Country Apple Coffeecake for Christina

My sister-in-law made the perfect cup of coffee.  She didn’t roast and grind her own beans, she didn’t make sure the water was at the perfect temperature and study the drip rate to make sure she was extracting maximum flavor from each bean.  That’s not who she was.   She would scoff at the pretentiousness of such things and would tease me if I alluded to caring about it.  Coffee is a morning drink to shake off the evils of the night before and to get your eyes open.  I don’t remember her ever drinking coffee after noon. 

It was this same sister-in-law that suggested to my husband that I was probably the ONE.  The story behind all of that is too messy to get into, but when we got serious she was the first family member that he wanted to introduce me to.  My connection to her was instant.  She immediately made me feel welcome.  We first bonded over a mutual love of her brother, but found so many more things that we had in common. 

Christina loved to feed her family.  It was more than just that perfect cup of coffee made from pre-ground grocery store coffee.  When we were at her house for the weekend, we could expect a full breakfast influenced by her Southern roots.  I can now publicly admit that my biscuits and gravy are better than hers, but since she wouldn’t let me help her cook, she would’ve had no idea.  

Sunday football meant a full buffet of fried, homemade pickles, chicken wings, and chili or soup of some kind.  I am not big on frying at home, but Christina didn’t have similar concerns. She also grilled all year long.  She loved having people around to cook for and never held back. She also made this amazing frozen coleslaw.  She had gotten the recipe from a lady with whom she had worked.  She refused to share the recipe with me.  I think it was because if I could make it on my own, I wouldn’t come visit her to eat hers.

And then there was the foray into homemade goat cheese.  When she married a goat farmer, she started making cheese.  She quickly got bored with plain cheese and texted me for ideas about flavors.  I sent her some suggestions and she branched off from there.  

When she would host a party, the food was almost as good as her company. Christina was warm and funny.  When I picture her face, I see her smile.  I can hear her laugh in my head.  She died last week creating a gaping hole in our lives.  There will be no more phone calls asking if using strategy in games is cheating.  There are so many pickles left unfried, so many pork loins left unplundered, and so many perfect cups of coffee left unmade.

In honor of Christina’s memory, I present to you Country Apple Coffeecake.  It seems especially symbolic of who she was.  Biscuit base for her Southern roots, country flavor for her time on the farm, a bit sweet, a bit tart, boozy, and kind of nutty.  It’s perfect to serve for breakfast with coffee.  It’d be great with a side of bacon or even some goat cheese.  I’d stay away from the pickles, though.

Breakfast Pie

Breakfast Pie

Time to get crazy.   I’m doing a special bonus recipe off my normal Tuesday and Thursday posting schedule.  Woo hoo!  Apple Breakfast Pie

In all honesty, this is because I made something similar for breakfast this morning and was trying to to remember where I got the idea. (clears throat…of course it was great-grandma).  I don’t know why I don’t do stuff like this more often.  It’s so freaking easy.  It doesn’t require a lot of time or attention or anything else.  Bisquik Breakfast Pie

Get out your big yellow box of Bisquik, chop some apples and go to town.  This one is adaptable.  For breakfast this morning, I topped the biscuits with raw beaten egg, ham, goat cheddar, and some Italian herbs.  It makes a lovely breakfast.  Cinnamon Apple Breakfast Pie (2)

This thing is so easy, you could probably even make it with your first cup of coffee before you get ready to start your Monday.  Breakfast Pie

