Brony Chef Project #22: CMC Series #3: Applebloom

We have officially got to the leader and Founder of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. It took awhile but, there is finnally an appitizer that fully describes not only her stong will to keep trying but also the determination to try something different. It may not be perfect but, I can truly say that this masterpeice can finnally put Applebloom in the lime light she deserves.

From "Call of The Cutie" Episode 12, Season 1: The Founding of the Cutie Mark Crusaders

From Left-to-right: Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle

 

Applebloom was first introduced in the very first episode as the little sister of Applejack and for awhile she was not really present most of the time. But her true debut as a side character really shined through in Bridle Gossip as somepony who was somewhat rebellious but still young enough to be innocent and carefree if she wanted to. Although, the one episode that really gave not only made Applebloom a character of a seperate major story line but made a group of characters to have a seperate story line without overshadowing the Mane 6 storyline is quite revolutionary. Although, I'm not writing exactly how The Cuitie Mark Crusaders is a miracle on itself....yet. This post is mainly focused on the founder of the group and how Applebloom can be a signifigent character on her own.

From "The Cutie Pox" Episode 6, Season 2: Appleblooms Apprenticeship with Zacora

 

Appleblooms character can be sumerized as a "comming-of-age" story. She starts off innocent in the begining, but then she starts to grow as a character who's will to change is stronger then anyone else. She is willing to push the boundries byond the small child stereotype and succeed in earning her cutie Mark that is the symbol of her maturity. Try her many attempts were unsuccessful. In fact, it has gotten her more into trouble then it has provided the solution to her problems. Yet at the end if the day, she redeems herself by providing the backbone moral of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

 

From "The Cutie Pox" Episode 6, Season 2: Applebloom tamming some lions while infected with the Cutie Pox.

 

The inspiration behind this particular dish was mostly based on Applebloom's determination and curious nature. I try to incorperate many different cultural influences to create something that really screams out "My name is Applebloom and I'm willing to get my Cutie Mark, no matter what!" I used many different kinds of spices and unique ingredients to make it stand outfrom the others. There was a lot of inspiration from the Applejack recipie and see if you can spot those influences in the ingredients below.

 

Appleblooms Ambitious Flatbread with Apple Spice Hummus

 

Serves 6

 

Caramelized Onions

 

1 White Onion, Sliced

 

1/4 cup of extra virgin Olive Oil

 

1 tsp of surgar

 

Hummus Mod

 

8-10 oz of Pre-made Hummus

 

1 jazz apple: Small Dice

 

4-5 Allspice Pods: Crushed or 3/4 tsp of Powered All-spice

 

2 tsp of smoked paprika

 

2 tsp of ground chipotle

 

1 tsp of granulated sugar

 

Flatbread + Toppings

 

1 Large or 2 Medium Slabs of Flatbread (such as Naan or Pita bread)

 

4-5 slices of prosciutto

 

1 Jazz Apple: Cut into bite size chunks

 

A small handful of Parmesan cheese

 

1.Heat a large sauté pan on medium high heat with the olive oil covering the bottom of the pan. Once the pan is heated up, add in your sliced onions to the pan and let them cook for 20-30 minutes until they are a dark Carmel color. Make sure to stir around the onions every few minutes to prevent burning. You can also add some sugar to help with the caramelization.

2. While the onions are cooking, combine all of the hummus ingredients in a large bowl and season to taste. Then place the hummus ,covered, in the fridge until ready to serve.

3. Once the onions are done cooking, remove the onions from the pan and set them on Side until you are ready to assemble. You can also store your caramelized onions in fridge for up to 3 days.

4. Prepare your flat bread using the instructions on the back of the bag in order for the bread to be fully cooked. If your bread is fully cooked, prepare your station for assembling as shown below.

 

5. Start Assembling by placing the prosciutto on the bottom of the bread. Then add the apple, the caramelized onion and some Parmesan cheese. You can also customize your flat bread with any other ingrediants you want.

6. Place your broiler on medium high and broil your bread on a sheet pan about 2/3 way up to the top or higher. Broil until the cheese on top is browned.

 

7. Cut up the flatbread into small pieces and serve them on a platter or on a paddle bread board with apple spice hummus on the side.

 

I really enjoyed makeing this Flatbread mostly because I put the most time really focusing on the "uniqueness" of Applebloom and it took me a couple months of brainstorming but I finally hit the nail on the head.

I want to thank everyone for sticking with me after a very long hiatus. I recently got a new job and it takes a lot out of me. But there will be more to come. Yet for now, I bid you all a-do.

 

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Brony Chef Project #16: CMC Series #2: Sweetie Belle

In a group of freinds, weather human or pony, there is always one in the group that is not only talented but willing to share that talent with everyone. Weather she knows it or not, Sweetie Belle is one of the most musically talented out the trio known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Sweetie Belle is a unicorn who is not only talented in singing but always energenic with everything she does. Her debut was from "Call of the Cutie" around the same time that Scootaloo (BCP #10). Although, her full character was revealed durring the "Stare Master" episode when she was related to Rarity.
Sometimes, Sweetie Belle would get outshined by Rarity but once she has the spotlight, her voice becomes the star. Her voice is high and somewhat squeaky but once she sings, it becomes smooth and elegant as a professional singer. Yet its more than just the voice that attracts many fans.
Her personality can be annoying but she is sweet and caring to her friends and family. She always loved her sister and lends a helping hand whenever she can. Its true that shes trying to find her talents in the wrong places, but she always try and supports her friends anyways she can.
For the recipe, it was actually a suggestion from Cloudsdale on the Friendly Pony Fort cloud. They suggested I try to create something with Sweetie Belle as a dessert (somehow, I am doing a lot of desserts lately). So when I went to the Farmers Market to find whats in season, I found some grape jelly (referencing to the Sister Social episode) and some cherries that are in season, it instantly clicked that I should make tartlets with the grape jelly and other fruit flavors to complete it. Plus I wanted to relate to Rarity by makeing them as a handheld dessert. Its not exactly the same size but it does drive the point that she can be sweet with a big voice.

