A Rustic Apple Crisp.

You all know how I adore a rustic fare. For me, cobbler is the perfect expression of myself thru food.  I adore everything about it’s Southern, rustic, fruitful, sweet, hearty wholesomeness. My favorite waivers between apple and cherry, I go back & forth each time I have one or the other, so I imagine I like them both absolutely equally. That seems all fair in the world of food choices, no?

Fully aware of my constant cobbler debate, Mom decided upon Apple Cobbler for a post-holiday dinner dessert this year. Oh joy! So as I write this post, I must say I’m skewing much towards the side of apple cobbler as a favorite once again. The apples were crisp and even in the wintry chill, reminded me of a perfect Fall day in North Carolina.

This recipe was well, adapted we shall say,  from a basic recipe, mostly because I’m not the best at following instructions and I got a bit ambitious with the initial mixing of ingredients. But much to my delight, it’s hard to mess up a hearty cobbler and so I shall share our delicious mishap with you too.

 

Rustic Apple Crisp

Toss together the following ingredients in a lovely mixing bowl. This will be the inside of your cobbler. Spray a glass baking dish & fill with the below:
6 small granny smith apples, in thin slices.
4 TBSP flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Sprinkling of salt

Mix the following ingredients together for the crumbly topping to pile atop the apple mixture:
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 TBSP salted butter in pats
2/3 cups oats
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Bake in oven at 350F degrees for 30-40 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Top with caramel sauce for even more oooh’s & aaaah’s.

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Heirloom Recipe Series with Cathy Barrow of Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Kitchen.

I am so excited to have the absolutely queen of preserves with us this week for the Heirloom Recipe Series – Mrs. Cathy Barrow of Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Kitchen. Now you all know how much I adore preserves, and Cathy has been recognized by NPR and The Today Show and will soon be featured in the food52 cookbook! I hope you’ll take a moment to get just a glimpse inside of Cathy’s kitchen!

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Heirloom Recipe Series with Cathy Barrow.

My mother’s been gone five years now, but each Thanksgiving she sits on my shoulder and guides me through the rituals.

So many of the foods on my table were foods she made year after year. We didn’t ask for a change in the menu – no one wanted anything to change at all. We looked forward to the appetizers – chopped liver on celery stalks (“There will be plenty of bread later.”)

The table was piled high with creamed onions, green beans with almonds, sausage and apple stuffing, giblet gravy, cranberry sauce and of course, that big beautiful bronzed bird.

Desserts were plentiful, but always included pies: apple for my brother, pumpkin for my Dad, and mincemeat for Mom and me.

Since there were only four of us, and food enough for ten, we were thrilled to start a new tradition when Mom and Dad bought a little weekend house in the Berkshires. By that time, my brother David was married with two kids. I was a career girl, working in Pittsburgh. We would gather in Hartford for Thanksgiving dinner then caravan to the country the next day.

Like us, many of the neighbors had spent their Thanksgivings at home and driven up to the mountains for the weekend. The neighbors – Gail and Dusty – also had plenty of leftovers to share, but were curious to see what others were eating for the holiday. Everyone had leftovers. And that’s how The Dead Poultry Society was born.

Every year, the Friday after Thanksgiving, for years and years, we gathered with a dozen or more neighbors to sample their family’s Thanksgiving favorites. There was an amazing pear relish from Gail. Another had scalloped potatoes that I still dream about, studded with truffles.

But rising above all these treats was the day-after-Thanksgiving sandwich my mother concocted. I’ll be making it again this year, because there’s just nothing like the sweet, salty, savory goodness of this sandwich. It’s definitely a little naughty – highly caloric – but just this one day? It’s a necessity.

Day-After-Thanksgiving Sandwich

Roast turkey
Cranberry Sauce
Chopped liver
Leftover stuffing
Mayonaisse
Challah

YUM.

And this really isn’t possible without classic chopped liver, just the way my grandmother used to make it.

