At the market a while ago, I stumbled upon a fruit I’d never seen before. It was bright yellow, had the texture of a pear but with a little fuzz and had a sweet, clean fragrance. It was a quince. Intrigued, I picked up a few and brought them home, not knowing anything about them. I did some recipe research and decided to make an apple and quince crisp. I figured if I didn’t like the quince, at least I’d have to apple to fall back on.
This crisp had a few more steps than my usual recipe. It required three distinct acts, each building on the one before. First I let the quince soak in a simple syrup. Next I got my hands a little messy and made the crumble topping. Then I assembled the fruit, topped it off with the crumble and popped it in the oven, eager to see what a quince tasted like.
The result was pretty tasty, especially with a side of vanilla ice cream. Paired with the apple, it’s a little hard to distinguish the quince from the apple, except that it was more yellow. It had a slightly sweeter taste but worked quite well in combination with the apples. I think next time I’ll be a little more daring with my quince, but this was a nice “toe in the water” approach.
apple & quince crisp
modified from epicurious
Crisp Topping:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Filling:
4 cups water
3 1/2 cups sugar, divided
2 pounds quinces (about 5 medium), peeled, quartered, cored
4 large Gala apples, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream
For crisp topping:
1
Melt butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer until butter is golden brown, about 6 minutes. Cool.
2
Mix flour, sugar, nutmeg, and salt in medium bowl. Add browned butter and stir until moist clumps form.
DO AHEAD: can be made 1 day ahead. Cover each; chill.
For filling:
1
Combine 4 cups water and 3 cups sugar in large saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. 2
Add quinces; simmer until tender, 15 minutes. Remove from syrup; cool. Reserve syrup for another use. 3
Cut quinces into 1-inch cubes. Transfer to large bowl.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
4
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish.
5
Add apples, lemon juice, flour, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar to bowl with quinces; toss to blend. Transfer to baking dish. Crumble topping over.
6
Bake apple and quince crisp until golden and bubbling, about 55 minutes. Cool at least 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with softly whipped cream or ice cream.
extra happy hour
Wow! This week marked one of the most amazing events in my life. It’s hard to put into words the emotion and pure excitement I felt when Barack Obama was elected President. I can only say, unbelievably awesome.
In celebration, I’ve concocted my new favorite cocktail, the old fashioned. I studied the bartender at one of my favorite bars, Weatherup, and I think I have it down pat. I’ve of course added my own fancy touch by using my popsicle molds to make bigger ice cubes that melt slower. Not only do they melt slower, but they add a little patriotism.
Cheers! To a new president and a new outlook. I couldn’t be more proud.
Old Fashioned
2 ounces Bourbon
1 sugar cube
a few splashes of Angostura bitters
a few more splashes of soda water
1 large ice cube, such as a popsicle mold
2 inch piece of orange rind
1
Carefully cut a 2 inch piece of orange rind, being careful to not cut into white part.
2
Place a sugar cube, bitters and soda water in a short glass. Muddle until sugar is dissolved.
3
Add ice cube, then the bourbon.
4
Fold piece of orange rind and squeeze together over drink, letting the essence fall into the drink. (You may not be able to see the essence, but it’s there, I promise) Drop the rind in the beverage.
5
Give it a swirl or two and say Cheers! It’s the dawn of a new era!