Apple Custard Pie for Simcoe Day!

Dedicated to Ontario's 1st Lieutenant-Governor .. and a long holiday weekend!

Pastry for 1 pie shell - I like the recipe on the Crisco box

3 to 4 Granny Smith or other tart green apples, peeled, cored and halved

4 tablespoons flour

¾ cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1¼ cups evaporated milk

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1 Preheat oven to 450º F

2 Mix 2 tablespoons of the flour and ¼ cup of the sugar. Spread evenly on bottom of pie shell.

3 Place an apple half, rounded side down, in the centre of the pie shell, then place remaining apple halves (also rounded sides down) around it. Depending on the size of the apples, you may need between 6 and 8 apple halves to fill the shell.

4 Beat the egg with a fork in a small bowl. Add the evaporated milk and beat for 1 minute. Pour mixture into the shell, over the apples. You may not need all of the mixture depending on the depth of your pie shell. Leave about a ¼" from the rim of the shell.

5 Mix the remaining sugar and flour with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle mixture over the apples and custard.

6 Bake at 450º F for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325º F and bake on the middle rack for 30-45 minutes or until knife inserted into custard near centre of pie comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter - and Banana - Stuffed French Toast

Long live the King!

½ cup granola

8 slices white bread

¼ cup peanut butter

2 teaspoons honey

1 banana, peeled and thinly sliced

½ cup whole milk

2 large eggs

1¼ teaspoons sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1½ tablespoons unsalted butter

Maple syrup

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Place the granola in a shallow bowl; set aside

2 Spread each slice of bread with peanut butter. Drizzle honey evenly over peanut butter. Divide the banana slices among 4 slices of the bread; top with the remaining bread, peanut butter sides down. Remove the crusts and tightly pinch the edges of each sandwich together to seal.

3 In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Soak each sandwich in the egg mixture for 5 seconds. Roll the edges of each sandwich in granola.

4 In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium-high heat. Add the sandwiches, working in batches if necessary; cook aout 2 minutes per side until golden. Transfer the sandwiches to a baking sheet; bake for 10 minutes. Serve immediately with maple syrup.

See you at the 7-Eleven!!

"Beer in the Rear" Chicken

Work your magic with a grill, jar of mayo and can of beer!

¼ cup mayonnaise

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon paprika

¾ teaspoon celery seeds

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Pinch cayenne pepper

1 4-pound chicken, rinsed and patted dry

1 12-ounce can beer

1 In a large bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, lemon zest, paprika, celery seeds, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Slather the chicken inside and out with the mayonnaise mixture, place it in the bowl and let stand in the refrigerator.

2 Prepare grill for cooking. preheat to medium and place a drip pan in the centre of the grill.

3 When the grill is ready, open the beer can and drink a few sips (or discard a small amount). Put the almost full can in the chicken's rear cavity, keeping the can upright so you don't spill the beer. Stand the chicken upright on the grill grate over the drip pan. Cover the grill and cook for 1½ - 2 hours or until the chicken is very tender and nearly falling off the bone. When done the internal temperature of the chicken should register 180°F on a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh but not touching the bone.

4 Transfer the chicken to a cutting board or serving platter, taking care not to spill the hot beer. Let stand 5 minutes; remove and discard the beer can and carve the chicken.

4 - 6 Servings

Grilled Spare Ribs with Barbeque Sauce

2 slabs pork spare ribs (2½ pounds each)

2 tablespoons chili powder

coarse salt and ground pepper

barbeque sauce (we like President's Choice Smokin' Stampede!)

1 Preheat oven to 400°

2 Season ribs with chili powder, salt and pepper. Stack slabs on double layer of aluminum foil; wrap tightly. Place on rimmed baking sheet.

3 Bake until meat is fork tender, 1½ to 2 hours.

4 Heat grill to medium-high; lightly oil grates. Carefully remove ribs from foil, pouring off any accumulated liquid.

5 Brush ribs generously with barbeque sauce; grill until nicely browned, approximately 10-15 minutes. Serve with extra sauce.

Serves 4-6

NOTE: Recipe can be doubled, tripled etc.

Tarte Tatin

1 cup sugar

2 ounces butter (1/2 stick), softened and cut into 2-3 chunks

6 medium apples

10" square of puff pastry

1 Preheat oven to 400°. Peel apples and cut in half, removing cores.

2 Put sugar into a 9-inch, oven safe skillet. Cook over medium heat on stovetop until sugar is a deep brown. Stir in butter with a spatula, then turn off the heat and let caramel rest for 5 minutes.

3 While caramel is resting, roll out the puff pastry a few times on a very lightly floured surface to make sure it is large enough to cover the skillet and to smooth out any wrinkles. Cut a 1/2 inch vent (slit) in the centre of the pastry.

4 Arrange apples in the cramel so that there are no open spaces between them (either the cut side or the round side of the apples can face up). Place puff pastry over apples and tuck the edges lightly around the apples.

NOTE: Don't worry if the pastry is square and the skillet round, just tuck in the corners around the apples.

5 Bake in oven until golden brown and the apples are soft when poked with a sharp knife, about 25 - 30 minutes. Remove skillet from oven and let sit for about 1 minute. Place a large serving plate on top of the skillet and, carefully, turn tart out onto the platter. Serve while hot, with ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Serves 4-6