Category: apples
Apple, Onion and Rosemary Tart with Cinnamon Honey
| December 2, 2019 | Posted by Wendy Perry under appetizers, apples, cheesy, garden goodness, honey, Mindless Mutterings from the Teacher's Lounge, party foods, pie please, product recipe development |
…a delightful sweet and savory tart to enjoy as an appetizer, side, with salad for brunch or as an outside-the-box dessert!
Cinnamon Candy Apple Nut Brittle
| October 13, 2019 | Posted by Wendy Perry under apples, candy, Christmas, fun food, party foods, published, sweet treats, wendy's signature recipes |
Published in Carolina Country Magazine October 2019
YaY! It’s finally NC State Fair week. Most everyone loves the fair, for so many different reasons. I have fond memories of fairs with friends during high school… fun dates… and taking my now 15-year-old nephew Wyatt in his younger years and loving every minute of glee in his little eyes and giggles on the kiddie rides and playing the games where he’d win a toy for $20 that we could buy at the dollar store.
Or a fish in a bag!! LOL
Another enjoyable thing for me is to find a bench to plop down on… and just watch people.
You see some of the damndest things at the fair. I’ll leave my thoughts and comments right there!
I have no idea what year it was… 15-20 or so ago, when I was first invited to be a judge for the daily cooking contests. By far, this may be my most favorite fair thing of all! As a recipe creator myself, I always love sitting in that little room and seeing what will show up on the days I judge… and enjoy the camaraderie of those of us in that little room all tasting… oooh-ing and ahhh-ing… and sometimes saying “nope, can’t do that!” I do admire all who enter their recipes, but some need to be sure and have a back up plan if they have aspirations of a culinary career.
So… back to this recipe! This is my final of 3 recipes to blog here I created for Carolina Country’s October 2019 fair-inspired recipes. I had this idea in my head, and it took me a couple of times to get it like I wanted it… so I do hope you will enjoy. My best advice for making this, as with most all candies, is to not make it on a humid day. When creating and testing this candy apple brittle, it just fell that way in my schedule a couple of times.
Results = Total Sticky Pull-Your-Teeth-Out FAIL!
So when you’re missing fair time, and a good ole candy apple, give this a try. It might help satisfy your craving just a bit. It makes a pretty red Christmas red for your holiday festivities.
I hope you’ll give it a try and come over and add your comments or questions on my facebook community.
…and hope you can make it to the NC State Fair next week too!
For those who might miss our NC State Fair, I stirred up something reminiscent of those iconic candy apples. My nut brittle will tickle your taste buds with its crunchy texture and candy apple flavor filled with toasty NC pecan pieces, plus a hint of cinnamon! Made in less than 10 minutes in your microwave.
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup toasted pecan pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons flakey or coarse ground sea salt, optional
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Combine sugar and syrup in an 8-cup glass measuring cup. Microwave on high for 5–6 minutes until it reaches a rolling boil.
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Carefully remove and stir in ¼ teaspoon salt, butter, extract, spices and pecans. Microwave 1–2 minutes longer until boiling. Remove and quickly stir in food coloring and soda.
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Pour onto greased slab or cookie sheet and spread with back of spoon. Sprinkle with salt.
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Let the brittle cool at least 1 hour. Break into pieces and store in airtight container.
Variation: Unsalted roasted peanuts or other nuts can be substituted for the pecans.
Tip: Best not to make this (or most candy) on humid days. You may end up with chewy rather than crunchy brittle.
Breakfast Sausage Harvest Hash
| September 15, 2019 | Posted by Wendy Perry under apples, casseroles, gluten free, here piggy piggy!, Mindless Mutterings from the Teacher's Lounge, published, roasted goodness, skillet cookery, sweet potatoes, turnips |
…this rustic hash features your favorite breakfast sausage and good old North Carolina Sweet Potatoes!
Who needs pie when you can have Apple Cheddar Biscuit Cobbler instead!
| December 3, 2018 | Posted by Wendy Perry under apples, baking (she said in terror), pie please, product recipe development, sweet treats |
Who needs plain old apple pie when you can lip-smack with this Apple Cheddar Biscuit Cobbler instead?
Candy Apple Slaw… fall in a bowl!
| October 23, 2018 | Posted by Wendy Perry under apples, cook & eat nekkid, cook'n with NC goodies, garden goodness, published, salads, slaws and such, sensational sides |
And just like that, it’s fall! A few morns have dang near felt like we went from summer right into winter. Time to fire up those pig cookers around here in North Carolina and gather ’round friends and family.
