Hingham Farmer's Market and more...

We'll be at the Hingham Farmer's Market, located on Route 3A at the bathing beach, on October 20 and possibly on October 27. We will not be there after October. The market still runs from 10-2 every Saturday up until November 17.

We will be doing the Marshfield Winter Market starting in November. The market will run the 3rd Saturday of every month from November until May and the times are from 10-2. The market will be held inside under the grandstands. We will be participating for the following months: December, January, March, and May.

We have sent in our application to be part of the Harvest Festival held on the Plymouth Waterfront on November 18. This is part of the American Hometown Celebration which kicks off on Saturday with the Thanksgiving Parade and the New England Food Festival. We'll let you know if our application was accepted. If it is, we will have cookies, sweet breads, pies and other delicious treats for you.

Macarons with Apple-Cinnamon Buttercream Filling

Living here in the Boston area, I've been able to enjoy many different types of ethnic foods. Since I love food, this place is right up my alley. Depending on your mood, you can pretty much so find anything to appease your appetite. One place I enjoy visiting is the North End. It's referred to as Little Italy since there are so many Italian restaurants, bakeries, butcher shops, etc. There are two pastry places you can visit while in the North End: Mike's Pastry and Modern Pastry. There is always a debate for which pastry shop is better. I like them both.

My first date with my husband, then a guy I went out on a date with, was to the North End. Bob is from an Italian/Irish family so whenever he is in the mood for Italian, he heads to the North End where, as he says, "It's done right." We had a nice lovely sit down dinner at Lucia's and then walked around the North End ending up at Mike's Pastry. Being an Irish Southerner, I never encountered the macaroon. Needless to say that one night over 15 years ago had me falling in love with an Italian cookie: the Almond Macaroon with pine nuts (pignolias) on top. I've made these cookies a few times but to be honest with you, I rather just go into town and purchase some.

4 years ago, I went to Switzerland to visit my best friend, Stacey. Stacey and her husband moved there due to her job and this gave me an opportunity to see her but also to see the country. Upon arrival in Geneva, Stacey had these cookies called macarons for me. Of course I pictured the Italian cookie and was surprised to see these little button cookies that had an airy cookie and a filling inside. I tried them and thought they were ok, just a little too sweet for me. Stacey loves these cookies and I guess they are big over in Europe.

Not to long ago, I got a new recipe book to try out. I wanted to do different types of cookies than the usual ones I did for a Christmas Cookie Exchange Party. The book I picked up was by Cecile Cannone and was entitled Macarons: Authentic French Cookie Recipes from the Macaron Cafe. I decided to try my hand at making these delicate Meringue cookies. I made red shells and filled them with a peppermint buttercream filling and rolled them in crushed peppermints. They were a mess to make but were a hit at the party and I was told by the host that I had to bring these to every cookie swap in the future.

Since I'm enjoying this rainy New England day, I decided to make some macarons and fill them with an apple cinnamon buttercream. If you are up for the challenge, feel free to try these out. They are time consuming, require almond flour (so they are gluten free), and can easily break when putting them together; however, they are very good and worth it.

Ingredients  (cookie shells) 2 3/4 c almond flour, 2 3/4 c powdered sugar, 1 c egg whites*, pinch of salt, 3/4 c superfine granulated sugar, food coloring (optional) (filling) 3 eggs, 1 c sugar, 1 c applesauce, 1 apple*, 1 TBSP cinnamon, 1 c + 2 TBSP chilled unsalted butter

