Around the Kitchen Table: Our Favorite APPLE RECIPES + 6-Book #Giveaway!

VMBURNS: Icing on the Murder, the newest release in my Baker Street Mystery series, takes place in Autumn, and features a lot of recipes with apples. August - October is prime apple picking season. September is best for one of my favorite apples, Honeycrisp. Icing on the Murder includes several apple recipes and a recipe for apple cider. 

What's your favorite apple? Apple recipes? Or, favorite fall fruit? 

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LUCY BURDETTE: I love peaches so much and feel so sad when the season is over that it's hard to move into apples. That said, my favorite recipe with apples is an apple cinnamon quick bread brought to our Kitchen by guest Elizabeth Duncan. In fact, I liked it so much that I made it with raspberries and almonds--it was delicious! I highly recommend both of them.

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LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  Lucy, I remember that recipe of Elizabeth's -- we made it and it's excellent! Apples are so wonderfully varied -- from pale yellow to shiny green or deep red, soft or crisp, sweet or tart! One of the most popular recipes I've ever shared here is this one for Apple Cheddar Scones, originally published in Between a Wok and a Dead Place. That's the book that also features this yummy French Apple Custard Cake with Chinese Five Spice (shown), although you could easily change out the spicery. And how can I not share with you, again, this Apple Butter Pie from All God's Sparrows? As I was writing, a vision of the pie came to me -- I didn't even know such a thing existed, but readers, it does and you should make and eat one immediately!

Apples are also great in salads, like this Apple, Kale, and Cheddar Salad. 

An apple a day? Here at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen, we've got you covered! 

 

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LESLIE KARST: I'm not really a fan of cooked apples. To my mind they get mushy and lose so much of their flavor when baked into pies or tarts or whatever. But give me a crisp, juicy, sweet-and-tart Fuji or similar raw apple anytime! 
 

 

I love fresh apple slices spread with peanut butter or with chunks of a sharp cheddar cheese, or cut into cubes and added to my morning yogurt along with a handful of granola and some cinnamon and a splash of vanilla extract. Or simply by themselves, biting into that beautiful perfect fruit! 

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KIM DAVIS: I'm a year round fan of apples and always have a crisper drawer filled with the Envy variety for a quick snack. Envy's are sweet, juicy, and have just the right amount of crispness for my tastes. And they make such a quick and healthy on-the-go snack. I generally have a sliced apple prepared for my granddaughter when I pick her up from school two days a week and she enjoys them just as much as I do. While eating apples in their natural state is my go-to, I do enjoy making desserts with them especially in the fall. Apple recipes are a feature in Buttercream Betrayal, the fifth book in my Cupcake Catering Mysteries, and one of my test tasters' favorite was Caramel Apple Pie Bars... which I'm now craving, lol! A quick tip: When baking apple desserts, use two or three varieties of apples for a broader range of sweet, tart, and texture. Some of the best apples to bake with are Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, and Jonagold varieties. 

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MADDIE DAY: Apples are a specialty of New England, and I live a mile from the fabulous Cider Hill Farm. It's hard to resist a warm, lightly sugared cider donut in the fall. Alas, I've developed an allergy to raw northern tree fruit - including apples - but you bet I can eat them cooked, and I do. I heard about apple dumplings from a Hoosier friend and included a recipe for yummy Apple Dumplings in Deep Fried Death, my 12th Country Store mystery (our own Kim Davis made the recipe on her blog).

I  made an elegant French Apple Cake a couple of years ago, and used an Apple Cidertini in Murder at the Lobstah Shack.

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PEG COCHRAN/MARGARET LOOUDON: I can tell you hubby's favorite apple dessert--apple crisp.  I have the recipe his mother used to make.  My daughter makes a superb apple pie so I leave that to her.  I love making a simple apple cake, particularly this easy French apple cake.  It really lets the fruit shine!  The condo community adjacent to ours was built on land that used to be an apple farm.  When we go walking there in the fall we can smell the apples on the few remaining trees.  And one time we saw a young deer munching on one of the apples that had fallen to the ground.  He seemed to enjoy apples as much as we do!

