Fall Pleasures
It does not require the official
date for fall equinox to get me in the mood for the changing of seasons.
Granted, the rains and early frost warnings have had their influence, but frankly
the overabundance of this year’s garden has practically worn me out. We should
be well supplied for the winter with pickles, peach conserves and a freezer
full of vegetables, some already in the form of curried soups or various
medleys for huevos rancheros and other vegetable sauces. All of which of course
will be better appreciated in January.
An even better reason for seasonal
change lies in anticipating the changing flavors of the season. Bountiful fall apples from local orchards,
the solid and substantial squashes of every stripe and color, the cheerful gold
of pumpkins even on a rainy day, all
signal the welcoming reappearance of a warmth in the kitchen and on the table,
that spell the comfort of home.
We think of old favorite family
recipes and dust off the crockpot. At the same time, the heady summer feeling
is not quite gone and we appreciate the thought of updates for old favorites
and occasionally find ourselves delighted with a dish that is so ‘out of the
box’ to be incongruous and yet turns out to be utterly delicious.
Recently, my thoughts had turned to
that quintessential fall food sauerkraut and I was contemplating a necessary
supply stop in at Morse’s. It must have been on my mind when we stopped for
lunch at the Happy Clam, a German and coastal blend restaurant in Tennant’s
Harbor. There on the menu was truly an item from ‘out of the box” thinking –
Lobster Reuben. Of course I had to try
it and can report that the idiosyncratic, slightly tangy combination of fresh
sauerkraut, sauce and tender chunks of lobster on a grilled rye sandwich are
not only absolutely delicious, but could be addictive. The traditional Maine’s lobster roll now has
an inspired companion.
Apples are everyone’s delight this
time of the year. Somehow it seems that their shape and color alone make them
the friendliest looking of all fruit and the juicy crunch of that first bite
has a special appeal. Recipes for apple deserts abound from pies to muffins and
cakes. The simplest of recipes, which
harkens back to my childhood memories, is an open faced flat yeast sweet dough
cake, topped with overlapping apple slices slightly browned with sugar and
cinnamon. The other day, being a bit short on time, I needed to improvise.
Since sweet yeast dough takes at least a couple of hours to make, I simply took
a shortcut and used some commercial Crescent roll dough, from the refrigerator.
Sweet
apple flat bread
Line a 11x15 inch pan with parchment
paper. Unroll the dough from 2 packages of Crescent Dough and spread out flat
on the pan, fitting the pieces tightly with your fingers with no open seams.
Prepare the topping mixing 1 scant cup of sugar with 1 tsp. cinnamon. Pare and quarter 5 large Cortland or other
firm apples, drop the quarters in 3 cups water with 1 Tblsp. lemon juice to
prevent discoloration. Drain quarters and slice each quarter in 4-5 slices.
Arrange the slices slightly overlapping in rows lengthwise along the dough on
the pan. Drizzle with 1 Tblsp. lemon juice. Melt 4 Tblsp. butter and brush the
apples with melted butter. Sprinkle the sugar topping over the apples, drizzle
with any remaining butter and sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake in a 350 degree oven
for 30 minutes. Serve cut in squares warm or cold. For a smaller cake use one
package of Crescent dough and a 7x12 inch pan and cut the rest of the
ingredients in half. The cake keeps well for a day or two.
I still need to make that trip to
Morses, since there is a sparerib and sauerkraut dinner on my list.
(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat
Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”;
website: www.winicov-harrington.com)
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