Apple Clafoutis

Today we went over to my Aunt Jeri's for the annual tradition of making golabki (pigs in a blanket - post to come later). So this morning I decided to make up an apple clafoutis to take over there. This was the first time I've made a clafoutis and just because its french, I kind of expected it to be labor-intensive or difficult... but it wasn't at all. It was so easy! And it tasted very good - everyone really enjoyed it. Its not super sweet, but its very light and airy and just tastes good. In retrospect, I guess I should have looked for a polish dessert rather than french, but oh well! :)

Apple Clafoutis

1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (plus more butter to use on pan)
2 lbs apples or pears, peeled seeded, and chopped

Sift flour, sugar and baking powder into a bowl. Make a well in the center of mixture and add the eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Mix in well to form a smooth batter. Add 4 TBS of the melted butter. Let batter stand for 30 minutes while preparing the fruit.

Pre-heat the oven to 450°F.

Butter an 8 inch round cake tin. Stir the fruit into the batter and pour into the tin. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Crockpot Coq au Vin

Last night I made coq au vin in the crockpot. I used the recipe from A Year of Crockpotting. I thought it was very good. Kevin didn't get home until almost 9:00 from work and had stopped to get fast food on the way home, so he didn't try it yet. He'll have it for lunch tomorrow, so we'll see what he thinks. I've had better coq au vin (made by an old friend in college who was from France), but I thought this was pretty good, too... especially since this could be done in the crockpot while I was off at work!

Crockpot Coq au Vin

6 to 8 frozen chicken thighs (I used boneless skinless chicken breasts)
6 slices cooked and crumbled bacon (I omitted this since I can't eat bacon)
8 oz sliced baby portabella mushrooms (I had white button mushrooms, so I used those)
1 cup baby carrots (I used extra, about four large carrots)
1 chopped yellow onion
3 cloves chopped or minced garlic
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t kosher salt
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cup cheap red wine (I used cabernet sauvignon b/c that's what I had, but think it'd be even better with a pinot noir which is traditionally used in coq au vin)
2 large fresh thyme sprigs

Cook your bacon. Dump the frozen chicken into your crockpot and start layering in the rest of the ingredients. This is really a no-fuss preparation. Just throw it all in.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (mine cooked for 12.5 hours and was very good still). You could cook it on high for 4, but it won't taste as good. The flavors meld so nicely when cooked low and slow.

Serve with mashed potatoes or your favorite pasta. (Since it was just me eating last night, I didn't serve with anything, just ate a small piece of chicken and some veggies.)