Apple Crisp

Mark Bittman: Any apple slice will soften with long enough cooking, but some apple varieties won't soften quite enough, while others will turn nearly to mush. What you want are apple slices that will retain their shape while becoming tender while also tasting terrific.

What sorts of apple are you looking for? Granny Smiths hold up well to heat, but they're essentially tasteless. McIntosh apples will taste great, but fall apart in the oven.

Best for this recipe are Cortlands (which are also the easiest to find), but Idareds or Paula Reds are also good choices.

Of course, for those who have had enough apples for this year already, pears can make a wonderful crisp as well.

If you choose to use pears instead of apples, however, be aware that unripe pears are unlikely to become tender in the time it takes the topping to brown. You must begin with pears that have started to soften, or their texture will remain unpleasantly firm, even after you have cooked the crisp to a . . . well, a crisp.

APPLE CRISP

Time: About 1 hour

6 cups peeled, cored, sliced apples or ripe pears, 2 to 3 pounds

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or more to taste

1/2 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons

5 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing the pan

3/4 cup oats

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Toss fruit with half the cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar, and spread it in a lightly buttered 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking pan.

2. Combine remaining cinnamon and sugar in container of a food processor with butter, oats and nuts; pulse a few times, just until ingredients are combined. (Do not purée.) To mix ingredients by hand, soften butter slightly, toss together dry ingredients and work butter in with fingertips, a pastry blender or a fork.

3. Spread topping over apples, and bake about 40 minutes, until topping is browned and apples are tender. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Simplest Roast Chicken

Mark Bittman: I did five recipes for whole roast chicken over the 13-year history of the Minimalist column, and, modesty aside (what does that mean, actually? Get ready for me to be immodest?), there’s no need for me to apologize for the redundancy.

Roast chicken is a welcome, almost infinitely variable dish that’s equally at home at a weeknight family dinner or at a fancy (or fancy-ish) dinner party. You can’t say that about many dishes, and I’m happy to have reminded readers of roast chicken’s advantages by sharing a few variations over the years.

Though I’ve experimented with different chicken-roasting techniques, there’s one that makes me happiest, because it’s easy, and it works. (In fact, the technique is one of my all-time favorite discoveries.) When I say it works, what I mean is that the quick-cooking, leaner white meat gets done at the same time as the slower-cooking, fattier dark meat. When I say it’s easy, what I mean is that the only thing you have to do is put your pan (a cast-iron skillet is best) in the oven when you start heating it. That’s it. When the pan is hot, add the chicken with the breast facing up; the legs will get a head start on cooking when they come into contact with the hot pan.

As I said, roast chicken is almost infinitely variable. But at its simplest, with only salt, pepper and olive oil, it’s really, really good. Add an herb sprig or a clove of garlic, or both, for excitement.

Yield 4 servings

Time 50 to 60 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, trimmed of excess fat
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

• 1. Put a cast-iron skillet on a low rack in the oven and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Rub the chicken all over with the oil and sprinkle it generously with salt and pepper.
• 2. When the oven and skillet are hot, carefully put the chicken in the skillet, breast side up. Roast for 15 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees. Continue to roast until the bird is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meaty part of the thigh reads 155 to 165 degrees.
• 3. Tip the pan to let the juices flow from the chicken’s cavity into the pan. Transfer the chicken to a platter and let it rest for at least 5 minutes. Carve and serve.

Source: The New York Times

Free-Form Apple or Pear Tart

Mark Bittman: Of all the ways you can combine cooked apples, butter, flour and so on, pie is not nearly the best. I prefer either a nice crispy crumble topping made with oats, or this free-form apple tart. It is essentially an apple pizza, but uses a short dough, meaning it contains plenty of butter. It comes together very easily in the food processor.

Once you roll the dough out — into a thin circle or whatever other shape you choose (or your rolling pin chooses for you) — you have to address this question: how precious do you want this thing to be? If you have much more patience than I do you might start an elegant spiral of apple slices in the middle of the crust and loop it gracefully around until it reaches the edges. If you’re like me, you’ll randomly scatter the apples until you don’t see dough anymore. Call it rustic — I actually think it ends up looking just as nice, but maybe that’s equally un-American.

The last straw? Cut it with a pizza wheel.

