Email from Yun in China

Our friend, Yun, from China writes:

Happy new year! We will have three days off , and then we will have the final exam.
By the way, there maybe are some troubles with my Christmas card.

Yun

Spatulatta Replies:

Happy New Year Yun!

We were not able to view your Christmas card. It is so nice of you to think of us!

Enjoy your three days off from school and best wishes on your exams.

Here is a simple recipe you can make on your days off to prepare you for exams.

It's called, "Baked Apples in a Snap" which you can see at:
http://www.spatulatta.com/week29_fathers_day/baked_apple.html

You'll need:

4 red apples (Red Delicious, Fuji or other red apples
4 to 6 teaspoons of brown sugar
Raisins or other dried fruit
2 tablespoons of butter
Aluminum foil
A little adult help

Equipment:

Potato peeler (the kind with the pointy end)
Melon ball maker
Butter knife
Small baking pan or pie pan
Long handled fork
Oven mitts

Directions:

1. Wash and dry the apples.

2. If you're using the oven, set it to heat to 375 degrees.

3. Take the potato peeler and pierce the top of the apple about 3/4 of an inch from the stem. Push the potato peeler in slowly. You don't want to go too deep because you don't want to go through the bottom of the apple. Go all the way around and then pop this center out. This way you'll make a cup to hold the good stuff in the apple!

4. Use the melon baller to dig out the apple seeds.

5. Fill the center of the apple with raisins or other dried fruit.

6. Put about a tablespoon of brown sugar on top.

7. Add a pat of butter. A pat is about 1/2 a tablespoon.

8. Wrap the apple up in foil by lapping one side then the other over the top of the apple.

9. Set the apples top-side up on the pan so they don't leak when the butter and the sugar start to melt.

10. These can be easily slid into the coals of your Father's Day barbecue, or placed on a grill. We did them in the oven at 375 degrees 18-22 minutes.

11. When you can easily pierce the fruit with a fork (you can test it right through the foil) the apples are finished. They taste just like apple pie!

Hope you enjoy this recipe. Let us know how it turns out!