Apple Cookbook (10 page)

8 ounces fresh chestnuts

2 cups unsweetened applesauce

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground white pepper

1
. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2
. Cut an X into the flat side of the chestnuts. Place in a shallow baking pan and bake for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

3
. Remove the chestnuts from the oven and cool slightly. Peel while still warm; otherwise, the brown inner skins will be difficult to remove.

4
. Pass the peeled chestnuts through a ricer or use a blender or food processor to purée them. There will be approximately 1½ cups.

5
. Pour into a 1½-quart baking dish and beat in the applesauce, nutmeg, and pepper.

6
. Keep warm in a low oven until ready to serve.

Yield: 8 servings

While this dish is usually served alongside a savory entrée — the sweet flavors are particularly fine accompaniments for roasted meats and stuffing — it also makes a delicious warm or cold sweet dessert served with whipped topping or sour cream sweetened with brown sugar
.

6 medium sweet potatoes

2 medium apples (Baldwin, Granny Smith, Northern Spy)

juice of 1 lemon

½ cup (1 stick) butter

½ cup pure maple syrup

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1
. Scrub the potatoes and place in a pot of boiling water. Cook for 20 minutes, or until they can be easily pierced with a fork. Cool and peel.

2
. Preheat oven to 350°F.

3
. Cut the potatoes into ½-inch rings. Arrange a single layer of potatoes in a greased 9- by 13-inch baking pan.

4
. Peel, core, and slice the apples about ½-inch thick. Toss with the lemon juice.

5
. Place a single layer of apples over the potatoes. Continue layering until all the apple and potato slices have been used.

6
. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the maple syrup and nutmeg. Pour over the layers.

7
. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Yield: 8–10 servings

I learned to make ratatouille when living as a student in Geneva, Switzerland. My roommate would make a huge pot and we would feast on it for days. Sometimes we had it over rice, other times over noodles. When we were tired of eating it hot, we layered it on thick slices of bread, sprinkled it with a little cheese, and heated it in the oven. The apple in this version is an interesting variation on the usual eggplant
.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

4 cloves of garlic

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 green bell peppers, sliced

2 medium zucchini, sliced

6 ripe tomatoes, quartered

2 medium apples (Rome Beauty, Granny Smith, Northern Spy), diced

1
. Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the onion. Crush the garlic directly into the skillet and sauté for 5 minutes.

2
. Sprinkle the basil, oregano, allspice, and black pepper into the skillet.

3
. Stir the bell peppers into the onions and sauté for 10 minutes.

4
. Add the zucchini and the tomatoes to the skillet. Stir, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

5
. Add the apples to the ratatouille, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Yield: 8 servings

Make a quick variation of this dish by using leftover cooked rice (jasmine is wonderful) and cooking the apples in the microwave on HIGH for 3–4 minutes per apple. Serve as a vegetable and grain side dish or a light lunch
.

3 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1¼ cups water

½ cup uncooked rice

½ teaspoon ground allspice

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ cup raisins

4 large apples (Rome Beauty, Mutsu/Crispin, Winesap)

¼ cup apple juice or cider

1
. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2
. Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium-sized skillet. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes.

3
. Stir in the water, rice, allspice, and ginger. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and cover the skillet. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender but not soft. Stir in the raisins.

4
. Core the apples, leaving about ¼ inch of flesh at the bottoms. Scoop out approximately ¼ inch of flesh from the centers. Chop and add to the rice mixture.

5
. Place the apples in a baking dish and spoon the rice stuffing into and on top of the apples. Add the apple juice to the dish.

6
. Cut the remaining tablespoon of butter into small pieces and dot over the rice mixture. Cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil.

7
. Bake for 45 minutes. Serve hot as a side dish with roast chicken or pork.

Yield: 4 servings

Stringing apple wedges on skewers makes them easy to broil. They taste delicious with ham or chicken. Kabobs can also be fun for a snack or dessert; drizzle them with a little chocolate sauce for added sweetness
.

6 medium apples (Gala, Braeburn, Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious)

4 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1
. Core and cut each of the apples into 6 wedges. Cut each wedge in half. Thread on six skewers and place on a broiling pan.

2
. In a small skillet, melt the butter and stir in the peanut butter, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.

3
. Brush the apple chunks with the mixture and broil for 4 minutes (1 minute per side). Baste generously each time the skewers are given a quarter turn. Serve hot.

Yield: 6 servings

Doesn’t everybody love stuffing? Here is a novel way to present it — not actually stuffed into the roast but baked alongside in generous mounds
.

1 medium apple (Granny Smith, Braeburn, Ida Red)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 red bell peppers, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

6 slices whole-wheat bread

¼ cup apple juice or cider

1 teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon ground mace

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 egg

1
. Core and chop the apple.