Instructions: For Cookie shells- (1) Line baking sheets with parchment paper. (2) Blend almond flour and powdered sugar in food processor to make a fine power (or sift together). Sift mixture through a strainer until its as fine as you can get. (3) Using a wire whip attachment on an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with salt, starting slowly then increasing with speed as they whites start to rise. Add the sugar and food coloring (if using). Beat until egg whites form stiff peaks and meringue is firm and shiny. (4) Pour egg whites into almond flour mixture and gently fold them in using a rubber spatula. Move spatula from bottom of the bowl to the edges with one hand, and using other hand, rotate the bowl. Continue until you can't see any more crumbs of flour and mixture is shiny and flowing as a wide ribbon off the spatula. (5) Fill pastry bag with #8 tip and squeeze small amount onto prepared sheets to form a 2.5" circle. Leave 1" space between macarons. If you get peaks the batter could have been beaten more, eliminate them by tapping the baking sheet on the countertop; hold parchment paper in place. Let the macarons rest for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 300F (325F if non-convection). Bake for 15 minutes. After the first 5 minutes, open the oven to let out the steam. Let cookies cool completely on a rack before taking them off. Press the bottom of the cooked shell with your finger, it should be soft. IF it is hard, reduce baking time for the rest of the macarons by a minute. For Filling-(1) Beat 3 eggs and sugar with an electric mixer at high speed; you want to double the volume of batter and have it become fluffy. (2) Pour egg-sugar mixture into a saucepan, stir in applesauce and chopped apple, and heat mixture at medium temp., stirring continuously until the mixture forms a compact batter. Pour into a shallow dish, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge. (3) When batter is cold, add the cinnamon and butter, which is cut into small pieces. Using a wire whip attachment, beat at high speed until no butter pieces are visible.  (4) Pipe a small amount on to the flattened side of one cookie shell and LIGHTLY twist another shell on top of the filling. If you push too hard, the cookie shell with crumble/crack.

*Egg whites should be at room temperature and all the egg yolks can be saved to make a Creme Brulee.
*Core and chop apple (including peel).
*Cut the butter into small cubes; the smaller the better since it will take awhile for the butter to breakup when in the mixture.

GF Apple Cake

At lunch this week we (fellow teachers) talked about apples. Most of us had just gone apple picking and more were heading out this weekend to go pick some themselves. Basically the conversation can be summed up into this, you have 3 separate and distinct categories of people: those that love apple crisp, those that love apple pie, and those that love apple cake.

I haven't made this apple cake in awhile but decided to try it gluten free to see if it was something I would be able to offer in our GF line. Feel free to try it out.  Enjoy.

Ingredients:  1.5 sticks of butter, room temperature, 1.5 c + 5 TBSP sugar, 2 eggs*, 1 TBSP vanilla, 2 c gluten free all-purpose flour*, 1 tsp xanthan gum, 1 tsp baking soda, .50 tsp sea salt, 4 tsp cinnamon, 1/3 c sour cream*, 4 granny smith, 5 TBSP brown sugar, 1 tsp cornstarch

Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 325 and line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper. (2) In a large bowl, cream butter and  1.5 c sugar until fluffy. (4) Add eggs and vanilla and beat to combine. (5) Add flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, .25 tsp sea salt, 2 tsp cinnamon beating after each addition. Add sour cream and beat batter until it thickens. (6) In a medium bowl, place apples, 5 TBSP sugar, brown sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, .25 tsp sea salt, and cornstarch. Stir to combine. (7) Layer half the cake batter in the dish and spread evenly then place apple mixture on top. Top apple mixture with remaining cake batter and spread evenly. You might need to use wet hands to spread the remaining batter. (8) Bake the cake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely and slice into squares and serve.

*Use extra-large eggs and low-fat sour cream is ok but don't use nonfat. You need the fat to hold things together.
*I usually use Bob's Red Mill GF All-Purpose Flour but King Arthur has a GF all-purpose  that I've been using lately and love.
*Granny smiths are good, Spencers are even better.

Caramel Applesauce Cobbler

Another apple dish I love to make is a cobbler or a crisp. Just taking a bite into the warm apples bursting with cinnamon makes my mouth go happy. Topping off a crisp or a cobbler with some homemade Vanilla Bean ice cream or a Pecan Bourbon Ice Cream, makes my mouth go into a food coma.

Here's a recipe for a Caramel Applesauce Cobbler. It's a version of a pie I use to have at my grandma's. Enjoy.

