Fried Apples with Pecans

(Part of a weekly series by a group of bloggers, featuring Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers in Food - see end of post for list of bloggers participating & their blogs)

Out of the 50 Women Game Changers in Food that we're learning more about, I'm thrilled to see someone as young as Severene von Tscharner Fleming make it to the list. At age 30, she's an accomplished young farmer, film-maker and activist with an impressive list of achievements - she's helmed a documentary on agricultural farmers, founded an organization - The Greenhorns, co-founded the National Young Farmers' Coalition and kick-started a whole movement for young farmers across North America. Phew, I feel like I've done a lot just by reading her story and the passion with which she continues to do wonders to help the nation's farming infrastructure.

Severine hails from a family where her maternal side inherited a farm for six generations. She grew up on the farm and that foundation eventually had an impact on the path she chose to persevere in life. A graduate of UC Berkeley, Severine played an active role in college activities as well, and that's where the idea for her documentary was born. While organizing a film festival at college, she noticed that all films that looked into the prospects of farming and agriculture portrayed very grim scenarios. But, as part of a young farming community, she knew very well that was not the whole truth and there needed to be awareness of the great possibilities and opportunities for young farmers. She decided to document her journey in building a network of young farmers who shared the same vision and to use the documentary to reach out to others across the nation, to inspire, help, support and offer guidance. Greenhorns, the organization, is a non-profit that promotes, supports and recruits young farmers in the US. They produce content and communications for young farmers — including film, radio, a blog, wiki, a guidebook, press, workshops, conferences, a coalition, mixers, GIS mapping and more.

Since Severine is more of an activist and farmer, there aren't any recipes of hers online that we could use to highlight her work this week. But, their website has a link to blogs of others in their farming community. So, I picked one of them and found this extremely simple recipe for fried apples and pecans.

Don't be fooled by how simple the dish looks and how easy it is to make. The aroma that fills your house when your sauteing the apples in butter and cinnamon is like heaven in a pan. It is even more yummy than the smell of baking cakes. Oh. Nothing compares to it. This doesn't even need any sugar or accompaniments. The girl who'd made it recommended serving it with fresh whipped cream. But, I preferred it without anything because the apples had such a delightful flavor on their own. Just make sure you use juicy apples. 

Fried Apples with Pecans (adapted from the blog, Make Wine & Cheese With Me)

Ingredients and instructions

• 2 crisp, tart and sweet apples, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
• 1/4 teaspoon or less of cinnamon powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter (I love salted butter)
• 1 lemon, halved
• 2 teaspoons pecans, quartered or halved

In a saucepan, melt the butter on medium heat. Once it is melted, add the apple slices and stir till all the slices are coated with butter. Add the cinnamon powder and the lemons and mix well. Saute on medium low till the apples get tender and soft. 

Remove the lemons and serve.

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Here's a list of the other bloggers participating in this series. Do go over to their blogs to see what yummy dishes they've whipped up. If you'd like to join the group, please get in touch with Mary of One Perfect Bite.

Val - More Than Burnt Toast [] Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed [] Susan - The Spice Garden [] Heather - girlichef [] Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney [] Jeanette - Healthy Living [] Mary - One Perfect Bite [] Kathleen - Bake Away with Me [] Sue - The View from Great Island [] Barbara - Movable Feasts [] Linda A - There and Back Again [] Nancy - Picadillo [] Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits [] Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen [] Annie - Most Lovely Things [] Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook [] Alyce - More Time at the Table [] Amrita -Beetles Kitchen Escapades

Cinnamon Apple Buns

Lately, I've noticed that I buy fruits, vegetables or meat that I have no idea what to do with but, get them anyway to try something different. Case in point, 3 granny smith apples that were sitting in my fruit basket wondering when I'm going to use them. The first thing I thought of was Apple Pie. But, I wanted to do something different since I've already made apple pie/crumble before. And that's where inspiration struck - how about I just re-purpose the basic elements of apple pie (crust and filling) in a different manner, at least to me. I thought of rolling the crust with stewed apples, just like you would with cinnamon buns. I know this is not a novel idea, but this is how I went about it. I got the bun dough recipe from Food Network and made the filling on my own. Bon Appétit!

Cinnamon Apple Buns
Ingredients:
For the dough - 
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 1/4-ounce packet active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup plus 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the bowl
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

For the apple filling -

- 3 granny smith or cooking apples

- 1/4 cup brown sugar

- 2 tablespoons butter

- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

For the glaze -

- 1 cup powdered/confectioners' sugar

- 1 tablespoon milk

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

Directions:

Make the dough (adapted from Food Network's almost famous cinnamon buns): Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over low heat until it reaches about 100 (since I don't have a food thermometer, I just heated it up till it was medium warm though I could've made it a little more hot). Remove from the heat and sprinkle in the yeast and 1/4 teaspoon sugar (don't stir). Set aside until foamy, 5 minutes. Whisk in the melted butter, egg yolk and vanilla.

Whisk the flour, the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, the salt and nutmeg in the bowl of a stand mixer. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture. Mix on low speed with the dough hook until thick and slightly sticky. Knead on medium speed until the dough gathers around the hook, 6 minutes. (Add up to 2 more tablespoons flour if necessary.)

Remove the dough and shape into a ball. Butter the mixer bowl and return the dough to the bowl, turning to coat with butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, 1 hour 15 minutes.

Roll out the dough in a rectangle (horizontal) which is about a 1/4-inch thick. Spread your filling, leaving an inch on the long side away from you. Brush that one inch strip with water. Start rolling from the long side close to you, outwards, till you get to the end brushed with water. Seal the water-brushed end to the roll. Cut in 1-inch slices. 

Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan; place the buns cut-side down in the pan, leaving space between each. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, 40 minutes (Yes, it rises again! and also during baking). Preheat the oven to 325degF.

Bake the buns until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Cool in the pan 15 minutes or longer so the filling stays intact. 

Make the filling (best time is when the dough is rising): Peel apples, core and chop into 1/2-inch thin pieces. Melt butter in a pan on medium heat. Add the apples and brown sugar. Let it cook till apples start getting tender, about 5-7 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the cinnamon and nutmeg powder. Let it cool.

Make the glaze: Mix all the ingredients together till you get a consistency that allows you to drizzle. You can add more sugar to thicken or milk to loosen depending on the consistency you like. Drizzle or spread on the buns and enjoy!