Apple Dip
I didn't know you could do anything else than make fudge
with marshmallow fluff!--A favorite, easy thing to take to
parties. The cook who gave me this recipe says, "I LOVE
those sliced apples in a bag, but if you want to slice your
own I recommend dipping them in pineapple juice instead of
lemon juice to prevent browning." - ce
**Now pay attention -- this is VERY complicated!**
1 block of cream cheese
1 jar of Marshmallow fluff
Put in bowl. Mix with hand mixer for best results. Serve
with fresh apple slices.
Cheese and Fruit
Platter
This is a simple appetizer dish to prepare in advance. Great
for when you are expecting guests. Select a variety of different
cheeses which you enjoy serving. Slice them thinly, and arrange
in an attractive pattern on a large serving platter. Select
various kinds of fresh apples. Halve, core and slice apples.
Dip apple slices in an ascorbic acid solution (such as Fruit
Fresh) or lemon juice to keep from browning. Arrange sliced
apples on serving platter and add other types of fruit, such
as grapes, as desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Provide
crackers or sliced artisan bread to serve with the cheese
and fruit.
Pear Cheese Melts (Demonstrated
by Bruce in step by step pictures)
Step 1: Set out ingredients including sugar, bottle of sweet
French white wine, d'Anjou pear, hard white French cheese
such as Gruyere de Comté, Challah Bread with raisins, eggs
and butter. Slice pear.
Step 2: Make syrup using white wine and a little sugar. Heat
to boiling and add sliced pear.
Step 3: Continue to cook pears in syrup.
Step 4: Melt butter in a second skillet. Mix up eggs.
Step 5: Slice Challah Bread.
Step 6: Coat bread with egg.
Step 7: Turn pears, continue cooking until soft.
Step 8: Fry egg battered bread in hot butter.
Step 9: Slice cheese.
Step 10: Melt cheese on top of half the pieces of browned
egg battered bread.
Step 11: Place hot pear slices on top of melting cheese and
add a top slice to the sandwich.
Step 12: Serve and enjoy!
Caramel Apple Dip
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 c. brown sugar
1 t. vanilla
Apple slices
Combine cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla and beat until
smooth. Serve with apple slices for dipping.
Baked Blue and Brie
with Apple Wedges
(Source: Adapted from The Register-Guard, April 17, 2002)
1 wedge, 8-ounces, brie cheese
1/4 c. crumbled blue cheese
Apple wedges
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut brie horizontally, place half
cut side up in an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle blue cheese on
top of brie, press it down firmly. Place other half of brie
cut side down on top of first half. Bake until cheese is slightly
soft, about 5 minutes. Don't leave it in the oven too long
or it will become runny. Serve at once as a spread for apple
wedges.
Quesadilla with Pear
Slice Bartletts and add with Brie or other cheeses, tucked
in a tortilla and sauteed for tangy quesadillas.
Apple-Stilton Clafouti
Original recipe (from The Secret Garden Bed
& Breakfast Inn in Eugene, Oregon) published in The Register-Guard
Entree Section, November 8, 2000.
4 apples (Fuji
Apples recommended)
5 T. butter
2/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. milk
3 t. vanilla
1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. finely crumbled/grated Stilton cheese
Blueberries (optional)
Preheat oven to 475° F. Peel, core and thinly
slice apples. Generously grease a pie pan and layer apple
slices, overlapping them two layers thick. In a bowl, cream
together butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs. Add milk and
vanilla, beating well. Finally, mix in flour.
Spoon the batter over the apples and top with
finely crumbled, grated cheese (try to avoid chunks and lumps).
Bake for 10 minutes at 475° F, then lower oven to 350°
F and bake for another 30 minutes. Cool on rack for at least
10 minutes before serving. Dust with powdered sugar and garnish
with fresh blueberries, if desired.
Port-Poached Pears and Ricotta
1 cup California ricotta cheese
2 pears, Anjou or Bosc,
peeled and cored
2 cups Port wine
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
Place pears, Port and maple syrup in a medium saucepan.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, cover
and simmer, turning pears occasionally, until they are tender
when pierced with a knife, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat
and let pears cool in poaching liquid. Remove pears from liquid,
cut a small slice about 1/4-inch thick from the rounded bottom
of the pear so it will sit upright on the plate. Set aside.
Place poaching liquid over medium-high heat and cook until
it become thick and syrupy. Set aside and let cool. Cut each
pear in half vertically.
