Marie-Hélèn's Apple Cake, from "Around My French Table"

I am very fortunate to have found some very wonderful friends in my college years, and even more blessed that they have kept me around since. They are all strong women, wives, mothers, leaders in their churches and communities, and they are all kind. We don't live near each other anymore, but if I could choose my ideal dinner party, it would be at a table with these women.

We also share a passion for making and eating good food, so you can imagine the bevy of recipes that have been flying back and forth over the last week. From a vintage family recipe for cornbread dressing, and a winter greens gratin, to pumpkin bread pudding, and homemade 5 spice pumpkin ice cream.  

Today I'm sharing one of my favorite dessert recipes that always seems to find its way onto my menu. It has nothing to do Thanksgiving, but everything to do with fall. It is apple season after all. This was one of the first recipes I made from Dorie Greenspan's tome, Around My French Table.  

photo courtesy of Around My French Table - HMH

It is surprisingly simple to make, but the flavor of cooked apples spiked with a bit of rum,  evoke a sense of time, and love. I've added one small change to Mrs. Greenspan's recipe, and if she were to ever stumble across this note, I hope she and Marie-Hélène would forgive me.  Cardamom. That's it, just 1 tsp of cardamom* takes this cake from elegant simplicity to something a bit more rugged and sensual. Either way you make it, I promise, you will serve this cake to the people you love over, and over again.

-keep eating

Strawberry Crumble from Anna Jones

Perfect timing by the Wall Street Journal this morning!  I couldn't decide what to make for my tennis team's annual shindig (tonight!), until I came across this recipe for Strawberry Crumble, by Anna Jones.  This is such a beautifully simple recipe, enhanced with elegant nuances from the vanilla bean and lemon zest. I can't wait to get my hands on her cookbook, A Modern Way to Eat.  

Of course,  since I have a strong tendency to play with food,  I added toasted pine nuts and goat cheese to the strawberry mix, and then drizzled it with a scant amount of balsamic syrup.  I also added orange water to the crumble topping because I didn't have any oranges in my fruit basket. I didn't have poppy seeds either, but thats ok. The orange blossom water adds a slightly exotic aroma to the recipe without interfering with the classic taste of baked strawberries and oats.

headin' to a weddin' - Ritz Cracker Pie

Ritz Cracker Pie

Eatery at the Depot - Branchville, SC

Back in September of last year, I had Ritz Cracker Pie for the very first time.  It was at a breakfast for my dear cousin, who was getting married later that afternoon.  The breakfast was hosted at the most  darling, Eatery at the Depot, a retired railroad junction depot, in Branchville, South Carolina. This railroad junction was the first railroad junction in the world,  and although the depot is no longer associated with the railroad, you can still watch the trains go by on a regular basis.

The fall air was just getting chilly, and they served a hot, southern breakfast of eggs, biscuits, sausage, what more could you want?  But when dessert was served, and I took the first bite,  I was confounded.  What was this slightly soft, slightly crisp,  just salty enough while still being sweet,  little confection on my plate?  "Well haven't you ever had Ritz Cracker Pie before?", asked my great aunt.  When we retrurned to the main house that afternoon,  she went through her recipe collection and gave me a copy of the recipe.  She knew it by heart, and was happy for me to take it.

Now 6 months later, we're back in South Carolina for another cousin's wedding, and I can't help thinking about this pie again.  It's such a surprising little dessert - simple to make, and so enjoyable to eat.

putting on the Ritz

Ritz Cracker Pie

 Ingredients:
 20 Ritz crackers, crushed into a fine crumb
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Whipped cream topping:
1 pint whipping cream 

Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 350F
grease a pie plate w/ butter.

Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.  Add vanilla, and combine thoroughly.

In a separate bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, pecans, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Fold the cracker mixture into the egg whites.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pie plate and bake for 30 minutes.

In the meantime,  whip the cream, using a wire wisk, or a stand mixer.

Remove from the pie from the oven and let cool completely. 

Top with whipped cream.
Eat up Y'all! 

baby it's cold outside - apple cake

On Thursday the temperature dropped 20 degrees in 8 hours, landing at "quite chilly", perfect weather for hosting a cozy fall dinner.  My menu consisted of beef bourguignon served over a celery root puree, followed by a seasonal salad of wilted kale topped with roasted beets and drizzled with balsamic dijon vinaigrette.

For dessert, I made apple cake and served it with a wedge of Stilton cheese to pass around the table (trust me on this one, the two share a plate quite well).  The recipe for this apple cake comes from a friend who bakes the most delicious cakes.  Not the kind of cakes one has at birthday parties or manufactured social gatherings.  These are the cakes that dinner party legends are made of.  Rustic, with fruits and spices, and full of warmth. In this recipe, the spices are what make the cake especially good.  Nothing compares to the flavors of fresh cardamom plucked from its pod, or nutmeg grated directly into the batter.  Both of these spices will keep in your pantry for a very long time,  and the results they yield are not to be surpassed.