Don't get me wrong. I love apple pie. Double crust, dutch, apple-cheddar you name it, bring it. But if you're like my family after a day of apple picking we have more apples than we do recipes.
This time, I wanted to get creative, going way beyond the apple pie apple pancakes route and provide my readers with a new recipe for apples in this week's edition of Macaroni Kid Fairfield. And I wanted it to be kid-friendly. Since I have a household of ice cream freaks I figured other moms did too, so I knew I had do do an a la mode but with what???
Apples originally grew in Asia so I decided to go East for inspiration and then for whatever reason I recalled a chutney cream cheese dip hors d’oeuvre my mother used to serve at her dinner parties in the '70's. That, and Ambrosia which I was not a big fan of. But the chutney dip was fantastic.
I got to choppin' and created a unique dessert: Apple Chutney Wontons with Cream Cheese Ice Cream a la Mode. We tested it here at home and thought it was teriffic. There was enough sweet, tart and heat that was tempered with delicious cool creamy cream cheese ice cream. Very family-friendly.
For those of you who are creative foodies or simply love to eat, I'd love for you to make this and tell me what you think of it. I'd also like to hear about some ways you've used your apples going beyond the apple pie!
Apple Chutney
(makes about 3 cups)
6 tart apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (@ 2 oranges)
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon whole dried mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon sweet curry powder
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
good dash or two of cinnamon
1 cup golden raisins
Combine the apples, onion, ginger, orange juice, vinegar, brown sugar, mustard seeds, pepper flakes, salt, curry, orange zest, cinnamon and 1/2 cup of raisins in a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to simmer and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Take off the heat and add the remaining 1/2 cup of raisins.
Set aside to cool. Can be stored in fridge for 2 weeks.
Wontons
24 item(s) wonton wrapper(s), half of a 12 oz package
1 1/2 Tbsp powdered sugar
orange peel
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Place wonton wrappers on a flat surface. Drop apple chutney mixture by teaspoonfuls onto center of each wrapper. Moisten edges of wrapper with wet fingers, fold over one corner to make a triangle and press sides together to seal. Transfer filled wrappers to prepared baking sheet and coat surfaces with cooking spray.
Bake until wontons are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Place wontons on individual plates and sift powdered sugar on top. Serve with cream cheese ice cream on the side. Yields 4 wontons, 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar and 1/2 cup of ice cream per serving.
For cream cheese ice cream add 8 oz softened cream cheese to vanilla ice cream base, or, go to www.fairfieldbport.macaronikid.com for this recipe and more.
Cynthia Dartley is Publisher/Editor of Macaroni Kid, a FREE weekly newsletter featuring recipes/crafts, events and activities for kids and their families. Follow her on Face Book, Twitter and Pinterest.