Ingredients: 1/2 c butter, 12 large Granny Smiths*, 2 c sugar, 2 TBSP fresh lemon juice, pie crust*, Vanilla Ice Cream*,  1 c pecans, 1/4 c bourbon

Instructions: (1) Toast pecans then chop. Stir softened ice cream, pecans, and bourbon together. Freeze for 4 hours. (2)Preheat oven to 425F. Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add apples, sugar and lemon juice. Cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring often, until apples are a caramel-color. Spoon into a greased 2qrt baking dish. (3) Cut pie crust into 1/2" strips and arrange strips in a lattice design over filling. Place remaining strips on a baking sheet. (4) Bake strips at 425 for 8-10 minutes or until golden.  Bake cobbler for 20-25 or until crust is golden. Server warm with pastry strips and ice cream if desired.


*I substituted Spencer apples for this recipe but usually make it with Granny Smiths.
*I make my own pie crust but you can save time and purchase a refrigerated pie crust from a local grocery store.
*I usually make my own vanilla ice cream but if I'm running behind or totally forget, I'll use Brigham's Vanilla Bean.

Apple Brown Betty

This past Columbus Day we went apple picking with friends at Tougas Family Farm. We get a lot of our fruits from this place. The apples we were excited to get were the Spencers. I personally think they are better than a Honeycrisp apple any day. We picked several bags of Spencers and since we have a lot of apples hanging around the kitchen, I figured I would make a few apple desserts. First dessert is a simple Apple Brown Betty. I'll post the other dessert tomorrow since I haven't decided if I want to do a spice apple cake or scones or cobbler....the list is endless. Enjoy this recipe and if you haven't gone apple picking yet, do so. There are ton of apples out there and it is always fun hanging out with family/friends for the day in an orchard.

Ingredients: 8 white bread slices, 1/3 c butter, melted, 1 c firmly packed brown sugar*, 1 TBSP cinnamon, 4 large Granny Smith Apples*, 1 c apple cider

Instructions:  (1) Preheat oven to 350F, lightly grease an 8" square baking dish and cut bread into 1/4" cubes. (2) Pulse the bread cubes in a processor 8 to 10 times or until mixture resembles fine crumbs. (3) Stir together breadcrumbs and butter in a small bowl. (4) Stir together brown sugar and cinnamon. Place half of the apple slices in the baking dish; sprinkle evenly with half of the brown sugar mix and half the breadcrumb mixture. Repeat process with remaining apples, brown sugar mixture, and breadcrumb mixture. Pour apple cider evenly over the top. (5) Bake at 350 for 55 minutes and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

*I usually use dark brown sugar over light brown sugar.
*I substituted Spencer Apples for the Granny Smiths but Granny Smiths will work.
*I love using fresh apple cider from C.N. Smith Farm.

Pumpkin Soup

Over the weekend, we sponsored and participated in the 2nd annual South Shore Celebration. I brought along a lot of the normal items we do for markets, cookies and sweet breads, but also brought along some pumpkin items. Such items were Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with a Maple Frosting, Pumpkin Cinnamon Ginger Scones, Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with a Maple Cream Cheese Filling, Pumpkin Cupcakes with a Cinnamon Frosting, Pumpkin Bread, and Pumpkin Sugar Cookies.

Everything that dealt with Pumpkin was a big hit and I realized that I have been slacking off on getting out some recipes on the blog. I'm cheating tonight and posting a recipe for Pumpkin Soup that I had in our October newsletter. I'll spend some time tomorrow between baking cookies and add a few more fall recipes for you to enjoy.

Ingredients: 3 TBSP olive oil, 1/2 c sliced onion, 6 medium sized scallions (separate bulbs and greens), 1/8 tsp cayenne, 1/4 tsp ground cumin, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 5 c chicken stock, 2.5 c pumpkin puree, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1 c light cream.
Instructions: (1) Heat oil in sauce pan ans saute onions and scallion bulbs over low heat for approximately 8-10 minutes. (2) Add spices and stir well to coat the onions. Cook 3-4 minutes. Add pumpkin, stock and salt and raise temperature to med. Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. (3) Let soup cool slightly. Puree in a blender or processor then return to pot and add more cayenne if desired. Heat to simmering and stir in most of the cream and heat for another 2-3 minutes. Serve Hot with a swirl of cream and topped with scallion greens.