“It could be baking in your oven very, very soon. Just seven of the simplest, most standard ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, salt, water, apples, cinnamon) and a few easy to follow steps, and you’ve got yourself a dessert that tricks everyone into thinking you’ve spent hours baking this elegant yet rustic dessert just for them.”

Yesterday, we picked up some apples at our neighborhood farmers market and did just that.

Lauren uses a mix of apples; we used all Granny Smiths. She highly recommends an apple corer/slicer for speed.

RECIPE: RUSTIC APPLE TART

Ingredients
 
For The Dough

When was the last time you baked from scratch? Make this easy tart! Photo courtesy Bella Baker.

 
Filling

 
Glaze

Preparation

1. MAKE the dough. Mix flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl; add in butter. Using your hands, mix butter into flour until mixture resembles a mix of cornmeal and peas. It’s fine to have some chunks of butter remaining.

2. DRIZZLE in water, one tablespoon at a time, and stir until dough just holds together (never overwork dough—it toughens it). Toss with hands, and keep tossing until you can roll the dough into a rough ball. Flatten into a disk and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove from fridge and let soften for a couple of minutes. Smooth cracks at edges.

3. ROLL dough on a lightly floured surface into a 14-inch circle about 1/4 inch thick. Dust off the excess flour from both sides of the crust with a dry pastry brush.

4. PLACE dough in a lightly greased 9-inch round tart pan or simply a square baking dish. Or, make it galette-style without a pan, simply placing the dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet with the fruit in the center, and rolling up the dough to create the edges (see photo at left). This is how pies were baked for centuries, before people had baking pans.

6. PEEL, core and thinly slice 4 medium apples into 8 slices (Lauryn used two Pink Ladies, one Golden Delicious and 1 Granny Smith). Further cut each apple slice into thirds, vertically.
7. OVERLAP apples on dough: in a ring 2 inches from edge if going galette-style, or up to the sides if using a baking pan. Continue inward until you reach the center. Fold any dough hanging over pan back onto itself; crimp edges at 1-inch intervals.

8. BRUSH melted butter over apples and onto dough edge. Sprinkle 5 tablespoons sugar and 2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon over dough edge and apples. (EDITOR’S NOTE: We mixed the sugar and cinnamon with the apple slices before placing the fruit into the crust.) Bake in the center of the oven until apples are soft, with browned edges, and crust has caramelized to a dark golden brown (about 45 minutes). Be sure to rotate the tart every 15 minutes.

9. MAKE glaze: Put reserved apple cores in a large saucepan, along with the apricot jam and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Strain syrup through a strainer.

10. REMOVE tart from oven and slide place onto a cooling rack. Let cool at least 15 minutes. Brush glaze over tart, slice, and serve.
See the full photo show of preparation on BellaBaker.com.

Meant to emulate a giant Oreo cookie, you can make this recipe from Kraft as is, with a creamy filling, or turn it into an ice cream cake with Oreo ice cream.

You can make your own Oreo ice cream by mixing crushed Oreos into a container of softened vanilla ice cream (or chocolate, coffee, etc.).

Simply put the cookies in a plastic storage bag, seal the top, and crush with a rolling pin.

No rolling pin? Use a wine bottle!

No time to bake? Buy a chocolate loaf cake and split it into two layers.
 
> January 27th is National Chocolate Cake Day and November 26th is National Cake Day.

> The year’s 55 cake holidays.

> March 6th is National Oreo Day.

> The history of Oreos.

> The year’s 44 cookie holidays.

> June 27th is National Ice Cream Cake Day.

> The year’s 50+ ice cream holidays.
 
 
RECIPE: CHOCOLATE OREO LAYER CAKE OR ICE CREAM CAKE

If you’re making an ice cream cake, you need only the cake mix (or purchased cake), ice cream, and ingredients for the chocolate glaze*.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. HEAT oven to 350°F.

2. PREPARE the cake batter and bake in 2 (9-inch) round pans as directed on package. Cool the cakes in pans for 10 minutes. Invert onto wire racks; gently the remove pans. Cool the cakes completely.

