Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake

I continue the baking madness with this Apple Cinnamon Coffee cake. I had some family coming over and was able to make this while they were driving over. I used some local apples that I found, and hold up well in this cake. This cake is not overly soggy like I find some coffee cakes to be. This recipe is pretty pantry friendly since it does not call for sour cream or anything out of the ordinary. Everything in this recipe is stuff I usually have on hand.

Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake

2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice or nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 peeled, cored, and thinly sliced firm apples
Topping:

1/4c softened butter

1/4c brown sugar

1/4c flour

chopped nuts (I used almonds)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (350 degrees if using a Pyrex or dark-finish dish). Lightly spray or grease a 8x8 pan (If you have to use something smaller, just increase your cooking time). In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar, beating with a spoon until thick. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg, and salt. Mix vigorously until the batter is fully combined about 1 minute. Fold in the apples and mix until the apples are evenly coated and the batter becomes moist and smooth. There will be lots of apples, held together by a relatively stiff batter. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer with a metal spatula. Sprinkle the top evenly with the topping. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until the center is firm when gently pressed. Remove from the oven and cool until easy to cut.

Biscotti Baking

I hate to bake. It is too exact and too tedious, but the Holiday season makes you do things you normally wouldn't do. I wanted to make something for my coworkers for Christmas that they would enjoy and would not drive me insane. They are all coffee-holics, so I decided to make biscotti. Biscotti are a twice baked cookie and are a little dry in texture (fool proof for us non-bakers). Since I do not typically bake, I used a coughcelebritychefcough recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, who I hate...but secretly love. The first is a biscotti with cranberries, pistachios, and white chocolate. The second is a chocolate hazelnut cookie, that has a similar texture to biscotti. I edited these recipes because some of the steps are superfluous.

Cranberry, Pistachio Biscotti with White Chocolate (makes about 2 dozen cookies)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup dried cranberries
12 ounces good-quality white chocolate, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture and mix until just blended. Stir in the pistachios and cranberries. Form the dough into a 13-inch long, 3-inch wide log on a baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes. Place the log on the cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely. Stir the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Dip half of the biscotti into the melted chocolate or drizzle over top. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes.

*For the white chocolate, you can save time by microwaving it in 10 second increments. Stir each time and continue to melt until the chocolate is 3/4 way melted. Stir until fully melted. It is important to only melt 3/4 of the way so you don't burn the chocolate.

Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti (makes about 25)

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (like Nutella)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In another medium bowl combine the butter, chocolate hazelnut spread, sugar, and brown sugar. Using an electric mixer, cream the ingredients together. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Add the hazelnuts and stir until just combined. Using a tablespoon, spoon out the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet, spacing the mounds about 4 inches apart. Use the tines of a fork to flatten the cookie dough. Bake until lightly golden around the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes. Use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let cool.

*It is very important to space the cookies out, they spread into a thin cookie.

Kale with Walnuts and Cranberries

Here is a healthy, fast recipe for kale...no bacon needed. I bought some local kale from Rose Hill, NC. Kale is probably one of my favorite greens. It is not "bitter" like collards, mustard greens, or dandelion greens. It takes no vinegar, bacon or ham for it to taste fresh and fantastic.

You will need (serves 4):

2 bunches kale, center rib removed and torn into large pieces

Olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1c raw walnuts

1c dried cranberries

Salt and Pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add kale and cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain and push with a spoon to remove excess water. In a pan, heat 2T olive oil. Add walnuts and cook until fragrant. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Stir in kale. Add cranberries and just enough olive oil to lightly coat the kale. Season with salt and pepper.

Bruschetta, Carolina Style

OK, so typically I am a wee bit leery of convenience products, usually because they are full of salt and/or preservatives. I do however like a product that is carried at Whole Foods. It is a pre-smoked pulled pork. It is local for us Carolinians, no hormones, antibiotics, animal by-products,etc...and is very neutral in taste. Basically, you can just heat up the pork, add your favorite BBQ sauce, and voilà! Its about $3 and some change per pound, and a pound goes a long way. Today I used this pork to make a Carolina Style Bruschetta.

You will need:
Olive oil
2T butter

1lb onion, thinly sliced

1 baguette, cut into 1/2 inch slices

2 cloves garlic smashed*

1/2 lb pulled pork

Your favorite BBQ sauce

Salt and Pepper

Chives, minced for garnish

*To smash a clove of garlic, lay the clove on your cutting board. Turn the blade of your knife to lay flat against the clove and turned away from you. With the heel of your hand, hit the knife. Pull away the peel and you will have literally smashed your garlic.

Heat butter and 2T of olive oil in a large pan. Add onions and let them cook until dark brown. This will take a while. The larger surface space you have, the faster they will cook. Only turn occasionally, turning them too often will increase your cooking time (no need to babysit-they will not go anywhere).

Warm your pork with a small amount of BBQ sauce, just to moisten. You will add more later. Lay your baguette slices out on a baking sheet. then brush them with olive oil. Rub the garlic clove over the slices and season with salt and pepper. Grill (or broil) the bread until golden brown. Assemble the bruschetta by piling a heaping spoonful of the pork on top of the bread. Drizzle with BBQ sauce, then top with onions. Garnish with chopped chives and serve.

Good idea for a meat-lovers appetizer, or make a full size sandwich.

Introducing...

After sparked interest of what it is that I cook, I finally decided to do a food blog. At first I thought it may be cheesy or corny (food joke), but realized that it would be a great outlet for me to store my recipes and share them with you. Over the past couple of years I have gotten into eating as much local foods as possible. Living in North Carolina is a blessing in doing so. I encourage everyone to do the same. Supporting your local farmers is not only great for them and the environment, but ensures that you are eating the freshest food out there. Now, I will try to do this as much as possible, but in the dead of winter there is only so many sweet potatoes I can eat..

Some of these recipes will be Nutmegg originals, some will be from friends, and some will be from those big and rich famous chefs-with some tweaking, but the bottom line is creative eating.

So have some fun, take the time to stop and smell the garlic, and here we go...