Te Deum
by Charles Reznikoff

Not because of victories, 
I sing,
having none,
but for the common sunshine, 
the breeze,
the largess of the spring.

Not for victory,
but for the day’s work done
as well as I was able;
not for a seat upon the dais
but at the common table.
In just a few days, people from all over the United States will celebrate Thanksgiving, a national holiday which symbolizes a time for people to come together at one table to break bread and give thanks. 
Last year, I wrote about the background of the first Thanksgiving and shared a menu with you that had some of my favorite Thanksgiving favorites: pumpkin soup, stuffed turkey roulade, orange cranberry sauce and my favorite chocolate pecan tart.  

For these recipes and more, click here:
This week, I will be posting more recipes that you can use on Thanksgiving Day and beyond. I am starting with this French Apple Tart, a recipe that I tweaked from the most recent issue of Cooking Light Magazine. I chose to make this tart instead of a traditional pie because it is lower in calories and it’s easy to make!  

Fairytale French Apple Tart
Serves 8

Ingredients:
1/2 (14.1-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)
3 tablespoons apple jelly, melted and divided
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced

  • Directions:
  • 1. Preheat oven to 425°. Peel and slice apples. Keep them in a bowl of water with juice of a lemon but be sure to pat dry completely or add some flour so that the apples don’t get too watery and ruin the crust.

  • 2. Roll dough to a 12-inch circle and place in a tart pan. Brush dough with 1 tablespoon jelly. Place pan in freezer for 5 minutes.

  • 3. Combine brown sugar and nutmeg in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar mixture over dough. 
  • 4. Arrange apple slices in concentric circles on prepared crust. Sprinkle apples with the remaining sugar mixture. Bake at 425° for 35 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown.

  • 5. Brush remaining 2 tablespoons jelly over hot tart. Cut into 8 wedges.
  • Optional: top each wedge with 1 teaspoon crème fraîche or some vanilla ice cream!

Nutritional Facts (Per Serving)
205 cals, 8.5 grams fat, 32.6 carbs, 1 gram fiber.

Enjoy!

I know Thanksgiving is traditionally associated with pumpkin pies, apple pies, pumpkin rolls, and other fall baked treats. But anyone that knows me knows that I don’t (can’t) bake. That doesn’t mean I don’t try though! 
When you fail at cooking, many times you can save your dish by fudging the recipe or adding more ingredients. But baking is so scientific and mathematical, it hinders my natural instinct to want to estimate the measurements of ingredients and add in my own flare to a recipe. So, I did what I do best for my Fairytale Thanksgiving Feast.  I made a rustic baked apple and cranberry crumble.  I also found a way to add in chocolate to this meal. Because for me, that is always the best part! This Fairytale Chocolate Pecan Tart, while technically a baked dessert, is so easy to make and CLEANUP IS EASY. I adopted this recipe from a Cooking Light recipe. The entire thing is prepared in a medium saucepan on the stovetop and thanks to the refrigerated Pillsbury pie crust, it’s almost idiot-proof. And the results are sooo worth it. Believe me, if you like brownies or anything chocolatey, like I do, then you will have to make this tart. I promise it will be a recipe you want to make over and over again!

Fairytale Chocolate Pecan Tart
(Serves 8)
Ingredients:
1 cup Nestle’s semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter
3 large eggs, beaten
1 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust half (the kind that unrolls!)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an old-fashioned metal tart pan OR coat a removable-bottom tart pan with Pam baking spray. Lay the Pillsbury pie crust over the pan and gently press the dough into the sides of the pan. (Don’t force it into the crevices too much – you want to be able to get this tart out!)

Combine brown sugar, flour, salt and corn syrup in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat and whisk together until well blended. Bring mixture to a boil while whisking. Remove from heat and immediately add the butter, chocolate chips and vanilla extract. Stir with a wooden spoon until chocolate is smooth. Stir in the pecans. Let cool for a minute or two and add the egg.

Pour the mixture into the pie crust.  Back in the middle of the oven for a half hour. You can insert the toothpick into the center of the tart. It shouldn’t be wet or clean but have somewhat of a fudgy texture. You don’t want to overcook the tart.

When you remove the tart from the oven, if you are using a metal tart pan, let cool COMPLETELY for at least a half hour. Then gently press a large dish over the top of tart and turn over as you would a jello mold. Tap the tart gently on all sides and then left the metal tart pan away from the tart. It should be upside down on your dish. Invert the tart onto your serving platter.

Serve with a doll-up of cool whip or homemade whipped cream.

I baked! And I was so thrilled it came out to be so delicious! 

I also love to make this Baked Apple Cranberry Crumble. Like my summer specialty Fairytale Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble, this is a rustic dish that is easy to make and it’s fun because the measurements are really estimated. Usually I just throw in whatever I have or feel like using for the crumble topping. This dish screams AUTUMN and it’s a sure crowd pleaser! It’s also very portable. Hope you enjoy!

Fairytale Baked Apple Cranberry Crumble
Serves 8

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour 
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 stick of unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 1/4 cup of old-fashioned oats
1 cup of sliced almonds
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (divided)
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (optional)
6-8 large baking apples (I like honeycrisp.) 
1 package of Ocean Spray Cranberries


Optional: Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for topping!


Directions: 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel, core and slice all apples. Place in water with lemon so that the apples do not brown. 

In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice (if using) and pinch of salt. Rub in chunks of butter with fingertips until it forms coarse crumbs.  Mix in oats and almonds. Set aside.


Spray a large 9 X 14 aluminum tray with Pam baking spray (or use Crisco or butter). Add the sliced apples and cranberries and mix well. Sprinkle crumble mixture on top. Spray with Pam baking spray or add some thin slices of butter over the crumble filling to get a golden brown topping.  Sprinkle with additional cinnamon.

Bake until filling bubbles and topping is crisp and crunchy, 45 -60 min. The apples should be tender and soft and some of the cranberries will have burst open. Let cool for about 15 minutes.  Serve warm with cold vanilla ice cream on top.

Enjoy!
Halloween is coming!!! This week I will be posting some of my favorite fall recipes that are perfect to feed a crowd or yourself in celebration of the fall season. I absolutely love this salad! The salad is my own fall concoction using ingredients that are in season. The dressing is a recipe from Southern Living magazine and is so fresh and flavorful. It’s the perfect compliment to fall apples. I added in a little bit of extra basil than called for in the recipe because I wanted to use it up from my herb garden before the REALLY cold weather comes! 
Fall Apple Salad
(Serves 6-8)
Ingredients:
2 heads of Romaine Lettuce, chopped
3/4 -1 bag of spring mixed greens
1 cup of whole pecans
2-3 gala or other sweet apple, cored and sliced
2 granny smith apples, cored and sliced
1 container of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Combine the above ingredients in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Brown Sugar-Cider Vinaigrette
From Southern Living Magazine
(1 Cup)

Ingredients:
2/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 green onions, chopped
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Whisk together all ingredients until blended. Pour entire cup over salad when ready to serve.
Enjoy!


It’s the most wonderful time of the year for lovers of all things fall: mums, scarecrows, tractors, haystacks, pumpkins, crunchy leaves, fairytale feasts, and of course, the Bloomsburg Fair! 



  


The 156th Annual Bloomsburg Fair is taking place this week in Columbia County, Pennsylvania. The first fair was held in 1855 after Dr. John Taggart visited a county fair in upstate New York and brought the idea home to Columbia County.  Five other gentleman then got together and decided to hold an agricultural fair if they could find enough people to exhibit fruits, vegetables and other products found on a farm.  After personally searching for exhibitors, the men organized a one day event and the first fair was held.  Admission cost a mere ten cents per person and the fair garnered a whopping thousand visitors the first year alone. The event gradually increased in size and by 1892, the event was operating for a full five days.


Now, over a hundred years later, the Fair still draws thousands of people from all over the country in any weather conditions.  Originally held late October of each year, the fair is now traditionally held in September, the third Monday after Labor Day. The fair will take place this year from Saturday, September 25th through Saturday, October 2nd.  Over 75,000 people attended on opening day alone and my guess is that 99% of these individuals had something to eat there.

The Bloomsburg Fair is like a huge playground for food lovers, interweaving different ethnic foods from around the globe with signature Pennsylvania specialties. Caramel candy apples, pumpkin rolls, apple and peach dumplings, hearty soups, hot apple cider, church sponsored barbecue dinners, beef brisket sandwiches from hundreds of vendors are all sold at the festival.  Here are some highlights of noteworthy fairytale feasts that can be found at the festival: 

We’ll start with the cheesesteaks. Yes, cheesesteaks are a dime a dozen all over Eastern and Central Pennsylvania and at the Bloomsburg Fair.  But Vince’s Steaks have the longest lines at the fair for good reason – their cheesesteaks are amazing. And unlike in Philly, you’re allowed to ask for peppers or marinara sauce and other toppinon your steak sandwiches here.


