Out spreading smallpox

I have been absent this weekend(as in I literally have answered my phone for only my mom...apologies to those trying to get a hold of me). Matt and I escaped to New Hampshire and have been taking in the leaves and the cold air. It really has been cold up here. Last night the low was 27 degrees Fahrenheit, and when you're 95 pounds soaking wet that feels like -15.

As you can see from the pictures Matt and I did some apple picking. We also made two apple treats. Baking apples are such an intriguing fruit. They have to be just firm and sour enough to turn into a sweet soft dessert. It really is odd.

There were some unmarked trees at the apple farm, so Matt took a bite from one of the apples to see if he liked the variety. I knew we had found a perfect baking apple when he spit the apple out "GROSS that's so sour!" I personally am a big fan of sour baking apples (my tummy is not), but most people wouldn't want to just eat them off the tree. Another sign that they were good for baking was that they didn't have a nice white flesh. Apples that are good for baking are sort of greenish on the inside; they don't have that perfect whitish red fresh of a red delicious apple.

After about an hour of picking, tasting, and goofing around in the apple trees, we went to pay for our apples and I bought apple cider donuts. I would love to tell you about these treats, but honestly I think they deserve a post to themselves. Yes they are that heavenly; you'll just have to wait for my ode to their fried doughy goodness.

You may be wondering what treats we were making this weekend. I had breakfast duty Sunday morning, so I made stuffed french toast with caramel apple topping. You really can't go wrong with my stuffed frensh toast. I have made it with strawberry topping, fresh orange syrup topping, and now these apples. It's so easy. Look at the fresh fruit of the season and just run with it.

Stuffed French Toast:

Cream Cheese (Mascarpone, Ricotta…I used ricotta the first time I made it and everyone loved it, but either of the three cheese work just fine. I normally make enough for 4-5 people and use maybe ¾ of a container of cream cheese.)

Bread (I’ve used sliced French bread and regular white bread. Because you use two slices of bread make sure that it is a thinly sliced lighter bread (the kind that if it was made into a pb&J you could smoosh it till it's paper thin) and not anything heavy like 12 grain bread.)

Granulated Sugar, cinnamon, honey or corn syrup (You can use whatever you want to sweeten the cheese. A jam or jelly would work too. I use the honey or corn syrup to make the cream cheese a little more movable to spread and the granulated sugar and cinnamon for taste, but if you’re using a jelly then that kind of takes the job of all of the sweeteners. Taste the cheese to make sure it’s sweet enough or not too sweet.)

3 eggs and a little bit of milk (To make about 5 servings I use 3 eggs. Mix in a little of the milk and whisk with a fork.

Sweeten the cheese. If using the honey, granulated, cinnamon combination, start with the honey to soften the cream cheese and make it easier to mix everything in.
Spread some cream cheese on a slice of bread. I normally spread about the same amount that I’d use for a peanut butter sandwich, maybe a little bit more. Place another piece of bread on top of the piece with cream cheese. Dip the bread in the egg mixture and fry in an oiled pan till golden brown on either side.

For the caramel apple topping, I just peeled and cored about 3 apples. I cut then fairly small and started frying them in a pan with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. In a saucepan, I put about a cup of sugar, maybe 2 cups of water, and just a pinch of cream of tartar. I let that mixture boil till it started turning color. When it had just a slight color (there is nothing worse than burned sugar so always ere on the side of caution), I added a few tablespoons of butter and 1/2 a cup of milk. I put it back on the heat till it was all smooth. I then added the caramel to the apples. This all may sound like a lot of work, but make the apple mixture before you start the stuffed french toast because it can sit and be reheated fairly easy.

We couldn't spend the weekend in New Hampshire without Matt's mom's famous apple crisp. It truly is legendary and one of the only apple desserts I will eat. After a short hike through the woods yesterday Matt and I got out the apples again and started making it.

The Best Apple Crisp You Will Ever Eat:

2 cups of flour
2 cups of brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
Cinnamon
8 cups of apples
1 cup of butter
1/2 cup of nuts (optional, but pretty tasty)

Peel and core the apples. Cut them into apple pie sized apples. Grease a 13x9 inch pan and fill the bottom of the pan with the apples. I don't think we actually scaled out the 8 cups of apples. We used 6 apples because it filled the pan pretty much. Sprinkly the apples in the pan with cinnamon. Make sure you cover them; don't be stingy.

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, nuts, and salt. Add the eggs one at a time. The mixtuer will be crumbly. Pour it over the apples. Melt the cup of butter and pour over the crumb topping. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 minutes.

I am serious when I say this is heavenly, but really what isn't heavenly when a cup of butter is involved.

To say we ate well is an understatement. Between the stuffed french toast and the apple crisp, Matt's dad and friend John were having an outside tailgating party. They made us ribs and shrimp and corn fresh from North Carolina. I was so full I felt sick. It is not often that I can say I have ever felt like that. But it was so good.

I am going to be so sad to head back tonight. My breakfast of oatmeal just won't taste the same tomorrow. I suppose that is why you enjoy vacations so much; you don't get the good food and good company all of the time. If we did, we'd probably think it was boring.

It's Columbus Day, so I hope you all are out discovering new lands and spreading small pox. Or just enjoying some good food and wonderful company.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily