Apple Pecan Galette

Apple Pecan Galette

We have never celebrated Valentine’s Day in our house, aside from a few gifts to our daughter when she was younger. But for those millions of others that do, perhaps this rustic yet eye-appealing galette will touch someone’s heart for Valentine’s dessert! I’ve been on a bit of an apple kick lately, seeing as apples seem to be one of the few decent items I can pick up in the produce aisle in the middle of winter. (We haven’t really had winter here this year, but that’s another story.)

Since I’m also the least likely person to ever attempt my own pastry-making, I of course cheated and used a store-bought pie crust, which I balled up and rolled out into the rustic crust for the galette. For those of you more skilled in this department, feel free to make your favorite pie crust for this. Oh! And there is a surprise touch of brandy added to the applesauce base. Even better, there is no added sugar. Scrumptious!

Apple Pecan Galette

1 pie crust, thawed if frozen
1 cup sweetened applesauce
Lemon juice from lemon wedge (1/8 wedge)
Lemon zest from lemon wedge
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
2 teaspoons brandy
2 Gala or Honeycrisp apples
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Heaping 1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 small beaten egg for egg wash

On parchment paper, roll out the pie crust in an oblong shape to the largest possible even thickness. Use a little flour if necessary. Place on baking sheet and chill while you make the filling.

Rustic Galette Crust

In a small saucepan, add the applesauce, lemon juice and zest, 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon, and brandy. Stir and bring to a simmer, the continue to simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it’s reduced quite a bit.

Applesauce Brandy Filling

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare the rest of the filling. Core the apples, then slice thin. No need to peel! In a bowl, combine the the apple slices, honey, vanilla, and the other 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Stir until evenly coated.

Applesauce Pecan Layer

Spread the applesauce mixture over the pie crust, leaving about an inch border. Sprinkle the chopped pecans over it. Starting from the middle, fan the apple slices in concentric circles.

Apple Layer

Fold the edges of the crust over, then brush the egg wash over the exposed pie crust.

Galette Ready to Bake

Bake for 30 minutes until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Serve immediately, or at room temperature. I enjoyed it immensely with vanilla ice cream!

Apple Pecan Galette

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Jodi’s Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken

Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken

This meal is so easy even this one-handed cook pulled it off handily. (I crack myself up.) 😀

My wonderful blog friend Jodi at The Creative Life in Between posted yet another mouth-watering dish for me to steal. I followed her recipe except cut it in half and used smoked paprika in place of the optional smokey paprika chipotle.

Dried Oregano and Honey Garlic Sauce

I thought I was out of dried oregano so snipped some fresh and dried it in the toaster oven first, but then found my last year’s dried batch — not in the empty and clearly labeled oregano jar — but in a Mrs. Dash container labeled in Sharpee with my husband’s printing. Go figure.

We served ours over rice and garnished with additional sesame seeds and snipped green onion (I demonstrate my prowess with that task below).

Snipping Green Onion Wearing Traction Device

This is a spicy, slightly sweet explosion of flavor! The daughter went back for seconds and had the leftovers the next day. My husband ate a large sub just a few hours earlier and didn’t have any. Hiss loss!

Please pop on over to Jodi’s place to find a handy-dandy printable recipe here —> Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken.

Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken

Spanakopita

Spanakopita

My sister made this wonderful authentic Greek dish for the family one night when she was here visiting last week. It was so much fun being able to snap some photos while she explained every step of the recipe and demonstrated the “technique” of this dish. This recipe came from her boyfriend’s mother who hailed from Greece, Zora St. Martin (her Greek maiden name was Zaharias, she married a French Canadian). Zora died about two years ago at age 88, and had a successful catering business in Newport, NH. Before she passed on she wrote down the recipe for her son, which I have shared below. As a bonus, she also included the recipe for Tiropita, which is similar to Spanakopita but doesn’t have spinach.

Spanakopita and Tiropita Recipes

The first thing my sister said before making this was to correct my pronunciation of the dish. I’ve been saying it wrong all these years! It is span-uh-KOH-pih-ta, NOT span-uh-koh-PEE-ta. This also makes a very large amount. She said whenever they cook this at home, they wrap up individual packages to give to friends. They actually have friends calling them asking them when they are going to make it again, it is that good! This also makes a wonderful breakfast or brunch. It took us a few days, but we ate every last bit of this! My sister also found some cute little lamb chops on sale at the store, which she marinated in soy sauce, honey, and red chile flakes and grilled them up as a nice “side” to the Spanakopita. Thank you Molly for an awesome dinner!

Spanakopita

1 package Filo (Phyllo) dough, thawed in refrigerator
3 10-ounce packages frozen spinach, thawed
1 bunch green onions
Handful of fresh dill sprigs
16-ounce container cottage cheese
24-ounces crumbled Feta cheese
6 well-beaten eggs
2 sticks melted butter (1/2 pound)

Spanakopita Ingredients

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the thawed spinach in a colander and squeeze out as much liquid as possible with your hands. Literally grab bunches of the spinach and wring it out like a wet washcloth. My sister demonstrated this beautifully:

Squeezing the Water Out of the Spinach

Chop the green onions…

Chopping the Green Onions

then mix them thoroughly with the spinach in a large bowl.