Chopped Chicken Liver

6 eggs, hard boiled and peeled
1 lb. yellow skinned onions, minced fine
3 oz chicken fat (schmaltz) or unsalted butter
1 T grapeseed oil
1/2 lb. livers from pastured free range chickens
2 T cognac

Chop the eggs very fine using an mezzaluna or food processor. They should be fluffy. Put in a large bowl and set aside.
In a large heavy saute pan, heat half the butter with the oil. Add the onions and saute slowly until richly browned but not burned.
Salt and pepper generously while they cook.
In the meantime, rinse and clean the livers well, removing connective sinew.
When the onions have finished cooking, put them in the bowl with the eggs.
Heat 3 oz of schmaltz or butter in the onion pan and saute the livers until no pink remains. Do not brown or crisp. Salt and pepper generously.
Remove the livers from the pan and deglaze with the cognac.
Put the livers in your food processor or a bowl.
Pour the deglazing liquid and goodies from the bottom of the pan into the egg/onion mixture.
Chop the livers with a mezzaluna. If you use your food processor, pulse off and on to chop, not liquify.
Gently fold the livers into the onion/egg mixture.
Test and correct for seasoning. The flavor blooms after chilling, so make this in advance and season carefully.
Pack in ramekins or other serving dishes. Keep dishes small – about 4 oz. and make sure to freeze whatever will not be used within two days.

All images courtesy of Cathy Barrow

Be sure to also connect with Cathy Barrow over on her website, Twitter (@mrswheelbarrow) and on her Facebook Page!

 

 

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Part of our Heirloom Recipes Series, featuring foodies, chefs, artisans, Southerners & fabulous folks willing to share their stories, recipes and photos in an effort to help preserve and share these family recipes for generations to come.

Heirloom Recipes: Turtles.

Wax paper rows of farm-raised perfections, caramel & cocoa hand-dippings with pasture times spent gathering.

May sound familiar if you’ve perused our Pecan Orchard Pleasantries Full Apron. This apron was inspired by my beau’s Granny, whom I was lucky enough to spend a chilly winter day with in the kitchen over the holidays.

Year after year she spends countless days hand-picking pecans from the picturesque horse pasture at their family farm to stockpile enough to make endless turtles for the holidays. Cracking, cleaning, & bagging the whole pecans are just the beginning. This recipe truly is an heirloom in their family, and one that will be preserved for generations to come.

The secret to the recipe, of course, is the fresh, whole pecans carefully made into crosses on a wide sheet of wax paper, turtle after turtle. For a quart sized Ziploc bagful, you’ll need about 2 bags of Kraft caramels and 6 squares of chocolate almond bark.

Simply “cross” the pecans, melt the caramels in the microwave & carefully (will be hot) pull of a spoonful of caramel & flatten and place onto each pecan cross. Once these are all carameled, melt the chocolate bricks in the microwave and again spoon on a dollop to complete the turtles! Allow them to firm & dry and then divulge in some serious, farm raised perfection!

Thanks Granny.

IceMilk Aprons & Saks Fifth Avenue.

Saks Fifth Avenue is made of what little girls dream of, reminiscent of the elegance of only the most proper of ladies dressed to the nines in heels & fur on a snowy-charmed street of the City.

IceMilk Aprons so proudly announces our line of heirloom aprons will be in-store at the Saks Fifth Avenue Atlanta store at Phipps Plaza beginning December 9th as part of the Trinity School Spotlight on Art Artists Market Preview, along with 11 other fabulous Atlanta artists.

We are just thrilled to adorn the luxurious shelves of Saks with a whole bunch of preserves jars each carefully packed with our aprons waiting for you to come in for a holiday visit! Hope you’ll stop in and check out our display as you’re out gift-gathering for the loved ones.

Oh, Peppermint Sticks.

Delectable sticks of soft peppermint delight, Bob’s Peppermint Sticks are a must-have vintage confection for the holidays.

Wooden barrels brimmed-over with small bags of these fragrant peppermint sticks fill your head with reminiscent memories of noching on the simple treats. Wrap a stack with a simple ribbon for a beautiful stocking stuffer or in place of a traditional bowl of dinner mints. Adding a peppermint stick to a mug of cocoa or coffee for a tasty stir, or as garnish in a specialty holiday drink.
Be sure to grab a tiny bag of these sweet pieces of peppermint sticks and add a classic twist to the candy canes of today to freshen up your holiday cheer.