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MOLLY MACRAE: I loved watching my dad eat apples when I was a little kid (1950s). His favorite was McIntosh so, of course, I knew it was my favorite, too. In the fall we’d go to Bell’s Apple Orchard to get them fresh picked. Over the years, as more varieties became available at our local grocery store, he (we) branched out to Winesaps, Granny Smiths, Fujis, Braeburns—so many wonderful varieties. One of the best apples I ever ate was a Cox’s Orange Pippin. Crisp, spicy, tart and sweet. Maybe it was great, in part, because I ate it for lunch while sitting on Hadrian’s Wall. Nah, to still remember a specific apple after 50 years must mean it was one terrific apple. 

Here are recipes for two savory apple dishes we like in fall and winter Sausage Apple Skillet and Savory Fennel Apple Tarte Tatin. 

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CLEO COYLE: Candy apples make a nice novelty dessert for adults, especially for those of us who loved eating them as kids. For this recipe, I experimented with a combination of ingredients until I was happy with the end product, which is why there is no corn syrup in this recipe. Instead, I used honey and cinnamon sticks, which brings a more sophisticated flavor to the candy coating.

I’m also sharing a fun, spiked version of my recipe that’s even more grown-up. It swaps out cinnamon sticks for cinnamon schnapps. This recipe was featured in my long-running Coffeehouse Mystery series ☕ 🔎 and I'm happy to share it with you today. 

Click here or on the photo below to see my recipe post, which includes step-by-step photos and a downloadable PDF. Happy Apple Season, everyone! ~ Cleo 

HOW TO MAKE CANDY APPLES
WITH HONEY (No Corn Syrup!)
and HOW TO SPIKE CANDY APPLES
FOR GROWN-UPS.

 

GIVEAWAY!

To be entered in this week's drawing

for these terrific mysteries below,

join us in the comments.

Do you have a favorite fall fruit? 

Join the

conversation!

Include your email address,

so we can contact the winner!

Icing on the Murder by Valerie Burns 

Murder at Cape Costumers by Maddie Day 

The Mango Murders by Lucy Burdette 

Buttercream Betrayal by Kim Davis 

Bulletproof Barista by Cleo Coyle 

There'll be Shell to Pay by Molly MacRae

Comments Open
Through Wednesay
Sept. 10

Be sure to leave
your email address.

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Summer Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette & Feta

I am so pleased to announce that Roberta Isleib (Lucy Burdette) and I (Daryl Wood Gerber aka Avery Aames) have been nominated for the Anthony Awards for our short stories. Whee!


The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon Mystery Convention since 1986. The award are named for Anthony Boucher (1911-1968) one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America.


Click this title to read Roberta's "The Itinerary". You can catch my story, "Palace On The Lake" from FISH TALES: THE GUPPY ANTHOLOGY on my website.



Speaking of fish...


Oh, wait, no, I don't want to talk about fish today. I want to talk about summer...it's almost summer, right? [Can you tell I'm a little befuddled? I'm waiting for a baby to come from my nephew and his wife - my nephew is like a son to me! So sweet. On pins and needles.]

Anyway, back to summer. Summer should be simple, easy, and fun, don't you think? It's time to spend hours outside, drink in the sun, inhale the fabulous aromas of barbecue and ocean (lake) air.

Summer is also one of the best times to enjoy fresh vegetables and fruits. I love going to the local farmers' market and picking up tomatoes, lettuce, and all sorts of goodies.  One of the easiest things to do to liven up a salad is sprinkle it with cheese.  Feta offers a terrific tang to just about any salad. 

My husband loves to add Greek olives and red onions to his salad. In addition, I like to add artichoke hearts. Yum!  (Granted, I don't get the artichokes at the farmers' market. I'm all about efficiency sometimes. But don't cheap out on artichoke hearts. There is a difference in certain canned or jarred goods!)

Make your salad with your preferred ingredients.

DRIZZLE with balsamic vinaigrette and you're good to go.  Enjoy your greens. They're so good for you!

BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE DRESSING

(Yields: one cup, approx.)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

3/4 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black or white pepper, ground

1 teaspoon fresh or dried basil

Directions:

Mix the vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and basil in a blender.  Slowly add the olive oil so the mixture emulsifies.    [If you're not going to use the dressing right away or use all of it, cover and refrigerate. Shake well before using.]

Enjoy!

