Caramel-Draped Spiced Apples

I looooove caramel. Spoonfuls of caramel, all by themselves. I love it so much that caramel apples are usually a little disappointing - too much apple, too little caramel. And so darn hard to eat when you are eager to get that good stuff into your belly!

But I just discovered a way to provide more caramel with the apple, and make it easier to eat...and not unimportantly, to make this a dessert that you can plate for guests (at times that an apple on a stick is a little too informal).

Recent blog posts had me thinking about poaching fruit, since I had a great deal of mulled red wine sitting around, and the pears in this post looked especially appealing under their drapings of chocolate sauce. I also had some extra whipping cream in the fridge, but no chocolate in the kitchen, so when I stumbled upon this post for decadent-looking caramel-coated doughnuts, the caramel sauce recipe caught my eye right away. Apples in the fridge sealed the deal: I would poach the apples in the mulled wine, and coat them with thick caramel sauce.

I highly recommend mulling your own wine, since it is easy to just throw the ingredients into a pot and have the beverage on hand to enjoy - so full of comforting fall flavors! Once you've got a batch done, you can poach your fruit in it any time; if you don't have time to get some ready, follow the instructions on eHow.com for poaching fruit in wine that you add sugar and spices to just prior to poaching. I promise to post an orange-scented mulled wine recipe as soon as I have some photos to include, but meanwhile, you can still poach some fruit with the linked instructions - or buy the mulling mix at Trader Joe's for a quick solution.

Poaching the fruit:

~ 1 bottle mulled wine (red or white; you can use as little as half a bottle of wine and add water to make the liquid cover the fruit)

4 peeled apples (I used organic Gala, but any except for very soft apples will do)

Bring the wine (or wine and water combination) to a boil in a saucepan. Add the peeled fruit to the pan so that the liquid covers the fruit (add water until it's covered, if necessary), then place a small lid or a piece of parchment paper on the surface of the liquid to keep the fruit submerged. Simmer gently until fruit is soft enough to be easily pierced by a paring knife, but not mushy yet. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon. Cut out the cores prior to serving if desired.

Salted caramel sauce:

1 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 stick (115gr) salted butter at room temperature, cut into small pieces
1 cup heavy whipping cream

In a heavy saucepan set over low heat, combine the sugar and water. Cook just until the sugar is dissolved. Add the butter. Let it come to a boil and cook until it reaches a golden caramel color. Remove from the heat and add the cream ( it will splatter and get crazy). Whisk to combine and put back on the stove. Let it come to a boil again over low heat and cook 15-25 minutes until you reach a creamy consistency.
Let cool. Spoon liberally over poached fruit when ready to serve.

Oven-Roasted Cauliflower and Chicken Salad

Now that Bastille Day is over, I feel free to eat healthfully (until the next excuse not to!) so I am returning to the idea of a cauliflower/chicken salad.    This idea originated with a potato salad on a cooking show I saw on TV last weekend; I cannot remember the name of the show to give proper credit, but I've changed it significantly enough that all I've gleaned from that show are the cooking methods and a few ingredients.  

In the name of reducing refined carbs and fat and increasing the proportion of vegetables, I replaced the potatoes with cauliflower, used turkey bacon instead of full fat pork bacon, and added shredded broccoli and two kinds of onions for crunch.  This gives us a fiber- and protein-packed salad that tastes great.

The thing I get excited about with this recipe is the infusion of flavors - the variety of complimentary flavors and the variety of healthy and effective means to infuse them.  The chicken is poached with fresh herbs and spices, the cauliflower is roasted with olive oil, salt, pepper, and onions, and the pan-fried turkey bacon adds smokiness.  All this mixed with fresh green onions, thyme, and minced garlic gives you an aromatic salad that doesn't even need mayonnaise and mustard unless you're looking for something creamy.

This is easy to put together in 30 minutes or so, so here's the how-to's:

Oven-Roasted Cauliflower and Chicken Salad

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

24 oz. cauliflower florets

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

5 slices turkey bacon

6 oz. packaged broccoli slaw

2 green onions, chopped

7-10 bunches of fresh thyme

2 small cloves or 1 large clove garlic, minced or pressed

2 bay leaves

black peppercorns

olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper for oven roasting

optional: low-fat or fat-free mayonnaise and yellow mustard to taste, approx. equal parts each

Step 1:  Poaching the Chicken

Before preparing the chicken, preheat the oven to 500 degrees with a rack in the middle of the oven.  Place both chicken breasts in a sauce pan and sprinkle several peppercorns, the 2 bay leaves, and 2-3 bunches of thyme over both breasts.  Cover the chicken with water, place a lid on the pan, and set over medium-high heat on the stove.  Start step 2 while chicken is poaching.  Chicken should be cooked through after about 15 minutes; cut into one of the breasts to make sure they are cooked completely.  Remove from pan and set aside to cool.

Step 2: Roasting the Cauliflower

Using a baking pan with low sides, cover the pan with heavy duty aluminum foil.  Spread the cauliflower florets and 1/2 chopped yellow onion on the foil, cutting the larger florets into bite-sized pieces.  Once the salad is assembled you will want the chicken and the cauliflower pieces to be of similar size.  Sprinkle the cauliflower liberally with olive oil, which will permit it to brown well, and with sea salt and black pepper.  Roast in the oven for 10-15 minutes, checking for your preference of tenderness.  Set aside to cool while you prepare the remaining ingredients.  

Side note: This method of roasting vegetables results in a great easy side dish on its own! Cooking times will vary from 5-15 minutes depending on the kind of vegetable and desired tenderness.

Step 3: Assembling the Salad

Heat up a frying pan and brown the slices of turkey bacon on each side.  Slice up the bacon into small bits.  Cut the chicken breasts in bite-sized chunks.  In a large mixing bowl, combine bacon, broccoli slaw, chopped green onions, minced garlic, chicken chunks, cauliflower and yellow onions, and thyme leaves stripped off 5-7 thyme bunches.  Stir well.  Add mayonnaise and mustard to taste if desired.

Serve alone, in lettuce wraps, or in pita halves and enjoy!

(without mayo and mustard)