APPLE TIME
Food festivals abound at this time of the year; from pumpkins to oysters to
apples, but the tastiest and most versatile of all these fall delights for the
home cook must be apples. Orchards and farmer’s markets sport baskets of
uncommon as well as the more familiar varieties of those shiny globes. It is no
wonder they have inspired the old clichés: such as being someone’s “apple
of his/her eye” or the quintessential saying about “motherhood and apple pie”.
The tart and sweet flavor of a juicy fresh apple is a joy in itself, but apples
are also wonderfully adapted to complement a variety of foods from salads to
soups such as pumpkin and squash. Shredded apples can brighten up morning
pancakes or muffins. Fried apples make a wonderful accompaniment to a pork
roast or even turkey. Still, we mostly tend to think of apples for desert,
where their uses are only limited by the cook’s imagination.
Apple pie and apple crunch currently seem to be most popular apple deserts, but
there are also less caloric and simpler ways to make apple deserts.
Baked apples
Cut a ¼ inch slice from blossom-end
of 6 baking apples such as Winesap, Cortland. Braeburn, Honeycrisp or other
firm apple. Carefully hallow out the core leaving a hole in each apple and set
in a baking pan with 1 ½ inch sides. Fill holes with some seedless raisins, chopped
walnuts or pecans and ½ cup sugar mixed with ½ tsp. cinnamon. Pour enough water
or cider in the pan to about ½ inch depth and bake the apples in a 350 degree
oven for 45 – 60 minutes, until easily pierced with a fork. Serve warm or at
room temperature.
Fried apples
These can be used as accompaniment to meat or as a basis for a quick
desert. Cut 4-6 tart flavorful un-pared apples in quarters, quickly core and
slice in 2 or 3 lengthwise slices. Melt 2-3 tblsp. butter in in heavy 10 inch
skillet and cook apples gently before they discolor for 4 minutes. Turn apple
slices over with a pancake turner and sprinkle with ¼ cup sugar. Cover,
reduce heat and cook for 1-2 more minutes until sugar is absorbed and underside
is lightly brown. For desert, sprinkle with an additional ¼ cup sugar, ½ tsp.
cardamom and ¼ tsp. cinnamon. If serve for desert, a scoop of ice cream or some
whipped cream make this dish especially festive.
Apple brown Betty
This is an old fashioned desert that seems to have gone out of style, but is
easy, quick and delicious when made with apple cider.
Butter or spray with baking
spray a 9x9x2 inch baking dish. Lightly toast 6 slices of several days old
bread and pull into bite size pieces and drizzle with ¼ cup melted butter, toss
well and place 1/3 of the bread in the prepared pan. Cover with 3 cups of cored
and thinly sliced apples Mix ½ cup white or brown sugar with ½ tsp. cinnamon
and spread ½ over the apples. Cover with 1/3 of the crumbs, another 3 cups of
sliced apples, the rest of the sugar and the last 1/3 of the bread. Drizzle
with ½ cup cider, cover tightly with foil and bake at 400 degrees of 30
minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes until the top is browned
and crisp. Serve warm or at room temperature with or without whipped cream.
Apple Pandowdy
This old-time desert with an intriguing name is an adaptation from “The
Modern (1955) Encyclopedia of Cooking” by Meta Givens and has served us
well for many years. Butter or spray with baking spray an 8x8x2 inch baking pan
and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Unless the apple skins are though, just
core 4-5 medium tart cooking apples and coarsely shred in the prepared baking
pan, spreading uniformly over the bottom. Sift a ¼ tsp. salt over the apples to
prevent discoloration and sprinkle with ½ cup white sugar mixed with ¼ tsp.
nutmeg. Cover and place in oven for 10 minutes while preparing the cottage
pudding. Cottage pudding: Sift together 1 ¾ cups flour with 2 tsp.
baking powder ¼ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. baking soda. In a bowl cream 1/3 cup
soft butter with 2/3 cups sugar, ½ tsp. vanilla, ½ tsp. lemon
extract and beat in 1 egg until fluffy. Add flour and 1 cup buttermilk
alternately in 3 or 4 portions. End with flour and beat batter until smooth. Assemble:
top apples from oven with 1/3 cup dried currants (optional) and spread the
Cottage pudding mix evenly on top. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until the pudding
tests done with an inserted toothpick. Cool on cake rack, then loosen the sides
with a knife and invert cake on a serving plate.
Old time cookbooks have some rather literal imaginative names for other apple
deserts, such as Apple Grunt. Interestingly, there are none that imply
‘moderation’ in eating .
(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)
