Golden Delicious Apple Pie

It’s hard to beat a great slice of pie–especially if it’s apple pie–and this time of year, there is no shortage of apples in Washington State.  So many delicious varieties are available now and with a husband in the biz, I get to try varieties both unique and still under development.  Even now, I’ve got a bag of Pink Pearls tucked away and I find myself with a severe case of decision paralysis when it comes to what to do with them.  A pie?  A tart?  Chutney?  But I digress.  This recipe is all about the ubiquitous Golden Delicious.  While many bakers immediately reach for a tart apple when baking a pie, my husband surprised me when he came home with some of the most mammoth Goldens I had ever seen and, with a smile, requested pie.  Come to find out, Golden Delicious apple pie is actually a favorite around the office and he was eager to give it a whirl.

Cherries Jubilee

Cherries Jubilee is one of those desserts everyone should know how to make.  Got a boss?  Got a poopsie-kins?  How about in-laws (or people you wish were in-laws)?  If you’ve got anyone to impress, this is what you make.  How can you beat a flaming dessert?  And, though everyone at the table will certainly oooh and aaah over your sweet culinary skills, you and I will really know what a snap this is to throw together.

Cherry Almond Breakfast Bars

I’ve been wanting to make some sort of fruity breakfast bar that could actually pass as part of a balanced breakfast…as opposed to, you know, a dessert hiding beneath a few oats.  To make matters even better, I recently came into a few bags of beautifully frozen sweet red cherries and have been itching to do something yummy with them.  Though March is just around the corner, cherry season is still a ways off and I’m definitely missing summer fruit.

So here’s what I came up with.  The base is a lightly sweetened oat crust that’s quickly made in the food processor and then baked solo while you whip up the cherry filling.  Just toss a few easy ingredients together and you’re practically done.  Dump the filling on your crust, top with some more oat crumb and sliced almonds, and then back in the oven.  Though these take about an hour to make–start to finish–there’s really nothing fussy about them.  The crust is actually an adaptation of a recipe from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking; inspired by their Raspberry Crumb Breakfast Bar, I set to work tweaking the ingredients and swapping out the filling until I came up with the rendition you’ll find below.

Pacific Northwest Chopped Salad

It snowed buckets this morning.  I suppose February has to make amends for the absurdly mild January we had, right?  Well, you probably had one of those record-breaking, freeze-your-buns-off months, but we somehow managed to avoid all of that.  In North Central Washington.  Can you believe that?  Seriously, our high’s were up in the 40’s–even the 50’s for a few days!  Craziness.

I love this little lake town when it’s blanketed in snow.  Some of the most beautiful days are when the surrounding hills and mountains are covered in white and the lake reflects a clear blue sky.  Just gorgeous.  We definitely get all four seasons around here and I love that.

My view this morning.

But enough about the weather.  Let’s talk food.

It’s hard to beat the Pacific Northwest when it comes to good food and this salad offers a nice little array of some of these local flavors.  From the sweet and crunchy Honeycrisp apple to the handmade Beecher’s Flagship cheese, this salad pays homage to some of our best.  It’s one of my favorites and I hope you like it, too!

Pepper-Crusted Top Sirloin with Pinot Noir and Dried Cherries

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, so I thought it might be fun to post something to impress your sweet darling…or roommate.  Whatever.

Pan sauces are such an easy way to make any ole’ dinner special.  And, though it may seem like a little extra work, that deglazing will actually save you time come clean-up when you don’t have a crusty pan to hack away at.

I served this up to my man and the pack of monkeys just a few nights ago (I skipped the pepper crust for the kiddos’ meat) along with some star pasta (again, because I loves the kiddos) and steamed veggies.  Not a bite was left for breakfast, so I’d consider that a win!

Caramelized Pears with Brandy and Vanilla

I just love pears and I’ll tell you, this has been a good year for pears.  Some have been so ripe they’re downright sloppy and inappropriate for public consumption…but again, oh so good.  Hopefully you’ve been enjoying a few of these yourself!

This simple preparation takes the sweet and juicy Bartlett pear to a whole new level.  Roasted and caramelized with a sweet and complex glaze, these pair beautifully with your favorite vanilla bean ice cream for a deceptively decadent dessert or atop creamy Greek yogurt for a sweet and satisfying breakfast.  Prepped in less than 10 minutes and out of the oven within 30, you’ll find this recipe is as easy as it is delicious!