Apple Fritters, or "From Scratch Challenge: The Third"

I'm excited to present another classic fall sweet. And I'm proud to say that it doesn't contain pumpkin!

When the cyclist put in his request for a homemade apple fritter months ago, I'll admit I was nervous. I'm not a great fryer. But the cyclist is charming. So here they are.

These take a bit of work, but I'm confident anyone who can follow directions can make them. Read the entire recipe before you start (I read it a couple of times).

You will use a vanilla bean-this was my first time. I found it in the spice aisle. It smelled divine.

Also, there is hot oil involved, so have a deep fry thermometer handy. And as with any recipe that's prone to spatter, it is not advised that you try them on a "naked cooking day".

The fritters are delicious while they are hot, but save a few to cool to room temperature. We couldn't decide which we loved best.

Apple Fritters
adapted from CDKitchen.com

Start to finish time: about 3 hours
Inactive prep (rising) time: 2 1/2 hours

DOUGH:

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2/3 cup whole milk
3 1/4 cups plus 2 T unbleached flour
4 extra large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup sparkling apple cider
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Apples:

1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 vanilla bean
7 granny smith apples, peeled and cubed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup sparkling apple cider

Glaze:

1 cup plus 4 T powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

To prepare the dough; place the yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, heat the milk until warm to the touch. Pour the milk over the yeast. Let soften, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 2 cups of the flour to the milk mix, without stirring. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place, about 30 minutes.

In a small bowl combine the egg yolks and sugar. Add the cider, melted butter, salt, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and 1 1/4 cups of the flour and mix until combined. Add this mix to the yeast. Using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, mix on low for thirty seconds, then turn up to medium for about 1 minute. Add the remaining 2 Tablespoons of flour and mix on low for thirty seconds, then on medium for another thirty seconds. The dough will be very sticky.

Sift an even layer of flour onto the work surface; scrape the dough out of the bowl onto the work surface Clean the mixing bowl and lightly coat it with vegetable oil. Gather the dough and return it to the oiled bowl. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

To prepare the apples, in a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Using a small paring knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise. With the back of the knife, scrape out the pulp and the seeds of the vanilla bean and add the scrapings and the pod to the butter. Heat the butter until bubbly. Add the chopped apples, tossing to coat them with butter. Add the cinnamon and sugar, and saute 3 to 5 minutes until slightly softened. Add the vinegar and cider, and cook over medium high heat about 5 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean pod and place the apples on a baking sheet to cool.

Scrape the dough out onto a floured surface and stretch into a rectangle about 1/2" thick. Spread half of the apples over the dough and fold into thirds like a business letter, by bringing the bottom up and the top down, patting with your hands to flatten slightly. Roll dough again to stretch it out slightly. Scatter the remaining apples on top and fold into thirds again. Gather the dough together by tucking under the edges and return it to the oiled bowl. Cover and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Heat the oil to 375.

Scrape the dough out onto a floured surface and gently roll or pat it into a rectangle about 1" thick, flouring the surface of the dough as necessary. Cut the dough with a pizza cutter into rough triangles. Stretch dough slightly. Let sit 10 minutes while you make the glaze.

To prepare the glaze, in a small stainless steel bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water, combine the powdered sugar, cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Heat until just warm, stirring frequently. The glaze should be thin and translucent; if necessary, thin it down with more cream.

Drop fritters directly into the hot oil and fry until golden brown. Flip and fry second side.

Drain on paper towels and brush the fritters with glaze while they are warm.

Spicy Pumpkin Soup for the Fall Harvest Smackdown

The doctor-in-law invited us to participate in an iron-chef inspired recipe showdown at his place. The cyclist and I were a team. The D-I-L distributed a bag of fresh produce from his garden (think mostly hot peppers and juicy tomatoes). He then revealed the secret ingredient. Fresh pumpkin. I love to bake and I love pumpkin, however, I had never cooked with it. I always use the trusty canned stuff. My eyes have been opened. Have you ever roasted a fresh pumpkin? (Pie or Sugar Pumpkin, not the Jack-o-Lantern variety). Boy does it smell good!

This was the cyclist's entry in "the soup category".*


4 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 teaspoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

pinch cayenne pepper
6 cups of chopped roasted or pumpkin (To make pumpkin purée, cut a sugar pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff, lie face down on a tin-foil lined baking pan. Bake at 350°F until soft, about 45 min to an hour. Cool, scoop out the flesh. Freeze whatever you don't use for future use.) 
or 3 (15 oz) cans 100 percent pumpkin
5 cups of vegetable broth
1 cup milk
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste


Melt butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add spices and stir for a minute more.

Add pumpkin and 5 cups of broth; blend well. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.

Transfer soup, in batches, to a blender or food processor. Cover tightly and blend until smooth. Return soup to saucepan. Or use an immersion blender in the soup pot.

With the soup on low heat, slowly add milk while stirring to incorporate. Adjust seasonings to taste. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

*Did I mention he won?

Stay Tuned for more delicious recipes from the Party.

"You can make those from scratch? Part II", or Homemade English Muffins

After the success of the homemade bagels, English muffins just seemed like the natural next step. These were absolutely delicious. Reminiscent of the ones you buy at the store...only better.




English Muffins
adapted from the Food Network
makes 12-14 muffins

1 cup non-fat powdered milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt, divided
2 tablespoons shortening
2 cups hot water
2 envelopes (4 1/2 tsp) dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2/3 cup warm water
4 cups flour, sifted
Non-stick cooking spray
cornmeal
equipment: electric griddle, 3-inch metal rings (There are English muffin rings, but I used 8 oz pineapple cans. Make sure you remove the top and bottom.)