The fish and chips were really delicious. The meal was wrapped in newspaper – such an authentic, lovely touch to compliment the food. The fish was not too oily and was perfectly done. With little sprinkle of salt and vinegar and a drizzle of lemon juice, the flaky fish and the roasted potatoes were absolute perfection.  In fact, this was the freshest bite I had at the fair. Loved it!



Another favorite Fair treat is the Grotto Pizza. Grotto Pizza is a chain restaurant with locations in Northeastern Pennsylvania and Delaware. While I can technically have this pizza anytime, it’s just too hard to say no to that gooey cheese and sweet sauce so I had to have it. Other people must feel the same way, because the Grotto stand is always crowded every year. And for $2.50 for this single tiny slice of pizza, it better be good! 


You can’t visit the Bloomsburg Fair without having some Old Fashioned Birch Beer poured from a barrel! 
The Fair features hundreds of different vendors selling food items, home goods, and more.  I came across this little stand selling an asortment of gourmet dips and instantly fell in love.  There was a sample of each dip displayed in its own wicker basket cooling container ($33). The dips (3 packets for $14) are 100% natural, containing no preservatives. They’re really just dried spice mixes that you can add to cream cheese, mayonaise, sour cream, greek yogurt, etc.  (And yes, you can substitute fat free yogurt, etc. to make the dips healthy!) I took home the Excellent Crab, Irish Cheddar & Ale, and Rockin’ Ranch. To visit the website and try these delicious dips for yourself, click here.

The Bloomsburg Fair offers plenty of soup options to warm up the soul.  One stand that I enjoy is Nana’s Nook, which serves homemade New England Clam Chowder, Maryland Crab Soup and Cheddar Ale.  If you want to try a sample, just ask and they are more than happy to help you.


Another option for soup is the “pot pie” stand.  In Pennsylvania Dutch cooking, what they label “pot pies” are really delicious cups of a broth based soup with vegetables, ham or chicken, and homemade pieces of pasta that are similar to dumplings.  



One of my longtime standing favorite stands at the Fair is the Baked Potato stand. They do sell complete dinners there, but all I have eyes for are the baked potatoes there. You can order one with your choice of toppings.  This one was served with cheese, broccoli and bacon bits.



One of the most prominent offerings at the fair are the many ham/beef dinner stands which serve up hundreds of blue plate like dinner specials and sandwiches.    



 

Anyone from Pennsylvania knows that one of best fall desserts to have is a Pumpkin Roll. I literally die for Pumpkin Rolls – and will blog about them at some point this season. If you are at the fair, you have to try the Pumpkin Roll ($8.75) from the Pennsylvania Dutch Stand near the Grandstand.


You can’t go to the Bloomsburg Fair without getting an apple dumpling. These little bundles of joy are admittedly the main reason why I keep coming here every year. The marriage between autumn and apples is most beautifully exemplified in this distinct dish. 



Lastly, if by some miracle you’re still hungry as you’re leaving the fair or you need a little something to bring home, stop by the apple stand near Gate 3. It’s easy to spot – it’s a booth literally carved into the shape of an apple.  You can get cider, lemonade and other gluttonous fair-essential treats like fried oreo cookies and or the famous fried apple rings. 



Yes, there are other things to do at the fair besides eat – like see the agricultural exhibits that showcase the biggest and best produce and baked goods from the county and beyond.  Since I was a little girl, my favorite part of the fair (besides the apple dumplings) has always been seeing the “great pumpkin” (think Charlie Brown) exhibits on display. I just love them and used to think they were the pumpkins that were used to make Cinderella style carriages. They still haven’t lost their magic.



There are still TWO more days to visit the fair this year! Here is some important info to know if you go:

Admission gates are open daily from 7 AM to 9 PM.

Admission is $5.00 per person, with free daily admission for children 12 years old and under.

High school students are admitted free of charge on Friday October 1st.

Parking is $5.00 per car, including free tram/bus service to and from the parking lot and admission gate.



Enjoy! 🙂