Apples Are Good!

I remember a cartoon when I was very young, called "Johnny Appleseed" here is the video: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xi99je_johnny-appleseed-1948_shortfilms 

I believed it and why not? I guess from the intro of the movie there was such a person that existed, except it wasn't dramatic as this animated cartoon.  I was only three years old when it came out.  Wow, how time flies.  It was one of the first Disney short animated movies I remember seeing.  Check it out, you might like it.  My first experience was applesauce, duh I was probably about a year old…my Mom would make her own and it was always the hit at dinner time, but it wasn’t a sauce, it was just cut up apples they were boiled with sugar and water, pretty basic sort of like a compote…she might have put in lemon juice and some other spices, but whatever, it was the best.  That was my Mom, back then she was women before her time.  She made everything from scratch, using all natural products.  I think I might have mentioned before, we had chickens and turkeys and ducks, and fruit, on our own little piece of property (called a backyard).  She had to buy flour (this is a little foggy, but, I remember using the flour sacks for pillow cases or hand towels or something like that, My wife mentioned that her grandmother used to make aprons), and processed sugar, we didn’t have sweeteners back then.  If something wasn’t sweet enough she brought out the old sugar jar, (literally), which was an old “Boston Baked Bean” jar that was made from brown glass.  It held about 2-3 cups of sugar.  No one today would remember those.  We knew where it "hidden", she put it on, (of course), the highest shelf, and what it taste like and what it was used for.  I remember eating sugar right out of the jar once and my Mom would give me a life lesson... I think several times, If I remember correctly, at least my hand was a little red afterwards, but, what is a little red hand, when you could taste that great sweetness, now that I think back, (I think that is when my ”sweet tooth” all started, with that little brown sugar jar, LOL). Or, it was from me being on the countertop with my dirty shoes and taking all of her spices out of the cabinet to get to the back of the shelf LOL…Ouch!). She probably kept the sugar bags in her “locked” cabinet, (which was a necessity, if you have five kids and with one that was very precocious (like me), LOL. She also used honey back then, but it was way more expensive. I think back then everything she bought was naturally grown, like out of gardens and from trees were the least expensive, unlike today, it is the most expensive and only limited to the very well educated, money doesn’t matter, type of yuppie, if you know the type, it was sort of like a cast system, (you know where you stand in the system). Like when you walk into, (accidently), one of those natural food store and you ask where the all-purpose flour and the processed sugar and the homogenized milk is located…and they stand there with their mouths open and other have a look of terror moving away from you with their two fingers together making a cross in front of them, like your are Satan or something, and the shunning and running I felt like I had leprosy or...boy am I getting off topic here…anyway, you know what I mean.

     Fresh apples were great, but back then my Mom would peel them, (today that would be terrible…the nutrients going into the trash), and she would cut them up for the family and they were so good, she might have purchased some Granny Smiths once in a while for her pies and we didn't know the difference and eat those, but after the first bite we would look like we bit into a lemon…We never understood why she bought them…they looked so much like the green variety of the golden delicious.  Today we have so many different kinds of apples, Pink Lady, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp (my personal favorite), Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, McIntosh, Fuji, Gala, and Jonagold and this are just the most popular varieties, you can check out this website for a more in-depth list, 

http://www.orangepippin.com/apples.

 I am a “sweeter the better” kind of guy, but they need some substance like the Honeycrips so they don’t break down when you bake or eat.  I am sure like me, we all like certain types.  When I do bake, I want to use apples, they are always so good, and are in the best (sweetest) recipes. I have some that I want to share with you:

Apple Pie by Grandma Ople (I don't know who she is)

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 Hour

Ready In: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

Servings: 8

"Unique and popular recipe of sliced apples, under a lattice crust, that get bathed with a sweet buttery sauce before baking."

INGREDIENTS:

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

DIRECTIONS: and video— http://allrecipes.com/video/816/apple-pie-by-grandma-ople/detail.aspx

 Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

Ahhh, such fond memories of my mom’s pies and next!!!!

Apple Crisp II

"Cinnamon-spiced apples are baked with a sweet oat crumble in this simple dessert. It's great served with ice cream!"

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 45 Minutes

Ready In: 1 Hour 20 Minutes

Servings: 12

INGREDIENTS:

10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled,

cored and sliced

1 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup water

 1 cup quick-cooking oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter, melted

DIRECTIONS: and Video http://allrecipes.com/video/2679/apple-crisp-ii/detail.aspx

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).
Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all.
Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes.

Romanian Apple Cake

"This is a wonderfully simple, yet delicious cake! It is so moist and fresh, it will surely be a favorite with your family, just like it is with mine! The main length of the preparation time is cutting and peeling the apples. A mixture of apples works great, although I usually use Golden Delicious."

