Currant Scones

We braved the wicked cold weather and drove into the city on Saturday to experience Eataly, a feast for the senses food emporium. My reluctance to leave the comfort of a warm house to expose my face to face slicing winds (for as long as it took to walk from the parking garage to Eataly) was all but forgotten once I walked into this food mecca. From the fresh produce, to the full array of almost every cheese ever made, to the Italian wines, to the breads made in wood burning ovens, to the selection of pastas, to the fresh seafood and meats, to the gelato, to the multiple restaurants, it was like nothing I had ever encountered.  A virtual day trip to Italy. There is so much to take in you could spend hours there (and we did) eating, drinking, tasting and shopping. You would have to have incredible self restraint to not walk out of there without bringing something home. Of course, I could not leave without taking home some wines, cheeses, pastas, an olive oil, bread, and honey. I have less restraint than most.

With the exception of the bread (which was consumed almost immediately), I had plans for everything I had purchased. First up was the Acacia honey, which I thought might be perfect drizzled over fresh baked currant scones. Some like butter, freshly whipped cream or jam on their scones but I prefer honey on mine. An Italian honey drizzled over a warm currant scone, could there any better way to begin a cold winter morning? Just try to get the image of Beyonce performing on the Grammy's out of your mind, or you will never eat another carbohydrate, let alone another scone again.

No planning ahead necessary when making scones. Meaning, the eggs, milk and margarine need to be cold, not room temperature. This is a recipe that calls for the use of margarine instead of butter. While this may be a slight departure from most scone recipes, these scones have such a great flavor, you might not even detect the butter's absence. I love currants but you could easily substitute dried cranberries or raisins.

All of the dry ingredients (flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder) are mixed together in a medium sized bowl until blended. The margarine is blended in with a pastry blender, fork or your hands. I started with a pastry blender and quickly moved to using my fingers. The margarine is blended in until it resembles coarse meal. Stir in the currants. After the milk and egg are blended, they are added to the dry ingredients. Stir in until the dry and wet ingredients are combined (the dough will be very crumbly, be careful not to overwork).

Transfer mixture to a lightly floured surface and knead lightly until the dough comes together (it will not be smooth like a pie crust or pizza dough). Using a rolling pin, roll into a 10-12 inch circle (the dough should be at least 1/2 inch and up to 3/4 thick).

Scones can be triangular or round in shape. If you want triangular scones, cut the dough into 8 wedges. Or using a round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut into 9 to 12 circles (about 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter). The number of scones you will get will be dependent on the thickness of the dough.

The scones are transferred to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. The tops are brushed with an egg yolk and milk wash. Granulated, turbinado, or sanding sugar is lightly sprinkled over the egg wash.

In a preheated 425 degree oven the scones are baked for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are light brown on both the top and bottom. The scones will be firm to the touch. This batch of scones took 11 minutes.  Remove from the oven, transfer to a platter and serve. Don't forget to have some butter, whipped cream, jams or honey to go with the currant scones.

Recipe
Currant Scones

Ingredients
Scones
2 cups all purpose flour plus additional for rolling out dough
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
4 Tablespoons margarine (cold), cut into 1/4 inch cubes
7 Tablespoons whole milk
1 large egg
1/2 cup currants (or raisins or dried cranberries)

Glaze
1 egg yolk
1 Tablespoon milk
1-2 Tablespoons granulated sugar (can also use sanding or turbinado sugar)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt  and sugar in a medium-large bowl.
3. Cut in margarine until crumbly.
4. Stir in currants.
5. Beat together 1 egg and the milk. Add to flour mixture and mix to just to combine (mixture will be crumbly).
6. Turn out onto floured surface. Knead very lightly with hands until mixture has enough of a consistency enabling it to be rolled out or to be shaped into a circle.
7. Roll out dough. Using a round biscuit cutter, cut 9 to 12 scones. Or cut into 8 wedges.
8. Mix egg yolk and milk to make glaze. Lightly brush on top of scones with egg wash. Sprinkle tops of scones with sugar.
9. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until the tops are browned and insides are fully baked. The scones will be firm to the touch and bottoms will be light to medium brown.
10. Serve with butter, jam, whipped cream or honey.

