Recipe ideas can come from anywhere.  This post is proof of that.  The idea for baked apples was driven into both my head and that of my oldest son one afternoon during an episode of “Little Bear” that the youngest was watching on NickJr.  It only took one mention of honey baked apples to have us both drooling over the concept.

Luckily for us, Fall is upon us and with it are apples.  The stores are overflowing with fresh, delicious apples of every variety, shape and color, all perfectly ripe and in-season, so getting the right ingredients was no chore at all.  The only difficulty was in coring the apples… Or it would have been, if I hadn’t had two very eager kids helping me with it.

So here I present to you the new favorite dessert in the Russell household.  A dish that has been given nods of approval from all but my youngest, the nuggetarian. (I couldn’t get him to try it.  Had he done so, I’m sure he would like it as well.)  It’s cold outside folks.  Isn’t this the perfect way to end a long day?  Just this and a Muscatto and all is well.

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Popularity: 14% [?]

Day three of the Twelve days of cookies finds us in the 80’s again, but this time in the late 80’s. The charts were rockin’ to The Escape Club singing Wild Wild West, Bobby McFerrin released Don’t Worry, Be Happy, and Bon Jovi (Who rocks, occasionally) released Bad Medicine. The Big Hair Craze was fading into the mullet, and The car of choice for most people ws beginning to look something like the modern SUV.

According to Gourmet magazine, the best cookie of the year was the pistachio tuile.  They had this to say…  But they were wrong:

What petits fours were to the well-heeled in the 1950s, tuiles were in the 80s, garnishing every dessert plate in the land. Still, the potato-chip-thin cookie studded with pistachios is a combination that will never go out of style. Drop level tablespoons of batter, then spread into a thin 3-inch round and bake at 350° F for 6 to 9 minutes.

Umm, that was supposed to be teaspoons, not tablespoons, people… Geez.  Of course, that’s not the only thing they got wrong.  Like “not everyone loves Amaretto.”  I’m one of those people, and these things taste like Amaretto, so not my favorite thing ever…  Not by a long shot.

My wife loves them however, so they have redeeming qualities.  In all they’re pretty simple to make, taste like half a tiramisu (add a little cream and you’re there).  For me, any other extract in the world would probably make these things good, but the almond extract flavor is just too much.  Perhaps with hazlenut extract I’d love them, but that wasn’t the recipe.

So if you like amaretto I’d say give them a 9.  On my personal scale they rate a solid 4.

But they are pretty, aren’t they?

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Popularity: 2% [?]

Tostones, little fried plantain chips.  It seems that everyone in the world had had them but me. I’ve seen them on the food network, heard them spoken of on travel shows and even had friends talk about having them when visiting Puerto Rico. To say the least I’ve been feeling left out. This week my wife set out to change that and I have to admit that I was very excited by the prospect.

The theory here is simple.  You cut up a green plantain or three, toss the slices in water to soak, blot ‘em dry and fry them for a few minutes.  Then you cool ‘em, toss ‘em back in the water, dry them, squish ‘em into chips and fry them again.  If you want to get fancy you use a cup shaped Tostonera to press out little plantain bowls to scoop up your condiment of choice with.

Once fried to your choice of perfection, they are sprinkled with a  bit of salt and then they can ether be served hot or at room temp.  The choice of dips ranges from none to whatever your heart desires.  They really are as versitile as a good ol’ potato chip.

In the end I think I’d have to say that the jury s still out for me on these little gems.  I wasn’t wowed on the first round, but then again, I’m not saying there’s nothing there to like.  I think perhaps I had preconceptions that got in the way.  That is something that I’m not OK with, so I’ll be trying these again, with a  variety of sauces.

As for the sauce pictured in the top photo, I can’t tell you what was in it except garlic, sofrito and adobo powder.  I wish I knew more, but even my wife can’t remember what she put in it.  (And I wish she could, it was fan-friggin-tastic!)

But I guess I should get on to giving you a recipe, huh?

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Popularity: 2% [?]

Peanuts are a part of daily life, at least around this house.  They’re consumed as butter, as a recipe addition, as a snack, and pretty much any other way I can come up with to use them.  I started working up a recipe for Valentine’s day a little earlier in the week and I knew from minute one that I wanted it to include peanuts, but not just any peanuts, these needed to have a kick.

I remembered a recipe from David Lebovitz for Salt-Roasted Peanuts (see below), and that seemed a good start.  On closer examination, it was the perfect beginning, since chocolate was to be involved in the next stage, and his recipe was quickly and easily adapted to what I had on hand, as well as what I had in mind.

Originally I was just going to post the recipe for this preparation with the finished treats but in the end, these nuts are so intensely good that I decided that they need their own moment in the spotlight.  They are salty, sweet and ultimately spicy (The more you eat, the hotter they get, I love that!) but the flavors fit so well together that you may find you can’t stop at just a few.  I know I’ve had a hard time not just eating all of them instead of using them for their intended purpose.

Thankfully I’ll only need about half of the nuts I made, the other half are up for grabs!

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Popularity: 7% [?]

It is with great pride that I present you with Your Pantry or Mine No.1, Part one of 3 highlighting the contents of the Computer Diva’s pantry. I know several of you have been looking forward to this entry, so I’ll dive right in.

When I got Jess’s pantry list for Your Pantry or Mine No.1, a few things jumped off the page at both my wife and I right away. Part of the original plan was to create at least one full meal and what could be more homey than pork chops and green beans. It’s a staple in our neck of the woods, usually made battered and fried. I know that a lot of people are against anything deep fried, so my wife and I whipped up this version, which is considerably lighter.

I’ve made a few slight modifications from the original list, but both the main course and the side can easily be made with the ingredients as listed, and in the case that adjustments need to be made, I’ll detail them.

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Popularity: 1% [?]

I’ve been craving snow peas since I saw a recipe for them on Simply Recipes about a week ago. At the time they were nowhere to be found in this neck of the woods and I was sure I’d have to settle for sugar snap peas instead.

Thank goodness for the MegaMart.

I made a quick run yesterday to pick up a lamp for better low light photography, and figured I’d grab some cilantro and green onions (scallions, spring onions or whatever you happen to call them) while I was there. Low and behold, right next to the tofu sat several luscious little packages of snow peas. (I guess in Texas they’re considered a health food… Who knew?)

I had to have them, I couldn’t help myself. So with two packages in the cart, I headed for the checkout and home to cook ‘em up.

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Popularity: 1% [?]

These simple little treats are light on work and huge on taste. Sinful bites of creamy chocolaty nutty goodness!

So simple even a candy novice can put them together.

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Popularity: 1% [?]