Lilac & Ivy

Are you familiar with our guest recipe blogger Joslyn of Simple Lovely? If not, you definitely should be. Her blog is filled with insane amounts of inspiration, candid thoughts and lovely photography. Her weekly Loving list is my all time favorite and I always add something from hers to my own. And did I mention her annual spending hiatus? It’s seriously inspirational and I think next year I’ll participate as we all know I love to shop, especially virtually! Anyway, without further adieu, enjoy this wonderful recipe!

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Fall weather in Texas happens pretty late.  Let’s just say, it’s altogether possible to have a positively “summer-esque” 90 degree day in late October around here.  But I have this (thus far unproven) theory that you can rush fall weather by cooking “fallish” foods…  So starting in September it’s all about pot pies and roasted butternut squash and cinnamon-laced pies.  My go-to is an apple pie specked with cranberries and orange zest.  It’s a twist on a traditional apple pie, sort of “apple pie with a kick”, and cooking it instantly has me feeling all cozy sweaters and rustling leaves… summer temperatures be damned.

p.s. – I’d love to say I make my own pie crust, but, well…I don’t.  I do swear by the organic, whole grain frozen crusts from Whole Foods.  They’re fantastic and feel somehow virtuous, which isn’t a quality usually attributed to pie crust…

Apple Cranberry Pie
(Adapted from Whole Living)

FILLING

• Juice of 1 orange
• Zest of 1 orange
• 5 cups of peeled, sliced apples (approximately 5 medium apples)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped (if frozen, do not thaw)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

TOPPING

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons oats
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1- To make filling, mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl.

2- To make topping, mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. The topping mixture should clump when pressed together.

3- Add filling to cold pie crust and scatter topping all over the filling.

4- Bake at 400 degrees until the juice in the center of the pie is bubbling, about 1 hour. If the crust or topping becomes too dark, cover the pie loosely with foil.

5- Transfer to a wire rack; cool completely before serving.

Pam has been a Lilac & Ivy reader for quite some time and I’m so glad! If she hadn’t stopped by, I wouldn’t have been introduced to her fabulous stationary company, Pixelimpress. She’s done numerous custom orders for me and each is nothing short of exactly what I wanted.

Anyway, onto the recipe! Pam loves shellfish but her husband is allergic. So, she started making these salmon cakes and gets the request to make them multiple times a week! Enjoy!

Salmon Cakes
2 cans (14.75 ounces each) salmon, drained
11⁄2 cups panko bread crumbs
1⁄2 cup tartar sauce or mayonnaise
2 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
1 large egg
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3⁄4 cup canola oil
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1- Mix together the salmon, 1 cup of the panko, the tartar sauce or mayonnaise, scallions, egg, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.

2- Form the mixture into eight 3″ cakes that are about 1″ thick.

3- Place the remaining 1⁄2 cup of panko in a shallow dish and batter each cake with bread crumbs until all sides are evenly coated. 

4- Heat 1⁄2 cup of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

5- Fry the salmon cakes in 2 batches until golden brown on both sides, 8 to 10 minutes per batch, adding the remaining 1⁄4 cup of oil to fry the second batch if necessary.

6- Place the salmon cakes on a paper towel–lined plate to drain, and serve hot.

Today’s recipe comes from one of my favorite bloggers, Alyson of Unruly Things! Alyson always find the best vintage goodies and is a constant stream of inspiration. She also, is by far one of the best cooks I “know”. Enjoy!

Vanilla Peach Pie
4 pounds ripe peaches, peeled, halved, pitted, each half cut into small wedges {about 8 cups}
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tender pie crust {split in half for lattice top & bottom}
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1- Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 400°F.

2- Combine peaches, 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, flour, cardamom and vanilla in large bowl.

3- Toss to blend well.

4- Let stand until dry ingredients are moistened, about 15 minutes.

5- Roll out 1 pie-crust disk on lightly floured surface to 12 1/2-inch round.

6- Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch.

7- Spoon peach filling into crust, mounding slightly in center.

8- Roll out second pie-crust disk to 12-inch round.

9- Arrange 6 dough strips in 1 direction across top of pie, spacing apart.

10- Working with 1 strip at a time, arrange 6 more strips in opposite direction atop first, lifting strips and weaving over and under, forming lattice.

11- Gently press ends of strips to edge of baked bottom crust to adhere. Trim overhang to 3/4 inch. Fold edge of top and bottom crusts under, pressing to seal. Crimp edges decoratively.

12- Cut 4 slits in top crust to allow steam to escape during baking.

13- Brush crust lightly with whipping cream. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

14- Place pie on baking sheet. Cover crust edges with foil to prevent overbrowning.

15- Bake 45 minutes to an hour, or until crust is golden brown. Cool completely on rack. Enjoy!

This weeks guest recipe comes from Suann of Simplesong Design, one of my favorite letterpress studios. Like many of us, she’s a busy mom and entrepreneur so I was excited to receive a recipe that is quick, simple, healthy and delicious. Not to mention, as Suann said it compliments so many foods. Enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic
1 head of cauliflower, cut into 2-inch-wide florets
1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 sea salt
2 Tablespoons freshly cut parsley
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1- Preheat oven to 400*.

2-  Toss cauliflower with oil, garlic and salt in a large bowl.

3- Spread evenly in a shallow baking pan, stir occasionally until golden, 20 – 25 minutes.

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine

Hi All! So I’m starting to run low on recipe ideas and thought I’d start incorporating some guest bloggers featuring their favorite recipe!

This week we’ll kick things off with Tonya, The Bee Charmer. She says this recipe is surprisingly simple but comes across as a meal you slaved over. Great for dates, in-laws, small dinner parties…

Enjoy!

Pork Loin Chops with Red Wine Sauce
Chops
2-3 Pork Loin Chops, about 1 inch thick
Dijon Mustard
3 Tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
3 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Sauce
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup good red wine
2 Tablespoon softened, unsalted butter
2 Tablespoon flour
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1- Prepare pork loin chops by patting dry with paper towels and lightly salting both sides.

2- Coat each chop on both sides with dijon mustard and then press black pepper into mustard to fully coat all sides of chops.

3- Heat 3 Tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in deep sided skillet, preferably stainless steel.

4- When oil is hot, place pork chops in oil and cook for 5 minutes.  Do not disturb the chops by moving them around.  Just place them in the pan and let them sear.

5- Turn chops and cook for 5 more minutes on other side.

6- Remove the chops from pan and cover with aluminum foil.  Let rest for 10 minutes.

7- Deglaze pan by adding chicken stock and wine.

8- Stir to remove all brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

9- Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is reduced by half.

10- When liquid is reduced, mix flour and butter together to make a roux and and whisk into liquid to thicken sauce.

11- Cook for several more minutes to cook out the flour taste and to desired thickness of sauce.

12- Salt and pepper to taste.

Image: Unknown