apple chips

We're all a bit sad when the pool closes for the summer and the flip flops get thrown to the back of the closet, but come mid-September, I think we can all agree, it is a happy day when fall officially takes over.

But you've got to grab it up because that pumpkin, apple, boots-and-scarves glory is always gone too quickly.  I for one am wasting no time jumping into the season.  The kitchen has been calling out for fall food, and I am happily obliging to its request.

Let's start simply.  This is one I can easily manage every weekend, maybe even a weeknight if I'm feeling really crazy. 

Apple chips. 

3 ingredients. 

Minimal hands on time. 

Cinnamon-apple smell filling the house.

Toddler approved. 

Total win. 

Warning: there is one minor downside to these beauties.  (Aw, rats.) You will have the greatest success if you slice the apples with a mandoline.  (Seriously?)  It's true.  This doesn't mean you cannot use a knife, but the thinner the slice, the better the crisp and crunch of the chip.

I have seen mandolines run upward of $200. Yikes.  We bought ours from HSN for $20 (and Amazon has many options for all sorts of kitchen tool budgets), and it has been totally worth it, if for nothing else than these apple chips.  We also use it for onions, potatoes, cucumbers, etc. because there is something oh-so-satisfying about perfectly uniformed slices of fruits and vegetables.  It's something to consider.

Ingredients:

• 2 apples (I've used all kinds and have never been disappointed. I lean toward tart, such as Granny Smith or Braeburn)

• 2 TB brown sugar

• 1 TB cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  And yes, you really do need the parchment paper.  Learn from my mistakes.

Slice the apples as thinly and uniformly as possible.

Mix the cinnamon and brown sugar together, and dip each apple slice into the cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Spread the apples on the parchment paper, and cook for 1 hour.

Flip the chips and cook for another hour.

Let them cool for about 15 minutes.  They will crisp up even more as they cool.

You are welcome.

figs for dinner

Stephen has been yapping about figs for weeks. As much as we love where we live, sometimes there are limitations regarding certain foods being readily accessible. Over the last week, he has been calling stores to see if they have fresh figs. Eight stores to be precise. Responses included:

“No, but we have Fig Newtons.”

“No, but we have dates.”

“No, but we have smoothies. “

Smoothies?!?! WHAT?!

He called our local grocery store 2 days later to see if any figs had arrived. The man hung up on him.

Apparently, figs are hard to come by in Ohio.

But as luck should have it, the ninth store was a success, and Stephen only had to leave work 2 hours early to beat traffic and plow over all the other crazy fig lovers who had traveled from far and wide. In true Stephen fashion, he thought it necessary to buy 3 ½ pounds of figs. He’s notorious for overestimating the amount of food we’ll eat, often leaving us with an absurd amount of leftovers; but in his defense, he ate at least one pound of figs on the drive home.

We then proceeded to feed the darlings mac-and-cheese and shuffle them to bed by 7, so we could feast.

The Menu:

Crostini with goat cheese, prosciutto, grilled figs, and topped with a drizzle of honey.

And because we’re just wild like that – champagne.

What? Bubbly on a weeknight? Oh yes.

You won’t be surprised to know that Stephen doesn’t really let me near the figs, particularly if they are going on the grill. But he was kind enough to let me watch, and here is what I learned.

Trim the stems off the figs. The rest is edible, skin and all.

Cut them in half, brush with olive oil and grill flesh side down for about 3 minutes – but watch carefully.

We layered each crostini with goat cheese and a small slice of prosciutto. After the figs cooled, we cut each piece in half again and added the quarter fig on top.

A drizzle of honey and black pepper completed these little beauties.

I am a devout goat cheese lover, so to me, it was the obvious choice. Stephen remains loyal to bleu cheese (although he’s never met a cheese he didn’t like). When he came in from grilling and saw I had smothered goat cheese on every crostini, he was a bit disappointed and decided to make his own – apparently a double.

Both options were delicious.

His persistence paid off.