There were vegetables, beautiful vegetables, at Eataly that I had never seen before. I am certain it looked a little odd me taking photos in the produce section, but I had my sunglasses on so I felt I was incognito and unrecognizable. Actually I was so mesmerized by these gorgeous vegetables that I was in my own little world for awhile and slightly oblivious to the significant number of people around me who also braved the elements that day.

Beauty can be found in the most unusual and ordinary of places. It can be in your backyard. One need not travel to exotic places to find beauty. Sometimes all it takes is taking a step back to be able see how ordinary things can look so extraordinary. And oh, it also takes having the ability to ignore the reactions of those around you when you are taking photos in places like a market or grocery store. Next time (and there will definitely be a next time) I go to Eataly I am bringing my 'real' camera and a list of the ingredients for recipes I have longed to make. I can think of no better escape from this winter reality we are experiencing, especially because this escape is only thirty minutes from home.

French Margarita

What better temporary relief to the Siberian like weather here than a cocktail. Hot Toddies and Mulled Wine may be cold weather beverages, but margaritas are definitely all-weather ones. Many of us think of margaritas as a Mexican in origin cocktail, particularly since the tequila in them comes from, where else, but Mexico. But what if two thirds of the alcohol in a margarita were French in origin (Grand Marnier and Chambord)? Well maybe we could call it a French Margarita and simultaneously pay homage to both cultures for their contributions to the world of spirits.

I can't believe I am sharing this but I just recently became aware of the ounce to tablespoon conversion. Specifically one fluid ounce equals two tablespoons. Just knowing this conversion suddenly makes mixing cocktails including this French Margarita so much easier. This frame of reference now gives me a way to visualize what an ounce looks like.

If you have a well stocked bar, you have everything you need to make this. Just don't forget to pick up a few fresh limes and some orange juice at the grocery store (I have an aversion to the bottled lime juice they sell). All of the ingredients are poured into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. After shaking, pour into a glass (with or without ice). A garnish of raspberries and/or blackberries is optional. 

Just one sip of the French Margarita and suddenly the weather is the furthest thing from my mind. This cocktail is definitely a most welcome reprieve from the arctic temperatures (although I think it might actually be warmer in the arctic this year).

Recipe
French Margarita

Ingredients
2 ounces tequila (silver)
1 ounce Grand Marnier
1 ounce Chambord
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 ounce orange juice
1/2 ounce sweet and sour mix
Ice
Optional: raspberries and/or blackberries as garnish

Directions
1. Fill a shaker with ice.
2. Add all ingredients and shake vigorously.
3. Pour into a glass filled with ice.
4. Garnish with raspberries and/or blackberries.

Pineapple Guacamole

Seems there is actually going to be a sequel to the polar vortex. There are sequels and then there are sequels. Some of them never really compare to the original and then some are actually better (or much worse depending on your perspective). I certainly thought it was possible this winter could become even more wicked, but hoped we would get a reprieve. It is been hard enough getting up early in the morning to head out to the gym to get a work out in. Bitter cold mornings and my snow covered car are making it even harder to get out from under the pile of blankets and duvets. Even I am beginning to grow tired of my own incessant early morning whining. However, today happened to be one of those unexpected days where there was actually an added benefit to braving the the morning elements and spending an hour on the treadmill. My creative juices started flowing.

I had to stop at the grocery store on my way from the gym to pick up a few things. The table of avocados caught my eye while I was walking through the produce section. My first thought was 'wow, those look ripe enough to make guacamole'. My second thought was actually a recollection of the pineapple guacamole I had eaten at Bien Trucha (my favorite Mexican restaurant located in Geneva, Illinois). My final thought was 'I think I can, no, I really need to recreate this guacamole today'. While this internal monologue went on a little longer, I could hardly wait to get home to begin making my version of Pineapple Guacamole.

If you have never had Pineapple Guacamole before you might be thinking it doesn't exactly sound like a guacamole you would choose to eat or make. While I understand you could actually think that, I do think you will change your initial (maybe a little too quick) reaction once you taste it. The combination of avocados, red onions, mild green chiles, minced garlic, freshly squeezed lemon juice and fresh pineapple is crazy, crazy good. It is also an incredibly refreshing alternative to a traditional guacamole. 

I absolutely love when the grocery store has ripe avocados available, particularly when I have a taste for guacamole. There is something to be said for instant gratification. When you can buy four ripe avocados, it is a lucky day.

