German apple pancake

Uhh, I was thinking of trying these for a good while now, and finally got around it.
It disappeared in khhmmmm.. maybe 5 minutes.
Will be made again this summer, for sure!

Ingredients
Bottom
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced

Batter
4 medium eggs, room temperature
¾ cup whole milk, room temperature
¾ cup all-purpose flour 
1/2 tsp salt
dash of vanilla extract 

Topping 
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 400F, 200 C.
In a skillet heat the butter. Add the thinly sliced apple, sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon, and cook for 5 minutes, until lightly sautéd. Do not overcook.

Divide the apples between two 9" round pans. Add some parchment paper at the bottom, it will be easier to slide it out, but you can also just generously butter the bottom of the form.
Beat the eggs until foamy, add the milk, salt, vanilla extract and lightly combine in the flour.

Pour the batter, again divided between the two pans) on top of the apples, sprinkle with the sugar/cinnamon topping, and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.
Let it cool for a very short while not to burn you mouth with the apples, but for the best taste enjoy while warm.
If you want to take it to a whole new level, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Yammmiii..
Bon appétit!

Ham with apples & bacon in Dutch oven

Today is the all or nothing day on my blog :).
I am so dead tired from finishing the grill paving this morning, that I prefer to hit the keys only while enjoying the evening chill in San Diego.
I have a meat eater in the family, and I must share this recipe, because while my kids love my cooking, in general, the youngest confessed with a big sigh that our paving guy might be an even better cook than I am, but quickly continued: "when it comes to meats" :D.
Well, he is absolutely right, I am everything but a meat eater.. But this one, this one was sooo goood...

Ingredients
pork loin (it was that large loin from Costco, maybe 3-4 pounds)
about 6 slices of bacon
2 apples
spice mix (he used Vegeta from Podravka ), I'd advice 1/2 tsp of spice/ pound of meat, but you can use any pork meat spice mix you like. Like Magyaros fuszerkeverek
additional black pepper, 1/2 tsp (only if the mix doesn't have yet)
additional paprika, 1/2 tsp  (only if the spice mix doesn't have it yet)
1/2 cup beer

Recommendations:
Serve baked potatoes and baked yams on the side. Wrap them in aluminum foil, and baked them in the last 60 minutes together with the ham.

The most difficult part of this exercise is poking holes in the meat, and trying to push through the slices of bacon. However, do not skip this move!, the loin by itself is very dry, and you'll be less than satisfied with your end result.
Place the meat in a dutch oven. Luckily I have an oval one, and could fit a 15 inch long meat in it. Pick your size by the Dutch oven size, and your family size, obviously. This portion will fill 5 people easily.
Place the ham in the oven, sprinkle the spice mix on the top, place the bacon slices on the meat, place the apple slices to the sides of the loin, and last but not least pour the beer (optional).


Cover with lid, and bake at 350F for at least 2 hours. The baking time will also depend on the meat size, I usually allow 1 hour / kg, eg. 30 minutes / pound, not counting the first 30 minutes, when I basically warm up both the meat and the oven. Take it out and spoon the juice on top of the meat every now and then, to make it shiny and crispy.
60 minutes before the end of your baking time, place the potatoes and yams on the oven shelf wrapped in aluminum foil, and bake them together with the ham.
Remove lid and let it broil for the last 15 minutes.
Remove from oven, and serve immediately while hot.

I liked it sooooooooooooooo much, that it will be a regular meal on our table. It is easy, filling, and it satisfies a festive table setting, too. If you are not a big meat eater, prepare it at least for Xmas. You won't be disappointed!
Bonn appetite!

OBS: you can make your own spice mix by mixing salt, garlic powder, minced coriander seeds, minced caraway seeds, black pepper, paprika, marjoram, minced nutmeg, dried thyme, or a combination of these..

Omenahyvä - apple good :)

In general I'm skeptical about Finnish food that look like omenahyvä (not to mention mämmi). It is aesthetically not so appealing, to say the least..
But... Unlike mämmi (sorry mämmi :) ) this is just soo good and easy, and healthy, and has so many things I like, like almond, and oatmeal, and cinnamon, and vanilla ice cream.... that after I ate at a friend's house I baked it at home too, regardless of the look.
Given that the preparation takes about 10 minutes plus 30 minutes baking time, I would definitely say is worth the effort :).
It is an absolute beginner dessert, as soon as you trust your kid with a knife and handling the oven they can bake it on their own.

Ingredients (~8 portions)
4 large, sourish apples (like Jonagold), or 6 smaller ones, pealed, cut into ~1-1.5 cm cubes
1/2 lemon zest
75 - 100 g butter (~2/3 - 1 stick), depends how buttery you like it
2 dl rolled oats ( a bit less that a cup)
1 dl sugar (a bit less than 1/2 a cup), if you use brown sugar even better
1/2 dl almond, sliced
1-2 tsp cinnamon

Serving
vanilla ice cream or
whipped vanilla cream

You can consider adding 1/2 dl raisins.. 

Peal and cut the apples into cubes (~1 - 1.5 cm cubes) and sprinkle them with the lemon zest (helps them keep the nice color).
Spread the apple in a buttered tray (20x30 cm, but size is not critical) evenly. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon, add the almonds, evenly distributed on top of the apples (sprinkle again with cinnamon), add the oatmeal evenly spread (sprinkle with cinnamon :)), and last pour the melted butter mixed with the sugar on top of everything.. Do not mix them yet in the tray!!
Bake them in a preheated oven at 200 C (400 F) for 20-25 minutes. After 20-25 minutes with a spoon mix the ingredients lightly so that the apple from the bottom is mixed with the oatmeal and almond, and the oatmeal gets to soak in the apple's juice . Bake for additional 5-10 minutes (the baking time is all together 30 minutes). The earlier you mix them, the softer the oatmeal gets, decide or try whether you like it more crispy or more soft. I like it crispy, so I mix them only about 5 minutes before removing it from the oven.

Serve while still warm with vanilla ice cream, I just love the warm apple-cinnamon-oatmeal with the melting vanilla ice cream on top..

You can serve it with whipped vanilla cream as well if you don't have, or like, ice cream.
Have a nice sunshiny day!