Yield 8 servings

Time About 1 hour, plus 1 hour's refrigeration

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• Pinch salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 9 tablespoons cold butter
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 or 4 medium apples, preferably Golden Delicious, or pears, peeled, cored and very thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• Crème fraîche, sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Method

• 1. Combine flour, salt and sugar in a food processor; pulse once or twice. Cut 8 tablespoons butter into chunks, and add it and egg yolk to flour mixture. Process until butter is blended, about 10 seconds. Turn mixture into a bowl, and add cold water, a tablespoon at a time, stirring after each addition. After adding 3 or 4 tablespoons you should be able to gather mixture into a ball; wrap ball in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or freeze for about 15 minutes).
• 2. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Roll or pat dough into a 10-inch circle; it can be quite crude in shape. Place it on a cookie or pizza sheet lined with parchment. Arrange fruit slices on top, right out to edges; make the pattern attractive, if you like. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Cut remaining butter into bits, and top fruit with it.
• 3. Bake until crust is nicely browned and fruit is tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove, and serve warm or at room temperature, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or ice cream.

Source: The New York Times

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches

Time: 10 minutes

1 long baguette

Peanut butter

Chocolate nut spread, like Nutella

About 1 pint vanilla, chocolate or other ice cream, softened for 10 minutes

2 ripe bananas (optional)

Flaky sea salt.

1. Slice the baguette in half lengthwise without cutting all the way through. Then cut into 3-inch-long pieces.

2. Spread the insides of the baguette pieces with a thin layer of peanut butter on one cut side and a thin layer of chocolate spread on the other cut side. Spoon some ice cream in the center and top with banana slices if using; sprinkle with a few flakes of sea salt before closing into sandwiches.

Yield: 8 to 10 ice cream sandwiches.

NYT August 17, 2011

Malted Milk Ice Cream Bonbons

Time: 20 minutes plus freezing

1 cup chocolate malted milk balls

1 cup malted milk powder

1/2 pint chocolate, coffee, ginger or other ice cream.

1. Freeze the malted milk balls for 30 minutes. Pulse them in a food processor, or crush them in a sealed plastic bag to make pieces the size of rice grains.

2. Place the malted milk powder into a shallow bowl. Scoop out a ball of ice cream and roll it in the malted milk powder until well coated, then roll it in the crumbs made from the malted milk balls. Immediately put it on a plate in the freezer and repeat with remaining ingredients. Firm them up in the freezer for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Yield: 25 to 30 ice cream balls.

NYT August 17, 2011

Unbelievably delicious!

Cold Pea Soup

Mark Bitman: It goes without saying that good stock is a must here. Fresh peas aren’t mandatory, but they are an added bonus if you can find them.

Yield 4 servings

Time 30 minutes, plus chilling

Ingredients

• 1 pound peas in the shell, snow peas or sugar snap peas (frozen are acceptable)
• 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Sour cream for garnish - (or not!)
  
• Chopped parsley for garnish

Method

• 1. In a saucepan, combine peas and stock, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until peas are bright green and tender, 10 minutes or so. Cool a few minutes. If you are using regular peas, remove some from their shells for garnish. (Refrigerate those until serving.)
• 2. Pour the cooked peas into a blender, and carefully blend them until they are puréed. Add salt and pepper to taste, and force through a fairly fine strainer, discarding solids. Refrigerate until cool; serve garnished with a dollop of sour cream and the parsley.

Source: The New York Times Diner's Journal

Pizzeria Quality at Home

Recipe from NYT - Diner's Journal, Melisa Clark, June 20, 2011

The key to this recipe is a using the oven and broiler in combination. A hot oven heats the pizza stone (you can also preheat a baking sheet), which bakes the bottom of the pizza crust. Then the broiler comes on and cooks the top of the pizza.

It works like this. Heat the oven and pizza stone at 500 degrees for one hour (if using a baking sheet, heat it for 30 minutes). Roll out the dough and top your pizza, then slide it onto the pizza stone or baking sheet. Bake it for three minutes. Then turn off the oven and turn on the broiler. Broil the pizza until golden, crisp and a bit blistery and charred in places for one to four minutes, depending on the heat of your broiler. (Watch carefully to see that it does not burn.)

If you don’t have a top broiler in your oven, just bake the pizza a little longer, until the cheese is melted and the crust well browned, about 8 to 10 minutes total. But go on how it looks, not by the clock.