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If you don't figure it out yet, I, Avery Aames, am also

DARYL WOOD GERBER...

Daryl is what my husband actually calls me.

Here's how to learn more about Avery Aames or Daryl Wood Gerber.

Click this link to get to "our" website.

Chat with Avery on Facebook and Twitter.

Daryl will have a new series out in 2013:
THE COOKBOOK NOOK MYSTERIES
featuring a cookbook store owner
who is an avid reader and admitted foodie!

"Like" Daryl's page on Facebook and "follow" Daryl on Twitter.
She doesn't say all the same things "Avery" does. Promise.

And if you haven't done so, sign up for the mailing list

 so you can learn about upcoming events, releases, and contests!

Say cheese!

***********

UGLY MUFFINS RECIPE

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but let’s face it, sometimes food just doesn’t turn out pretty.

Bland colors on a bland plate? Sick. [Why don’t hospitals get this?]

Pasta with a white cream sauce served with white cauliflower as the vegetable? Ick.

White soup with white saltine crackers? Blech.

[And yet vanilla ice cream in a white bowl? Yum!  Beholder, remember? Beholder!]

Let’s face it, sometimes we simply have to close our eyes to eat. 

Today’s post is about inner beauty. [How I love to rationalize.]

I’ll admit I’m no cupcake maker. I think I’m starting to realize that cupcake batter should only fill half the cup (see my post for Halloween).

HALLOWEEN "GH0ST" CUPCAKES

But it’s taken me years to get this basic point. And it only took me a couple of weeks to forget it. Perhaps I’ll write in on a Post-it note and put it on my baking cabinet…or better yet, stow it in the cupcake tin itself!  {Lightbulb!!}

Anyway, I made some gluten-free muffins and I forgot the tenet above and over-poured the batter. Minutes later, out came these muffins. They’re flat-out ugly with elephantine bumps. Frosting can cover a lot of ugliness, but I wasn’t adding frosting this time. {Though a cream cheese frosting might be tasty.}

Given time constraints of travel and not having time to make a whole new batch, I closed my eyes and took a bite. It turns out they’re yummy, moist, and full of flavor.

Just don’t look at them.

What do you like to eat that’s flat-out ugly?

APPLE CHEDDAR MUFFINS

Ingredients:

(makes 8)

1 ¼ cup gluten-free baking mix (I used Pamela's see note below)

¼ cup water

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup chopped cheese (Dry Jack & Cheddar)

½ cup parboiled apple slices (recipe below)

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In medium bowl, mix all ingredients. [Note, you can use any GF baking mix. Pamela’s, GF Bisquick, Bob’s Red Mill…] 

Using a ladle, spoon mixture into 8 greased muffin pans or paper muffin cups (to ½ to 2/3 full).  Bake approximately 18-20 minutes.

Parboiled Apples

 

*To make parboiled apples: Peel 2 apples, your choice. Dice into small bites. Heat ½ cup water to boil. Add apple slices. Boil 10 minutes. Drain.

** When adding apple slices to the recipe above, do not include the “sweet apple” water left over.

Extra recipe:


Parboiled "Applesauce"

Make as above. DO NOT DRAIN. Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Eat just like it is or... * I added the "applesauce" to my latest banana bread in place of one of the bananas. PERFECT.  [Forgot to take pictures of this. Think chunky applesauce.]

* * *

You can learn more about Avery by clicking this link.

Chat with Avery on Facebook and Twitter.

And watch for CLOBBERED BY CAMEMBERT, coming out February 2012.

* * * * * * * *

 

BOOKSELLERS LINK

How Food Has Changed

by Sheila Connolly

Having failed to procure a guest for this day (and it's a long one, thanks to Daylight Savings), I thought I would regale you with some recipes from The Williamsburg Art of Cookery; or, Accomplished Gentlewoman's Companion, by Mrs. Helen Bullock.  The authors themselves cited many earlier sources.  The copy I have was purchased at Williamsburg by my grandmother in June 1951.  Her late husband, my grandfather, had attended William & Mary (although he didn't graduate), and she first visited the place with him, in 1936.

