Caramel Apple Crostata

 

My daughter discovered Caramel Apple Crostata, on a trip to the beach. She was excited to tell me about it. 

Warm Apple Crostata, in a puddle of caramel, with a scoop of ice cream. What’s not to like? Sounds like a classic. The next trip, I had to see what the fuss was about. I found the restaurant, overlooking the beach. I just knew this crostata was going to be everything. I was disappointed. I could taste, they used a packaged pie dough. The ice cream and caramel sauce were premade. It’s expected. That's what restaurants do. They sell Sysco products. 

When I got home, I went right to work on this recipe. My crostata blows the restaurant version out of the water! This is a family favorite, and I'm sure it will be yours too. This recipe can be doubled. It makes a large pizza-sized crostata. 

A YouTube cooking tutorial is available by clicking this link.

CARAMEL APPLE CROSTATA

 

CRUST:
Single crust (see The Righteous Kitchen's All Butter Pie Crust recipe)
 
FILLING:
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1/3 Cup sugar
1 Teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons butter
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced to 1/8" thickness. Reserve 1/2
  of an apple for the center of crostata
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
 
WASH:
1 Egg, scrambled
1 Tablespoon sugar, for sprinkling on crust, optional
 
DIRECTIONS:
Cut a piece of parchment paper, to fit a 9 X 13" baking tray. Set aside. Place filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl, stirring to coat. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350. Mix pie dough. Shape into a disk. Remove parchment paper from baking tray, and set on counter. This is where you will roll the dough. Place dough onto the center of parchment paper. Cover with a large sheet of plastic wrap. Roll dough into a 10" circle, between parchment paper and plastic wrap. Place the halved apple, cored side down, in the center of the rolled dough. Arrange the sliced apples, cored side down, around the center apple. Brush, inside, exposed dough, with egg. Bring up sides of dough; using your hand, behind parchment paper. Lift and press dough, around apples. Release parchment paper as you work your way around crostata. Transfer crostata, with parchment to baking tray. Repair any cracks in dough, by pinching dough together. Brush with egg. Sprinkle with sugar, if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 60 minutes, until crust is golden brown. You may add 2 or 3 rounds of wash, depending how golden you want the crostata. Serve with Florene’s Vanilla Ice Cream and Michelle's Salted Caramel. 

Tyler’s Sous Vide Turkey

 

I taught my son-in-law, to carve a turkey, on his first Thanksgiving, as part of our family. He was a quick learner. The following Thanksgiving, he carved the turkey, at my mother-in-law’s house. She was impressed. We agreed to delegate the turkey carving duty to Tyler. Fast forward a few years, and he has become a Sous Vide Turkey expert.

If you want the juiciest, most flavorful turkey for Thanksgiving; you’re going to have to sous vide it. I’m thankful, my son has perfected this recipe. It takes a lot off my plate; when he makes the turkey. 

Sous Vide is a method of cooking. The food is placed in a bag, and submerged in warm water. This method takes some time. Allow 24 hours, for the sous vide portion, of the recipe. 

A YouTube demonstration is available by clicking this link.

TYLER’S SOUS VIDE TURKEY

 

TURKEY:

1 Whole turkey, quartered

1/2 Cup olive oil, to pan fry or broil

1/4 Cup sugar

1/4 Cup salt

1/2 Ounce fresh rosemary, divided

1/2 Ounce fresh sage, divided

1/2 Ounce fresh thyme, divided

 

EQUIPMENT:

4 gallon sized freezer bags, FoodSaver Bags are preferred

Sous Vide Cooker

Sous Vide Container

Sous Vide Rack or Weights, to keep turkey submerged

 

*Allow 24 hours, once turkey goes into the sous vide cooker. If you eat Thanksgiving dinner at

1 pm; put the thighs into the sous vide at 12:00 pm, the day before. This allows time to finish on the broiler. Your timeline should look like this:

 

12:00 pm - heat sous vide to 149 degrees - add turkey legs

12:00 am - reduce sous vide to 131 degrees - add turkey breasts with legs

12:00 pm - next day - turkey is done - finish under broiler

 

TO QUARTER TURKEY:

Prepare turkey on a half sheet baking tray. Remove innards from turkey; and reserve to make stock. Turn turkey, breast side down. To flatten the turkey, the spine is removed. Score a line on each side of spine. This will act as a cutting guide. Use poultry shears, clean pruning shears, or kitchen scissors; to cut through the scored lines. Start cutting from the legs, up to the neck. When you get to the end; cut skin, with a knife, to release the spine. Save all bones and skin, to make stock. Flip turkey, breast side up. Using both palms, press firmly on the breasts, to flatten the turkey. At this point the turkey is spatchcocked. For the purpose of sous vide, the turkey is quartered. To remove the thigh and legs; wiggle the inner thigh area, to loosen the thigh. Cut along the lower breast. Score to expose the thigh joint. Bend the thigh, to expose the joint. Cut through the joint to release. Once both thighs are cut; flip the turkey breast side down. Gently slide your fingers under the ribs, and bend upward. Cut with poultry shears. Use a knife, to cut alongside the breastbone. Flip breastbone up. Use a knife to release breastbone. Once the breastbone has been removed, you can pull the wishbone. Cut breast in half, down the line of the breastbone. Trim fat from turkey sections. Wash turkey in cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels. Return to clean baking tray.

