Favorite Foodie Magazines

We are magazine poor at our house.  I don’t know, I think it is something from my childhood.  My mom LOVED magazines.  And I am going to blame my obsession with them on heredity.  But this time of year, starting with the Sept-Oct issues is my very favorite time for the printed page.  All the fall foods, decorations and then before I can get these read, the holiday issues will be arriving in my mailbox and newsstand. These are the ones I brought to read while Jerry is in class.

There are so many cute decorations and so many recipes I want to try. Here’s one that really caught my eye.

Skillet Granola Apple Crisp

By toasting a bit of prepared granola with butter, you can keep this dish light and healthy while still providing a delicious crunchy topping to sweet spiced apples.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups store-bought oat granola, (Maple Pecan sounds good huh?)


2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar, plus 1/4 cup
5 crisp apples, such as Fuji or Gala (about 2 1/2 pounds), peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Melt the butter in a medium nonreactive and oven safe skillet over medium heat. Add the granola, 1 tablespoon of the flour and 1 tablespoon sugar and toss until the sugar is dissolved and the granola is well-coated. Transfer to a bowl; set aside. (Reserve the skillet.)

3. Pour the apples into the skillet; toss with the pumpkin pie spice, lemon juice and remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are juicy and slightly softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon flour. Scatter the reserved granola mixture evenly over the top and transfer the skillet to the oven. Bake until the crisp is bubbling and the apples are tender, about 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm.

And how about something savory? This sounded really really good to me.  Of course I am pretty hungry right now. I had a honey bun for breakfast.  I don’t like honey buns.  I thought the hotel would have room service breakfast but Noooooooo! But they had a “shop” next to the front desk.  So I bought a honey bun and a package of Alka-Seltzer.  But I think this chicken would sound good anyway :)

Brick Chicken

3 chicken halves, breast and rib bones intact (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds each)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
5 to 6 sprigs thyme

Partially debone the chicken halves, removing the wing, backbone and thighbone. Rinse and pat dry. Refrigerate, uncovered, at least 30 minutes to dry out the skin.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat a large nonstick skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium heat and add the oil and butter. Lay the chicken halves, skin-side down, in the skillet and scatter the thyme around them. Wrap a slightly smaller skillet with foil and place on top of the chicken. Set a large brick or 2 to 3 heavy cans in the skillet to weigh it down.

Cook the chicken 3 to 5 minutes, then remove the top skillet and check the skin; adjust the heat and rotate the pan as needed so the skin browns evenly. Replace the top skillet and continue to cook until the skin is golden and crisp and the chicken is cooked about three-quarters of the way through, 20 to 25 more minutes. Remove the top skillet and carefully flip the chicken. Cook, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through, 8 to 10 more minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. Cut each piece in half to serve.

Alrighty, y’all have a great weekend.  I know it is actually fall-ish where some of you live.  Enjoy some of that for me please.  Still pretty hot here.  I am going to work on my Autumn Newsletter a little – hope to have it to my subscribers on October 1.

And yes….still working on “Knock Your Socks Off!”