Apple Crisp and the "June Cleaver" Dinner

Tonight I planned a "June Cleaver" Dinner...namely, meat and potatoes (filet of beef roast and "riced" potatoes).  These types of meals are few and far between in our house, as I tend to go the Mediterranean route more often.  Since Peter is on break from clinic and school this week, he was (mainly) head chef tonight.  But I was in charge of dessert, and what goes perfectly with a traditional dinner like this? Apple crisp, arguably one of our favorite desserts.  Really, what's not to love?  Crumbly, buttery, oat-y topping and soft-but-still-crisp apples coated in cinnamon underneath, of course with a scoop of light vanilla ice cream on top.  Yes.

First things first though...riced potatoes.  You basically push cooked potatoes though this sieve thing, and the potatoes come out looking like grains of rice.  They are really fluffy, and I prefer these to whipped mashed potatoes (sacrilegious...I know).  

And of course, the "June Cleaver" dinner=meat and potatoes.  It was pretty good!

Enough nonsense, on to the part of the meal that everyone really cares about: the apple crisp.  I never really had a recipe for my apple crisp, so it was a little different each time I made it.  But today, just for all of you, I decided to standardize my recipe.  It's more of a method, really, as you can do this with any fruit...pears, plums, strawberries, dried cranberries, peaches...and any combination of the above.  Today, I'm going the purist route and doing just apples.  Granny Smith, to be exact.

I really like how the orange gives a sweet-citrus flavor.  My orange wasn't too voluptuous, so I used the whole thing.  If yours is larger, use only half.  Also, the recipe yields slightly more crumble than you would need to cover this amount of apples, but don't be shy, pile it on there (or if you happen to "lose" some to a small taste test, it's ok).  I've never heard anyone say, "God this apple crisp is good, but you know, if it just had a little less crumble...."

Using a food processor is great for making crumbles and

doughs of any kind, but don't over-mix!  

Pre-baking...

Oh my God...

Apple Crisp

Topping

1/2 stick of butter, cold, and cut into cubes

3/4 cup old fashioned oats

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp white sugar

dash of salt

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2-3 tsp cold water, just to bring together

Filling

3 large granny smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped/sliced

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp flour

Zest and juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and grease a small baking dish.  (I used a 6 cup Pyrex baking dish, which was the perfect size).

In a food processor, combine dry ingredients for topping.  Add butter cubes and pulse briefly until butter is integrated and the crumbles are the size of peas.  Add water slowly while pulsing just until crumble sticks together.  Don't over mix or over water!

In a large bowl, combine ingredients for apple filling.  Dump into prepared baking dish, and top with crumble topping.  Bake at 375 for 40 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is browned.  Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce, because at this point, why not?

PS: Peter came back from Rapids today, and guess who was beyond excited about that?  This really is how she likes to hang out.  Oh Elbie...