Blue Ribbon Kitchen: October 2015

Friday, October 30, 2015

The Over-Achieving Month of October

I'm a list maker...

I can't help it.

...even if my list is not written down on paper,

you can be pretty sure I have a mile long list

floating around in my head...

I think it's a Type A personality trait...

and I'm pretty sure that with my Type A+++ personality...

it's just part of what makes me tick.

A few weeks ago on Pinterest I saved a Fall Bucket List.

This particular list is a very comprehensive

collection of ALL the many fun autumn activities

a Type A, B or C person could ever possibly want to do.

...some bucket lists are so bold

as to name the top 100 or top 25 activities...

they have numbers...

(...ranked in no particular order of course)

Well, here's the thing...

There are only 31 days in this month.

31.

31 days and 31 nights.

Yes, it's true, 31 is in fact the most days a month can have...

(October is such an over-achieving month)

The other months are probably jealous of October's 31 days and all

of the great things it has to offer...

When you combine Halloween, Sweetest Day, the crisp cool weather...

...the changing leaves, football, and pumpkin-everything...

...you see why 31 days are so necessary.

It's a good thing there are so many days...

How else could anyone possibly begin to whittle away at those

100 or even top 25 amazing things that

"should" happen in the gloriously busy month of October??

As the month began,

I set out to do an October Home tour...

(Type A planning happening)

which had to be changed to a "Fall" Home Tour...

because there are sadly not 41 days in October...

which frankly, I could have really used.

The best laid plans... whoops...

The 2015 fall home tour will be coming soon to a blog near you...

So... As much as I love a good list... and I do...

and as much as I love October...

I had to take those beautifully crafted Pinterest fall bucket

lists as a light suggestion...

Here's what we did instead...

Caramel Apple Pull-Apart Bread

I picked up some a-m-a-z-i-n-g McIntosh apples
at the farmer's market the other day.

This caramel apple pull-apart bread is just the
kind of bread that suits this time of year...

...a hot cup of coffee and a good book also pair nicely with the bread...

It's fall... it's October and this bread is just the thing to make...

Here is the recipe:

1 cup warm milk (105 degrees-not hotter)

1 package active yeast

1 egg-beaten

1 stick of softened butter

2 Tbs granulated sugar

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

Bread Filling:

1/4 cup melted butter

1 cup peeled and finely chopped apples

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tsp apple pie spice - mix together sugar and spice

Caramel Glaze:

1/2 stick of butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

2-3 Tbs heavy cream

1/2 cup toasted and chopped pecans

In a bowl add yeast to warm milk. Let sit 5 minutes. Add egg and sugar.

In a large standing mixer with dough hook, add the yeast/milk/egg/sugar mixture. Add the flour and salt one cup at a time until the flour is absorbed. With the mixer on low, add 1 tablespoon of the softened butter at a time until it is incorporated into the dough... Repeat until the entire stick is used. The adding the butter part takes a about 5 minutes.

Let mixer run for 3-4 minutes, until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If your dough is too sticky, add 1 Tbs. of flour at a time --just until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Cover in a warm place for about an hour.

After the dough has risen. Punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll out the dough into a large square, about 1/4 inch in thickness. Spread the dough with the 1/4 cup melted butter (Using a pastry brush works well) and then sprinkle with the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. Sprinkle apples on top of the dough.

Using a pizza cutter or a knife, cut the dough into squares or rectangles about the size of a playing card. Stack the dough in sets of three.

Layer a greased 9-inch loaf pan with the stacks of dough. Keep adding the stacks of three in different directions, without mushing them down. If apples fall off, just pile them back inside the pan. I stacked mine in all different directions, some vertical and some horizontal. Once the loaf pan is 3/4 full, cover and let rise again 30-40 minutes in a warm draft free location in the kitchen.

Bake bread in a 350 degree oven -on the middle rack- for 40 minutes or until a thermometer reads 200 degrees. Remove bread from pan and cool on a cooling rack.

After bread has cooled. Prepare the caramel glaze. In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and brown sugar. Once it comes to a boil, add the heavy cream. Return to a boil and then turn off the heat. Let mixture cool for 30 minutes and then add confectioner's sugar. If caramel glaze is too thick add a 1/2 tsp of cream to thin...likewise if not quite thick enough...add 1 Tbs of confectioner's sugar until thickened. Pour warm caramel glaze over bread. Add the toasted chopped pecans.