Recipe Snapshots: Apples (Part I)

For these first couple of apple recipes, I didn't do the full step-by-step thing.  Since the galette was a first-time recipe, I was too focused to take pictures.  And then I forgot for the second recipe.  But here are some pictures of the finished products and the recipes!

First I made an apple galette, which is basically a cheater's pie--it's pie crust filled with fruit filling and then folded in on itself, no pie dish needed.  It's rustic and a little bit less effort than a pie.  I had seen this recipe on one of the food blogs I follow, and decided to give it a try.

All in all, this was an okay recipe.  The filling needed a little bit more "sauce," because the apples on top were a little dry.  I altered the recipe a bit--I made my own pie crust from a fool-proof recipe I found, and then added some nutmeg to the filling and increased the amount of apples in the filling (maybe why it was dry?).  I would make this again, for sure, since it was pretty simple to throw together, even making my own pie crust!  I like how rustic it looked.  But I'll be trying a regular ol' apple pie sometime soon, to show off my crust-crimping skills (or lack thereof).

I also made roasted pork tenderloin with apple-cherry chutney, which was fabulous.  I like savory recipes that incorporate apples, and this was also very easy.  The recipe is from Southern Living magazine, though I found it online.

I've made this recipe before, and it's delicious.  I served it with brussels sprouts and a wild rice blend.  I made a few tweaks--I halved the amount of chili sauce in the chutney (I used sriracha sauce, and 2 tablespoons of that would have made it inedible for us), and added more apples, as well as a touch of cinnamon.  I also used a shallot instead of onion, but that's just because I had more shallots on hand.

Recipes below the cut.

Apple Galette, inspired by Pinch My Salt recipe, altered by Julie
Time: 30 minutes prep, 35 minutes baking.  Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

For filling:

• 4-6 good baking apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (4 if they're large, 6 if they're smaller)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Ground cinnamon, to taste
• Freshly ground nutmeg, to taste (just a pinch will do)
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 2-3 tablespoons of butter, diced

  
For the crust:  (recipe from AllRecipes.com: Easy Food Processor Pie Crust)

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
• 5 tablespoons shortening
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons ice water (or more)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten with a bit of water (for egg wash)

Directions

1. Put all of your apple slices in a bowl and toss with the sugar. Sprinkle in a bit of cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg, and a tablespoon of flour.  Toss it all together and set the bowl aside.
2. Now preheat the oven to 400 degrees while you make the pastry.  This is important, don’t forget to turn on the oven!
3. Next, clear a large space on a countertop or table and sprinkle it lightly with flour.  If you have a pastry board or cloth, even better.  Have a rolling pin handy and more flour available for sprinkling.  A dough scraper will also come in handy if you have one.  Also get out a large cookie sheet, preferably with rim.  Line it with parchment paper and have it handy.
4. Now it's time to assemble the crust. Measure the flour into the processor with the regular blade attached. Add the unsalted butter, cut into cubes, and shortening, cut into cubes. (Your fat should be frozen or very cold. You may vary the proportions, or use some lard, but the total should be 9 tablespoons.) Add salt. Pulse three times with three counts per pulse to lightly mix the ingredients.
5. With the motor running, pour ice water into the workbowl just until the dough just starts to get noticeably crumbly. Don't wait until it is a big clump or it will be way too wet and will turn out tough.
6. Stop the machine, dump the crumbly dough into a bowl, and gather the dough into a ball with your hand. you can squeeze it a bit to make it stick together. If it just won't form a ball, add a tiny bit more water. (Note that if you are making crust in the food processor, you will use less water than most recipes call for.)
7. Wrap your dough ball in wax paper or plastic wrap and chill it about 20-30 minutes in the refrigerator.
8. Roll dough out into a large circle, about 1/8 inch thick, making sure to add a bit of flour on top and underneath the dough occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the counter.  Try to roll the dough as evenly as possible to about 1/8 inch thick.  The circle doesn’t have to be perfect and if the dough starts splitting and tearing, just patch it together as best you can.  Most importantly, work quickly and make sure to keep the counter underneath lightly floured to prevent sticking. 
9. Gently wrap the dough around the rolling pin and transfer it to the baking sheet.  Try to unwrap the dough so that it is somewhat centered on the pan.  The pastry circle will overlap the sides of the pan by quite a bit, that’s what you want.  
10. Now dump the apple mixture right into the center of the circle and spread them out a bit. Drop the diced pieces of butter over the top of the apples. (I didn't do this, and I think this is why my apples were drier and didn't have as much "sauce.")
11. Next, just fold the edges of the pastry over the apples, sealing any holes that appear along the edges as you go.  You want to seal the holes and cracks so that the juices don’t escape while it’s baking.  The pastry shouldn’t cover the apples completely in the center.
12. Brush the crust with the egg wash.  Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes or until crust is golden. 

Pork Medallions with Spicy Apple-Cherry Chutney, altered from MyRecipes.com
Time: 45 minutes.  Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 (1 1/2-lb.) pork tenderloin
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse-grain salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 
• Cooking spray (such as Pam)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup diced sweet onion
• 1 1/2 cups peeled and diced Granny Smith or other firm cooking apples
• 3/4 cup cherry preserves
• 1/2 cup dried sweetened cherries
• 1 tablespoon sriracha chili sauce
• dash of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce  

Directions

1. Pat pork tenderloin dry with paper towels, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Coat a roasting rack with cooking spray, and place in a roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Place tenderloin on rack.
2. Bake, on middle oven rack, at 375° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion of pork tenderloin registers 160°.  (I prefer my pork cooked to a medium/medium well, so it's still lightly pink in the middle, which still takes a full 30 minutes.)
3. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; add 1/2 cup diced onion, and sauté 3 minutes or until golden and tender. Reduce heat to medium, and stir in diced apples and next 4 ingredients. Cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes or until apples are slightly softened.
4. Cut pork diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick medallions, and arrange on a serving platter; spoon chutney over pork.