For each serving, drizzle some of the reduced poaching liquid
over an individual serving plate. Place one pear half on the
plate. Fill pear cavity with 1/4 cup cheese. Makes 4 servings.
(Source: California Milk Advisory Board)
California White Cheddar with Apples
8 rectangular slices sharp California white cheddar
2/3 cup diced red apple, about 1 medium
2/3 cup diced green apples, about 1 medium
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Cut cheese into rectangles that are about 1/4-inch thick
and about 2 1/2 by 1 1/2 inches. In a small saucepan combine
all ingredients except the cheese. Cook over medium-low heat
for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and
let cool. Place one slice of cheese on an individual serving
plate. Top with 1/4 of the apple walnut conserve. Partially
overlap with another slice of cheese. Garnish with walnuts.
Makes 4 servings. (Source: California Milk Advisory Board)
Caramelized Apple and Toasted Walnut
Pie
2 tablespoons butter
1 small red apple (such as Fuji),
cored and sliced or chopped
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
15-ounce ripe, round brie, at room temperature
1/4 cup toasted, coarsely chopped walnuts
Melt butter in 10-inch, nonstick skillet over medium heat.
Add apple slices and sugar. Saute, tossing occasionally, until
apples are soft and golden brown, about 12 minutes. Let apple
slices cool slightly. Carefully place chopped apple or fan
apple slices over cheese; sprinkle with walnuts. May be served
right away, or chill if it is to be served later. May be prepared
several hours in advance. Serve at room temperature, accompany
with assorted crackers and bread slices. Makes 8 appetizer
servings. (Source: California Milk Advisory Board)
Fruit and Cream Cheese Pie
3 c. peeled and diced apples
or pears
1/3 c. plus 1/4 c. sugar
2 T. flour
2 tsp. grated lime rind
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 3-oz. packages light cream cheese or Neufchâtel, softened
2 T. lime juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. half and half or light cream
3 eggs, separated
1 unbaked nine-inch pie shell (chilled)
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Place fruit in small saucepan with 1/3 c. of sugar, 1 T.
flour, 1 tsp. lime rind and cinnamon. Heat and stir until
sugar is dissolved. Simmer for five minutes until fruit is
tender. Set aside to cool.
In a bowl, beat cream cheese, lime juice, remaining flour,
remaining sugar, remaining lime rind, salt, light cream and
egg yolks.
Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into cheese mixture.
Place cooled fruit mixture into pie shell and top with cream
chesse mixture. Bake 45 minutes. Cool and serve.
Evening Picnic in the Park
When your hometown offers evening concerts in the park, pack
a picnic basket with brie cheese, ripe Bosc
or d'Anjou pears
and homemade walnut bread. Take along a bottle of Riesling
to enjoy. For more about wines and their selection, see Martin
Tozer's Wine Journey articles, an archive feature of FruitFromWashington.com!
Good Traveling Foods
"With breed and chese, and good ale in a jubbe" - The
Miller’s Tale, Chaucer
Keeping foods cold or hot can be a hassle when
organizing a picnic. Here's a list of good take along picnic
foods that you don't need to worry much about.
Fresh fruits
Breads
Cheeses
Pickled foods and relishes (unopened until ready to use)
Nuts
Cookies
Fresh vegetables
Hard-boild eggs (in shell)
Canned meat and fish (unopened until ready to use)
Pretzels and Chips
“...pack your picnic basket with these suggetions:
• Pair America’s most popular cheese, Cheddar,
with dark breads, crisp apple
slices and sweet cherries. The rich fruitiness of a white
Zinfandel balances out Cheddar’s sharp flavor.
• Fill a basket with slices of Pepper-Jack cheese,
round loaves of Sourdough bread, whole pears,
and a spicy and aromatic Gewürztraminer.
• Pack a round of Swiss, green grapes, chewy
breadsticks and a crisp, dry Sauvignon Blanc.”
- Source: American
Dairy Association
The
Take-Along Lucky Bag Check
List—
__ can/bottle opener (cork screw)
__ paring knife
__ tablecloth
__ matches
__ first aid kit
__ bug spray
__ paper plates
__ paper cups
__ aluminum foil
__ paper towels/TP
__ flashlight
__ cutlery
__ string
__ Swiss Army Knife
__ small cutting board
__ toys - frisbee, football, softball, etc.
__ compass
I have never forgotten the first time I heard Dad call
it a “Lucky Bag” and I asked “Why do you call
it a ‘Lucky Bag’ and he said, “Because you
are lucky if you find what you want in it.” The bag is
his army “Ditty Bag”. - Mom, 10/8/01
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