Puff Pastry with Caramelized Apples, Ice Cream and Butterscotch Sauce

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 Puff Pastry  with Caramelized Apples, Ice Cream and Butterscotch Sauce 

Cook's Notes: Start your week with a bit of sweetness with this "off-the-charts dessert." Using puff pastry and store-bought butterscotch or caramel sauce are timesavers. It's an easy fall dessert that showcases fresh apples. Puff pastry shells are versatile for a variety of sweet and savory dishes.

This decadent apple dessert is quick to prepare. The recipe serves two but can be easily doubled. Recipe adapted from Taste of Home
Ingredients:

• 2 large tart apples, sliced (about 2-1/2 cups)
• 2/3 cup apple juice +2 tablespoons apple juice
• 1 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon or 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice mix
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
• 4 Puff Pastry Shells
• Jar of caramel sauce or butterscotch sauce
• Sea salt

Directions:

• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Bake shells according to box directions.
• In a saucepan, combine sliced apples, apple juice, and spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, until apples are tender. Stir in brown sugar.
• Mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of apple juice and blend until smooth. Add to apple mixture.
• Bring to a boil, lower heat, cook, and until thickened. Stir in walnuts.
• Remove the T from the tops of the cooked Puff Pastry Shells.
• Use a slotted spoon to drain off some of the juices and spoon warm apple filling into each Puff Pastry Shell.
• Top with a scoop of ice cream, and drizzle each shell with a little caramel or butterscotch sauce. Top each serving with a pinch of sea salt and serve. 

Book Review A Montana Feud

As you're back in the saddle with Book Three of The Rodeo in Blood Series, hang on to your hat. You will gallop full speed into the heart of cowboy rodeo culture, being immersed in its jargon, traditions, and superstitions. It's a drama-filled story filled with complicated relationships, family dynamics, and a competitive rodeo circuit impacted by COVID-19. 

While "A Montana Feud" has been written as part of a series, it can be enjoyed as a standalone novel. Author Jim Overstreet is adept at inserting backstory notes from his two other books to keep readers abreast of previous actions and relationships.

The storyline again examines the lives of Rusty Blackstone and Warren Weston but more closely. A 20-year relationship once built on rivalry has now mellowed over the years. While both embrace a competitive spirit on the rodeo circuit, they seem more willing to form an alliance as both men share custodial rights to Todd, a 5-year-old whose mother is Jenny, Warren's former wife. The stakes are high when, unexpectedly, Todd becomes the sole heir to the Weston Ranch. It is Warren's former home where his disabled mother is still living. The scenario becomes complicated when Warren and his ex-wife Jenny struggle over ranch ownership for a portion of what Warren feels is his rightful inheritance. Harlan, a lifelong friend of both Rusty and Warren, steps in. His reliability and trustworthiness help him maintain peace and “mend fences,” finding satisfactory solutions for all.

This book has no shortage of drama when Rusty's wedding to Amanda is marred with several violent events. Buckshot, a young woman introduced in Book Two, plays more of a starring role in Book Three as her romance develops with Casey, part of the rodeo circuit gang. As the drama of these relationships intensifies, so does their competitiveness on the rodeo circuit. With limited opportunities to compete due to COVID-19, many riders have been forced to step back and find other work to supplement their income. Rusty unexpectedly inherits a small ranch home he hopes can be a place for him and Amanda to start their new married life. Warren, having recently married Corrine, has a new opportunity with ranch developers.

Overstreet is an experienced horseman and former rodeo participant who understands the complexity of training for saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, and how to perfect roping skills. His descriptive writing immerses the reader in cowboy culture and ranch lifestyle. Along with authentic dialogue, he offers the readers a realistic portrayal of how life unfolds on the rodeo circuit. As locations change quickly, the author wisely labels each chapter with a date and location. The book is an excellent mix of rodeo life, ever-changing family dynamics, and ever-evolving relationships. 

ALL ABOUT  THE AUTHOR

JIM OVERSTREET

Jim Overstreet is a lifelong cowboy and author of three books in The Rodeo in Blood Series. Raising horses for most of his life, he earned multiple titles in tie-down roping, from youth rodeo to the senior circuit. He lives in Montana and still rides and trains horses. 

Overstreet is passionate about telling stories of the contemporary West that demonstrate the physical toughness, mental determination, and dependence on community inherent to ranching and rodeos. His work has been published in national magazines, including Reader’s Digest and Persimmon Hill, as well as numerous equine magazines and Western Horseman. The American Horse Publication honored him as a winner in their Feature Article category. 

Check out Overstreet's website https://jimoverstreet.com/ for more information about the author, his books, and future events.

Ushering in November

Ushering in November with a delicious Sunday dinner 

Hoisin Barbecue Chicken

Potato Salad with Snap Peas 

Apple Grape Salad with Mixed Greens

 Puff Pastry with Apples, Vanilla Ice Cream and Butterscotch Sauce    

Hoisin Barbecue Chicken

Cook's Notes: It should be noted we don't eat like this every night.😀 We had company. 

Chicken can either be baked or grilled

Basting sauce can be made up ahead of time.

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1-1/2 cups buttermilk
• 3/4 cup barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays Vidalia Onion)
• 3/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/3 cup green onions, diced 
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Directions:

• Mix hoisin sauce and barbecue sauce. Set aside. 
• Marinate chicken in the buttermilk for two hours. Drain meat in a colander.
• Line a baking sheet with foil. Place chicken on the foil. Baste with sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions. Grill or bake for about 30 minutes. Baste meat a couple of times.

Herbed Potato Salad with Snap Peas and Celery  

Ingredients 

• 3 lbs. red potatoes
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
•  3/4 cup each mayonnaise and lite sour cream
•  1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons each of dill and parsley flakes
• 3/4 cup red onion
•  8 oz. snap peas, blanched and halved
• 3/4 cup diced celery
• 3 chopped hard-boiled eggs
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Directions:

• Cook 3 lbs. quartered red potatoes in salted simmering water for 12 minutes until tender. Drain.
• Toss potatoes with 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in a bowl. Let the potatoes cool.
• Mix mayonnaise with 1 cup sour cream. Add Dijon mustard, dill and parsley flakes, diced red onion, snap peas, and hard-boiled eggs.
• Salt and pepper to taste. 
• Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. 

Mixed Greens with Apples, Grapes, Cashews, Cucumbers and Dried Cranberries

Cook's Notes: The amount of ingredients depends on the servings needed.

Ingredients:

• Grapes
• Diced apples
• Dried cranberries 

• Diced Cucumbers
• Cashews
• Greens (romaine  and spinach) 

 Maple Cider Vinaigrette Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Directions:

• Place all dressing ingredients in a blender and mix well. Store in a screw-type jar and refrigerate until needed.

Puff Pastry with Caramelized Apples and Butterscotch Sauce 

Cook's Notes: This recipe deserves a whole posting by itself as it was that good. Look for it on Monday.