Apple Chutney on Toast

Ever since I last posted to this blog, nearly 8 weeks ago, I've debated whether I had the time and the desire to keep it up. I've posted over 250 times since I started this blog in January 2012.The blog came about a year after I decided to cook one new recipe each week for a year in 2011. It was the first resolution I'd ever kept, and I was determined to dive in head first to food blogging. And I enjoyed it, and I still do, but I found that the perfectionist in me was bound and determined to post twice a week without fail, writing about new recipes, restaurants I've visited and the foods I've eaten during my travels. And I was failing. A transition to a new job as well as sick family members made it nearly impossible to keep up in a way that I felt was adequate.

This doesn't mean I haven't been cooking, I just haven't been writing about it as much. But in the spirit of New Year's resolutions, I'm ready to recommit myself to this blog, but in a smaller way than in years' past. I vow to post once a week without fail, and more if time and the situation calls for it. I'll post about fun food events and restaurants I check out, my travel food adventures, and most importantly, what I cook up in my little kitchen in Columbia Heights.

I also plan to maintain last year's resolution of getting out of town for at least an overnight every quarter, which I'm sure will lend itself to more fun food travel blogging, which has been what I enjoyed most about writing this blog last year.

So here's a dish I made for a holiday party back in December. The recipe comes from my friend Nick's blog, www.macheesmo.com, which continues to be a great resource for when I want to cook something new.

 

Apple Chutney on Toast

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 inch of fresh ginger, grated
• 2 apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 1/4 cup dried currants
• 2 scallions minced (not the green parts)
• Baguette, sliced and toasted
• 5-6 oz. blue cheese

Directions:

Combine the sugar, red wine vinegar, orange juice, cinnamon and ginger in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar melts, about 2 minutes.

Peel, core, and chop your apples and add them to the chutney.  Stir everything together and cook over low-medium heat until the apples are soft, about 5 minutes.

Add currants and chopped scallions to the chutney at the very end.

Cool the chutney for at least an hour and serve on toasts with blue cheese.