Foie Gras Poele with Granny Smith Apples

I love foie gras. I don't get to have it as much since moving to the States, but I received some from my  very kind friend Steve over at The Milk Pail Market. And if you like this French delicacy, you will love what I accompanied it with. I sautéed diced Granny Smith apples in the rendered fat from the foie gras. It's a very simple dish but for sure will wow your Valentine if s/he likes refined French cuisine. My foie gras poêlé aux pommes Granny Smith is a delight.

The best part is that there are not a lot of ingredients involved in this dish. I simply used foie gras, Granny Smith apples, freshly pressed apple juice, apple cider vinegar and a little chicken stock. For a contrast of crunch you could add coarsely chopped hazelnuts with a drizzle of hazelnut oil as garnish. Toasted gingerbread would also make a great addition.

Savory Apple Side Dish Recipe (Baked Stuffed Apples)

Apples are the quintessential fall fruit. They're a great substitute for boring vegetable side dishes or potatoes. Granny Smith apples work wonders in savory dishes because they have a crunchy, crip texture with a hint of acidity.

This particular side dish is ultra-easy to prepare. I stuffed the apples with a combination of freshly cracked walnuts and hazelnuts, red onions, pure cane sorghum (you could also use maple syrup) and a few spices. To add a little tenderness and sweetness to the dish without overwhelming it, I alternated a few slices of McIntosh red apples and stuffed the apples with Kentucky pure cane sorghum from Bourbon Barrel (check out the tip section), which has a texture similar to corn syrup but is so much more flavorful. I placed a little apple cider at the bottom of  an oven-safe baking dish, added the savory stuffed apples and baked them for about 30 minutes. Et voilà!

Apple Cake with Crumb Topping

This apple cake recipe has become a standard in our house. It's probably one of the first desserts I remember baking as a kid in France. Over the years, the recipe hasn't changed one bit, with the exception of the addition of crumb topping for texture contrast.

The apples in our garden are smallish and a bit tart, which makes them better for cooking than eating. I was able to gather a basketful of the apples and put them to use in this recipe. The flesh was aromatic, crisp and firm, making them perfect for baking. Once cooked, they tasted nutty, sweet and tart. The cake is perfect for brunch as well, and as an added bonus, we ate it again the next day and it was still moist and perfect.

Apple Crostata Recipe

I really enjoy baking apple desserts. There is something so enticing about the smell of fresh baked apple goods that I just can’t get enough of. Today, I made an apple crostata, which is not your average apple pie.

First, I made an apple pie filling flavored with raisins, cinnamon and vanilla. Unlike last time for my blueberry crostata, I didn't use polenta for the dough, but instead I used regular all-purpose flour, cold butter and ice water. Once the dough rounds are formed, I nested a little of the pie filling in the center, then folded each edge inward. The finishing touch is a brush of egg wash along with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.

I usually serve apple desserts with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to top them off. I think the warm apples and cold ice cream complement each other so well. Next time you're planning a tea party or a get-together with your friends or family, serve these apple crostatas and your guests will be in for a treat.

Note: The first picture is when the crostata is formed, right before going into the oven.

Guava Apple Sauce Recipe

As my husband Lulu's little 6-year-old sister was enjoying a cup of guava apple sauce I recently made, she asked: "The jar is almost finished. Jackie, have you put this recipe on PhamFatale?" I replied to her that apple sauce was very easy to make and that all you need is ripe and very sweet fruit.

The munchkin insisted and asked:
" How do you know when the fruits are ripe?
Well, remember, as soon as we picked the guavas, we placed them in a paper bag, along with a banana and the gas released from the banana made the guava so fragrant."

It got me thinking that maybe making apple sauce wasn't as obvious as I thought, so here's the detailed recipe. I actually prepared it with Daddy, my father-in-law. The guavas were peeled, chopped and boiled with unfiltered apple juice (we love our juicer!) until mushy. In a separate saucepan, the same method was used for sweet apples (I used Fuji apples). Once the seeds of the guava were strained, both the guava and apple sauce are combined, then sweetened with honey. Voilà!