Hurray for Apple Dumplings

In my family, while growing up, when Mom made Apple Dumplings they were our supper, not a dessert. I guess Mom and Dad felt the sheer volume of calories and such were worthy of consideration as a "meal." For me, that was never enough. I have mentioned my sweet tooth in past, but it is still going as strongly today as I am approaching age 70 as it did at age 10. Mom made enough that we all had one. Possibly, Dad was allowed two, though I am not certain. But I always wished there were more, because they were one of my favorite of many favorite desserts.

These days, I know how much time it takes to prepare them, and just how far they (don't) go. I can certainly sympathize with Mom's efforts to feed a big family. But, I don't think there has ever been a time when I didn't wish for more than there were. These days, if I don't keep a close eye out, my husband will just polish off the whole of the remaining dumplings in the pan. Horrors! Because that means I won't get another one!

Apple Dumplings

Okay, I might be exaggerating. A little. Well, a teensy bit, maybe. But I just love Apple Dumplings. 

Rice Pudding

Coconut Milk and Saffron Rice Pudding

There are other things Mom made for us, that still, to this day, I crave and make. I recall Mom making rice pudding from leftover "Minute Rice." She used tapioca for the thickening. I love rice, and I love rice pudding. I do not use "Minute Rice," but when I have leftover rice (usually made with saffron in it) I make rice pudding. For myself only, as my husband is not at all fond of plain rice, and something about rice pudding (despite the fact that he has a sweet tooth nearly as big as mine) is a no-no for him. So, I do not have to share, when I make rice pudding. I do, however, have to make sure there is something else that he will eat, for dessert. 

To make my version of her rice pudding, Combine about 2½ to 3 cups of milk (or substitute a can of coconut milk, adding enough water to make the amount of liquid needed) in a medium saucepan with 3 tablespoons of minute tapioca and ½ cup of sugar. Let stand for a few minutes, then stir and combine with 2½ cups of leftover rice. Bring the mixture to boil, stirring and once boiling, reduce to simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool. Optional is adding in raisins, or cinnamon, or cinnamon stick while cooking. Add in vanilla, if desired, once off heat.

Potato Pancakes

Potato Pancakes

Mom also made what she called "Potato Pancakes," when she had leftover mashed potatoes. They were more like a freshly hand-patted corn tortilla in texture and style. Certainly they bore no resemblance to what is termed "Potato Pancakes" in restaurants. These were made and to me, were a most particularly special treat for lunchtime next day. As we grew older, my sisters and I would beg Mom to make lots of extra mashed potatoes, so we could have Potato Pancakes for lunch next day. And preferably, more than just a couple! She served these to us first just sprinkled with salt. Then as "dessert" a second with jam spread in the center and rolled up. Yum!

But Apple Dumplings? Oh me, oh my!

Apple Dumplings

Apple Dumplings

Makes 6 Dumplings

SYRUP:
1½ cups water
1½ cups granulated sugar
1 - 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (freshly grated is best)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

DUMPLINGS:
pie dough recipe for double crust pie
6 medium sized baking apples, pared, cored
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut in 6 pieces 

For the syrup: In a medium saucepan, combine the water, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and bring to a boil, ensuring the sugar is dissolved completely. Add the butter and set aside.

For the dumplings: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the pie pastry as for pie, keeping it in a relatively rectangular shape. Cut the pastry into six (7 to 8-inch) squares. Set one apple onto each square. 
 
In a small bowl, combine the ¼ cup granulated sugar, teaspoon of cinnamon and ½ teaspoon nutmeg, tossing well to evenly distribute the spices. Using a small spoon, place about 2 to 3 teaspoons of the cinnamon/sugar/nutmeg mixture into each core of the apples. Place one small pat of butter on top of the sugar mixture in each core. Have a small bowl of water at hand. Bring one corner of the pastry to the top of the apple (I usually start with a corner that may not be quite perfect). Dampen the top, then bring up the next corner of the dough and press into place. Repeat with the last two corners of the dough. Repeat this for the remaining 5 apples. If desired, cut little leaves out of the dough scraps and dampen the backs to adhere and decorate the tops of each dumpling. Set the dumplings, preferably not touching, into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. Pour the syrup over all. 

