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Pink Applesauce
Pink Applesauce
This applesauce is very easy and makes a beautiful presentation. Serves 8.
3 lbs. Liberty apples, quartered and cored
2 TB freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt
In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine apples and lemon juice. Cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are soft, 15 to 30 minutes. Pass through a food mill fitted with the medium disk. Stir in cinnamon and salt. Use immediately, or store, refrigerated, in a covered container for up to 1 week.
Curried Squash Soup
Curried Squash Soup
This recipe is adapted from one of my all time favorite cookbooks, The Silver Palate Cookbook. Considered the new Joy of Cooking when I got married 16 years ago, its recipes have stood the test of time. This particular soup is one of my favorites and must be made at least once each and every autumn when squash is abundant. Makes 4-6 servings.
4 TB sweet butter
2 cups finely chopped onions
4-5 tsp curry powder
3 lbs. orange-fleshed winter squash, like butternut or red kuri
2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup apple cider
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
plain yogurt for garnish
Melt the butter in a pot. Add chopped onions and curry powder and cook, covered, over low heat until onions are tender, about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, peel the squash, scrape out the seeds and chop the flesh. When onions are tender, pour in the stock, add squash and apples, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until squash and apples are very tender, about 25 minutes. Pour the soup through a strainer, reserving liquid, and transfer the solids to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, or use a food mill fitted with a medium disc*. Add 1 cup of the cooking stock and process until smooth. Return pureed soup to the pot and add apple cider and additional cooking liquid, about 2 cups, until the soup is of the desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper, simmer briefly to heat through and serve immediately, garnished with yogurt.
*I normally use an immersion blender and puree the soup right in the pot, eliminating the straining step. I then add the apple cider to the desired consistency.
Apple and Cranberry Chutney
Apple and Cranberry Chutney
This assertive chutney balances the sweetness in the rest of the meal nicely. I find the apple and cranberry combination a refreshing change from the standard cranberry sauce. Serves 8.
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 medium onion, chopped
2 lb macintosh apples (about 4 or 5), peeled, cored and cut in 1/2 dice
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup apple cider
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
12 oz fresh cranberries
Melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add onion and saute for 1-2 minutes. Add apples, saute for another 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the cranberries. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in cranberries and continue cooking until cranberries are softened and most of the liquid is absorbed. Taste and adjust seasonings and sweetness as desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Blue Cheese, Apple & Leek Tart with a Spiced Whole-Wheat Crust
Blue Cheese, Apple & Leek Tart with a Spiced Whole-Wheat Crust
I recently came across this recipe in the 2007 Appetizer issue of Fine Cooking Magazine. I plan to serve it, as adapted, as an appetizer for Christmas dinner. Serves 8-10.
For the tart shell:
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) sifted unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (2 oz) sifted whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground mace
pinch cayenne
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into bits
4 - 6 TB ice water
For the filling:
1 medium leek, light and green parts only, split lengthwise, sliced crosswise, washed and drained
1 TB unsalted butter
1 medium apple, unpeeled, cored and cut into 1/4 dice
3 large eggs
1 cup half-and-half or light cream
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 lb blue cheese, trimmed of rind and crumbled
To make the shell, stir the two flours, coriander, mace, cayenne and salt together in a medium bowl or food processor. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until the butter bits resemble oatmeal. Mix in just enough ice water to form a ball of dough. Gently flatten into a smooth disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour. Once chilled, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Drape the dough over the rolling pin and place over a 10-11 fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Fit into pan, trimming any excess, making sure there are no holes in the pastry dough where the filling may leak out. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge while you prepare the filling.
Preheat the oven to 375F. To make the filling, heat butter in a medium skillet; add the leeks and apples. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the leeks are brightly colored and the apples are softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. Lightly beat the eggs, half-and-half, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Place the tart pan with dough on a cookie sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper. Distribute the cooled leek mixture evenly over the tart dough. Sprinkle the crumbled blue cheese over the mixture. Pour the custard over the top. Bake until the custard has set in the middle and the top begins to turn golden, about 45 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before serving.
Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan
The cranberry juice adds a local touch to this festive cocktail. Serves 6.
1 1/4 ounces Vermont Spirits or Sunshine Vodka* (about 2 1/2 tablespoons)
1/4 ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice (about 3/4 tablespoon)
1/4 ounce Cointreau (about 3/4 tablespoon)
1/4 cup cranberry juice
1 cup ice cubes
In a cocktail shaker combine all ingredients. Shake well and strain into a Martini glass.
