Wednesday, October 20, 2010

E: Family & Strudel

Hi! I feel like I’ve been away for so long. Luckily, I’ve had Mandi to hold down the fort and she has been posting some amazing recipes. So where have I been? Sunday, we headed up to my parents house. Josh & my Dad went fishing:

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They caught about 30 fish, but only kept two:

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Meanwhile, my Mom & I did one of my favorite things…went to brunch! We tried a new-to-us restaurant, Applewood House of Pancakes. This restaurant has one of the largest brunch menus I have ever seen. I got the parfait (I know, you’re shocked!). This parfait came with a side of an English muffin, but it was unfortunately drenched in butter. The parfait overall was delicious, although the granola was only OK:

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My Mom got apple crepes. I had a bite. They were amazing:

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Applewood House of Pancakes on Urbanspoon

The rest of our Sunday was spent doing housework and watching football.

On Monday, I taught in the morning and then we headed up to Pennsylvania. We had a death in the family and were attending the services. Although we were (obviously) very sad, we got to spend overdue time with Josh’s family. The whole gang at dinner:

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We also all slept in one hotel room, which was slightly hilarious:

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I wanted to share the recipe for the dessert I made for our Oktoberfest party, Apple Strudel. I had never made a strudel before and was super excited. I scanned through a few recipes and took bits and pieces of each (focusing mostly on this one) to make the following:

Ingredients:

Dough

  • 3 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
  • 2 sticks butter or smart balance (I used smart balance)
  • 1/2 cup cold water
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 egg whites

Filling

  • 6 large apples, chopped
  • 1/4-1/2 cup sugar in the raw
  • 1- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • Chopped walnuts or other nut (if desired)

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Directions:

Dough

In the bowl of an electric mixer, add flour and cut up pieces of butter or smart balance. Mix until a crumbly mixture forms. In a separate bowl, mix together water and egg yolks. Add mixture to electric mixer bowl, switch to dough hook, and mix until dough comes together. Divide dough in two, wrap in plastic wrap, refrigerate over night.

The next day, place a piece of parchment paper on the counter. Spread flour across parchment paper and place one of the dough balls on top. Roll out dough as thin as you can get it.  Repeat with a second piece of parchment paper and dough ball.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Filling

In a large bowl, mix apples, sugar & cinnamon (to taste) and nuts (if using). Spread half of mixture in a line in the center of one of the rolled out pieces of dough and the other half on the other rolled out piece of dough. Fold dough over and pinch to close. Puncture with a fork or knife to allow air to escape while baking. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and brush strudel with egg whites. Sprinkle additional sugar in the raw on top.

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Bake for 30 minutes or until nicely browned.  The outcome:

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Deliciousness :)

Look for a giveaway on Friday!!! How has your week been?

34 comments:

Heather said...

Love that picture of the hotel room - haha!
I haven't had apple strudel in SO LONG. Maybe Easter? Looks fantastic!

Stephanie@cookinfanatic said...

So sorry to hear about the death in the family hun, but glad that it gave you a chance to spend time with everyone at least. The apple strudel sounds great - I've never made one before!

fittingbackin said...

LOVE the hotel room shot - too dang cute. :)

The strudel loks great - like a fruit calzone!!

My week has been meh. Still playing catch up and not feeling well - BOO!

Jessica @ How Sweet said...

Sorry to hear about the death in your family girl. At least you got to see some family!

Lauren said...

I'm so sorry about the death in your family. I hope you are all finding peace during this time and if you need anything, I'm here for you always! :)

susan said...

Sounds like you had my ideal Sunday. Productive but relaxed, plus brunch, cooking, and sports!

My week is going pretty well so far. Can't complain!

Heather @ Get Healthy with Heather said...

Your first time apple strudel looks pretty amazing! You rocked that dessert for sure.

hbobier said...

Haha I love the picture of everyone in the hotel room. Looks cozy!

My week has been pretty great--I had an awesome run last night so I'm still feeling good!

Julie said...

wow you've had a rollercoaster of a couple of days! i've missed you!

i'm sorry for yours and josh's loss :( but i always feel like you have the most hilarious times with josh's family! haha hello giant slumber party!

30 friggn fish!!! that's so many! i would have kept all of them hahahahaha. fish is so expensive now. josh should have sent some to me!

enjoy the week girl :)

Natalie said...

sorry about your loss; that hotel picture is hilarious though! ...and that strudel...NOM! I can't wait to try that, I've been so focused on pumpkin lately that I haven't made enough apple desserts!