Sweetie Belles "Surprise" Tarts

Makes 1 Dozen

Tart Shells
7 oz. of Butter, softened
1 cup of Powdered Sugar
7 Egg Yolks
1 egg
3 cups of whole wheat pastry flour

Filling
8 oz of Grape Jelly
30-40 dried cherries (~4 oz.)
Juice of 1 Lemon
pinch of salt

Ganash and Garnish
8 oz of semi-sweet chocolate
splash of coconut milk
12 Fresh Michigan Cherries

1. Create the crust by whipping the butter in a stand mixer until the it covers the sides of the bowl. Then add the egg yolks and egg 1 yolk at a time until incorperated. (If the yolks breaks, add a little bit of the liquid at a time.)
2. Combine the dry mixture together in a separate bowl and add a little bit at a time to the mixer until incorporated. Keep repeating this step until you have used up the dry mixture. You keep the dough refridgerated for up to 1 week.
3. Once you are ready to make the tarts, preheat your oven to 350 F. Grab a muffin pan and grease the pan with butter. Line the cups with the dough and with small squares of parchment paper, place a clean stone in each cup to prevent rising of the cups. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
4. While the shells are baking, create the filling by combining all the ingredients in a bowl. Taste to adjusting the seasoning. Set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
5. Create the gnash by melting the chocolate in a double boiler and whisking in a the coconut milk until creamy. Set aside in room temp until tart shells are cooled.
6. Once shells are cooled, assemble the tart by filling them with the jelly filling, then the gnash and adding the cherry on top. Serve.
The tart shells I got from my Luna Recipe (BCP #9) and modify it to incorporate a whole wheat flour to give it a robust earthy flavor. It doesn't really fit in with Sweetie Belle as much but it does show how adventurous Sweetie belle can be.
The artwork for this post was brought to you by Fumei from Cloudsdale. This is actually the first time that we have an artist from outside of Deviant Art create an original work for this post. So give kudos to Fumei for becoming a pioneer artist for the BCP.
Before I go, I do want to tell you that I am now using Instagram for my photo shoots of the recipes. So if you want to have a sneak peek at some new creations or maybe leave a comment on how delicious it looks, follow chefkyro on Instagram for more.
I have also started a new cloud on Cloudsdale known as "Ask the Chef." If you wanted to drop a comment, make suggestions for the next recipe, ask a questions or maybe just say hi and have a discussion about food and ponies; feel free to drop by the cloud https://www.cloudsdale.org/clouds/askthechef.
That is all I wanted to share today. Thank you for reading and enjoy the tartlets. Its Sweetie Belles favorite.

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Brony Chef Project #10: Scootaloo- CMC Series #1

We start off the Cuiti Mark Crusaders (CMC) with one of the boldest member. Although before we start with Scootaloo, I want to give a little back story of how the CMC got started.

In episode 12 season 1 (Call of the Cutie), Applebloom (Applejacks younger sister) was alone in terms of not reciving her Cuitimark. For those who dont know, a Cuitimark is the symbol on a pony's flank that expresses his/her special talent. An example would be Applejack with her apples, because her special talent is harvesting apples. In many desperate attempts, Applebloom tries to earn her cuitimark before attending this class party for anyone who received his/her cutimark. Unfortunatly, she could not receive her Cutimark in time and was left humiliated in front of her tormentors. Suddenly, two ponys named Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo came to the resucue and made a new freind to protect her diginity. From that day on: Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, became the Cutie Mark Crusaders in a misstion to help eachother recieve there Cutimark.
With that in mind, I decied to start with Scootaloo to start off since she is the passtion of the CMC purpose.

Scootaloo is what some considered (at least to me) as "The Element of Passtion". She is a peagusus who is realitivitly simular to Rainbow Dash in terms of personality. IN the Brony Fanbase, she is more of a symbol of passtion and determination.She nay not fly very well, but she is fast with her scooter on the ground and has the spunk to be as good as Rainbow Dash. Although she appears to be subconsciously want's to become the best. Although the best way to describe scootaloo's determination is through the song, that Mandopony and Acousticbrony created known as "I'll Fly Higher".

Scootaloo's Glazed Apricot Skewers

serves~10 Skewers

Glaze
1 cup of powdered sugar

1/2 pint of heavy cream

1 tsp of orange extract

1 tsp of cinnamon

1/2 of nutmeg


Skewers
10 Skewers

8 oz. of Dried Apricots



1. Make the Glaze by combining the heavy cream and sugar large bowl until incorporated. Then add the extract and spices to the glaze.
2. Take the skewers and stick 3-4 apricots on each skewer.
3. On a separate plate or straining rack, glaze the skewers with a spoon or pour right on top of the apricots. Make sure you shake off the excess glaze.
4. Place it on a platter with other hor derves or by itself and serve.

As for the rest of the CMC, I will be realeaseing them as a series and each one of them as an appetizers. I also want to give a big thank you out to http://dotoriii.deviantart.com/ for providing the art for this post. Feel free to check out her artwork at the link.
Again, Thank you to the readers for waiting for this post. With my new job, freelanceing and lots of other real worl situations. It can sometimes be very tiring to complete the recipes. Although, I do want to tell you that more recipies will be on the way and more will be on the way. For now, I bid all of you a-do.

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