In a bowl, combine the powdered milk, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, shortening, and hot water, stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. In a separate bowl combine the yeast and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar in 2/3 cup of warm water and set aside until yeast has dissolved. Add this to the dry milk mixture. Add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with wooden spoon. Cover the bowl with a dish cloth and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Preheat the griddle to 250 degrees F.

Add the remaining teaspoon of salt to mixture and beat thoroughly. Place metal rings onto the griddle and coat lightly with cooking spray. Sprinkle griddle inside each ring with a pinch of cornmeal.

Using #20 (it should hold about 4 tablespoons) ice cream scoop, place 2 scoops into each ring and cover with a cookie sheet and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and flip rings using tongs.

Cover with the lid and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack, remove rings and cool.

Split with fork. Serve hot with butter and honey.

Before we cooked them all, we did a test run with just one muffin to make sure the griddle wasn't too hot.



P.S. Stay tuned...at the cyclist's request, part three in the series is already in the works. It has the potential to ROCK. It could also fail miserably. Don't worry, my sweet husband will happily eat it either way.

Homemade Bagels and Cream Cheese, or "The one where the Bake-aholic accepts a challenge from the Cyclist"

Periodically I get an urge to make something from scratch that most people (including myself) would normally just buy at the store.
I made flour tortillas once. For all the time and effort, I expected them to taste as yummy as the ones at Cafe Rio. Mine didn't.
One valentines day, after watching Martha Stewart, I was inspired to make homemade marshmallows. These were cute and pink and I cut them into heart shapes. But why spend 12 minutes beating gelatin and corn syrup to get something that tastes identical to the Kraft marshmallows from the grocery store? Plus the grocery store variety have an indefinite shelf life. Mine went moldy within 3 days.
But some things are just really super good when they are homemade.
For instance:
While skimming through a favorite cookbook, I came across a recipe for Vegetable Cream Cheese. "I know what to do for brunch next Sunday", I told the Cyclist. "How about you pick up some bagels from Rich's and I'll whip up some flavored cream cheese?"
"How about you make the bagels?" he challenged.
So I started scouring cook books and found a recipe that I could handle (I am only now starting to feel confident making yeast breads).

These were a little time consuming (I started boiling the water for the potato at 10:00 and we were eating them by 12:15), but that includes 1 hour of rising time that one might utilize to, let's say, take a shower and blow dry 4 blond bobs (that includes me). As soon as #4 grows hair, and there are 5 blond bobs, I'm going to have to either talk a couple of the girls into buzz cuts, or these Sunday breakfasts might become a thing of the past.

Anyhow, these bagels were REALLY good. Think Rich's. You should all make them. I challenge you.



Egg Bagels
from Baking Bread, Old and New Traditions by Beth Hensperger

My batch made 2 dozen

1 large russet potato (about 3/4 lb)
2 1/2 c water
2 T active dry yeast
1 1/2 T sugar
1 1/2 T salt
7-7 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/4 c vegetable oil (I used canola)
4 eggs
3-4 quarts water
2 T salt or sugar
2 egg whites
2 T water
assorted toppings: poppy seeds, sesame seeds, salt and rosemary, etc. (our two favorites were Asiago Cheese and Cinnamon Sugar)

1. Peel the potato and cut into large chunks. Place in a small saucepan and cover with the 2 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered until the potato is soft. Drain the potato (use for other purposes), reserving 2 cups of the potato water. Let cool to 120 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, using a whisk, or in the workbowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the yeast, sugar, salt and 2 cups of the flour.
3. Add the potato water and the oil. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of the flour and the eggs. Beat again for 2 minutes. Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time to form a soft dough that just clears the sides of the bowl, switching to a wooden spoon when necessary if mixing by hand. (I ended up adding just under 7 cups).
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until a smooth, firm, and springy dough is formed, about 3 minutes, adding flour 1 Tablespoon at a time as necessary to prevent sticking. Place in a greased deep container, turn once to coat the top, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven to 425 and grease or line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silpat liners. Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring 3 to 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add 2 Tablespoons salt or sugar to the boiling water, depending on the flavor you want the crust to have. (We used two pots, one with sugar and one with salt). Maintain a gentle low boil over medium heat.
6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into quarters. Divide each quarter into 6 equal portions. To form bagels: Shape each ball of dough into a smooth round, tucking the excess dough underneath. Flatten with your palm. Poke a floured finger through the middle of the ball. Stretch the hole with your fingers to make it about 1 inch in diameter. Spin the dough around your finger. The hole will be quite large as you spin, but will shrink slightly when you stop. Set aside on a lightly floured surface while forming the other bagels. Once you get the hang of this, it goes really fast. The bagels will need no further rising at this point.
7. With a slotted spoon, lower 3 to 4 bagels at a time into the gently boiling water.
They will drop to the bottom and then rise to the surface. As they come to the surface, turn each bagel and boil it for 3 minutes on the other side. This goes very quickly.
8. Remove from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and place 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. When all the bagels have been boiled, brush with an egg wash (combine 2 egg whites and 2 T water) and top how you wish. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes rotating pan halfway through, or until deep golden. Remove from baking sheets and cool on racks.

We ate ours schmeared with Ina Garten's Vegetable Cream Cheese:

16 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
2 T minced scallions (green onions), white and green parts
2 T finely chopped carrot
2 T finely chopped celery
2 T finely chopped radish (2 radishes)
2-3 pinches kosher salt
1 pinch finely ground black pepper

Place all ingredients in bowl of electric mixer and mix on low speed until blended.