Quick Appetizers for the holidays

The holidays are a time for breaking out those elegant, entertaining-ready recipes, but they can also be among the most busy and stressful days of the year.

Chef Heather from The Chocolate Mousse Caterers and would like to help you start the Holiday Season, stress-free! Impress your party guests with ease by relying on a few freezer and pantry staples.

You can get endlessly creative customizing puff pastry by wrapping it around an assortment of meats, cheeses, vegetables, and even fruits before baking. Your treats can be served with your favorite dipping sauce.

Marinate Olives in a blend of Herbs and Spices for an easy up-scale treat.
Or toss any variety of shelled nuts in a mix of spices, butter, and brown sugar. Bake for 10 minutes then cool and you have a stellar bar snack.

For more super-speedy options to help you up your hosting game this Holiday season, check us out online at ChocolateMousseCatering.com or call today to reserve your next event at 845-518-6533.

You are the Apple of My Pie!

Pies

  Since my post with those amazing pie recipes, I have not been able to get pie off my mind! The fact that my husband, a true Southern Boy, lives for pie (he has 2 favorites... hot and cold) and talks about them on a regular basis probably doesn't help. That got me to thinking that I needed to do a better part in pie education. So here goes a brief history of our flakey little friend:
The pie began as a European dish. The original purpose of a pastry shell was to serve as a multi-tool... baking dish, storage container, and serving vessel all in one. The crusts were often too hard to eat. For hundreds of years, it was the only form of baking dish used, in other words... everything was considered a pie. The first "pies", called "coffins" (meaning a box) were savory meat pies with the crusts that were sealed with tops. Open-crusted pastries (no tops) were known as "traps". These pies also held assorted meats and sauces that were baked more like a modern casserole with the shell serving as the pan. The crusts were often made several inches thick to withstand many hours of baking. Though not the ideal meal, the crusts were often fed to servants and the peasants.
  Circa 1620, Pilgrims brought their pie recipes with them to America. The colonists and their pies adapted simultaneously to the ingredients available to them in the New World. Round, shallow pans were used to cut corners and stretch the ingredients. Pies were generally served with every meal, making this pastry a unique form of American culture. With food at the heart of gatherings and celebrations, pie quickly moved to the forefront of American cuisine.
Today pie contests are a traditional happening at fairs, picnics, and other social events. Pies are continually being adapted to changing conditions and ingredients and tastes.

So, now that that is out of the way I would like to share another recipe with you... an Apple Pastie (an old fashioned style pie). This is the same tasty treat that I Coop, Mulrooney, and WPDH Staff will be having for breakfast.

Apple Pasty
Filling Ingredients:
1 large granny smith apple, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch dice
3 Tbs raspberries
1/8 c Agave
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp vanilla
1/8 c honey
1/4 c low-fat cream cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Crust Ingredients:
3 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 c shortening
1 tsp salt
1 tbs sugar
Enough water to hold together

Method:
1 Pre-heat oven to 400°F. Grease a large baking sheet
2 In a medium bowl, mix together apples, raspberries, and agave. In a seperate bowl mix cinnamon, vanilla, honey, and cream cheese.
3 Combine pastry ingredients just until a soft dough forms
4 Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface. Cutinto 5" circles.
5 Divide the apple mixture among the rounds, leaving half the pastry unfilled. (If you are using an already prepared puff pastry sheet, dot the mixture in each pastry with a little butter)
6 In a small bowl mix the beaten egg with a teaspoon of milk. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg mixture on the border of the pastry.
7 Fold each pastry in half, enclosing the filling, and crimp edges with a fork. Brush the tops of the pastries with more of the egg wash. Cut 2 or 3 small steam vents in the top of each turnover.
8 Place the pastries in the oven and bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden.
Cool turnovers to warm before serving.

Enjoy!

Chef Heather
The Chocolate Mousse
http://www.chocolatemoussecatering.com/
845-518-6533

Fall is here... and that means Apple Pie!

