Saturday, April 10, 2010

Ice Cream... with Croutons!

So in preparation for becoming a party host extraordinaire, I have decided to start practicing making fun appetizers! And for my first experiment, I decided to use what I already have in my fridge...


As you may remember from my last post, my mother overstocked my fridge three weeks ago, and I am still feeling the side effects of it. Just a couple of days ago, as I was scavenging for sweets in my kitchen and started looking for ice cream, I saw this package of cinnamon raisin bagels that she bought for me. The only problem with that is that I don't particularly like cinnamon, and I'm honestly not that big of a fan of raisins, either. So while trying to figure out how to use these bagels and not throw them out, I had a brilliant idea: why not use these bagels in a dessert?


Turns out, when you Google what flavors match best with cinnamon and raisins, apples turn out to be the most popular choice. Lucky for me, I knew exactly where to find those and I was ready to try it out. In fact, this recipe is so simple, I will even type it out for you guys on here so you can make it too! It's really simple, and if you're low on ideas and/or time for making dessert for a dinner party, I highly recommend making this. All you need is some vanilla ice cream, some cinnamon raisin bagels, apple cider, apples, and a little bit of olive oil. So let's get started!


As long as your bagels aren't moldy, you can use them. So even if they're a little stale, you should be fine. But if you are grocery shopping quite a few days before your party, just put them in the fridge or freezer to keep it for longer. First, go around your bagels and chop them up into 10-12 pieces total. I didn't get a picture of this when I was doing it, but the best way to explain how to cut it, I would say cut it like you would a pizza.


Then, spread a little olive oil on your cooking pan and put the bagels on there. (When I say a little bit of oil, I mean 1.5-2 tablespoons of olive oil.) I moved them around on the pan, just to make sure the bagels were covered pretty evenly with the oil.


Third, I peeled a couple of apples and cubed the edible parts of the apples. And when I was done, I threw those on the pan, too.


To make sure the apple taste was infused in the bagels and that they wouldn't become really crouton-y, like you would have in your salads, I poured apple cider on top of the bagels. I had never done this before and wasn't sure how to pour the apple cider out of the huge bottle it came in; also, I have no measuring cups yet, so I had to use the closest thing I had to a small measuring device... I used a shot glass. This may have been the reason why the bagels ended up tasting a little bit like bread pudding pieces, and it was amazingly yummy.


In total, I ended up using two bagels, three apples, and four shots of apple cider. I left them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes and that's it for the preparation part.


Let them cool a little bit and then serve them just as a topping on top of some vanilla ice cream. When I served them, it had been a while since I'd taken them out of the oven, so I just put them back in a microwave for 25 seconds and they were ready to be served!


Here is a picture of the serving I made myself. This dessert will most definitely be making an appearance at one of my parties, so be on the look-out kids!


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