Ya don't have to be a hillbilly to like Mountain Dew Dumplings

This experiment is in response to some of you who may have thought my Navajo Apple Dumplings were little too involved. Although my mother in law Karen asked me not to credit her for this recipe, I am anyway - hope that's okay Karen!

This is a great one to do with your kids . . . Karen suggested I call these Apple Dumplings al la Finn and Graham. We're not sure who originated this recipe so I guess now it's all ours. And now it can be yours. I do, however, have some suggestions for changes to this recipe (I can't help myself; I always do this). But first here's the original which I've taken the liberty to name:

Apple - achian Dumplings (aka Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings)

*the first advertising theme song for Mountain Dew was an old Appalachian folk song; cheeky eh? - for more fascinating facts on Mountain dew go to http://enwikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Dew

yield: 8 dumplings

1 can of original Pillsbury Crescent rolls

1 medium apple

1 stick of butter

3/4 cups sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 can of Mountain Dew soda

Preheat your oven to 350. Peel (or don't peel - Karen doesn't peel) and core your apple and cut it into 8ths. Melt butter in a small sauce pan and brush a little in the bottom of your pan. I used a Pyrex casserole dish. Add the sugar to the melted buttter and simmer to dissolve the sugar. Add the cinnamon and mix together. Meanwhile, pop open the can of crescent rolls (kids like this part) and lay out the 8 triangles of dough. Wrap each slice of apple in the dough. Pour the butter/sugar mixture into the casserole and spread over the bottom of the pan. Place the dumplings on top and pour the Mountain Dew over the whole thing. Place in the over and bake for 30- 45 minutes until golden brown. After removing them from the oven I glazed the tops by just spooning some of the syrup over them. Serve hot.

So here are my thoughts. Good and gooey and great with ice cream. Karen suggests the Haagen Daaz Dulce de Leche - I had vanilla in the freezer so that's what I served. My apple was still a little too firm. I don't know if it was the variety I used or that I didn't cut the slice small enough. So make sure your apple slice is smallish or I think next time I might chop up the apple or grate it on a box grater to make sure it cooks through. If you do this you can also mix the apple bits with some extra cinnamon - I'm a big fan of cinnamon so I would definately double or triple the amount in the recipe.

It was also a tad too sweet for me. Finn had no complaints, but I usually like things a little less sweet and add salt to it - yes, salt in every dessert I make. It makes a huge difference I promise. So let's make it 1/2 cup sugar ( or maybe 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar) and 1/4 tsp salt and 2 tsp cinnamon with the stick of butter.

This was super easy to make and a great activity for the boys - no spilled fluids or blizzard of flour. Please give it a try and tell me what you think. Hey, and if you're really into the Mountain Dew thing I found a recipe for Mountain Dew Cake, actually several - just a quick Google should get you there.

Santa Fe Fiesta Staple: Fry Bread

My plan is to occasionally publish some of my favorite recipes or ones I'm experimenting with. So today it's Navajo Fry Bread Apple Dumplings. This dessert was our best seller at The Compound last winter. My dad gave it the seal of approval when he came to visit and since my folks are pretty honest about what they don't like (a very good thing), I'm thinking it's a winner.

Fry Bread Dough:

3 cups All Purpose Flour
3/4 cup dry powdered milk
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
4 1/2 oz butter, cold - diced into small pieces
1 tsp kosher salt
3 Tbs granulated sugar
3/4 cup - 1 cup ice water

Technique is similar to making pie dough so you get buttery, flaky dumpling. First combine flour, dry milk, salt, sugar, and baking powder in the bowl of stand mixer. and gently mix to combine. Add cold butter pieces and mix using the paddle attachment until it has the texture of a course meal and the butter is shaped like little pebbles. Slowly add the ice water with the motor running and mix just until dough comes together. Only add more water a teaspoon at a time if the dough is too crumbly and not holding together. But be careful not to over mix because the dough will get tough and it will be difficult to roll out. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to rest for at least 20 minutes. Cut in half and roll one half out on a floured surface. Use a biscuit cutter to cut out circles of whatever size you choose your dumplings to be. Brush edges with egg white, top with a spoonful of apple filling, and place another circle on top, pressing edges to seal. Fry in 350 degree canola oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

My suggestion is to doctor up some bottled apple sauce for the filling. We make apple butter at the restaurant, but it's fairly time consuming. Put the apple sauce in a sauce pan with some lemon zest, a bit of ground cinnamon, ginger, and any other spices you may have on hnad like nutneg, cardamom, mace, and cloves (we're talking pinches here). Simmer the spiced apple sauce until it has thickened and the juices have reduced. When cool you should be able to scoop it.

One more recipe that I feel makes this dish.

Rum "Raisin" Sauce:

3/4 cup suger
1 TBS water
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup Meyer's Dark Rum
about 2 TBS dried currants or raisins
2 oz butter

You're making caramel here, but do not fear - the addition of lemon juice makes it easy breezy. Combine sugar, water, and lemon juice in a small sauce pan. Gently stir together without getting too much on the sides of the pan. Place over medium high heat and cook without stirring until it starts to shows signs of caramelization. Swirl the pan a bit to cook evenly. When it has reached a medium brown color and may have started smoking a little, remove from heat and very carefully add the rum and butter - it will bubble up on you so watch what you're doing. Return to a meduim low heat to remelt any sugar that may have seized up, whisking it together until you've got a smooth sauce. You're welcome to add a little hot water to thin it out to your liking.

So now you can serve it all up with a scoop of ice cream (I like to make cider ice cream, but vanilla would great) and a sprinkling of chopped pecans if you're a nut person, and wala!

So I'm now realizing that this may all be somewhat overwhelming so maybe next time I'll post something a little less involved. I willl say this, however - you can make this dough and fry it up plain tossed with cinnamon sugar, serve it with ice cream and I think you'd satisfy just about anyone