Comfort Food

The Ford dealership has yet to pull the transmission from our truck. What they are waiting for, I don't know, but it means we'll be here a long longer than we wanted to be. Which means changes in reservations, extending the car rental, dealing with our forwarded mail, etc.

When I get upset, I bake. When I bake, believe me, it ain't healthy stuff either. We have a ton of apples in the refrigerator from our apple-picking jaunt in New York, so first I considered Vicki's scrumptious sounding recipe, but that involved deep frying. Here's what I found at the About.com website under the Southern U.S. Cuisine section.

Apple Pan Dowdy

* 1/4 cup biscuit mix
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon vinegar
* 1 cup water
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 5 cups apple slices - 6 to 7 cooking apples, golden delicious, jonathan, etc., peeled, cored, sliced
* cinnamon and nutmeg
* granulated sugar
* 1 1/2 cups biscuit mix
* 3/4 cup light cream or whipping cream

PREPARATION:
In a saucepan, combine 1/4 cup biscuit mix, brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and vinegar and water. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and clear. Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter.

Set aside to cool.

Place apples in a greased 8-inch square baking pan. Sprinkle apples evenly with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Mix 1 1/2 cups biscuit mix with the cream to make a soft dough. Drop over the sliced apples.
Sprinkle with the granulated sugar and more cinnamon. Pour the cooled sauce over the top.
Bake in a preheated 375° oven for about 35 to 45 minutes. Serve hot with cream or ice cream.

I wish I had taken a picture of the dessert. Not only is this delicious, but it looks mouth-watering coming out of the oven. Too late now! We topped it with Eddy's Slow Churned French Vanilla ice cream (because we're all about cutting calories--snort!) while the Apple Pan Dowdy was still hot from the oven. Sigh--alllll better.