"The Apple Bee," by Winslow Homer

I love reading old cookbooks, and trying to puzzle out what some of the unfamiliar ingredients are--like isinglass, which is included in a recipe for blanc mange (which I know of only through Little Women).  There are intriguing recipes that have fallen out of favor,  like celery vinegar, or "apoquiniminics," which appear to be some kind of flat biscuit, or squab pie (if you're having trouble finding squabs, the writers says you can substitute robins).  And of course I'm always on the hunt for apple recipes. The book has a nice selection.

Apple Pudding (before 1839)

Half a Pound of Apples boiled, and squeezed through a hair Sieve half a Pound of Butter--beaten to a Cream, and mixed with the Apples before they are cold, six Eggs well beaten, half a Pound of fine Sugar--the Rind of two Lemons--or Oranges--boiled well shifting the water several Times--then beat all togather--bake them on a Crust.  Half an Hour will bake it.

Um, I have no idea what this is supposed to come out like. It's not clear if you're supposed to cream the apples or the butter, and what on earth is being boiled?

This next one sounds a bit more manageable:

To make an Apple Tansy (1742)

Take three Pippins, slice them round in thin slices, and fry them with Butter; then beat four Eggs, with six Spoonfuls of Cream, a little Rose-water, Nutmeg and Sugar, and stir them together, and pour it over the Apples; Let it fry a little, and turn in with a Pye-plate.  Garnish with Lemon and Sugar strewed over it.

I won't trouble you with the Pupton of Apples (I have no idea what a Pupton was), although at some point you're supposed to pour the mixture into a silver dish and bake it in a slow oven, then serve it with a plate of sliced butter on the side as well as fresh parsley. 

Most people would recognize the Apple Pie recipe, although there is an interesting twist:  you're supposed to boil the apple peels and cores in water with "a Blade of Mace," then strain it, add sugar, and boil it down to make a syrup ro pour over the apples in your pie before you add the top crust.  I can't say I've ever tried mace in a pie.

A good portion of the cookbook is devoted to breads and pastries, and it ends up with a section called "Of Health Drinking," which includes recipes for such delightful concoctions as Arrack Punch, Caudle, Morello Cherry Bounce, Custard Posset, Negus, Panada, and Orgeat (labeled "A Necessary Refreshment at all Parties").  It sounds like the good people of old Williamsburg knew how to party.  But lest they get to carried away, the section is preceded by the following page, "A Moral and Physical Thermometer," from The Gentlemen's Magazine in 1739.

Grammy's Apple Kuchen

As I've mentioned before, I love going through
my grandmother's old recipe box. Especially
during the holidays. Seeing her handwriting or
the notes she made on recipe cards now yellowed
with age brings her back to me more than a
photograph in an album ever could.




I have no idea if it is accurate or not, but I tend to pick
the recipe cards that have the most stains on them. My
guess is that they were used quite a bit so they must be good,
right?

So here is my grandmother's Apple Kuchen:



3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup flour
2 tspns baking powder
2 apples (peeled and sliced)
pinch of salt
1 egg
4 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons shortening (melted)
1 teaspoon vanilla
sugar and cinnamon to taste



Sift flour-baking powder-salt-sugar. Put melted shortening
in a bowl - add milk - vanilla - beaten egg - then sifted ingredients.
Mix thoroughly. Spread into 8 " pan. Arrange apples slices on top.
Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake 15 minutes in 350
degree oven.

This is a light fluffy biscuit like cake with a crunchy outside and
warm cinnamon apples on top. I plan to make this instead of
coffee cake for breakfast Christmas morning. It'll be like having
Gram with me.

*I believe this was a war time recipe when rationing factored into
ingredient selection. Although, it came out fine the way it was written,
I am a butter lover so the next time I make it, I am going to
substitute a 1/2 cup of softened butter in place of the melted
shortening and milk. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Happy Holidays! Jenn

Jenn McKinlay
SPRINKLE WITH MURDER
March 2010
(Available for Pre-Order Now)

aka Lucy Lawrence
STUCK ON MURDER
Sept 2009 (Available Now)

CUT TO THE CORPSE
April 2010
(Available for Pre-Order Now)

www.jennmckinlay.com

Keep those suggestions for our Iron Chef inspired cooking week coming. I love a challenge! And I heard a rumor you can win something with chocolate.
Seriously, chocolate!!!