Tuna and Farfalle Puttanesca

Serves 4

Ingredients

• • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons finely chopped (3 medium cloves) garlic
  • 2 medium red onions, (1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices lengthwise
  • 1 pound farfalle (bowtie) pasta
  • 10 canned whole plum tomatoes, seeded, sliced 1/4 inch thick lengthwise, plus 1 cup juice (Or diced tomatoes)
  • 3 tablespoons nonpareil capers
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary
  • 1/2 cup Kalamata olives, (3 ounces), pitted and cut into quarters
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 cans oil-packed Italian-style light tuna, drained (or just use regular in oil or water)
  • 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Bring saucepan of salted water to boil. Pour oil in large skillet; place over medium heat. Add garlic and onions; saute until onions are translucent, about 8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cook pasta until al dente, about 11 minutes. Add tomatoes, juice, capers, rosemary, and olives to onions; add salt and pepper to taste. Raise the heat to medium high, and cook until tomatoes are heated through, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain pasta; transfer to large serving bowl. Add sauce, tuna, and parsley; toss gently to combine. 

This is a Martha Stewart recipe, but has some problems, so suggestions are noted to simplify it. 

Tuna, Avocado, and Romaine Salad

Prep time 15 min., Total time 15 min., Serves 4

Ingredients

• • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 2 cans (6 ounces) tuna, packed in oil
  • 1 large head romaine lettuce, chopped
  • 1 bunch radishes, trimmed and sliced
  • 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, and Dijon; season with salt and pepper.
2. In a large bowl, combine tuna, lettuce, radishes, and avocado. Drizzle with dressing as desired.
3. Drizzle salad with vinaigrette, as desired, and toss to combine. Serve sprinkled with pepper.

http://www.marthastewart.com/262229/tuna-avocado-and-romaine-salad

Tuna Salad Bruschetta

Prep time 10 min., Total time 20 min., Serves 4

Ingredients

• • 8 3/4-inch-thick slices baguette, cut on the diagonal
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, from 2 lemons
  • 4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 cans (6 ounces each) tuna in olive oil, drained, reserving 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced crosswise

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place slices on a baking sheet. Brush top side with olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until golden, 4 to 6 minutes. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, 2 tablespoons mustard, and reserved tuna oil; season with salt and pepper. Add tuna, beans, parsley, shallot, and celery; toss to combine.
3. Spread bread with remaining 2 tablespoons mustard. Top with tuna salad, and serve.

http://www.marthastewart.com/334262/tuna-salad-bruschetta

Pasta with Green Beans and Tuna

Serves 1

For a burst of briny flavor, add 1 tablespoon chopped olives or capers to the tuna mixture.

Ingredients

• • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 3 ounces fusilli or other short pasta
  • 2 ounces green beans, trimmed and halved
  • 1 can (3 ounces) chunk light tuna, packed in water, drained
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon natural almonds, chopped and toasted
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest, plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced

Directions

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions, adding green beans 1 minute before end of cooking. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine tuna, oil, almonds, parsley, lemon zest and juice, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Drain pasta and beans and add to tuna mixture. Stir to combine.

Emeril's Kicked-Up Tuna Melts

Prep time 15 min., Total time 20 min., Serves 4

Ingredients

• • 4 cans (5 ounces each) solid white tuna packed in water, drained
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise, plus more for spreading
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
  • 4 teaspoons capers, rinsed and drained
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled between your fingers
  • 4 slices crusty bread
  • 8 thin slices tomato
  • 4 slices provolone

Directions

1. Heat broiler, with rack in highest position. In a medium bowl, combine tuna, mayonnaise, onion, capers, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and oregano and stir until thoroughly combined.
2. Arrange bread on a baking sheet and spread a little mayonnaise on each slice. Divide tuna salad evenly among slices, then top each with 2 slices tomato and 1 slice cheese. Broil until cheese is golden brown and bubbling, 3 to 4 minutes.

http://www.marthastewart.com/260194/emerils-kicked-up-tuna-melts

Tuna Salad Nicoise

Prep time 10 min, Total time 4o min., Serves 4

Ingredients

• • 1 1/2 pounds small red new potatoes, quartered
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 2 pints grape tomatoes
  • 2 bunches arugula (4 to 6 ounces each), ends trimmed, washed and dried
  • 1/4 cup Lemon Vinaigrette to Make 1 1/2 Cup (http://www.marthastewart.com/285190/lemon-vinaigrette-to-make-1-12-cup)
  • 2 cans (6 ounces each) tuna in olive oil, drained
  • 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place potatoes on sheet. Drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast for 15 minutes. Add tomatoes to potatoes on baking sheet; toss. Cook until potatoes are tender and tomatoes are lightly browned and soft, about 10 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, toss arugula with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette. Arrange roasted vegetables, arugula, tuna, and olives on platter; drizzle with remaining vinaigrette. Serve.

http://www.marthastewart.com/260395/tuna-salad-nicoise

Mediterranean Tuna-Noodle Casserole

Prep time 35 min., Total time 55 min, Serves 8

Martha says, "Choose best-quality tuna that's packed in olive oil for this dish. Even after draining it, you'll get moister, richer results than if you used water-packed tuna."