Avocados are one of those fruits that can turn brown relatively quickly. The juice of one lemon or three tablespoons of fresh lemon juice are immediately added to the avocados. Using either a pastry blender or a fork (or your hands if you are so inclined), the lemon juice and avocado are mixed until the avocado is broken up into chunks yet has a bit of a creaminess to it.

I prefer red onions over white onions in my guacamole. A finely chopped red onion (1/2 cup equivalent) and a large minced garlic clove add great flavor to both the traditional and pineapple versions of guacamole.

To compliment the flavor of the pineapple, I thought a four ounce can of chopped green chiles would be preferable to hot sauce (and they were). In addition, the green chiles provide a little extra texture. One half cup of freshly minced pineapple is all this guacamole needs, nothing more, nothing less.

Once the green chiles and pineapple are mixed in, season with one teaspoon of Kosher salt. You can always add more if it isn't salty enough for you. The pineapple guacamole is ready to serve immediately or you can cover, refrigerate, and serve chilled.

Choose your favorite tortilla chips (think more on the lines of traditional tortilla chips versus the highly seasoned designer ones) and enjoy.

Recipe
Pineapple Guacamole 

Ingredients
4 ripe avocados
3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (or juice of one lemon)
1/2 cup small-diced red onion
1 large garlic clove minced
1 can (4 ounce) mild green chiles diced (drained)
1/2 cup diced fresh pineapple
1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Directions
1. Cut avocados in half, remove pits and scoop into a large bowl. Immediately add lemon juice.
2. Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut through avocado until the mixture smashed but remains chunky.
3. Add in diced red onion, mild green chiles, fresh pineapple, and Kosher salt. Mix until well blended.
4. Serve immediately or place one of the pits in the mixture, cover and chill until ready to serve.

I recently read that the number of people using Facebook is declining (particularly those much, much younger than I am), but I am not bailing yet (I was slow to jump on to this social networking trend and will probably be even slower opting out). For me Facebook is more than just a way to keep up with my small group of friends, share my random thoughts of the day or shamelessly promote the blog. It is another food for thought or inspirational link resource. Today someone posted a Kurt Vonnegut quote that spoke to me. "Go into the arts. I'm not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.'

While Mr. Vonnegut didn't include cooking as an example of one of the arts (his book 'Breakfast of Champions' was definitely not about food), I would like to think the creation of 'food' is its' own kind of art. Today turned out to be one of those rewarding, soul growing kind of days (especially because I am one more likely to tweak or alter a recipe more often than I create them). Whether my version of Pineapple Guacamole turned out badly (it didn't) or not, didn't really matter. The reward and growth came solely from engaging in the practice of an 'art'.

Texas Style Chili

Moving out of the east coast farmhouse this past fall meant selling off much of the new and antique furniture I had purchased to furnish it. As the midwest home I was returning to was already fully furnished, I didn't have any room for all of these treasures. Fortunately I had friends and neighbors who bought up all of the furniture I was selling and parting with (although I just had to keep a couple of the antique pieces that I found in New Hampshire and Maine). To thank everyone for making these purchases I decided would make a Sunday lunch on 'furniture pick-up day' and we would all eat as a 'family' on the front porch, one last time before I left.

Now making lunch for everyone (which turned out to be about a dozen people) wouldn't have been such a big deal except that 'furniture pick-up day' was less than two days before I had to have everything packed up and loaded onto the rental truck. Packing up the things I had accumulated over the course of two years turned out to be significantly more work than I thought it would be. Yet, deconstructing and packing up the kitchen (the room with the most accumulations) was going to have to wait after the lunch (no one said I ever made anything easy on myself). Besides I needed to use the All-Clad slow cooker to make BBQ pulled pork and then there is something about eating on 'real' versus paper plates that makes food just taste better.

Lunch turned out to be great and ultimately everything in the kitchen was packed up, including the dishes and the slow cooker. For the past three months the slow cooker had remained in its' box. It wasn't until I was deliberating over whether I should make a BBQ brisket or Texas style chili that the slow cooker again saw the light of day. Tipping the scales in favor of making the chili was a craving for corn muffins (for some reason corn muffins and chili go together perfectly, more perfectly than corn muffins and brisket). The brisket could wait, however, I am pretty certain it won't be another three months before the slow cooker is used again.