 

DIRECTIONS:

Coat turkey in olive oil. Pan fry, over medium high heat; to get coloring on skin. Or brown, under broiler. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine sugar and salt. Generously sprinkle salt and sugar mixture over turkey. Place each turkey section into a freezer bag. Add a few sprigs of fresh herbs, to each bag. Dried herbs can be used, if fresh herbs aren’t available. Seal bags, so they are airtight. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, place the filled freezer bag in the water, of the sous vide cooker, to remove air. Carefully seal the freezer bag. To set water amount, of sous vide cooker: Place all bags in the sous vide container. Attach sous vide cooker, unplugged. Fill to the maximum water line. Remove turkey. Place turkey breasts in refrigerator, they will be added later. Find a spot for the sous vide cooker, where it won’t be disturbed for 24 hours. I place mine, on a table, on the back patio. Legs cook for 24 hours. Breasts cook for 12 hours. *Start the sous vide the day before Thanksgiving at 12:00 pm, noon. The turkey will be done, Thanksgiving Day, at noon. Place turkey thigh bags in sous vide. Use the rack, or weights, to make sure bags are fully submerged. Set sous vide temperature to 149 degrees, for 12 hours. 12 hours later, 12:00 am, or midnight; reduce the sous vide temperature to 131 degrees, for 12 hours. Add turkey breasts, to the sous vide; keeping turkey legs, in sous vide. Add water to sous vide cooker, if needed. Make sure all bags are fully submerged. The turkey is done the following day. At 12:00 pm, noon. To finish: place sous vide turkey on a baking rack, under the broiler for a few minutes, to brown and crisp skin. Let set 10 minutes before slicing.

.

Red Enchilada Sauce

 

When the Covid Pandemic of 2020 hit, I wasn’t able to find my favorite enchilada sauce. Since my favorite sauce is made from hatch chilies, I decided to buy the chili powder online. I had this recipe, in my arsenal, but it got an upgrade, with the hatch chilies. This turned out great, for me. Before pandemic, a can of enchilada sauce was $.99. Now it’s $3.50! Homemade is a money saver, and it tastes better, too!

(Left) made in Vitamix Ascent Series blender, using soup setting (Right) made on the stove

If you have the Vitamix Ascent Series, or Venturist Series, with the soup function; you can make this sauce in the blender. It takes approximately six minutes for this recipe to be completed. The result is a thicker, smoother, enchilada sauce. If you want a little thinner sauce, using the Vitamix blender; reduce the flour to one tablespoon.

A YouTube tutorial is available, by clicking this link.

RED ENCHILADA SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:
2 Tablespoons chili powder
2 Tablespoons flour
1 Teaspoon salt
1/2 Teaspoon cumin
1/4 Teaspoon garlic powder 
1/4 Teaspoon onion powder 
2 Tablespoons cooking oil
1 (8 ounce) Can tomato sauce 
2 Cups water 

DIRECTIONS:
Whisk dry ingredients, in a small bowl. Set aside. In a medium sized sauce pan; heat cooking oil over medium high heat. Stir in tomato sauce and spices, adding a little water, to incorporate spice mixture. Add remaining water. Mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cover pan. Let simmer for 10 - 15 minutes. 

Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwich

 

Who doesn’t love a grilled cheese sandwich? It a childhood favorite, that an adult can appreciate. It goes great with a bowl of your favorite soup. I love to dunk my Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwich into a nice hot bowl of tomato soup. My hubby dunks his into chicken noodle soup.

I’ve grilled my sandwiches with butter. I’ve, also, grilled them with mayonnaise; using the restaurant hack. This time, I did a taste test. I wanted to see which tasted better. I was quite surprised. You can see my reaction, on my YouTube tutorial. A video demonstration is available, by clicking this link.

GRILLED HAM & CHEESE SANDWICH

 

INGREDIENTS:

2 Slices sandwich bread

1 Tablespoon full fat mayonnaise - or - butter, softened

2 Slices American cheese, unwrapped

3 Slices deli ham, thinly sliced

 

DIRECTIONS:

Heat frying pan, or griddle, to medium high heat. Spread mayo, lightly, onto one side; of each slice of bread. Stack sandwich in pan: 1 slice bread (mayonnaise side down), cheese, ham, cheese,  1 slice bread (mayonnaise side up). Grill until golden brown, and

crispy. 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Making sure cheese has melted. Makes 1 sandwich

Mix things up, with more grilled sandwich options.

 

BREAD:

Croissant

Wheat

White

Sourdough

 

CHEESE:

American

Brie

Cheddar

Jack

Provolone

 

MEAT:

Ham

Pastrami

Roast Beef

Turkey

Shredded Beef With Consomme

I don’t want to say this is Birria Style Shredded Beef, because it is not authentic, as prepared in Mexico. First of all, Birria is goat. Secondly, I don’t use all the spices. I’ve made this according to my cooking style. Typically, the meat is cooked with the consommé. I have separated the beef, and consommé. This gives the option of having the consommé, or not.