3. MICROWAVE the chocolate and butter in small microwaveable bowl on high for 2 minutes, or until the butter is melted. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Cool 5 minutes. Meanwhile…

4. BEAT the cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gently stir in whipped topping and crushed cookies.

5. PLACE one cake layer on a plate and spread with cream cheese mixture. Top with the remaining cake layer. Spread the top with chocolate glaze*; let stand 10 minutes or until firm. Keep refrigerated (or frozen, if an ice cream cake).

[1] A layer cake for Oreo lovers—and who isn’t? (photo and recipe © Kraft Heinz | Abacus)

[2] Turn it into an ice cream cake instead (photo © Carrefour).

[3] Or buy a chocolate loaf cake and split it horizontally (photo © Yummy Desserts).

*If the chocolate glaze becomes too thick, microwave on high 20 to 30 seconds, or until desired consistency is reached.
 
 

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Bowtie (farfalle) pasta, fruit and oranges:
delicious! Photo courtesy Kraft.

What if pasta salad were more sweet than savory? That’s how it is in this recipe, a perfect way to make summer last a little longer (summer ends this Saturday, September 21st).

Creamy lemon poppyseed dressing, mandarin oranges and fresh strawberries create this refreshing twist on pasta salad. Serve it as a first course, or as a main course for lunch with some added chicken strips.

Prep time 10 minutes, cooking and cooling time total time 1 hour. Makes four 1-cup servings.

RECIPE: STRAWBERRY-ORANGE PASTA SALAD

Ingredients

Preparation

1. COOK pasta as directed on package, omitting salt. Drain and cool.

2. MIX dressing and mayonnaise in medium bowl. Add pasta and onions; toss to coat. Gently stir in fruit.

3. REFRIGERATE 1 hour or longer. Serve with dressing (recipe below).
 
Variations

 
To prepare the salad more than 1 hour in advance:

RECIPE: LEMON-POPPYSEED SALAD DRESSING

Ingredients

Preparation

1. WHISK together vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, honey, onion powder and salt.

2. DRIZZLE in oil, whisking constantly until combined. Whisk in poppy seeds.

Fatty ‘Cue restaurants in New York City combine traditional smoky southern barbecue with spicy Southeast Asian flavorings.

Each Fatty ‘Cue location has a variation on the smoked beef brisket recipe, including:

 
Fancy some fusion?

WHAT IS BRISKET?

Check out the company website to find classes near you.

No matter how you prepare it, eggplant works well with just about everything. Its ability to balance multiple flavors makes it an excellent component in any dish involving several ingredients.

It is a delight in a simple sauté with with mushrooms, onions and tomatoes (delicious as a side or a main course over rice with some added protein such as chicken or tofu).

Hot or cold, roasted or grilled, stuffed, marinated or fried, eggplant’s slightly bitter taste and spongy texture make it a go-to ingredient for casseroles, stews and brochettes (skewers).

It works well with spices including basil, garlic, oregano, parsley, sage and thyme.

It can be curried or spiced with hot chiles. It is a key ingredient in the famous Greek dish moussaka and the French ratatouille.

Different types of eggplant: Italian eggplant, Sicilian eggplant (variegated), Chinese eggplant (long), Thai long green eggplant, Black Beauty eggplant (purple globe) and applegreen eggplant (photo © Cordon Bleu Kitchen).

In America, eggplants are known as oblong with deep purple color (an Italian cultivar), but they can also be lavender, green, orange and yellow-white. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes, from round to oblong. Take a look at these unusual types of eggplant—some the size of strawberries!
 
 
EGGPLANT COOKING TIPS

 
 
EGGPLANT TRIVIA

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*The bitterness comes from the chlorogenic acid in the seeds—the same chemical that gives bitterness to coffee. The seeds also contain nicotinoid alkaloids. Nicotine? Yes, botanically, eggplant is a close relative of tobacco, which is also a member of the Nightshade family.