There are probably many different versions of Texas style chili so it may be a little presumptive of me to even use those words to name this recipe (particularly because I am not from Texas and the handful of trips I have made there over the past 8 eight years would not qualify me as a Texas chili expert). I thought about calling it a Chuck Roast Chili (didn't sound right), a One Bean Chili (still didn't sound right), a Two Spice Chili (sounded a little better) and yes, I even considered calling it a Pretty Gosh Darn Good Chili. But rather than use my creative energies to come up with a name for this chili I decided to settle on Texas Style Chili. The inspiration for the recipe came from the Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Slow Cooking Cookbook. I thought if they could use the words Texas Style to describe this chili, well who I am to argue otherwise. But if anyone (especially if you are from Texas) takes any offense to the name of this recipe, it might be best if you directed any of your objections to them. I am merely a messenger of sorts and am not looking to mess with anyone from Texas.

There are several ingredients that contribute to the deliciousness of this chili and the choice of meat used (a chuck roast) is one of them. As delicious as a chuck roast is, a chili slow roasted for eight hours transforms this not so tender meat into melt in your mouth meat. A three pound chuck roast is first sliced, trimmed of fat and cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Although the cubes were actually cut somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 inch.

Before browning the cubes of meat, a large yellow onion chopped and three cloves of garlic are sautéed in two tablespoons of olive oil (use a large saucepan). Once the onions are softened (about three minutes) and the garlic is allowed to release its' flavor (another minute), the cubes of meat are added in batches until all sides are browned. I sautéed first batch of meat with the onions and garlic, however, before adding the second batch I transferred everything to a bowl. Each time I browned a batch of the chopped meat, I transferred it to the bowl. When the last batch of meat was browned, I emptied the bowl back into the pan.

Three tablespoons of chili powder and one teaspoon of ground cumin are added to the meat, onion and garlic mixture. The mixture is cooked for another two minutes to allow the spices to release their flavor. the entire mixture is then transferred to the slow cooker.

In addition to the onion and garlic, this chili uses fresh tomatoes and a fresh jalapeño. Both are seeded and chopped before added to the meat base mixture. Seeding the tomatoes is important. Your chili could end up being too thin if you don't. The heat for this chili comes from two chopped chipotle chiles in adobo. The seeds from the chipotle chiles were not removed. If you want a little less heat in your chili, remove the seeds or some of the seeds before chopping. In addition to the three tomatoes, one tablespoon of tomato paste is added to the chili mixture.

Two cans (15 ounce size) or red kidney beans are drained and rinsed before being added to the mixture in the slow cooker. The Williams-Sonoma recipe called for only one can but I wanted there to be a better ratio of beans to meat. Once the chili was finished cooking, I was glad I made the decision to double the amount of beans early on in the cooking process.

There are two sources of liquid in this chili: one cup of beef broth and one cup of dark beer. Just as you would never use a wine in a recipe you wouldn't drink, the same holds true with beer. I decided to use Left Hand Brewing Company's Fade to Black beer because it is a dark beer I like. It's also a beer brewed in Longmont, Colorado and I just happen to be a little partial to beers crafted in my favorite Rocky Mountain state. But if Fade to Black isn't available, feel free to use any of your favorite dark beers. 

Once all of the ingredients are added to the slow cooker, stir in two teaspoons of Kosher salt and one teaspoon of black pepper (you can always add more salt and pepper later). Set the slow cooker on low, cover, and cook the chili for 8 hours. At the end of 8 hours you will have a pretty gosh darn good Texas Style Chili. And if amongst your friends you have an annual chili cook-off contest or chili throw downs, well this is definitely competition worthy chili. Yes, it's that good.

At the end of eight (8) hours my chili had a great consistency and no additional cooking time was needed. However, if for any reason your chili seems a little thin to you, remove the cover, turn the heat up to high and continue cooking for another 30 minutes. 

You can serve the chili immediately or you can refrigerate overnight and reheat the next day. Allowing the chili to chill overnight further develops the flavors. 

This chili is delicious plain, however, I like to garnish my chili with a few toppings. Grated Vermont Cheddar cheese, avocado, sliced green onions and sour cream are my favorites. There are an endless number of chili toppings and topping combinations. Prepare as many of them as you as well as your friends and family might like. I would recommend at least having some sour cream or crema as one of the topping options. While I would not label this chili as 'hot', it does have a little bit of heat. The creaminess of the sour cream will help to balance it out for those who don't appreciate (or can't handle) a little heat in their chili.