A YouTube video demonstration is available, by clicking this link.

SHREDDED BEEF WITH CONSOMMÉ

SHREDDED BEEF:

2 - 3 Pound Chuck Roast

1/2 Teaspoon Righteous Seasoning

4 Tablespoons cooking oil

1/2 Large onion, chopped

1 Jalapeño, destemmed, deseeded

6 Large garlic cloves, peeled, crushed

1 1/2 Cups water - or - 1 (12 ounce) bottle Corona beer

2 Beef bouillon cubes

1 Cup water

2 beef bouillon cubes

 

PICO DE GALLO:

1/2 Onion, diced

1/2 Bunch cilantro

1 Small tomato, diced

1/4 Teaspoon Righteous Seasoning

1/2 lime, juiced

 

BEEF CONSOMMÉ:

2/3 Cup Pico De Gallo, divided

1 1/2 Cups beef broth, defatted

1 Dried Pasilla chili pepper, stem and seeds removed

1 Dried Guajillo chili peppers, stem and seeds removed

2 California chili peppers, stems and seeds removed

6 Dried Arbol chili peppers, stems and seeds removed

1 Cup water

1/2 lime, juiced

1/2 Teaspoon Righteous Seasoning, if needed

1/2 Teaspoon granulated garlic

1/4 Teaspoon cumin

Up to 1/2 Teaspoon tajin, to reduce spiciness, if desired

 

TO PREPARE SHREDDED BEEF:

Coat 1 side of roast with 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Rub 1/2 teaspoon Righteous Seasoning onto meat. Flip meat, and repeat. Heat oil, in skillet, over medium high heat. Place onion and jalapeño into hot skillet. Add meat, to center of skillet. Let meat seer, for 3 minutes. Flip meat, and seer the other side. Turn heat to medium low. Place seared roast into crock pot. Add crushed garlic to skillet. Let cook a few minutes. Add water and bouillon cubes. Scrape bits off bottom of pan. Turn off heat. Transfer braising liquid to crock pot. Cover. Let cook until meat is fork tender. Check beef at 3 hours. If braising liquid has absorbed into the meat, add 1 cup water, and 2 beef bouillon cubes. Continue cooking, to 4 hours. Meat should spread easily. Place shredded beef in bowl, and refrigerate.

 

TO PREPARE CONSOMMÉ:

Place 1/3 Cup Pico De Gallo, in a slow cooker, or crock pot. Set aside. Place prepared dried chilies in a blender. Add beef broth. Process until smooth, about 6 minutes. Pour chili mixture into slow cooker. Rinse remaining chili mixture, with 1 cup water, from the blender; and pour into slow cooker. Add lime juice, Righteous Seasoning, if needed, garlic, and cumin; stirring to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. You do not want your consommé to evaporate. If consommé is too spicy; stir in tajin, 1/4 teaspoon at a time. The tajin will reduce the spiciness. Stir in remaining 1/3 cup Pico De Gallo. Serve as a dipping sauce with tacos or quesadillas.

Pork Quesadillas With Consomme

 

My family loves Carnitas! Every time I make them, they get better. This is a recipe for Pork Quesadillas with Consommé. In Spanish, they are known as, Quesa Carnitas con Consomé. It has several components, mostly the toppings! 

A YouTube video demonstration is available, by clicking this link.

PORK QUESADILLAS WITH CONSOMMÉ

QUESADILLAS: 

Shredded Pork:  See recipe
Carnitas Dry Rub: See recipe
Lard, reserved from shredded pork
Packaged corn tortillas
Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

TO PREPARE SHREDDED PORK:  
Cook shredded pork as directed in recipe. Remove fat and bones from pork. Save fat, to fry quesadillas. Strain pork broth. Cube meat, then place in large mixing bowl. Season, liberally, with Carnitas Dry Rub. Set aside. 

TO PREPARE QUESADILLAS: 
Coat a frying pan or griddle with lard. Fry cubed pork, until crispy. Place in bowl. Set aside. Coat griddle with more lard. Place corn tortillas on hot griddle. Cover tortilla with shredded cheese. Place crispy carnitas onto half of the tortilla. Let tortilla start to brown, on the bottom. Fold tortilla over the carnitas. Continue cooking until crispy and browned, about 3 minutes. Flip quesadilla, and brown. 

Serve With: 

PICO DE GALLO:  See recipe

TO PREPARE PICO DE GALLO:  

Prepare pico de gallo as directed in recipe. Divide into three equal portions. You will be using one portion, each, for: pico de gallo, guacamole, and consommé.

GUACAMOLE:  See recipe

TO PREPARE GUACAMOLE:  

Prepare guacamole as directed in recipe, using Pico De Gallo. 

PORK CONSOMMÉ:  See recipe

TO PREPARE CONSOMMÉ: 

Prepare consommé, as directed in recipe.