Dutch Apple Pie

In the beginning of October (can you believe how long ago that was?!) Nick, his sister and I headed to Smolak Farms to do some apple picking. While it was super crowded overall, we headed to the back of the orchard and hit the jackpot of cortland and macintosh apples. And, since I am a sucker for any type of souvenir, big or small, I upgraded from the apple bag to the big basket (not the easiest to carry through the orchard, but totally worth it). With a massive basket full of apples, pie was definitely in our future, along with a bunch of other delicious apple-based recipes.

Basket FULL of Apples

Dutch Apple Pie - it is basically as if apple crisp and an apple pie had a baby! This pie really allows for the apples to be the star and not to get lost between the pie crusts. We are a big apple crisp family, so needless to say this is the preferred pie for Nick and I.

Baked Apples - Easy Classic Dessert

With the expectation of snow coming this week even though spring is nearly here (technically) I still am seeking those winter comfort foods.  I still cannot make the switch with the weather this cold!  During the blizzard (Nemo) Nick and I cozied up for an easy dinner at home.  For some reason, I wanted baked apples, something my mom made many times growing up, but not something I have had in ages!

Baked Apple

Designer Grilled Cheese Night

After a busy day of Apple Picking and whipping up some Apple and Pear Crisp, we knew that some unpleasent weather was on its way.  Rather than venturing out in the rain to a restaurant, we stopped in at Savenor's before the weather turned and got the supplies for an evening of designer grilled cheeses!

Grilled Cheese!

Since there is an impressive cheese selection at Savenor's, we chose a variety of hard cheese from both cows and goats.

Apple and Pear Crisp - Apple Picking Spoils!

After spending the day at Smolak Farms picking apples, we had loads of apples to put to good use in the kitchen.  That is, of course, if I did not eat them first!  One of Nick's favorite desserts ever is Apple Crisp, so needless to say this was an easy decision.  Last year I made a Fruit Crisp using Ina Garten's Back to Basics recipe, and while it turned out well, I wanted to experiment with recipes a bit.  Since I had some pears on hand from our CSA, I decided to utilize those as well.

Apple Crisp

This time around, I turned to the Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking, which had a basic crisp recipe to start with.

Apple Picking at Smolak Farms

For some reason, this fall I have been on an apple picking mission.  I haven't been on a true apple picking trip since elementary school, and I decided that this was my year to change that.  Given Nick's attachment to Smolak Farms and the two amazing Whim Dinners we have been to, we figured it was time to see the farm during its peak apple picking season.

Eating while picking :)

We arrived at Smolak Farms at around 10:30AM and while the Farm was crowded, there's plenty of room to spread out, so it never seemed too bad.  Shortly after parking, we walked directly to the Antique Orchard that had many varieties of apples not generally sold in stores.  It was about $5 more for a peck bag than the standard Macintosh/Cortland orchard, but it was so fun to get to taste so many apples!  In addition to Macs and Cortlands, the Antique Orchard featured varieties like Pink Ladies, Northern Spy, Winter Banana (which actually taste a bit like banana!), Smokehouse and Sheepnose.

Fruit Crisp!

When Nick moved in last year,  Ina Garten also moved into our condo.  He brought along a bunch of her cookbooks and set up the DVR to record her show.  However, she has proven to be a great resource on many occasions.  Even better, her show has taught me a lot of good basics (that I probably should have already known!).  So when I needed a good basic recipe for a crisp, I looked no further than at Ina!

Ina Garten

In our CSA for two weeks we got a ton of plums, ground cherries and apples.  Having already made the Plum Clafoutis and the Ground Cherry Pie, I was looking for something different.  I figured a crisp was a great way to combine a lot of these fresh fruits.  Even better, we had a friend's house to go to that evening with plenty of hungry mouths to feed.

Fruit Crisp