Boo Food

A sure sign that Halloween is upon us. Bob’s Donuts in the Farmer’s Market is making their seasonal black cat and pumpkin motif donuts. I bought one of each just to take these photos, and then I had to eat them. I hate it when that happens.


There are lots of recipes for Halloween foods out there, most of them simply variations of stuff you would eat any other time of the year – the aforementioned donuts, cupcakes, candied apples, candy, candy and more candy. But only one really speaks to my imagination as an original. (I don't even want to speculate about the mind that came up with this one.) Kitty Litter Cake has been floating around the internet for awhile, and although I haven’t made it yet I plan to when an appropriate occasion presents itself. Maybe to take into the office on the last day on a job that I hate or for the birthday of somebody I’d really rather not be remembering. Or maybe next Halloween


I do know some people who have made the cake, (and beg to remain nameless) and they insist it’s pretty darn tasty. (Cake, pudding, cookies, candy – what could be bad?) But really, who cares what it tastes like? This is one of those desserts you just make for the look. Anticipate oohs and aahs, and keep it well out of the way of the cats.


KITTY LITTER CAKE

1 box spice or German chocolate cake mix
1 box of white cake mix
1 package white, vanilla sandwich cookies
1 large package vanilla instant pudding mix
A few drops green food coloring
15 small Tootsie Rolls

SERVING "DISHES AND UTENSILS"
1 NEW cat-litter box (small size)
1 NEW cat-litter box liner
1 NEW pooper scooper

Prepare and bake cake mixes, according to package directions. Prepare pudding and chill. Crumble cookies in small batches in blender or food processor. Add a few drops of green food coloring to 1 cup of the cookie crumbs. Mix with a fork or shake in a jar. Set aside.

When cakes are at room temperature, crumble them into a large bowl. Toss with half of the remaining cookie crumbs and enough pudding to make the mixture moist but not soggy. Place liner in litter box and pour in mixture.

Unwrap 10 of the Tootsie Rolls and heat in a microwave until soft and pliable. Shape the blunt ends into slightly curved points. Bury the rolls in the cake mixture. Sprinkle remaining white cookie crumbs over the mixture, then scatter the cup of green tinted crumbs lightly over top.

Heat remaining 5 Tootsie Rolls until soft and pliable, shape and scatter them on top of the cake, hanging a couple decoratively over the edge of the box. Sprinkle with crumbs from the litter box. Place box on a sheet of newspaper and serve with scooper. Enjoy!

Better Than Apple Pie

So I'm making "my" now famous Beouf Bourguinon, (sorry about that, Julia), for dinner with friends this weekend, and it occurs to me that I need a really good, but not complicated, dessert to show off and finish off the meal -- maybe something French, fallish and fruity -- when I remember seeing this recipe for Tarte Tatin, (that's an upside down apple tart), in the October issue of Cooking Light magazine. Sounds perfect, and it was.

I confess that I've never been a big apple pie fan and, to be completely honest, apples aren't near the top of my list when it comes to favorite fruits. However, I do like caramel, and pastry, and you really can't argue with the wonderful fragrance baking apples send throughout the house; all reasons enough to give it a try. Plus, I'm always looking for an opportunity to use my cast iron skillet, an implement I consider to be one of the most under-rated and under-used pieces of hardware in any kitchen.

The dessert itself is very easy to prepare. The only tricky part is getting it out of the pan after baking. If you try to invert it onto the plate too soon you'll end up with a syrupy mess, (and you'll probably burn your hands as well), and if you let it sit too long, the caramelized sugar will harden and it won't come out of the pan. (If this happens, return it to the oven for a few minutes to loosen.) Worst case, the pastry will release and leave the apples in the pan, which isn't exactly a disaster because you can always scoop them out with a spatula, pop them onto the crust and pat them into place. Nobody will know the difference, nor will they care once they taste this little slice of apple heaven.

It's not your Mom's apple pie. Heck, it's not even American. But once you're tried it you'll never settle for plain old apple pie again.

Oh, and about that Cooking Light part? You knew it was too good to be true, didn't you? The magazine gives the calorie count at 275 calories per serving for TEN servings! Er, better make that ten SLIVERS. This tart will serve SIX, assuming everybody has what any normal food loving human being would consider an average size portion. So let's just say it makes six servings at 458 1/3 calories each. And it's worth every one of them.

TARTE TATIN

Pastry
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, softened
2 or 3 tablespoons water
1 large egg

Filling
1 cup sugar
2 pounds Golden Delicious apples (5 large or 6 small) cored and cut into six slices each
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Creme fraiche (to serve on top)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut butter into flour and salt with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Whisk together 2 tablespoons water with the egg and add to flour mixture, stirring until just moist. (If too stiff, add additional 1 tablespoon water.)

Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead lightly 4 or 5 times. Pat dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and let chill at least 30 minutes.

Combine 1/4 cup water and sugar in a 9-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar caramelizes and is golden in color. Remove from heat, tilting pan to evenly distribute cooked sugar, and let stand 5 minutes.

Arrange apple slices tightly in a circular pattern over sugar. Place pan over medium heat and cook 20 minutes, pressing down on apples slightly to extract juices. Remove from heat, sprinkle with cinnamon, and let stand for 10 minutes.

Turn dough onto floured surface and roll into an 11-inch circle. Place over apple mixture, fitting dough between apples and skillet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 10 to 15 minutes. Invert tart onto a plate.

Serve with creme fraiche. It really is better than apple pie.