"Hand-held" Homemade Apple, Ginger and Fig Pies!!!!

"HAND-HELD" HOMEMADE FRUIT PIES!!

We have this giant apple tree in your that yielded heaps of juicy, delicious, sweet apples this year so I did what any other good wife would do…I baked a pie!! But not just any old pie, individual "hand-held" apple, ginger, fig pies! I've never really been a fan of good ole American apple pie and always found it to be pretty boring and unreasonably sweet. So I figured I could put my own twist on it, try to make it at least a little bit healthier for us and it would still be amazing! Then of course, I'd smother it with a bunch of stuff that's not so healthy, so ya see?? The balance of the world is restored!

The reason hand-held is in quotes is because while that was the intention, and you could most definitely hold one in your hand, they turned out to be rather large and taste divine with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top, drizzled with caramel sauce and sprinkled with cinnamon cardamom sugar. So hold if you'd like or indulge as you should! 

I'm not quite sure what kind of apples these are but it certainly doesn't matter which ones you use.

 I picked a bushel and headed inside. I only diced up about 4-5 since it was just the two of us and it was more than enough to make 4 giant little pies.

Just try to not eat all of this before you put it in the pie shells! It's SO good!!

Then I mixed in some cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, cardamom, a little salt, vanilla extract and about a tablespoon of caramel sauce. Maple syrup would probably work fine too, I just happened to have some caramel in the fridge and figured it would help to bind it all together.

I've always been a big fan of utilizing whatever I have on hand and figured this would be the perfect time to try some of the amazing fig preserves we got from our cousin's, Cort and Chrys, in Austin. It was a great idea! Along with some freshly grated ginger, it complemented the apples perfectly so I threw it all in there!

Now here comes the easiest part, the crust! Ordinarily this would be the part I dread because sometimes you just feel like making something as quickly and easily as possible…this was one of the times! You can't get much easier than store bought pie shells from the freezer section of your grocery store. They're like $1.50 for 2, crazy cheap! Take them out of the freezer and let em thaw for about 15 minutes at least, then you can just turn them upside down on your work surface and they should slide right out. I sprinkled mine with a little sugar so they didn't stick.

Once you pop em out, just slice em half right down the middle and place about 2 tablespoons or so of the filling in the center, near the top. 

Then just fold the bottom half up… 

And voila'! A piece of pie!!

Now, if you press the edges together ever so slightly, you can pick it up and add more filling if you'd like. Or even take some out if you think you're gonna have a big mess when you squish it together. 

Gently pinch the top edge together when you're done filling and place it gently on your work surface.

Take a fork and seal the edges. If it starts to stick, just dip your fork into your cinnamon sugar mixture and it'll work like a champ!

Do that around both edges and you're all set.

Brush with melted butter then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. I also threw some cardamom in there cuz I can't get enough of it.

Cut a tiny slit in each of your pies so that the steam can escape.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees then pop em in there on a slightly greased, non-stick cookie sheet for about 18-20 minutes until the edges are nice and brown.

YOU MADE PIES!!! 

Now just top with some vanilla ice cream, drizzle with caramel (honey would be good too!) and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar!

YUM!!!!

 "Hand-held" Homemade Apple, Ginger and Fig Pies 

 Makes 4 servings

Filling:
4-5 Apples, diced
Fig Preserves (Apple Butter would be good too)
Freshly Grated Ginger
Caramel Sauce 1 Tablespoon or so for filling, more to drizzle
Cinnamon, Sugar, Cardamom, and Salt to taste

2 Frozen Pie Shells
2 Tablespoons or so Melted Butter
Cinnamon Cardamom Sugar (mix to taste)

Vanilla Ice Cream (optional but highly recommended)

 As you might notice, my measurements are pretty vague and usually always are. I'm not much of a measurer and neither should you be…LIVE ON THE EDGE!!! DIE BY THE PIE!!! 

 And have a nice day!! Thanks for reading :)

Ginger Fig Ice Cream with Saffron Brandy Creme Anglaise

Ginger Fig Ice Cream with Saffron Brandy Creme Anglaise

OK, I've had many requests to post this recipe, so here goes. And OMG, this was sooo good! And really easy. I didn't make my own ice cream this time only because I didn't really plan ahead, but I'll go over that process sometime soon. It's actually really simple and super fun to experiment with. 

