All-Canadian Apple Crisp

Ingredients

• 5 cups chopped Ontario apples
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons of Maple Syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Lightly butter a large baking dish, and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine apples with lemon juice and water and mix well.
4. In another large bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Mix to blend thoroughly. Cut in the butter or margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in walnuts.
5. Drain lemon & water mixture from apples, and pour them into the baking dish. Drizzle with maple syrup and toss gently to coat.
6. Crumble topping over apples to cover completely.
7. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until top is lightly browned.

Serving suggestions & possible modifications:

• Substitute whole wheat flour for all-purpose
• Add dried cranberries for an extra boost of tangy sweetness to the crumbled topping
• Serve warm with vanilla ice cream
• Serve cool for a special breakfast treat!

Spinach and Salmon Mille-Feuille

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless salmon fillets
• 1 package of puff pastry
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 package of frozen, chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 tablespoon of butter, plus ¼ cup of butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon of grape seed oil
• 3 tbsp of water
• 3 tbsp of white wine vinegar
• ¼ cup of chopped onion
• 1 cup of 35 % cream
• ¼ tsp of ground white pepper
• ¼ tsp of lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 °F
2. Cut the puff pastry into 4 pieces, and roll into a rectangle measuring roughly 5 x 3 inches. Prick the surface of the dough with a fork, and brush with egg yolk. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for approximately 25 minutes.
3. In a small sauce pan, bring water, white wine vinegar and chopped onions to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the mixture by half, then remove from heat and strain out onions.
4. Return the vinegar/water mixture to the burner and slowly whisk in the 35% cream – don’t be alarmed that it looks as though it’s curdling at first. Bring the cream to a low rolling boil and allow it to boil until it’s reduced by half.
5. Remove the cream mixture from the burner and let cool for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Gradually add the softened butter a bit at a time. When fully incorporated, add lemon juice and white pepper, and if not using immediately, keep warm over a double-boiler.
6. Squeeze as much of the water out of the spinach as possible and break spinach up into a frying pan. Over low heat, add approximately 2/3 of the cream mixture into the spinach, and stir to blend. Continue stirring occasionally until ready to plate the mille-feuilles.
7. If salmon fillets are thin, leave them as they are – if they are thick, slice them into medallions. Heat 1 Tbsp of butter and grape seed oil over medium-high heat until butter froths and milk solids boil off. Reduce heat to medium, and fry salmon until opaque in the centre and lightly browned on the edges.
8. Take the 4 fully-cooked puff pastry rectangles from the oven and gently separate them into 3 layers. On each of the two bottom layers spread the spinach & cream mixture and then add salmon fillets or medallions. Stack the two garnished layers and top with the third, then drizzle the remaining beurre blanc sauce.
9. Enjoy with a nice glass of wine and Michael Buble singing in the background...