*Although I was going to recommend Vermont Spirits Gold vodka, made from distilled Vermont maple syrup, their website suggests that other vodkas are preferable for cocktails mixed with fruit juice.
Sweet Turnip Salad with Yogurt
Sweet Salad Turnip Salad with Yogurt
Adapted from The Silver Spoon Cookbook. Serves 4.
4 small to medium sweet salad turnips, thinly sliced
1 apple
scant 1/2 cup plain yogurt
salt and pepper to taste
minced fresh parsley for garnish
Place sliced turnips in a salad bowl. Peel and core apple and cut into wedges. Using a very sharp knife, cut the wedges into water-thin slices and add to the turnips. Combine the yogurt and a pinch of pepper in a bowl, add to the salad, toss, garnish with parsley and serve.
Apple-Strawberry Crisp
Apple-Strawberry Crisp
This recipe is based on one from the Cooking with Shelburne Farms cookbook by Melissa Pasanen and Rick Gencarelli. I've substituted strawberries for blackberries to match the share contents, but this basic recipe really works well with so many fruits.
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar or maple sugar
1 1/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp table salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/4 cubes
1/2 cup rolled oats (not instant)
3 pounds apples, peeled cored, and thinly sliced
3 cups frozen, unthawed strawberries
1/3 cup loosely packed cup light brown sugar or maple sugar
2 TB all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350F. Using a food processor, pulse the light and dark brown (or maple) sugars, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together to combine. Add the butter and oatmeal and pulse just until the topping is gravelly with pieces of oatmeal still visible. Set aside.
In a buttered 9x13-inch baking pan or other shallow 3.5 - 4 quart baking dish, toss together the apples, strawberries, sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cover generously with topping, using your hands to squeeze together handfuls and pat them into place. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the topping is dark golden brown and the apples are soft.
Rutabaga, Potato and Apple Gratin
Rutabaga, Potato and Apple Gratin
Adapted from Jame's Peterson's book, Vegetables. Serves 6-8.
1 small garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
3/4 cup milk combined with 1 cup heavy cream, or 1 3/4 cups half-and-half
2 medium (about 1 and one-half pounds total) waxy potatoes
1 rutabaga (2 pounds), peeled
3 medium apples, cored, peeled and sliced thin
1 cup (about 3 ounces) grated/crumbled Bourree cheese (cheddar works too)
salt and freshly groound black pepper
One-quarter teaspoon grated nutmeg
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Rub the inside of a large, oval gratin dish or square or rectangular baking dish with butter. Crush the garlic clove into a fine paste with the side of a chef's knife and combine it in a saucepan with the milk and cream.
Peel the potatoes -- keep them under cold water if you're not using them right away -- and slice them into three-sixteenth-inch-thick rounds with a mandolin, vegetable slicer, or by hand. Peel the rutabaga into rounds the same thickness as the potatoes. Cut the rutabaga in half to make the slicing easier. Bring the milk and cream mixture to a simmer.
Arrange the potato, rutabaga and apple slices in alternating layers in the gratin dish, sprinkling each layer with cheese, the milk and cream mixture, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Save a fourth of the grated cheese for sprinkling over the top of the gratin. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the top of the gratin is golden brown and the vegetables are easily penetrated with a paring knife.
Wheat Berries with Strawberry Sauce and Yogurt
Wheat Berries with Strawberry Sauce and Yogurt
So, you've made more wheat berries than you ate last night and are wondering what to do with the rest. Why not serve them for breakfast? Of course, this would also make an excellent mid-afternoon snack or evening dessert. Serves 2.
10 oz frozen strawberries
1 TB honey, optional
pinch salt
2 cups cooked wheat berries, warm
plain or flavored yogurt
Place strawberries, honey and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Turn down heat and keep at a simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until strawberries are thawed and heated through. Divide warm wheat berries between two bowls. Spoon strawberry sauce over the top and garnish with a generous dollop of yogurt. Yum!
Honey, Apple Crisp
Honey, Apple Crisp
Incredibly easy to throw together, this crisp makes a lovely weeknight treat. Serve it with a dollop of last week's yogurt or a spoonful of whipped cream. Serves 6-8.
1.5 lbs apples, peeled, cored and sliced (about 6 cups)
1/2 cup + 2TB honey, divided, or to taste
1 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
5 TB cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Preheat the oven to 375F. Butter an 8 square pan and set aside. Combine the apples, honey, vanilla and salt. Spread into the prepared pan. Whisk together the flour, oats, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in the honey, and then cut in the butter until a coarse meal forms. Sprinkle over fruit topping. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the juices are bubbling, apples are tender and the top is golden brown. Serve warm.
