pecan pie balls

I love pecan pie...but we didn't have any for Thanksgiving! It appears as though people either have a love-it-or-hate-it relationship with pecan pie, but believe you me, I sure do love it! My laziness again ruled my cooking: I didn't have any pre-made dough, and it took too long in my mind to make some...so I skipped the crust all together and made some cute little pecan pie balls with just the pecan pie filling. The end result may be even better than a whole pecan pie...light but a punch of flavor, it is a perfect little dessert!

Ingredients (for 24 mini balls):
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3 tbs white sugar
1/4 cup and 2 tbs butter, melted
1 1/2 eggs
2 1/4 tsp flour
2 1/4 tsp nonfat milk
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped pecans  

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until frothy & mix in the melted butter.

 

2. Stir in the brown sugar, white sugar & flour. Stir to mix. Add vanilla, milk, and pecans. Mix thoroughly.
 

3. Lightly grease mini muffin tin. Place 1 tbs mixture into each hole. Place in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
 

4. Lower oven to 350 for 10 more minutes, or until crackly-brown on the top and crispy to the touch.
 

 

5. Let cool on wire rack & enjoy! I'm sure they're also delicious crumbled over vanilla bean ice cream....

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beef stew with homemade bread bowls

To celebrate my 100th post and meeting my goal of posting every day for the last month, I will share my favorite fall recipe with you! 

Ingredients:
Bread bowls (makes 4)
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 envelope of active dry yeast (1/4-ounce)
1 tsp salt
1 tbs vegetable oil
3 1/2 cups flour 
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tbs cornmeal
1/2 egg white
1/2 tbs water

Stew (makes 4 small portions, or 2 full-sized with leftovers)
2 lbs stew beef
2 tbs vegetable oil
4 cups of water (separated)
1 bottle of red wine of choice (separated)
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
2 medium onions, roughly diced 
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 dash ground cloves
1 dash ground nutmeg
3 large carrots, sliced
3 ribs celery, chopped
3 small/medium potatoes, diced
10-15 mushrooms, sliced


Directions:
1. For the bread bowls, stir together the warm water and yeast in a large bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add flour gradually, beating at a medium speed with an electric mixer with dough hooks until soft dough forms.

 

2. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to grease. Cover and let rise in a warm place for at least 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk. If it is chilly in your home, heat oven to 100 degrees or preheat oven to lowest temperature and then turn off heat.

3. Meanwhile, begin the stew. Brown the beef in the vegetable oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
 

4. Add diced onion. Stir for 4 minutes and add minced garlic as the beef juices start collecting in the pot.
 

 

 

5. Add 2 cups of water, 2 cups of red wine, 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, and ground cloves. Stir, simmer, and cover for 1 1/2 hours, checking occasionally.

 

6. After dough has risen, place on floured surface again, punch down and knead. Create 4 small dough balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise for another hour (or until they gain in size again).
 

 

 

7. After the hour and a half of covered simmering has completed, remove bay leaves and add chopped vegetables to the mixture, along with another 2 cups of water and 2 cups of red wine. Sprinkle more salt and pepper. Drink rest of red wine while cooking. Cover and simmer for another 1 hour.

8. Occasionally uncover to stir and smash beef bits to spread about.
 

9. Once the separated dough balls have risen again, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix egg white with a splash of water. Brush egg mixture over dough. Sprinkle salt and topping of choice (I used sesame seeds, so they would look like big toasty hamburger buns!) and pop into preheated oven for 15 minutes.

10. After 15 minutes, remove bread bowls and brush with remaining egg mixture. Pop back into oven for 12 more minutes, until crispy and toasty.

11. Let cool on cooling rack. When cool, cut top off of bowl and scoop out the center.
 

 

 

 12. Remove cover from stew, continue to stir and mash beef until to desired consistency. If you prefer a thicker stew, feel free to mix in a bit of flour.

13. Scoop into bread bowls, serve, and enjoy on a chilly evening!
 

 

 

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fresh apple tart from scratch

After apple picking came the obligatory apple baking day. I decided to make a tart, rather than a pie, to test out my new Le Creuset tart pan. I went with a shortbread crust (because I love shortbread more than any other cookie) and made the tart to look like a dahlia (one of my favorite flowers), so all in all it was a delicious customized tart, so feel free to customize to your favorite things!

Ingredients (for 1 tart made with a 9" tart pan):
Shortbread crust:
2 egg yolks
2 tbs cold water
1 3/4 cups flour
1 stick of cold butter, diced
Pinch of salt 
 
Apple filling:
3 extra-large apples (4 medium-sized) cored, peeled, and sliced (retain cores & peels)
2 cups water
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs butter, diced
2 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs cinnamon

Directions:
1. Mix the egg yolks with the cold water and whisk until well combined.
 
2. Place the flour into a food processor, along with 1 stick of diced cold butter and a pinch of salt. Pulse several times until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

3. Add the egg yolk and water mixture to the dry mixture and pulse until the breadcrumb texture forms into larger chunks. Beware not to overwork!

4. Turn mix onto a clean, floured space and bring together to make a dough. Shape into a semi-flattened ball and cover in saran wrap. Place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. 

5. While waiting for pastry, peel and core apples (easiest with a melon baller if you do not have a corer). Place peel & core remnants in a small pot, cover with 2 cups of water and add 2 tbs sugar. Bring to a boil. Boil down to a syrup, strain, and reserve liquid.

 

 

 

 
6. Cut apple pieces into small slivers (1/8"). Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

7. Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out on a clean, floured space. Transfer to tart pan and lightly press on sides and bottom. 

8. Arrange apple slices accordingly in the tart pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Dot apple slices with diced butter. Pour 1/4 cup of apple syrup over tart and pop into preheated oven. Bake for 45 minutes (turning & adding 1/4 cup of apple syrup each 15 minutes) until bubbly and browned.

 

 

 9. Remove and enjoy by itself or with vanilla ice cream!

 

 

 

 

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