mmm... food!

Everyone has a favorite food. Or a number of them, depending on the category. Here are a few of mine:

• Mom's home cookin': chicken noodle soup with dumplings (the dumplings are key)
• Special restaurant outing: a great steak, medium
• Vegetable: green beans, though I like most
• Indian fare: chicken makhani
• Fruit: pineapple (cold, only. I won't eat it on pizza or in other warm foods)

I eat out quite a bit between work functions and travel, but nothing is better than home cooked food... especially if mom made it. Those of you who know my mom and have been lucky enough to eat her food know that she's one of the best cooks around. This morning, as is often the case when I plan to cook, I called mom to talk through it to make sure I won't mess it up! The good news is that, with that guidance, it turns out pretty well. And this morning, it was awesome -- apple panakuchen. I used mom's panakuchen recipe (without apples) and modified a bit after researching a bit on the internet... and definitely recommend trying it!

Apple Panakuchen

*glazed apples*
2 apples (I used one golden delicious and one granny smith)
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup brown sugar

*panakuchen*
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup flour
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Melt the butter on low/medium heat on the stove top. I used a frying pan with a cover. Add brown sugar and stir until blended with the butter. Add apples and stir into the glaze. Cover, stirring frequently, until apples are tender. Pour the mixture into a deep pie dish (or an 8x8 pan would probably work).

Beat the panakuchen ingredients together in a bowl until well mixed and pour over the apple mixture. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm with powdered sugar and syrup.

Hope you like it! I don't always measure when I'm making things, so I estimated as best I could with the apple glaze part... so it's approximately accurate. The rest is correct for sure!

Thanks, Mom! Love you!