An Apple (Dumpling) a Day

I tried a new recipe. It was good. I want to share it with you, but I do not want to give you the recipe. I would rather make it for you and have you be in awe of all the time, effort, and work that must have gone into making it. However, that is a bit self-seeking and it is great recipe to have in your back pocket for a last minute dessert to make for guests. And they will never know how easy it was to make. Unless, of course, you spill the beans and share the recipe with them like I am about to.

A few months ago I bought a box of frozen puff pastry sheets. I did not know what I would make, but it seemed like a good thing to have on hand. In case I need to make Beef Wellington or strawberry napoleons on a breezy Sunday afternoon. Truth was, I did not know what to with it. I would stare at the box in my freezer, look online for ideas. But nothing seemed to shout to me "I am the chosen recipe! Choose me for your flaky puff pastry!"

And then I found it. It was like God ordained the recipe for me. I mean, the recipe is called Allie's Delicious Baked Dumplings. It is meant for me to make! After procuring the one ingredient I was missing, apples, I set out on my adventure to make baked apple dumplings.

This is just about the simplest thing I have ever made next to the PB & J or a tuna sandwich. And, of course, my famous spoonful o' peanut butter with chocolate chips. (Spoon PB, small bowl of chocolate. Dip chocolate chip in PB. Eat. Repeat.) The hardest part is peeling the apple, but that was because I did not have a proper peeling mechanism.

Follow the directions: cut, roll, sprinkle, fold, press, bake. And then comes the icing. Oh my word, the icing. Who knew that adding a little bit of vanilla would increase the delectability of icing by an overwhelming margin. Here is where the recipe and I diverged. It said to wait to ice and eat dumpling until completely cooled. That is dumb. When faced with choosing between warm apple dumpling and cool apple dumpling, I choose warm. Sure the icing may slide off the dessert a little, but you can mop it up with the forkful of goodness.

I wish I had a picture of how my dumplings turned out, because they looked way better than the picture on the recipe. It honestly looks like something you would pay five bucks for at a restaurant. The outside is a dark gold brown, crunchy and flaky and light. But the good stuff lies on the inside. Through the baking process, the apple half melts and becomes a applesauce consistency. It is a bit firmer than applesauce, but has definitely lost the crunch of raw apple. Typical bite: soft and warm apple with cinnamon and nutmeg, a little crunchy flaky crust and a hint of vanilla from the icing. I did not have ice cream, but some vanilla bean would go fantastically with it.

Apple dumplings could become something I make every weekend. It is an easy recipe to halve, so I could eat one on Saturday and one on Sunday. It reheats very well; the crust does not get soggy and the apple does not become dry. It is a light dessert and would go well with a heavier entree like steak or filet mignon. I could see it served at a family grill night or as an end to a 4-course dinner. And here's the thing, if you want to make each dumpling hold a quarter of an apple to make the dessert a little smaller, I do not see why that would not work. The only reason I see why encasing a whole apple in the dough for dumplings may not work is that the apple would collapse as it cooked and you would lose the dumpling's structure.

Possible variations: pear or peach. (Peach may require some tweaking on the spices. A little more sugar and nutmeg, little less cinnamon. Eater's discretion.) Possible movie go-with: The Apple Dumpling Gang.

Strata for the Popeye Lover in You

I have a new go-to recipe for providing food for a group of people. It was tea sandwiches, but that was quite labor intensive, and not good make ahead food. Most people do not like soggy finger sandwiches. So, I have a new one coming to a brunch, lunch or bar mitzvah near you.

Spinach and Pancetta Strata is egg casserole and quiche on caffeine. Except there is not caffeine, just lots of tasty ingredients. Eggs, spinach, pancetta (Italian bacon), and bread all meld together beautifully in this dish. The most laborious portion of the creation is chopping and sauteing onions and cubing the bread. And waiting. There is at least 2 hours of that.

This is a great dish because it truly can be served for any meal. At breakfast it is quiche with no crust or an omelet and toast mixed together. Lunch and dinner is a casserole-like side. Also, it is still great reheated, something that scored major points for me as the sole eater of my household.

The taste. Because, when it comes down to it, that is pretty much all that matters. Okay, taste and mouth feel. The salty crunch from the pancetta perfectly compliments the heartiness of the spinach and bread. And, toward the end of each bite, you get that hint of sweet and spicy nutmeg. Who knew that little amount of spice would create such big flavor? The egg soaked bread makes for a bread pudding-like texture, but by no means soggy. The pieces of bread on top toast to a nice crunch while those in the dish retain their shape even after hours of resting in the egg mixture.

The strata is good because you can look at the base ingredients (milk, eggs, bread, onion) and add whatever you like. Broccoli, olives, basil, tomato, cheese, bell pepper, mushrooms, bacon, sausage, whatever your heart and mouth desire. Think of it: strata with cremini mushrooms, roasted bell pepper and Italian sausage...tasty, tasty! I like it when I find recipes I can switch up without too much fear of failure. It allows the creative culinary portion of my mind to stretch, and it allows me to test trial recipes out on unsuspecting victims like my coworkers, family, and friends. I have not poisoned or killed anyone yet!