Mixing the Onion and Spinach

Mince the dill, then add to the spinach mixture along with the cottage and Feta cheeses and the beaten eggs. Combine thoroughly.

Spanakopita Filling

Brush a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with some of the butter. Layer 5 or 6 Filo sheets in the bottom of the pan, including up the sides.

First Layer of Filo Sheets

Press in 1/4 of the spinach mixture in an even layer.

First Layer of Spinach Mixture

Layer 3 or 4 more sheets of Filo, then coat with butter evenly with a brush.

Brushing the Filo with Butter

Repeat layers of spinach, Filo, and butter. The top layer should be at least 5 or 6 sheets of Filo. Pour any remaining butter over the top and brush around.

Brushing the Last of the Butter Over Top

Bake in the preheated heated oven for 45 minutes until the top is golden-brown. If it starts to get too brown you can lightly cover it with a piece of foil. After 45 minutes, turn oven down to 350 and bake for 15 more minutes. Remove from oven, and let sit for about 15 minutes before serving.

Spanakopita Out of the Oven!

While the Spanakopita was resting, these pretty babies were thrown onto the grill for a few minutes on each side.

Marinating Lamb Chops

Dinner is served!

Spanakopita and Lamb Chop Dinner

 

 

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Balsamic Gravy over Pork

Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Balsamic Gravy over Pork

This has all the makings to be an elegant meal, but somehow I just did not quite pull it off. Now don’t get me wrong, you can keep reading as I’ll still share the recipe. But let me ask you this. How on earth can onions be tough after cooking them for almost 20 minutes? Somehow I managed to do that. But the sauce was still good, and not all the onions were hard. I can only guess that I should have peeled the onion down one more layer after taking off the skin. Anyways, I plan on making this again some day and will cross my fingers for softer onions.

Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Balsamic Gravy over Pork

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 large sweet onion, sliced thin and cut in half
4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb Blend
Black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons flour, divided
2 thin-cut pork loin chops
1 cup homemade or low sodium beef broth
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
Pinch of dried basil

Caramelizing the Onions and Mushrooms

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the onions in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until starting to soften, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms, and cook until onions and mushrooms have caramelized, about 15 to 20 minutes total. Turn heat down if needed if they start to burn.  Once caramelized, remove to a bowl and set aside.

Season the pork chops with Mrs. Dash and ground black pepper, to taste. Lightly dust each side of the pork chops with 1 tablespoon of the flour. Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet, and cook each side of the pork chops for 2 to 3 minutes over medium-high heat. Remove to a plate and tent with foil.

Add a tablespoon of flour to the oil left in the pan, adding a touch more oil, if needed. Mix until a paste forms. Slowly whisk in the cup of beef broth and balsamic vinegar. Mix in the honey and herbs, then turn down heat to a simmer. Add the onions and mushrooms back to the skillet and mix into the sauce. Last, add the pork chops back to the skillet, cover, and cook for a few minutes more to heat them through. We served this with fresh Trader Joe’s Haricot Verts and Harvest Grains cooked in beef broth. If you have good luck with caramelizing onions, then this is an easy dinner for any night of the week.

Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Balsamic Gravy over Pork

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken

Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken

I missed posting this past weekend because we went to work on our property for three days. Exhausting work, but we got a lot accomplished, and we foresee fishing off our dock next trip down there. YAY!

The weather has been pretty toasty across the nation lately, and we’ve been pretty hot here too but not in the triple digits like some places. However, the lack of air conditioning has inspired many grilled dinners or cold salads lately. With my cilantro plants about to go to seed, I wanted to use a bunch of it for tonight’s dinner. And with several limes on hand, it seemed like a perfect pairing for a chicken marinade. I found a recipe that used these ingredients from Sunset magazine, and adapted it from there. I served this with a green salad made with lettuce from my herb garden and white beans cooked with minced garlic (of course) and minced fresh tarragon from the garden. My family RAVED over this dinner. And my husband even said, “You know Kathryn, I think you have this grilling thing down finally.” That made me very happy.

Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken

1 large chicken breast (about one pound)
Juice of 2 small limes (about a quarter cup)
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
Black pepper to taste
Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb Blend to taste

Cut the chicken breast in half lengthwise, pound to an even thickness and place in a quart Ziploc bag. In a small bowl, whisk the rest of the ingredients well and pour over the chicken. Seal the bag, then shake it around a few times to distribute the marinade evenly. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour or overnight. When ready to cook, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature, about an hour beforehand. Grill on a medium-high heat for five to seven minutes each side, or until no longer pink in the middle. Remove from grill and serve immediately.