Fall Fruit Crumble

It is no secret that I have a sweet tooth.  I will eat a smaller dinner to save room for dessert if a yummy treat is planned.  And right now with the crisp, fall air a crumble or a crisp just sounds so very good! 

I had bookmarked this fall crumble recipe as soon as I stumbled upon it and made sure to pick up the ingredients right away... then for a series of reasons (one of which included eating way to much for dinner to even think about making a dessert) it was several days before we could fit it in.  And it was so very good that I am afraid to say that we finished the entire thing ourselves!  I couldn't stop sneaking bites! The combination of flavors is just perfect.  And the crumbly top? That too is perfectly balanced with the fruity filling. 

Honestly, I wouldn't change a thing for this recipe (other than rounding up the vanilla to 1 full teaspoon) and I would definitely recommend fitting it into your cooking plans as soon as you can.  It did take a bit longer than 20 minutes for us (but our oven is wonky).  It is wonderful.

Fall Fruit Crumble

Source: Gourmet
Serves 6

2 cups fresh or thawed frozen cranberries
2 firm-ripe pears such as Bartlett, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 apples such as Gala, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup sugar, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt 1 stick unsalted butter, softened

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.

Stir together fruits, 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla and place in a buttered shallow 2-quart baking dish.

Stir together oats, flour, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture forms small clumps. Scatter over fruit and bake until juices are bubbling and topping is golden brown, about 20-35 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

Enjoy!

* Update: I completely forgot to mention this earlier, but this is also a super fast dessert recipe.  Seriously only takes minutes to stir up and then bake.  Perfect for a little team work- I stirred it up while Dan did the dishes from dinner and then we watched a show while it baked... makes for a nice finish to a mid-week day!

~ Tara

Apple and Cranberry Stuffed Pork Chops

There isn't a more fall dinner like Apple and Cranberry Stuffed Pork Chops.  With hints of apple, spices and stuffing its hard not to find this recipe delicious.  I found a few recipes that had somethings I liked and other things I didn't.  So I came up with a compromise and combined them into a nice blend that worked out very well. 

Apple and Cranberry Stuffed Pork Chops

• 2 thick bone-in loin end pork chops
• 1/2 cup salt, regular
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon mustard powder
• 2 cups cider vinegar, HOT
• 1 pound ice cubes
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons cranberries
• 1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup Apple pieces, cut small
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons fresh sage, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

In a plastic ziplock bag put the salt, sugar, peppercorns, and mustard powder. Add the hot vinegar and swirl to dissolve. Let mixture sit for 5 to 10 minutes to develop flavor. Add ice cubes, add the chops and cover with the brine. Refrigerate for 2 hours.  Swirl around the meat in the bag every 30 min or so.

Remove chops from container and rinse. Cut horizontal pockets in each pork chop for stuffing. Combine rest of ingredients, and put into piping bag that is not fitted with a tip. Pipe each chop full with cornbread mixture. Grill the chops on medium high heat for 6 minutes on each side. Turn each chop 45 degrees after 3 minutes to mark.

The key to stuffing the chops is to insert a sharp knife in the middle of the chop and cut at a diagonal, so you don't enlarge the hole anymore than you have to in order to get the stuffing inside.  I found that a 4 inch paring knife works great. 

You can also bake them in a 375 degree oven for about 20-30 min depending on how done you like them.

Enjoy

-Dan