Apfelkuchen

INTRO

Over the summer I read a book called “Confections of a Closet Master Baker” by Gesine Bullock Prado–the sister of the acclaimed actress Sandra Bullock.

The book (which is memoir) focuses on Gesine’s transition from a career as a producer in Hollywood to leaving it all behind in order to open a bakery in a small town in Vermont.  Each chapter in the book starts with a recipe of a baked good that either is a personal favorite of Gesine’s, or something that is a popular item at her bakery.

One of the recipes that jumped out to me was the recipe for her German grandmother’s apfelkuchen (apple cake).  Gesine’s mother was a German opera singer (her dad is American), and as her mother was from Germany, she naturally had ties to the country and spent a lot of time their as a small child, and then later as a young adult.

Super Bowl Dips: Buffalo Chicken Dip and Apple Berry Salsa w/Cinnamon Snack Chips

Like any good American (despite my disinterest in football) I watched the Super Bowl last Sunday.  And also like any good American, I celebrated with food.  In fact, I read somewhere, perhaps Parade magazine, that on Super Bowl Sunday the average American consumes approximately 1,200 calories while watching the game!  The only other holiday with higher caloric averages is Thanksgiving!  Oofa!

In any event, I saw the Super Bowl as a great opportunity for a blog post.  And I’d also happened to have stumbled upon a delicious looking recipe for Buffalo Chicken Dip while browsing TasteSpotting.  Then I remembered a fabulous salsa I had at my mom’s Pampered Chef party last summer, and that was it, I decided I would watch the game and make…

Buffalo Chicken Dip & Apple Berry Salsa

At my house: the assortment of snacks for the Super Bowl…I was responsible for the Buffalo Chicken Dip,

which the the orange colored stuff, and the apple berry salsa (near the wine bottle) with homemade cinnamon snack chips.