THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
a
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2013
PAGE 7A
RECIPES
Mini apple tarts make excellent individually portioned fall desserts.
CHRISTINA OSTMEYER/KANSAN
Pumpkin spice muffins and a pumpkin spice latte are a great start to any morning.
Try these fall-inspired recipes Cold weather is a great excuse to heat up the oven
Mini Apple Tarts
CHRISTINA OSTMEYER costmeyer@kansan.com
Crust:
18 shortbread cookies
2/3 cup rolled oats
6 tablespoons melted butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
Filling:
4 apples, thinly-sliced
3 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 cup lemon-lime soda
1. Preheat oven 375 degrees
2. Combine oats, cookies, sugar,
brown sugar and cinnamon in a
food processor.
3. In a mixing bowl, add melted butter to crust mixture and form dough.
4. Press dough into greased muffin tin to create crust. Make sure all sides are covered.
5. Toss sliced apples, cinnamon,
nutmeg, vanilla and soda until evenly coated.
6. Arrange apples inside each crust. If you're feeling adventurous, try to arrange the slices in a rose pattern.
7. Bake 25-30 minutes.
Easy add-ins: caramel; toasted pecans, walnuts or almonds; whipped cream; ice cream.
Easy Pumpkin Spice Muffins
1 box yellow cake mix (18.25 oz)
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together until mixture is smooth. Spoon contents into baking pan.
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease muffin pan.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Easy add-ins: crushed walnuts or pecans, cranberries, white chocolate chips, frosting.
Servings: approximately 12 muffins
Garlic and Thyme Roasted Sweet Potatoes
2 large sweet potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons Italian Parsley
2 teaspoons thyme
3 tablespoons garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spray baking tray with nonstick spray.
2. Slice sweet potatoes approximately 1/4 inch thick.
4. In a large bowl, toss olive oil mixture with the sweet potatoes until evenly coated.
5. Arrange sweet potatoes on tray and bake for 25-30 minutes. Flip pots occasionally.
3. Mix olive oil, parsley, thyme and garlic powder in a small bowl.
— Edited by Jessica Mitchell
TELEVISION
Examining the best and worst TV series finales
KAITLYN HILGERS
khilgers@kansan.com
Whether terrible or terrific, series finales always hold a special place in audiences' hearts. While not all finales were as amazing as the conclusion of "Breaking Bad," some of them came close. Here are the three best and worst series finales of all time. Warning: I know that I promised no spoilers, but there are a few in this article. My apologies.
Worst My So-Called Life
Lionsgate Television
If I am being totally honest, the final episode of "My So-Called Life" was just as spectacular and heart-wrenchingly beautiful as the rest of the season. However, while I could go on and on about how lovely it was, it didn't cut it as a series finale, only because this show was the prime example of a series that was unjustly cancelled. While the episode itself was amazing, as a series finale it left too many open questions and not enough resolution to leave the audience satisfied.
Freaks and Geeks
Dreamworks Television
One of the things I dislike in a series finale, or really in any episode of any TV show, is when a character does something that really just seems out of place or wrong (i.e. Rory Gilmore in seasons 4 and 5). So in the series finale of "Freaks and Geeks" when Lindsay decides to yet again lie to her parents and chooses to follow a band around for a summer instead of go to a college camp for promising students, I literally threw things at my computer screen. After a whole season of talking about how badly she wanted to get away and go to college (also not to mention how she was trying to be a better daughter and sister) she throws it all away for seemingly no reason. I understand what the creators and writers were going for when they had her make this choice, but I refuse to like it.
Dexter
Showtime
One of the worst types of series finales, at least in my opinion, is one that leaves too many open questions. Just like "My So-Called Life," "Dexter" left audiences trying to figure out what became of the character that they had grown so attached to through eight seasons. While "My So-Called Life" has an excuse as they were cancelled, "Dexter" creators, in my mind, simply got lazy and decided to stick their protagonist somewhere else and not tell anyone what he's doing (or if he's still a serial murderer). Again, I understand that the writers probably wanted the audience to have the chance to make up their own ending to please everyone, but it had the opposite effect.
Everyone is mad at you Showtime. Everyone.
Best
Gilmore Girls
Warner Bros. Television
I am a huge "Gilmore Girls" fan. The amount of love I have for the show verges on embarrassing. Well, all except for the final season. The minute that writer Amy Sherman-Palladino stopped working on the show, it turned lifeless—except for the series finale. In a triumphant return, the show finally ended the way it was meant to. Each character's story arc came to a
clean and perfect end, and we were finally able to see Lorelai and Rory happy, successful and forever connected.
The Wire
HBO
With a show as intense as "The Wire" it almost seemed as though there was no way to end it.
But, with a simple montage of all of the beloved characters, the creators of the show were able to prove everyone wrong. Not only did they let some of the characters have the happy ending they deserved (which rarely happened during the show), but they were also able to show that the world and society that these characters live in was in a never-ending cycle, and that while our favorite characters might be leaving the television screen, they will forever live on in our hearts. It's corny, but it's true.
Lionsgate Television
Running Wilde
"Running Wilde" is pretty much the exact opposite example of "My So-Called Life": Even one season of this show was a little bit much. Don't get me wrong, anything with Will Arnett is wonderful and great in my book, but this show used the same formula for every episode and it got a old. It wasn't really that the series finale of this show was spectacular, it was that it got cancelled before it went too crazy. I think everyone can appreciate writers who know when the end has come.
Edited by Sarah Kramer