Corey @ runner's cookie said...

The strudel looks great! I'm guessing it tastes like apple pie? Sorry about the loss in your family, but that's wonderful you got to spend time with those you love! I'm sure that was an interesting night's sleep in the hotel room :)

Faith said...

I'm sorry to hear about your loss; at least you got to spend time with family that you normally don't get to see though. Your strudel looks really fantastic!

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

Sorry about the death in your family.
I love strudel and this recipe is perfect!

Stephanie in Suburbia said...

Oooh I picked some apples at an orchard recently. I may need to make this!

Holly said...

I'm so sorry about the death in your family, girl....but glad you got some family time in. I love that hotel pic, too. Reminds me of my family!

That strudel! No words. WOW, my mouth is watering! I've never made it either, only tasted it. :-) Looks incredibly delicious!

Pound said...

sorry about your loss! mmm strudel!! have you ever made one with phylo?

Tiffany @ The Chi-Athlete said...

I'd like to think that, at some point, my death will bring family members and friends together, and there will be one big party! I'm sorry about your loss, but getting to see kinfolk is the silver lining!

OMG I WAS HOOKED ON THE TITLE of this post! And I am NOT sad I saw this, because Friday is cheat dayyyyyy! Lol! I'm making this sucker!

BroccoliHut said...

What a beautiful strudel! Perfect food for fall :)

The Purple Carrot said...

Sorry about your loss, Erica!

It looks like you had a great time with family though, aka that hotel picture ... it's classic!

And I must say, that parfait does look quite delightful ; )

Bridget said...

Sorry about the death in your family! But it is so nice to see everyone..and the hotel room is hilarious!
That apple strudel looks SO good, and so simple! I love that its like a free-form pie :)

Britt @ Runnerbelle said...

Hello! Long time no post!

So sorry about the death in the family. Glad to see you all spent some quality time together, even sharing a hotel room!

That strudel looks awesome...never made one, I may need to after seeing yours!

Paige (Running Around Normal) said...

Sorry for your loss, sweetie! That's nice you got to spend time with Josh's family though.

The apple strudel sounds delicious!

Krista said...

So sorry to hear there was a death in the family. :(

Sharing one hotel room would have made for quite the night! LOL! I haven't done that in years although sharing one with the kids can seem like 20 people. HAHA

Your strudel looks fantastic, Erica!

Angharad said...

Hey lady! Sorry I've been so absent of late - now you know why! this struedel looks amazing...but not going to lie that photo from your hotel room stole the show! Hilarious.

Lindsay @ http://pancakesnpajamas.blogspot.com/ said...

Holy crowded hotel room! I bet that was a blast though. Josh looks so much like one of his brothers!

Lea @ Healthy Coconut said...

My fiance has the same boat that was in the 1st picture :)

I hope you had a fun weekend and got to spend time with your family.

The picture of everyone in the same room, that's how my house looked like when I had a slumber party last weekend, packed like sardines :) It's so fun though because we only do it once in awhile.

P.S. my gym released the new Body Pump class. I like it very much and love the shoulder workouts, it's a killer and I can't do the whole track yet without stopping, hopefully I'll get there.

Michelle @ Find Your Balance said...

Funny photo in the hotel room! Such a cute family.

The Blonde Duck said...

I'm sorry for your loss. But I have to say it... STRUDEL! yum!

Biz said...

So sorry about the death in the family, but I have to say - the picture of all of you in one hotel room is hilarious!

I hope to get one last apple picking in this weekend - I may have to make your strudel!

Beth @ DiningAndDishing said...

haha - i love that you all shared one hotel room. what a hilarious pic!

Together We Save said...

Looks like everyone was having fun at the hotel.

You apple strudel looks yummy too!

Vicky said...

Everyone sleeping in one room is so much fun! So many funny things always happen in that situation!! And there is nothing like watching football in the fall! Looks like you had a delicious brunch! Have a good weekend!

Rachael said...

Love the strudel recipe. For some reason, my born-and-bred Irish grandmother had fixation for all things German, and so most of my childhood food memories have Germanic twinge!
My week has been all about gainful employment...going to Nashville this weekend to interview for an organizing job based out of east Tennessee!

CaSaundraLeigh said...

I am always SO jealous of all the yummy brunch restaurants you go to..breakfast is just by far my fav!
I bet that strudel smelled almost just as good as it tasted when it was baking! Mmm!