And oh, don't forget to serve with corn muffins or cornbread. When thinking of beverages to serve with this Texas Style Chili, cold beer and margaritas should be two of the options. But don't let me limit your choices.

If you have a slow cooker that hasn't seen much use in awhile, this chili recipe would be a reason to dust it off. Hey, it is also reason enough to go out and buy one.

Recipe

Texas Style Chili (slight adaptations to the Texas-Style Beef Chili recipe shared in the Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Slow Cooking Cookbook)

Ingredients
2 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 pounds chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 Tablespoons Chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped (can remove some or all seeds if you want to reduce the heat)
1 jalapeño chili, seeded and finely chopped
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1 cup dark beer (recommend Fade to Black, Left Hand Brewing Company)
2 cans (15 ounce size) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (recommend Goya brand)
Toppings: Grated cheddar cheese, sour cream or creme, minced green onions, chopped avocado, and/or finely chopped red onion.

Directions
1. In a large saucepan, heat two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook until onion is softened (approximately three minutes. Add the minced garlic and continue to sauté for an additional minute.
2. Turn the heat up to medium. In four or five batches, add the chopped beef cubes. Cook until the beef cubes are browned on all sides. After the first batch, remove the sautéed onions and garlic with the browned beef. Place in a bowl. Transfer each successive batch to the bowl. Return all of the beef, onions and garlic to the saucepan when the last batch has been browned.
3. Stir in 2 Tablespoons of chili powder and 1 teaspoon of ground cumin to the beef mixture. Continue cooking for another 2 minutes. Transfer mixture to slow cooker.
4. Add all remaining ingredients to the slow cooker, stirring to evenly distribute them.
5. Set slow cooker on low, cover, and cook for 8 hours. If sauce is too thin, uncover and cook on high for 30 minutes.
6. Serve chili with assorted toppings.

Baked Apples a la Mode

This past fall I must have stopped at the apple orchard near the east coast farmhouse at least a half dozen times to pick my favorite Honey Crisp apples. Because every time I take a bite of a Honey Crisp apple I am momentarily taken back to Boulder, the place where I first discovered them at a Saturday morning Farmer's Market. (Isn't it funny how when eating some foods we can vividly remember when and where and often even with who we first tasted them? If only everything we ever read, heard or learned was that easy to remember!) Okay, one tangential thought sometimes leads to another. The orchard had rows and rows of all varieties of apples, but apparently I had apple tunnel vision and picked only one variety. If I could have an apple picking do over, I would have expanded my apple gathering to include Gala apples (and if Granny Smith apples were at the orchard I would have pick them as well). And if this was actually possible, then it would have been this beautiful orchard where I first picked and bought Gala apples (certainly a better story than buying them in the grocery store). Other than baking with and eating Granny Smith apples as well as eating Honey Crisp apples, I have pretty much been a two apple kind of girl. Up until now that is.

If you take the Victorian proverb 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away' literally, you might be able to make that case that the health benefits of apples are not just limited to the consumption of raw apples. What if it were possible that an apple filled with a brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and raisin filling, baked in the oven until fork tender, and served either with or without vanilla ice cream could be equally as healthy as a raw apple? Okay it is highly unlikely, but think of eating a Baked Apple a la Mode as at least half healthy and a 'detaining the doctor' dessert.

I am not sure I remember ever eating an apple simply baked without a crust or crumble topping. However, if I had I am certain it would have left a permanent imprint on my memory. And I have Jenny McCoy, author of book Desserts for Every Season (and a pastry chef with ties to Chicago, including the amazing Blackbird restaurant), to thank for giving me my first experience making, eating and appreciating the deliciousness of apples simply baked with a raisin filling and sauce. While I probably should have tried one of her winter desserts first, I absolutely love warm apple desserts and this one seemed to say 'make me first'. So I did, but not exactly according to her directions.

It's not because I am an accomplished pastry chef (I am not), it's because I bought 'large' and not 'medium-sized' Gala apples that I needed to make some changes to the recipe. The larger Gala apples just looked so beautiful and they all had stems on them so I had to buy them. I figured I would have to adjust the baking time (and I had to). I also thought I would have to either increase the ingredients for the filling or make a sauce separate from the filling. I ended up making a sauce separate from the filling but keeping the ratios of ingredients the same (and making extra sauce turned out to be a good thing). 

