Apple Galette

So galette makes it sound fancy but this is really just a simple apple tart that takes very little time to and very little experience.

3-5 Med Granny Smith apples (or any apple you'd like)
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup toasted walnuts (optional)
1 pre-made pie crust
cinnamon and nutmeg to taste
egg wash (one egg beaten with a tablespoon of milk or water)

Preheat your oven to 375°
Place walnuts on cookie sheet in oven til lightly toasted (about 10min or less)
Once walnuts have cooled coarsely chop and put aside
Peel and core apples and cut into wedges
Melt butter in skillet on high
Once butter is melted add apples
Cook until apples are edges are browning and kind of soft
Add brown sugar cinnamon and nutmeg (if using) and stir reduce heat to medium
Continue to cook until the liquid has reduce to a syrupy consistency stirring frequently
If using walnut add to the mixture before pouring into the pie crust
Roll your pie crust out on a parchment or foil line cookie sheet
Pour filling into the pie crust leaving about 2inches on the end to fold edge up gently
brush folded edges with egg wash and bake at 375° for 35-40 min


TIPS

• they sell precut apples now all you'll have to do is peel them (makes it kind of easy for you)
• You can make your own pie crust but again they sell it so you don't have to 
• Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream 
• You can really just eat the apples warm with the sauce if you really wanted to.... I did 

Thai Chicken Salad Wraps

So I didn't come up with this myself although if you read the tips I've kinda redone the whole thing. If you like to see the original please search Cat Cora Thai Chicken Salad Cabbage Spring Rolls.

Thai Chicken Salad Spring Rolls with Homemade Fried Rice

Dressing: 1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons store-bought Thai peanut sauce
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Spring Rolls:
1 whole chicken breast, or 2 half breasts (or 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
1/2 head Napa cabbage (1 pound or 8 cups thinly sliced cabbage)
1 cup shredded carrots (about 3 large carrots)
2 green onions, thinly sliced, plus 1 green onion, thinly sliced for garnish
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

12 rice paper wraps


For the dressing, in a small bowl whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, sesame oil, Thai peanut sauce and sugar. Set aside.
To poach the chicken, in a medium saucepan bring 8 cups of water up to a boil. Add the chicken and bring down to a simmer. Simmer the chicken for 40 minutes until fully cooked and tender. Remove the chicken from the water and set aside on a plate to cool.
In the meantime, in a medium bowl, combine the cabbage, carrots, 2 sliced green onions, and sesame seeds.
Using 2 forks, shred the cooled chicken and add to the bowl with the salad.
Add the dressing and mix, making sure the salad is nicely coated.
In a wide, shallow bowl filled with hot water, put a rice paper wrap into the water. Press the wrap down so it is fully submerged in the water. Remove when softened. Place the softened wrap flat onto a damp work surface.
Scoop 1/2 cup of the Thai chicken salad onto the bottom 1/3 of the wrap. Fold over the left and right sides of the wrap inward about 1 inch. Working from the bottom up, tightly roll the wrap.
Repeat with the remaining Thai chicken salad and arrange on a platter.
Garnish the spring rolls with the remaining sliced green onion. Serve alongside a bowl of Thai peanut sauce for dipping.

TIPS

• Save yourself some time and cook the chicken ahead of time. It needs to be cool anyway.
• Even though the recipe says to poach, we are in grilling season, so go ahead and prepare the chicken however you like. 
• If you're like me you won't be able to find rice paper wraps easily (I happen to live near a great Asian market) try using wonton wraps or even tortilla
• I, for some reason, couldn't find Napa cabbage. But I did find bags of coleslaw and broccoli slaw. Both worked great and i just added extra carrots to it
• Try adding other veggies to the mix make it your own
• Tried the rice paper wraps and didn't enjoy them. Guess what? You can now just enjoy this as a regular salad. 
• Want to sever this to a few of your vegan friends? Get rid of the chicken. It's that simple!