Ingredients (Divide in half to serve 4)

• • 1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for baking dishes
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1 pound wide egg noodles
  • 2 red bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 5 cups whole milk
  • 4 cans (6 ounces each) tuna in olive oil, drained
  • 1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts, drained and thickly sliced
  • 5 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil two 8-inch square (or other shallow 2-quart) baking dishes. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook noodles until 2 minutes short of al dente; drain, and return to pot.
2. Meanwhile, in a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium. Add bell peppers; season with salt and pepper. Cook until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add milk, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a simmer.
3. Remove from heat; add mixture to noodles in pot, along with tuna, artichoke hearts, and scallions. Season with salt and pepper, and toss. Divide between prepared baking dishes, and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake until golden and bubbling, about 20 minutes.

http://www.marthastewart.com/340388/mediterranean-tuna-noodle-casserole

BBQ Dry Rub

Prep time 10 min.
Ready in 10 min.

I use 1/2 Tablespoon for a unit measure for 2 pork tenderloins.

5 parts white sugar
5 parts dark brown sugar
1 part salt
1 part paprika
1/2 part fresh ground pepper

In a dry container, combine all ingredients and mix well.

Rub into pork and let sit at least 10 minutes before grilling.

adapted from allrecipes.com (barbeque recipes)

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

This recipe for homemade granola bars uses much less refined sugar than many. The recipe is tweaked a little bit from a recipe on the PassionateGreen recipe blog. PassionateGreen tweaked it from a Taste of Home recipe.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup peanut butter (a peanut butter that has a little oil added to it works better than a peanut butter that is simply peanuts and salt).
• 1/3 cup agave syrup (could also use honey)
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 ½ cups slow cooking oats
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup raisins

Time Estimates

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 15 min

Total time: 25 min

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Spray a 13x9 pan with cooking spray
3. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl
4. Press ingredients down flat into prepared pan
5. Cook in oven for 12 -15 minutes until edges begin to brown
6. Let cool so it firms up; if you try to cut while still warm, it will crumble
   

Makes one pan

*As always, using organic ingredients turn this into an organic recipe. If you can’t afford everything organic, your best option would be to buy the oats or peanut butter in their organic form since they make up a bulk of the recipe. Organic oats usually don’t cost much more than conventional ones, especially if you can get them from a bulk bin.

from http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/blogs/homemade-peanut-butter-granola-bars

New England Clam Chowder

This low calorie chowder makes a satisfying lunch or a hearty dinner on a chilly day. Sprinkle the clam chowder with oyster crackers, and serve with a slice of crusty bread. Prep time: 10 min
Cook time 30 min

Ingredients:

• 2-6 1/2 oz. cans chopped clams, undrained
• 2 8-oz. bottles clam juice
• 2 slices bacon
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups chopped celery
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 cups peeled, chopped yukon gold potatoes (two pounds)
• 2 cups water
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cups 1% low-fat milk
• 1/2 cup flour

Preparation:

1. Drain the clams through a collander, reserving the liquid. Combine the clam liquid with the clam juice, and set liquids and the clams aside.

2. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed stock pot over medium-high heat, and cook the bacon until crisp. Reserve 2 tsp of the bacon drippings in the pan, and remove the bacon. Crumble the bacon, and set aside.

3. Add the onion, celery, and garlic to the bacon drippings, and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

4. Add the potatoes, water, clam juices, salt, thyme, and bay leaf to the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

5. With a wire whisk, whisk together the milk and the flour. Slowly add the milk mixture to the pan, and continue simmering the soup for 10 minutes, stirring often as the soup thickens.

6. Discard the bay leaf. Add the clams and crumbled bacon to the chowder. Simmer an additional 2 minutes.

Serves 8

Per Serving Calories 200