Apple Crobbler

I was asked to bring a dessert to a Sunday School function on Sunday, and didn’t want to buy something pre-made from the store. I’m missing beautiful Apple Hill
in California this fall and have been craving delicious apple treats such as fresh apple juice and pies. So I decided to to and throw together some apple dish, and being, as usual, sans cookbook and experience, I went the easy route.

I can’t say the results are absolutely perfect, and they’re definitely NOT Apple Hill quality, they did fit the bill and take the edge off my craving. And it was easy.

Why “Apple Crobbler”? Because it’s not quite a Crisp, and not quite a Cobbler, of course.

Ingredients:

Granny Smith Apples (enough to fill the pan mounded over the pot)
1/2 cup Raisins
1/4 cup Chopped Nuts (I used Pecans, but walnuts or other soft nuts should work well)
1/2 cup Brown Sugar (this can be adjusted, if using sweeter apples use less or no sugar)
1/4 cup Honey (this can also be adjusted, it is more for flavor)
1 Tbsp Salt
3 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
Cinnamon (to taste)
Nutmeg (to taste)
Water
Butter
Croissant Dough (I used Pillsbury from the can, 1 can worked well for a 9×12 baking dish)

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.

Wash the apples, peel if desired and slice thinly, approximately 1/4 inch wide slices. Place in large mixing bowl. (I didn’t peel the apples. Thinner slices make the apple bake thoroughly in the proper time, the Croissant dough will usually cook in 20 minutes or less. If the dough takes longer to bake, cut the apples thicker. You want the apples to still hold their shape but just barely when done. I used a container with a sealing lid, so mixing the ingredients involved shaking the container.)

Add Raisins, Nuts, Brown Sugar, Honey, Salt, Oil, Cinnamon, and Nutmeg. Add small amount of Water to allow enough moisture to coat the apples with the rest of the mixture.

Mix thoroughly.

Pour mixture into the baking dish, place several pats of Butter on top.

Roll Croissant Dough out thinly and place over dish. Spread softened Butter on top of dough and sprinkle with Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, and Nutmeg. (The butter will keep the crust from burning while giving it a nice brown color and helping to carmelize the Brown Sugar).

Place in oven. Check after 15 minutes and remove when crust is golden brown.

Chicken Marinade and Pasta Sauce

So I’m a bit of an aspiring cook. The dishes never turn out LOOKING the way I imagine them, but it’s been a while since they didn’t TASTE ok.

Last night I was hosting some friends on the final night of their long trip circumscribing most of the western states, I decided to do pasta and chicken for dinner. Being a bachelor I don’t really spend much time cooking anymore, there are other things to do, and I can live on yogurt, pizza, and sandwiches as well as the next, but I do enjoy cooking. My mother taught me along with all my brothers and sisters in turn, how to cook and clean (wise woman, she hasn’t had to cook meals with any great regularity for 20 years now).

But, like my dad, I don’t just do the recipe book thing, I enjoy throwing things together and seeing what pops out, hence this recipe. I made it with three well-trimmed chicken breasts, extra-virgin olive oil (stronger flavor is better), tri-color pasta spirals, and the Tomato Basil bread from Panera. But I’m sure you can use the pasta and bread of your choice.

Do this the night before:

1/2 8oz can Tomato Sauce
splash of Italian Salad Dressing
1 tbsp Garlic Salt
1 tbsp Seasoned Salt
2 tbsp Sugar
3 tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese
3 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
3 Chicken Breasts, cleaned

Combine all ingredients in bowl with lid. Shake to mix thoroughly. Place in refrigerator over night.

Do this the day you want to eat:

1/2 Yellow, Orange, or Red Bell Pepper, cleaned and cut into strips
2 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 tbsp Garlic Salt

Sautee/Fry bell pepper just until browned on one side. Push to side of pan.

Add Chicken and entire contents of marinade. Cook until done.

If more liquid is needed, add the rest of the Tomato Sauce.
The more liquid the better because the liquid makes an excellent pasta sauce as well, tying the flavors of the whole plate together.

Shortly before serving, boil water and add pasta, cooking al dente (which means literally “to the teeth” and in application just until tender, no “crunch” left if using store-bought pasta, you want it to be able to hold it’s form and texture on the plate).

Warm bread in an oven or toast in the broiler, french, sour dough, or any bread with a strong flavor that is not sweet works well. Use Olive Oil for dipping.

I hope you enjoy this first entry from the I, Pandora Kitchen. Leave comments if you like it, feed it to the cats if you don’t.