Parchment Paper Rocks!

Got parchment paper? Steaming in parchment paper wraps, known in French cooking parlance as en papillote might just be the best cooking method that nobody is using. Here’s why you should use it for more than plopping your cookie dough on.

1) It’s ridiculously easy. Just drop your fixing’s down, fold and cook. Even hard for a culinary virgin to mess up.
2) Flavor snobs appreciate that items such as fish and poultry steam quickly yet tenderly in their own juices keeping things brilliantly moist.
3) Without the need to line a skillet or grill with oil, you cut back on calories.
4) Parchment paper is cheaper than say that bread maker which hasn’t seen flour since ’98.
5) You can cut down on the number of pans that accumulate in the sink.

While fish and parchment paper have always been best buds, this ultra-versatile cooking technique can be used for all sorts of goodies like seasonal vegetables, fruits, pasta, turkey and….drumroll please…toothsome desserts such as this.

Apple Crisp with Maple Yogurt













This recipe works equally well with peaches or nectarines.

Makes 2 to 3 Servings

2 apples, sliced thinly (leave the skin on, there is lots of nutrition there)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1.5 cups quick-cooking oats
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Zest of ½ of an orange
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup plain yogurt
1-2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1. To prepare the parchment paper for cooking, cut two individual 15 x 20-25-inch pieces. Fold each piece of paper in half crosswise. This will make a noticeable crease that runs down the center. With the paper folded, draw half of a heart shape on one side. Using scissors cut out the heart shape and open up the paper.
2. Preheat oven to 375°F.
3. In a small bowl, combine yogurt and maple syrup and set aside.
4. In a large bowl combine apples, sugar and vanilla. In a separate large bowl, mix together oats, walnuts, butter, orange zest, cinnamon and nutmeg.
5. Spread apple mixture evenly onto the two parchment paper hearts. Layer ingredients on one half of the sheet fairly close to the center fold. Don’t forget to leave at least a 1-inch border around the edges to allow for folding.
6. Top the fruit with the oat mixture and seal the paper. Starting at the top of the heart, fold the edges of parchment together, sealing the edges with tight, quarter-inch folds. Twist the end tip of the packet to secure the ingredients and tuck it underneath.
7. Cook packets in the oven for 20 minutes. The oats should have turned golden brown and the apples softened.