Today I just used a plain Vanilla Ice Cream and let it soften just enough to stir in my ingredients, then put it back into the freezer until everything else was ready.



If fresh figs are in season, by all means use em, but if not, I love fig preserves and use them in sauces all the time and today, they made a fantastic addition to my cool concoction. You can find them in the produce section or in specialty shops. Just ask if you can't find them, they're sometimes located on top of the fancy cheese island too.
Chop them up into small chunks and do the same with your fresh ginger. 



Here's a lil tip:
Ginger is actually really easy to peel. Just use a knife or even the edge of a spoon and scrape back the skin from the "meat". It's better than cutting it off and wasting precious ginger.

Mix gently with your softened ice cream and put back in the freezer.

The next step is to "steep" your saffron, you can do this many different ways, using warm milk is one of my favorites but today I wanted to add a lil boozy goodness. Whichever method you choose, add your saffron to the liquid, cover and let sit while you prepare everything else. While I'd love to be able to always afford the good stuff, it's not always possible, so I usually pick up my saffron in the mexican spices section of the grocery store. Sometimes they have them on the end caps in the produce section or in the center of the international foods aisle. It says "Safflower" on the package and will give you close to the same flavor and color if you use a bunch of it...the poor man's saffron. 

 It's also the only way to go for things like cumin, chile powder and whole peppercorns, which in my opinion, are waaaay to expensive otherwise. Especially when I use my grinder like crazy! These packages are around $1 a piece...woot woot!!

Back to steeping! So I just poured a few tablespoons of brandy into a small bowl, grabbed a bunch of saffron, smashed it between my fingers a bit and tossed it into the brandy. Stir it up n let it sit.

The bottom bowl is the brandy I poured off after a while, I then added some finely chopped ginger.

Now it's time for the creme anglaise...one of my favorite things in life! The idea of a good anglaise is enough to send me into a tailspin! My first experience was at the now defunct String's restaurant. Which is so sad, because Noel Cunningham served as the catalyst for so many young chefs to get their start. So inspired, so gifted and such a true chef. Dining at his restaurant is one of my first memories when I realized I needed to do something that showed the world how much I appreciated food...because he obviously did too.

Remind me to post one of my favorite dishes of all time, inspired by Noel, Cashew Crusted Seabass with Saffron CousCous and Vanilla Buerre Blanc...it's killer!

Cashew Crusted Chilean Sea Bass, Saffron Couscous, Asparagus, Vanilla Bean Creme Anglaise    

This is clearly a terrible picture but a very inspiring dish. It brings me back to that time, probably the mid 90's, when I started to realize that food was something more than just what you need to survive. I'm sure I always knew that, but this dish really brought it home. The delicate texture of the fish paired with the silky feel of the vanilla sauce combined with the exotic flavor of saffron was definitely enough to rock my world...and start me on this quest of discovering amazing combinations and flavors. Man, I was in heaven. 

This meal is where my appreciation for a good cream sauce was born. There are several variations of a creme anglaise, some adding berries, orange zest or whole vanilla beans, but today we're whipping up a quick and simple Brandy Creme Anglaise. 

Heat up your milk or cream, depending on how many people you're serving, in this case it was just the 2 of us so I used about a 1/2 cup of half n half. Pour in about 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or more (I like a lot so feel free to add more)and heat on medium until you see it just start to bubble around the edges. 

Separate 2 eggs, reserving the yolks. 

Save the whites for a nice facial mask in the morning :)




Whisk them together, then whisk in 3 tablespoons of sugar.

Slowly pour in around 1/2 of the heated milk mixture into the yolk mixture, whisking the whole time. When that's blended, pour it back into the sauce pan with the remaining milk.
Stir constantly on low until it coats the back of a spoon.
Now's the time to add the saffron brandy and stir gently.

I add a little sea salt too, this helps give it a richer flavor.

This is a dragon fruit. If You've never had one, they kind of taste like a kiwi mixed with a pear, they're very light and a little sweet. 

Cut it in half and then scoop out the "meat" with a spoon. Be careful to slice off any of the red skin that you may have missed as it's indigestible and hazardous to your health.
Slice it up into cubes and place it on top of your ice cream.

Serve up your ice cream and sprinkle with ground cardamom...yum.
Drizzle with caramel sauce and a pinch of sea salt then top with whipped cream and serve...bow graciously ;)