Bake the dumplings for approximately 45 minutes, or until the apples are tender and the pastry is golden. Serve the dumplings warm or cold, plain, with milk or cream, or with vanilla ice cream.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

The Things that Come Up When Surfing the Web

It never ceases to amaze me all the things that come up when you are on a search for something online. Invariably, when looking for one particular thing, I end up learning about 3 or 5 others. If I look for one recipe, I end up finding others, equally interesting, but not even close to my search.

Today, I was online searching to find if barley was ever used in an Irish Soda Bread. Apparently it is not, at least as far as my search results came out. Still, I used barley and made another attempt at a Soda bread that came out really great. Along the way in this search, I found a slew of other information. None of which might be of the slightest interest to any readers, but still, just for the record:

1. I learned that it is possible bicarbonate of soda may have been first created and used in the early Americas! No 100% facts on that, but it was interesting.
2. Soda Breads are made all over the world, including in Serbia, from where my paternal grandparents haled. 
3. This in turn led to looking at a site about Serbian Soda Bread and:
4. Other recipes listed in that site included a cod and potato casserole made for Christmas Eve. My paternal grandmother made a fish and potato casserole (which we all hated) for Christmas Eve also, though it bore little resemblance to the recipe I saw online, which actually sounded very good. 
5. Thinking of cod in turn led me to the fact that Easter is not far away and I had been meaning to get some dried salt cod to make the recipe for Bacalao a la Vizcaina that is served on Good Friday in Guatemala.
6. I ended up on various sites looking for dried salt cod, which I eventually ordered, and:
7. Then since I was ordering things, I also went to Vitacost to place an order I had been putting off for over a week. So the mind works.

I am sure many of you do this same thing, but it just struck me funny today how all over the board my searching ended. And now, of course, I am certainly planning to make the recipe for Bacalao. It may not resemble Spain's version of this dish, but then again, no matter how "authentic" a dish is, it is always changed by imaginative cooks. So, while my recipe uses mainly a can of this and a jar of that, it is also highly tasty. It has been more than 25 years since I made that dish, so I do want to get my own photos into my Guatemalan Cookbook / Memoir I have made for my children.

Grandma (Tina Makaji Hromish) and Dad

As for the Fish and Potato Casserole of my Grandma's, ("Bakalar s Krumpirom," according to many websites, though I never heard Grandma call her dish by this or any other name): we all hated it, including my Dad, which really surprised me when I found out. I am interested in that casserole from the standpoint of saving and preserving our cultural roots. Just because Grandma's casserole (to be fair, made with a lot of religious restrictions: no meat, eggs, milk or cheese) was unpalatable to us, does not mean it can not be made palatable. As I stated in my previous blog, Grandma's forte was pastries. Her pastries were absolutely the best, ever. Her chicken or beef soup and homemade noodles were a standard, and delicious. My love of saffron comes from Grandma's soup. What I am trying to get at is that I am interested to make some kind of version of her recipe, possibly with better results. Who knows? 

What I do recall about Grandma's casserole was that it contained fish, potatoes, sliced very thinly, and rice. The casserole was never thickened, but had a lot of runny liquid in it. I can still see Grandma in my mind, pulling out the oven rack, lifting the edge of the foil covering the casserole and checking for doneness. I remember vividly watching this with trepidation, knowing I had to eat it soon. Looking back, it seemed like there was just no flavor at all, and this was so rare in Grandma's house. 

Anyway, all that was a long time ago and far gone in all but memory. For now, I do have some salt cod ordered and will soon be making my Good Friday stew. 



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.