Cranberry Fluff

Cranberry Fluff

Isn’t there something so nice about the word “Fluff”?  It’s soft and comforting and towels out of the dryer.  When someone tells you that a “fluff” is on the menu, you know what to expect.  Something soft, puffy, creamy, and cloyingly sweet, perhaps with marshmallows and definitely with whipped cream or Cool Whip.  At nearly any deli counter in America, you can pick up a plastic tub filled with pistachio pineapple fluff.  (Sometimes the salads are called “Ambrosia” instead of “fluff”, but we all know what they mean.)DSCN3235I found this recipe when I was looking for recipes to bring to our friends’ house for Thanksgiving dinner.  I scoured 11 different recipes looking for the perfect dish to bring along with my Cherry Meringue, Pumpkin, and Apple pies.  I asked a number of coworkers for their favorite thing to eat at Thanksgiving and one of them mentioned “Cranberry Fluff”.  I had never heard of it.  When I called my grandma to ask about it, she fondly remembered it as one of her favorites.  How could I not make it after that? DSCN3236As an aside, that was such a good conversation with my grandma.  I love talking to her about her food memories and bonding with her that way.  We chatted for a decent amount of time about the blog.  I hope she knows that she’s really the inspiration for it.

 

I had a few minor modifications.  My apple was sweeter than I was expecting it to be.  The grocery store didn’t have green grapes that day, so I used red ones.  I didn’t read through all the instructions and didn’t let the cranberries, marshmallows, and sugar sit overnight.  I let them sit on the counter for a couple of hours instead.  The purpose of this is really just to soften everything and ensure that there are no big chunks of marshmallow.DSCN3239

 

So the verdict…holy buckets.  This was easily the best fluff salad that I’ve had.  It’s not as sweet and mushy as a lot of fluff salads.  The fruit and nuts add texture.  One of the kids thought the “pink fluff” was better than the “green fluff”.  It was good enough that I didn’t mind eating the leftovers (which were gone before I had to go back to work.)  It made a nice change from super tart cranberries.  It was sort of like a Waldorf salad, but not mayonnaise-y.  DSCN3238All in all, this dish is a keeper.  Get yourself some Wisconsin cranberries and make this one.  I think it’s a better dish than the Cooked Cranberry Salad.  (And in case you didn’t read about it before, the teacup is Wedgwood that I found at the thrift shop for less than $1.  I love the color, I love the pattern, it coordinates with my dining room and the rest of my blue and white dishes.)

Cranberry Fluff

Champion Apple Pie

Champion Apple Pie is as American as Rocky…

We are the Champions…of Apple Pie.

Since I have already admitted my struggles with pie crust, I could brag about the champion I am for successfully recreating this apple pie, but I won’t.  Because truthfully, the pie crust was nearly the undoing of me.  You may notice that this pie crust is exactly the same pie crust as the pie crust I used for the Cherry Meringue Pie, with one exception.  It uses lard instead of butter.  I don’t know why this made everything so flippin’ difficult.  Maybe it was because I made it on a different day, maybe my cup of lard was a little short.  Maybe one of the tablespoons of milk wasn’t completely full.  (I sort of feel like I’m reciting my own personal “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”) For whatever reason, my pie crust was dry.  When I tried to roll it out, it crumbled.  The edges cracked and split.  I knew how to troubleshoot, of course, but I still got mad.  I added a bit of extra water and it ended up smooth.  It’s not that I don’t know what to do to fix it, it’s that I just can’t seem to get to the point where I can enjoy the process. DSCN3243I think I compare myself to my mom.  She always makes beautiful pie crusts.

Despite my irritation at the pie crust, I remember that when I was young, my mom used to let me crimp the pie crust.  She showed me multiple ways to make a beautiful decorative edge by pinching, by spreading my fingers and poking another finger between them, by using a fork to create a criss-cross pattern.  But the most important part was that she actually let me help.  So I got over myself and when my darling little daughter came over and wanted to help, I spread my fingers out on the edge of the pie crust and helped guide her little finger in between mine to create a fluted edge.  DSCN3246It’s that moment that made this more of a champion apple pie than the fact that I was able to solve my pie crust issues.

Speaking of cheese…I did take a slice of cheddar and melt it over a leftover slab of this pie.  Delicious.DSCN3241Atypically, this pie does not call for any pie spices.  Not a drop of cinnamon in the whole thing.  It is still delicious.  Maybe it’s because I picked the apples myself and froze them.  Maybe because the recipe won some award or other.  But I’m guessing it has a lot to do with those sweet little fingers poking through mine to create the gorgeous crust.Champion Apple Pie