2
. Heat the oil in a large skillet and sauté the apple, bell peppers, onion, and garlic for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

3
. Cube the bread and add to the skillet with the apple juice, thyme, mace, and black pepper.

4
. Beat the egg and stir into the stuffing.

5
. Form the stuffing into 4 balls and arrange around a pork or poultry roast for the last 45 minutes of roasting time.

Yield: 4 servings

Mild, sweet Italian sausages add good flavor to this stuffing. Simply skin them and crumble them into the skillet. You might also want to substitute sweet onions for the red ones
.

½ pound pork sausage

1 medium apple (Ida Red, Empire, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith)

2 medium onions, chopped

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground mace

½ teaspoon dried sage

½ teaspoon dried thyme

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

8 slices whole-wheat bread

1 egg

1
. Cook the sausage meat in a large skillet for 5 minutes, turning occasionally.

2
. Peel, core, and chop the apple. Add the apple and onions to the meat with the ginger, mace, sage, thyme, and pepper. Sauté for 5 minutes.

3
. Crumble the bread into the pan. In a small bowl, beat the egg, add it to the pan, and mix all together.

4
. Stuff into a 10- to 12-pound turkey and bake. The stuffing can be baked separately in a greased 1½-quart baking dish for 45 minutes at 350°F.

Yield: Stuffing for a 10- to 12-pound turkey

Make your own corn bread or muffins from scratch (or from a mix) the day before so you can enjoy them fresh for dinner; then use the leftovers in the stuffing the following day
.

2–4 tablespoons olive oil or butter

2 medium stalks of celery, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 medium apples (Empire, Ida Red, Golden Delicious)

2 cups crumbled corn bread (2 large muffins or 4 slices of bread)

2 tablespoons apple juice

1 egg

1
. Heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the celery and onion for 5 minutes. Add the parsley and oregano.

2
. Peel, core, and chop the apples. Sauté with the onion mixture for 5 minutes.

3
. Stir in the corn bread.

4
. Beat together the apple juice and egg. Mix into the stuffing.

5
. Stuff into a 5- to 6-pound chicken and bake. The stuffing can be baked separately in a greased 1-quart baking dish for 45 minutes at 350°F.

Yield: Stuffing for a 5- to 6-pound chicken

Marla is an old friend who lives in Poughkeepsie, New York. Not only is she a great cook, she is a professional violinist and music teacher. Although she usually uses this stuffing for turkey, it goes very well with a chicken or a goose
.

½ cup (1 stick) butter

18 medium onions, sliced

5 stalks of celery, sliced

4 cups bread cubes (8 slices of bread)

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 large apples (Ida Red)

1
. In a large skillet, melt ¼ cup of the butter. Add the onions and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes, or until softened and light golden. Set aside.

2
. In a second skillet, melt the remaining ¼ cup butter and sauté the celery for 5 minutes.

3
. Toss in the bread cubes, parsley, sage, thyme, and, and pepper.

4
. Peel, core, and dice the apples; stir them into the bread mixture.

5
. Stir the onions into the stuffing. Stuff into two 6- to 8-pound geese or one 12- to 14-pound turkey. Excess stuffing can be baked separately in a greased 2-quart baking dish for 45 minutes at 350°F.

Yield: Stuffing for two 6–8-pound geese or one 12–14-pound turkey

This can also be turned into a salsa to serve with turkey-stuffed flour tortillas. Spice it up by adding extra chopped onion and a minced jalapeño or other hot pepper
.

2 apples (Granny Smith, Empire, Braeburn)

1 orange

½ cup sugar

2 cups cranberries

1 small onion

2 tablespoons lemon juice

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1 tablespoon brandy

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1
. Core and cut each of the apples into about 8 pieces. Process in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl.

2
. Remove the orange zest in thin strips, being careful not to include the white pith. Process the zest with the sugar in a food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to the bowl. Squeeze in the orange juice.

3
. Process the cranberries, 1 cup at a time, until coarsely chopped. Add to the apples and orange zest.

4
. Peel and cut the onion into 4 pieces. Process until coarsely chopped. Add with the lemon juice, cayenne, cloves, brandy, and ginger to the bowl and stir.

5
. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for a day or two before serving.

Yield: 4 cups

Tart cranberries are mellowed with the natural sweetness of apples and pears for a fine condiment for roasts or poultry. If you prefer an even sweeter relish, dissolve 2 tablespoons honey or pure maple syrup in the apple juice
.

2 sweet apples (Golden Delicious, Gala, Honeycrisp), cored and finely chopped

2 medium pears, peeled, cored and chopped

3/4 cup cranberries, coarsely chopped

½ cup chopped pitted dates

½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted

½ cup apple juice