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 55 Minutes

Ready In: 1 Hour 15 Minutes

Servings: 12

 

INGREDIENTS:

5 apples, peeled and cored

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups white sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup chopped walnuts
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. Cut the apples into 1 inch wedges. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until blended. Mix in the baking soda, oil, cinnamon and vanilla. Stir in the flour, just until incorporated. Fold in the apples and walnuts. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly. May be served warm or at room temperature.

Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake

PREP TIME: 25 MINS
COOK TIME: 55 MINS
TOTAL TIME: 1 HOUR 20 MINS
SERVES: 8

A delicious apple upside down cake that is perfectly moist and has a caramel glaze on top!

INGREDIENTS
¼ cup butter
⅔ Cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 medium apples, peeled, cut into ½-inch wedges
1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup milk
Whipped Cream topping:
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray an 9 inch round or square pan with cooking spray. Set aside. In a medium saucepan melt ¼ cup butter over medium heat until melted. Add the brown sugar. Bring it to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon. Pour into the bottom of the greased pan. Arrange the apples over the brown sugar mixture. In a medium size bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and salt. Set bowl aside. In a large bowl or mixer, beat together 1 cup sugar, and ½ cup butter on medium speed until fluffy. Add in eggs and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture alternating with the milk until smooth. Pour the batter over the apples and spread evenly. Bake 55-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, to make the whipped topping, beat whipping cream on high until soft peaks start to form. Add in 2 tablespoons sugar. Run knife along the edges of the cake and flip upside down on a pan. Serve warm with whipped cream on top.

Paula Deen Savannah High Apple Pie

Total Time: 2 hr. 45 min

Prep: 1 hr.

Cook: 1 hr. 30 min

Yield: 1 pie

Ingredients

For the Deep Dish Pie Crust:

6 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups butter-flavored solid shortening (recommended: Crisco)

1 tablespoon salt

3/4 cup cold water

For the Filling:

24 apples, preferably Golden Delicious or Granny Smith, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced*

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

For the streusel:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup pecans

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup milk

4 tablespoons sugar

1 recipe Caramel Pecan Topping, recipe follows

Caramel Pecan Topping:

2 (12-ounce) cups melted caramel

3 tablespoons evaporated milk

1 1/2 cup chopped pecan pieces

Directions:

For the streusel:

*The number of apples depends on the size of the pie.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

For the Deep Dish Pie Crust:

Cut flour into butter-flavored shortening. Add salt and stir in enough water to make stiff dough. Knead slightly together. Chill dough before using. Use 1/3 of pie dough for bottom crust. Roll bottom crust. Lay in pie pan.

For the filling:

Combine apples, flour, sugar, and cinnamon and mix lightly with spatula. For the streusel: In a small bowl combine together butter, brown sugar, flour, pecans and cinnamon. Layer this mix  very so often between apples. Using stainless bowl, begin layering apples slice by slice, slightly overlapping starting at the outside circle of the bowl and working towards the center. Push firmly as the layers build. Round off top layer of apple slices when you reach the top. Put a single layer of sliced apples in the bottom crust. Take the pie pan with the bottom crust in left hand and the stainless bowl of sliced apples in right hand and invert. Put finger tips under edge of bowl to release the air and gently lift off. Press and firm apples and straighten. Add slices of apple to take away sharp edges (so as not to puncture the pie dough). Add slices of apples to top of pie to round off.

Add 4 tablespoons of butter pats on top of pie. Roll out top crust using remaining pie dough. Gently place top crust over the mound of apples. Smooth the sides of pie crust towards bottom of pie pulling out on extra crust. Pinch down to seal 2 layers together. Crimp pie for first time. Cut extra crust with the back of a sharp knife. Re-crimp the edges and push towards the pie. Brush with milk and sprinkle sugar rubbing your left hand from the bottom up to evenly spread your sugar. Put 5 steam vents with a small knife towards the upper part of the pie. Do not vent at the top as it will cause the pie to split open as it bakes. Bake pie between 350 to 375 degrees F for 1 hour, 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Let cool for at least 1 hour. Spread warm Caramel Pecan Topping on top of crust beginning at the base of the pie above the fluting and working towards the top.

Serving suggestions:

Drizzle caramel pecan topping with semisweet chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. Cook's Note: To add candied pecans to pie recipe, use 2 cups of candied pecans, 1 cup towards the bottom, 1/2 cup towards the middle, and 1/4 cup towards the top.

Caramel Pecan Topping:

Melt caramels completely in microwave. Add evaporated milk and stir until smooth consistency. Add chopped pecans and stir. Spread over pie starting at base and working in.