Apple, Goat Cheese, and Pecan Pizza

Last week I made a delicious pizza from the September issue of Cooking Light.  This was a delicious, healthy and different pizza with a twist on taste.  Try it out! It calls for storebought pizza dough, but I made a quick homeade whole wheat crust.

Apple, Goat Cheese, and Pecan Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 (1-pound) six-grain pizza crust
• Cooking spray
• 3 cups thinly sliced Fuji apple (about 8 ounces)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
• 2 cups baby arugula
• 3 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted

Preparation

• 1. Preheat oven to 450°.
• 2. Place pizza crust on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Arrange apple slices evenly over pizza crust; top with cheese. Sprinkle thyme evenly over cheese. Bake at 450° for 8 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.
• 3. Combine oil and next 3 ingredients (through honey) in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add arugula; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle pecans evenly over pizza; top with arugula mixture. Cut pizza into 6 wedges.

Enjoy!
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/apple-goat-cheese-pecan-pizza-50400000115789/

Apple Butter

I spent an entire day one weekend this summer making apple butter. It is soooooooooo delicious with some good ol' hot biscuits. I used apples from the trees at my folks in Bamberg, SC. I am quite excited that the recipe turned out!!! Last summer, I had much poorer luck. Oh, and turns out it was a good idea for birthday presents this year... (since I made 12 half pints and 5 quarts). Thanks Sarah for the pictures!

Like always, I reviewed and merged several recipes to come up with this one.

4 cups Cooking Apples, cored, peeled, and sliced
1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
2 cups water
White Sugar
Salt
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Allspice
Juice of 1 Lemon

1. Add apples (coated with lemon juice), vinegar, and water into a large pot. Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook until apples are soft (about 20 minutes).

2. Transfer apple mixture to a food processor, pulse until a smooth consistency obtained. Measure the puree.

3. Add 1/2 cup of sugar for each cup of puree. Add other spices. Mix until sugar is dissolved.

4. In a large, wide, uncovered pot, cook apple mixture of medium low heat, stirring constantly. The apple butter is ready when a spoonful placed on a frozen plate is thick and not runny. This process make take up to 2 hours.

5. You may choose to can the apple butter also... call me about this!


Enjoy~ Rach

Apple Upside-Down Pie

Yummy and pretty easy to make. It also has two layers of crust, which is definitely a perk for me. I know I should be ashamed of using a store-bought pie crust with a mom like mine, but oh well. Someday I'll master the pie crust like Suzy.

Ingredients

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 (15 0z) package refrigerated piecrusts, divided

4 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

2 large Jonagold apples, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375. Stir together first 3 ingredients, and spread onto bottom of a 9-inch pie plate. Fit 1 piecrust over pecan mixture in pie plate, allowing excess crust to hang over sides.

2. Stir together Granny Smith apples and next 5 ingredients. Spoon mixture into crust, packing tightly and mounding in center. Place remaining piecrust over filling; press both crusts together, fold edges under, and crimp. Place pie on a foil-lined jelly-roll pan. Cut 4 to 5 slits in top of pie for steam to escape.

3. Bake at 375 on lower oven rack 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until juices are thick and bubbly, crust is golden brown, and apples are tender when pierced with a long wooden pick through slit in crust. Shield pie with foil after 50 minutes, if necessary, to prevent excessive browning. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes. Place a serving plater over top of pie; invert pie onto serving plate. Remove pie plate, and replace any remaining pecans in pie plate on top of pie. Let cool completely (about 1 hour).

*Recipe from Southern Living Magazine

- Sarah