The filling and subsequently the sauce is made up of unsalted butter, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, sea salt, vanilla paste and raisins. The original recipe called for the use of a vanilla bean, however, my go to substitution is always vanilla paste. Dark or golden raisins or a combination of the two can be used. I had some golden raisins left over from another recipe so I just mixed them in with the dark raisins. Next time I make this, I will use equal portions of the dark and golden raisins only because I like how this combination looks. In a medium sized bowl all of these ingredients are mixed and set aside while you prepare the apples.

I bought my first Shun knife a week ago and initiated it to cut the apples. I love my Wusthof knives, but this 'razor sharp piece of art' knife was amazing. It made slicing off the tops (about 3/4 inch thick) of the apples so easy. Hint: Make sure to keep the cut tops with their matching apple bottoms.

The core of each apple is removed with a large melon baller. Make sure you don't create a hole in the bottom of the apple when removing the core as you don't want the filling leaking out of the bottom of the apple.

Once all of the apples are prepared, spoon and pack the filling into the carved out core. Top each apple with the matching top and place all apples in a deep large baking dish or pan.

Add 1/4 inch of water to the baking dish/pan, cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 375 degree oven. After 15 minutes, poke holes in the aluminum foil with a skewer and continue baking. Okay here is where my baking time differed dramatically. 

For medium sized apples, Jenny McCoy says it should take another 10-15 minutes for the apples to get to the fork tender stage. I baked the apples for another 60 minutes before they got to this stage, however, I attribute this to the size of the Gala apple I used. I initially set the oven time for 30 minutes and continued baking in 15 minute increments. When the apples are fork tender, remove from the oven.

I may have removed more than just the core of the apple, not too much but enough that I used all of the filling (the large size apple also contributed to using up all of the filling, not leaving enough for the additional raisin topping added once the apples finish baking). I used the same ingredient ratios and made the raisin sauce in a small saucepan. 

Before serving, place a large tablespoon of the raisin sauce on the apple, replace the top and plate. This is a dessert you definitely want to serve immediately after baking or while still warm. As delicious as the baked apple is all on its' own, it begs to be served with some vanilla ice cream. When you serve the Baked Apples a la Mode to family and friends, you just might be compelled to borrow a line from the classic film Good Will Hunting 'How do you them apples?"

Recipe
Baked Apples a la Mode (inspired by Jenny McCoy's Baked Gala Apples recipe shared in her book Desserts for Every Season)

Ingredients
8 medium sized Gala apples, with stems if possible (Note: If using large Gala apples, the baking time will change, see directions below)
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup raisins, divided (dark, golden or any combination of both)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste
1/2 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Vanilla Ice Cream, slightly softened

Additional Raisin Sauce
2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup raisins (dark, golden or any combination of both)
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla paste
1/4 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
If needed, additional liquid from the pan of baked apples to slightly thin sauce

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the unsalted butter, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, 1/2 cup raisins and sea salt. Set aside.
3. Slice top off of each apple so that you have a top at least 3/4 inch thick. Temporarily place tops back on each apple.
3. Remove the apple core using a large melon baller. Be careful not to cut into bottom of apple.
4. Pack filling into each of the apples. Place tops back on apples. Note: If using medium sized apples you should have some filling left. If using large apples you may not have any left (not to worry, you can make additional sauce).
5. Place apples in a deep baking dish or pan, fill with 1/4 inch of water, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Remove dish/pan from oven, poke holes in aluminum foil and return to oven. If using medium sized apples, continue baking for 15 to 20 minutes or until apples are fork tender. If using large apples continue baking for 30 minutes longer or until apples are fork tender (my baking time was 60 minutes for large Gala apples).
7. Remove apples from baking dish/pan.
8. If you have any of the butter/brown sugar/raisin mixture left, transfer to small saucepan, add in remaining 1/2 of raisins and cook on medium-low heat until butter has melted. Before serving top each apple with a Tablespoon of the raisin sauce.
9. If all of the butter/brown sugar/raisin mixture was used to stuff the apples, put additional sauce ingredients (see above) in a sauce pan and cook on medium-low heat until butter has melted. Note: if mixture is too thick, spoon in some of the cooking liquid into the sauce. Before serving top each apple with a Tablespoon of the raisin sauce.
10. Serve baked apples with vanilla ice cream that has been allowed to soften slightly.