Each month, I create a couple of recipes for Carolina Country Magazine. The November issue is their annual food issue, so I get to do some extra goodies for that. The issue will hit mailboxes in the next few days and I’ll be back then to share the recipes I did along with my “How To Host A Pig Pick’n” article. Till then, I’ll share one of my others…
Our 2018 NC State Fair has come and gone… and I had fun again judging some of the daily special cooking contests… 3 this year. Something I think about in fall at fair time is candy apples. So I threw together this Candy Apple Slaw recipe… which would be great to serve at a pig pick’n… or just on your supper table! We have dozens of varieties of apples here in North Carolina and some farmers’ markets have rows of them available for tasting before you buy. So visit your local market and find some shiny red apples for this recipe!
Enjoy this Candy Apple Slaw… and be sure you’re subscribed to my Table Scraps newsletter… about to re-launch after being asleep for a while!
Candy Apple Slaw @ Carolina Country Magazine!
This sweet and tangy slaw is a tasty, colorful fall side dish. Enjoy the variety of textures … crispy bits of apple along with the chewy cranberries and toasty nuts.
- 6 cups chopped cabbage
- 4 large red apples, diced, not peeled
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup thinly sliced red onions
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon celery seed
- 1 1/2 cups toasted pecans, divided
- 1 1/2 cups crushed peanut brittle,* opt.
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Put cabbage, apples, cranberries, onions, seasonings and half the pecans in a large bowl. Add dressing and stir to coat.
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Pour into serving bowl and chill several hours.
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At serving time scatter with remaining pecans; scatter optional peanut brittle to add a delightful candy crunch.
*Store bought or your own.
Fall = Applesauce!
Fall is in the air… well kinda sorta, now that fresh North Carolina apples are making their debut at farmers’ markets! And with that, comes comfort foods, like applesauce. Who doesn’t love that? It makes such a quick and simple healthy side dish for so many things, including breakfast! What could start your day off better than some NC maple or brown sugar pork sausage with a side of freshly made applesauce? Check out this site for lots of great information about North Carolina apples!
And because you can crock a pot so fast, unless you really want to, there’s no need to do huge batches and can. Just make some fresh every week or so as you need in your house!
Apple Pie Spiced Slow Cooker Applesauce
This recipe is so easy… you can have it in the pot in 5 minutes and go on about your business. It takes care of itself… wouldn’t it be great if all our foods did that?
My applesauce is featured in this month’s September issue of Carolina Country Magazine but you can find it printable below. As you will see in the notes, there are easy ways to vary this basic recipe. You can use your favorite pie spice… and I really like to use the Georgia Peach Spice from Savory Spice Shop.
And here’s a helpful hint... for those of you with small households, I highly recommend getting yourself a mini crock pot (or two) for cook’n. I have a couple and cook in them several times a week. The heat is so intensified due to its smaller size, food gets hot faster and cooks much faster too. I enjoy soft creamy grits some mornings in 30-45 minutes. I buy Boston butts when on sale and have them cut in half to freeze one/cook one… a half fits perfectly into the mini pot and in a couple of hours, I have my own Eastern North Carolina pulled pork BBQ! The portions are perfect for a couple of folks and you won’t end up with lots of leftovers (but maybe just enough to throw together a mini crock pot of soup). I’m not sure all the places you can get them, but I picked up both of mine at thrift stores… one for $3 and the other was $7. And I recently gifted one to my “other mother” from Roses for $12! You can’t beat that…. and they are a great inexpensive Christmas gift for singles, couples and seniors that aren’t able to stand and do much cooking anymore. You can even pair up with a grocery store gift card if you want to help someone on a fixed income at holiday time! And for you single and couple campers out there, a mini is a must-have.
So without further adieu I give you my delicious slow cooker applesauce! Happy Sauce’n and Happy Fall y’all! Please be sure to share my recipe and blog with friends, and thanks!
- 8-10 large apples cored and roughly chopped, peel half
- 1/3 cup apple juice or water
- pinch salt
- brown sugar, honey or sugar as needed
- apple pie spice or something similar
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Add apples, water and salt to slow cooker. Stir and cover. Cook on high about 2 hours or low about 5 hours until tender.
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Leave chunky, or puree with an immersion blender for smooth sauce. Taste for sweetness and add sugar as needed. Dust with apple pie spice.
- Serve warm or chilled. Great alongside pork and chicken or stirred into your morning oatmeal or yogurt. Perfect for lunchboxes too!!
- Spice: Use cinnamon or any sort of "baking" spice you like such as pumpkin pie spices. I love to use the George Peach Spice blend from Savory Spice Shop!
- Variation: Use half apples and half pears for a wonderful apple-pear sauce.
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