Sunday, October 5, 2008

Yummy Mistake!

I had a friend come over today for pie crust 101 (more on that later). We set out to make a perfect apple pie so that she could master it and make one for her family's thanksgiving. We went over types of apples, precooking the filling vs cold filling, forming and rolling the crust, everything!

But then I got a little ADD while waiting for the filling to cook, and decided to go check my fantasy football. UGH. Apparently I got a little wrapped up in my "But I'm undefeeeeeated!!" whine, because by the time we went back to check the filling--we pretty much had applesauce.

So we went back to the store for more apples ($8 for 6 apples, inflation is killing my baking budget!). We started over on her pie, but I decided to add a little extra liquid and turn my mistake into applesauce. The result was a hearty, rustic (i.e. lumpy!) and very tasty applesauce!

I'd take a picture, but you know what applesauce looks like, and I don't want to make it into the ugly food blog hall of fame :)

Accidental Applesauce
by Carla

6-8 apples (various kinds, I used a mixture of Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, and Fujis)
3 tbs butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
dash of ginger
dash of cloves
1/2 cup of water

1. Peel, core, and slice apples into small slices
2. Melt 3 tbs of butter in a large pan big enough to hold all the apples
3. Toss the apples in the butter until all apples are covered and glossy. Cover and cook the apples over medium heat for 10-15 minutes until they start to turn soft and fall apart. (At this point, go check your fantasy football. Question Ladanian Tomlinson's manhood. Curse your husband for his tight end advice).
4. Uncover and add in water, sugar, and spices. Stir with a spatula and break up remaining apples. Continue to simmer sauce and break up apples for another 10 minutes or so until it resembles applesauce.

I liked it with some chunks of apple left in it. If you like yours smoother, the Joy of Cooking recommends putting it in a food processer or blender. 

I can't wait to use my newfound homemade applesauce to make my cranberry applesauce for thanksgiving!

No comments: