Vanilla Apples with Sweetheart Croutes

Here's a little something to get you prepared for the upcoming romantic holiday of Valentine's Day: Nigella Lawson's Vanilla Apples with Sweetheart Croutes. This recipe comes from Nigella's brand new cookbook, Nigella Express. I've never watched her on Food Network but the cookbook seems worthy of acquiring. The recipes are simple and quick to put together.

I used this recipe as an after-school snack for my little guy and his playdate friend. They were super intrigued when they saw the ingredients for this dish on the counter...

Here's the really simple how-to:

The fun part: cut out little heart shapes with a small cutter. The kids thought this was 'cool,' and were most interested in the bread that had the heart-shapes cut out of it. Yep, you do this with good old country white bread. My son was very excited to see white bread (something I never buy) and I told him to enjoy it while it lasts because he will likely never see it again! I suppose you could make this recipe with some sort of healthy whole grain, but it just might not have the same flavor. Besides, you can always make your own bread crumbs with the rest of the loaf if you don't wish to consume it. The apples just get sliced up (leave the skins on- they look pretty!)
The apples get sauteed in butter, and vanilla is added. Stir those slices up until they start to brown up really nice.
Spread the cooked apples on a platter. Brown the bread hearts in a little butter too. Gosh, I'm beginning to sound like Paula Deen, huh?

Once you've got everything on the same plate, sprinkle a tad bit of sugar on the whole thing (although I personally think the sugar should be considered as completely optional- it's really not needed.)

And the snack/dessert/treat is ready to devour! The kiddos loved it... though the playdate child couldn't quite get over the fact that I was taking pictures of the food. I tried to explain about blogging, the internet, etc. but the 6 year olds were off to play "neighborhood spies" before I could get my point across.

This recipe can be found HERE. Enjoy!

Labels: ,