Apple Butter

I have to confess I'm a little scared to leave my crockpot on all day while I go to work. Leaving it on on weekends and days off while I'm in and out running errands all day is fine, but leaving it on while I'm at work squicks me out a little. I know it's irrational. I know that my crockpot won't suddenly, after over 4 years of reliable use, won't all of a sudden blow up on me... But what if it does?

This apple butter is my first experiment with putting something in my crockpot while I was away at work. Do you think I could concentrate at work? Of course not. Instead of brilliant legal thoughts, my imagination went wild with thoughts of burned apples (at best) and charred house remains (at worst). 

Needless to say, my house was still standing when I got home, the apples were cooking nicely, and it smelled like I had spent all day making apple pies. It was wonderful.

Now if only I could convince myself that this all-day-while-I'm-at-work success wasn't a fluke and I should try it again.

Crockpot Apple Butter

From My Baking Addiction, adapted

Makes about 4 pints

INGREDIENTS

6 1/2 lbs tart apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

2/3 - 1 cup white sugar (depending on how sour your apples are)

2/3 - 1 cup brown sugar (depending on how sour your apples are)

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

2 tsp cinnamon 

1/4 tsp salt

1 TBSP vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Place the apples in the crockpot. Add the sugars, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Stir to combine.

Cook on low for about 10 hours, stirring very occasionally (I stirred once after it cooked for about 9 hrs), until the mixture is thickened and dark brown.

Uncover, stir in the vanilla, and cook for about 2 hrs. It'll probably look like the apples are sort of breaking down and liquefying, but that's ok. Cooking uncovered will allow some of the excess liquid to evaporate.

Puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Put in sterile containers and store in the fridge or freezer.

Monte Cristo with Strawberry Habanero Jam

We're now entering year two of home ownership. It's great. When we first moved in, we didn't do much. The previous owners did a lot of work on the place, and we didn't see ourselves wanting to change much.

How naive we were. We (and by "we" I mostly mean my husband) have since learned that home ownership is a continuous string of projects that are assured to take at least twice as long as you think they're going to take. And I have since learned the wonders of stations like HGTV and DIY network and am convinced that the shower/tub area of our master bath needs to be re-done with mosaic tiles. I think my husband would appreciate it if I stopped watching these stations.

Most recently, we installed a ceiling fan in our kitchen. The fixture the previous owners chose for the kitchen used LED lights that burned so hot that it was almost unbearable to be in the kitchen while the light was on for any length of time.

At least it looked cool?

Next up - replacing the two-prong sockets with grounded three-prong sockets. It's bound to be riveting.

We both really liked these Monte Cristo sandwiches. They were a great alternative to the traditional kind that is battered and deep fried (please do not interpret that to mean I'm trying to convey that these sandwiches are healthy - they're not). We weren't the hugest fans of the strawberry habanero jam. Honestly, I think I would've really loved it on a waffle or on ice cream, but for me, it didn't go well with the meat.

Monte Cristo Sandwiches with Strawberry Habanero Jam

Recipe from Jeff Mauro, adapted

Serves 4

Prep Time - 10 min

Cook Time - 20 min

INGREDIENTS

Strawberry Habanero Jam

4 cups sugar

1/4 cup orange juice

2 lbs frozen strawberries

1 habanero pepper, stem and seeds removed, finely minced

Custard

1 cup 2% milk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

pinch nutmeg

2 eggs

Sandwich Build

8 slices Sourdough

4 slices Swiss Cheese

4 slices American Cheese

6 oz shaved honey ham

6 oz shaved turkey breast

4 TBSP salted butter

Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

Directions

Strawberry Habanero Jam

In a 4-quart saucepan set over medium heat, add the sugar and orange juice, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Turn up the heat to high and add the strawberries and habanero. Bring to a boil, stirring often. After boiling for about a minute, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool slightly. Once cooled, you can serve immediately. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about a week.

Custard

In a baking dish, whisk together the milk, salt, sugar, nutmeg, and eggs. Set aside.

Sandwich Build

Preheat a large pan over medium heat. Top a slice of sourdough with a slice of Swiss, one-quarter of the ham, one-quarter of the turkey, a slice of American cheese, and the second slice of sourdough.

Dip the sandwiches into the custard, letting the excess drip off. Add some butter to the pan and gently fry each sandwich until golden brown, 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from the pan, dust with some powdered sugar, and serve some of the strawberry habanero jam on the side.