It's as Easy as Apple Pie... No Really... It IsApple Pie in Graham Cracker Crust
Crust:
1 stick butter - melted
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 4-5 sheets of graham cracker sheets)
9" Pie Tin
(purchase pre-made graham crust to save time)

Flling:
5 Apples - peeled and sliced
* I prefer to use an assortment to give a better mix of sweet and tart. Good options are:
Braeburn, Fuji, Mutsu, Pink Lady, Suncrisp, Rome Beauty, Macoun, Granny Smith and
Empire
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Corn Starch
1/4 cup Raisins

Graham Cracker Crumb Topping:
1 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs (4-5 sheets of graham crackers)
1/4 cup of Honey
1/4 stick of butter - melted

Preparation:
1- Preheat oven 350 degrees
2- Combine the ingredients for crust (melted butter and graham cracker crumbs) and press
into a pie plate
3- Combine apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, corn starch and raisins in a large bowl and toss
4- Place the apples into the pie crust
5- Combine ingredients for topping (graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and honey) for
crumb topping in a food processor until it is crumbly and sprinkle over the apples
6- Bake in the oven for about 30-35 minutes.

Timeless, But Not Time Consuming2 Crusted Apple Pie
Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup tablespoons butter - softened
1/4 cup tablespoons shortening
1/4 cup ice water9" Pie Tin
(purchase 2 pre-made crusts to save time)

Flling:
5 Apples - peeled and sliced
* I prefer to use an assortment to give a better mix of sweet and tart. Good options are:
Braeburn, Fuji, Mutsu, Pink Lady, Suncrisp, Rome Beauty, Macoun, Granny Smith
1 Cup Sugar
2 Tablespoons Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

Preparation:
1- Preheat oven 350 degrees
2- Combine the ingredients for crust to make dough. Wrap and refridgerate until firm
3- Cut dough in half. Roll each half 1/8" thick. Lay 1 half in 9" pie tin. Poke holes in bottom with
fork
4- Combine filling ingredients in a large bowl and toss
5- Place the apples into the pie crust
6- Lay second half on top of pie and pinch top and bottom layers closed
7- Poke holes in top layer8- Bake in the oven for about 30-35 minutes.

Dressed to Impress ... With Streusel
1 Crust and Cobbler

Crust:
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup shortening
5-6 tablespoons ice cold water
(purchase 1 pre-made crusts to save time)

Filling:
5 apples - peeled and large diced
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, melted

Streusel Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
Pinch salt
2 Tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup old fashioned cut oats

Preparation:
1- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
2- Toss all the filling ingredients together
3- Pour into your unbaked pie crust. Set aside
4- Combine all of the streusel ingredients and blend until crumbly
5- Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over apples
6- Bake for 40-50 minutes or until bubbly and topping is lightly toasted.
7- Cool before serving.

This Isn't Your Grandma's Apple PieSalted Caramel and Pecan Streusel Pie

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup tablespoons butter - softened
1/4 cup tablespoons shortening
1/4 cup ice water9" Pie Tin
(purchase 1 pre-made crusts to save time)

Filling:
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup Caramel
1/2 cup Heavy Cream

5 Apples - peeled and sliced 1⁄8 inch thick
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt

Pecan Streusel Topping:
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
¾ cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
8 tablespoons butter, cubed
½ cup chopped pecans

Preparation:
1- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
2- Pre-bake pie shell for 12 minutes
3- Saute apples, sugar, spices, and extracts until slightly soft but firm
4- In separate pot, heat caramel, heavy cream, and butter until smooth
5- Add caramel with apples
6- Fill pie crust with apple filling and set aside
7- For Streusel - Combine the sugar, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Add the
cubed butter and combine until the streusel is crumbly. Mix in the chopped pecans. Chill.
8- Evenly coat pie with pecan streusel.
9- 20 to 25 minutes, until the topping is golden brown.

  I hope you take the chance to try one or even all of these great recipes.
Enjoy!

Chef Heather
The Chocolate Mousse
http://www.chocolatemoussecatering.com/
845-518-6533