I asked some friends what food comes to mind when fall arrives. Answers included comfort food, apples, pumpkin, cranberries, and pie. An apple a day, keeps the doctor away!,” so the saying goes. The other foods indicative of the season, are on my docket to write about. Fall flavors are my favorites. Perhaps they are yours as well.
Today, I’m talking apples. Americans eat more apples per capita than any other fruit, on average 45.5 pounds, including 65 fresh apples per year. It was of interest that 4.500 of the 7,500 varieties available globally are grown in the United States.
Fall is the time many return to the kitchen, experimenting with new recipes to add to their repertoire of holiday dishes. Cooking and baking are activities that bring the family together, especially on a cold and rainy day.
A day spent apple picking draws us to the kitchen, because, we think, now what am I going to do with all of these apples? Apple picking is a popular autumn family activity, and what better way to embrace the season than to gather in the kitchen to prepare some dishes with the “crop” you have just picked?
Farmers’ markets and country stores showcase the season’s bounty of apples and other fall crop favorites. The pick-your-own orchards are busy too, with friends and families reaching for many varieties to take home and prepare some old favorites, and if you are like me, some new dishes, with the recently picked bounty.
The upcoming October three-day weekend is a weekend that people enjoy driving the back roads to pick-your-own orchards and farmers markets, while enjoying the fall foliage. This particular long weekend is my annual pilgrimage back to Western Massachusetts, the area where I went to graduate school.
Over the years, much of the farmland that once lined Route 9, the main road between Amherst and Northampton, has been developed, now touting restaurant chains and big box retailers. Sadly, the quaint country ambiance of years past is gone, at least, that is on Route 9. I now drive through back roads to experience the area as it was when I lived there. There are still many farms and honor-system, rickety wooden stands where you pick just the right pumpkin and freshly picked apples, leaving the money in a can or box.
Before I tempt you with some apple recipes, did you know?…
• According to the U.S. Apple Association, Pennsylvania is the 4th in the top ten apple producing states. Washington, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, California and Virginia North Carolina, Oregon, Ohio, Idaho.
• According to the Pennsylvania Cider Guild, apples are grown across 20,000 acres of land in all 67 counties in PA. There are 100 varieties grown in the state, with about 65 percent for processing (including cider making) and 35 percent for fresh consumption.
• According to the PA Apple Marketing Program, “the four south central Pennsylvania counties of Adams, Cumberland, Franklin and York make up one of the Eastern United States’ greatest apple growing regions. Bedford, Berks, Erie, Juniata, Lehigh and Snyder counties are also major apple producing counties. Approximately one-third of Pennsylvania’s apple crop is sold fresh through farm markets and supermarkets. The remainder of the crop is sold for processing to make apple cider, applesauce, apple pies and delicious apple juice. Did you know that the world’s largest apple processor, Knouse Foods Cooperative, Inc., is based in Adams County? Knouse Foods sells its apple products under brand names like Musselman’s, Lucky Leaf, and Speas Farm. Mott’s USA and Zeigler’s Cider are other nationally known brands that are produced in Pennsylvania. Did you know that Red Delicious apples make up 30% of the state’s apple crop – the most popular variety? The second most popular variety is Golden Delicious, which accounts for 16% of the crop.“
There are so many delicious recipes through which we can celebrate the apple, so why limit the choices to the old standbys like pie and sauce?
To get ready for cooking the apples I’ll be picking, I recently took one of my favorite apple cookbooks off the shelf, “The Apple Cookbook”, 125 Freshly Picked Recipes” by Olwen Woodier (2015, Storey Publishing, $14.95). I think it will inspire you to think “out of the box.” There are recipes from sweet to savory and from simple to show-stopping, with gluten-free options as well. Here are two to get started. For the author’s recipe for apple-cranberry meringue pie go to https://bit.ly/3ktzvne
Sausage & Cheese Strata
The headnote says, “Use any thick-cut sliced bread for this baked dish. If the bread is very fresh, let the cubes sit out on a baking tray to dry. For the cheese, choose grated cheddar, mixed Mexican-style, or odds and ends on hand, even crumbled blue or feta. Mozzarella is not a good choice because it forms strands rather than melting into the layers. A strata like this can serve as a festive dinner or brunch side, or as a main dish with a salad or roasted vegetable.”
4 sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
1 medium sweet onion, diced
¼ medium fennel bulb, tough outer layers and basal core removed,
grated on large holes of box grater, or more to taste
2 medium apples (ripe Granny Smith, Stayman, Fuji), peeled, cored,
and diced
2 tablespoons snipped fresh fennel fronds or chopped fresh rosemary or fresh
thyme
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 loaf Italian or French (soft crust) bread, cut into 1/2-inch slices, then
1-inch pieces (5–6 cups)
2 cups grated or crumbled cheese of choice (except mozzarella)
4 large eggs
3 cups whole or low-fat milk
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9- by 13-inch baking dish.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Crumble in the sausages and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Stir in the onion and fennel and cook for 5 minutes. Add the apples, fennel fronds, and salt and pepper to taste, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Spread half of the bread pieces in the prepared baking dish. Cover with half of the sausage mixture. Sprinkle half of the cheese over the top. Make another layer with the bread and top with the remaining sausage mixture.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in the milk. Pour over the bread and sausage mixture. Using the back of a serving spoon or a spatula, lightly press down on the strata. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup cheese over the top. Let the strata sit at room temperature for 15 minutes so the bread can begin to soak up the liquids.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until puffed and golden.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Apples
The headnote says, “This recipe is another favorite of Jim Law’s of Linden Vineyards. You can replace the butter with olive oil, but the flavor will not be quite as rich. The stuffing can also be used in split boneless chicken breasts, which you would bake for only 20 to 25 minutes”.
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
2 medium apples (Jonagold, Stayman, Winesap, Fuji), peeled if
desired, cored, and thinly sliced
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs, made by processing 2 large slices stale
bread
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried savory
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil, plus more if needed
GLAZE
4 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon brown mustard
Split the tenderloin almost in half lengthwise. Place it between two sheets of wax paper and pound it to about 1/2 inch thick.
Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the apples and onion and saute until lightly browned and soft, about 5 minutes. Add the bread crumbs, marjoram, and savory, and toss with the apple mixture until moistened through. Remove from the heat.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
Season the inside of the tenderloin with the salt and pepper and spread the apple stuffing over the surface.
Roll the tenderloin lengthwise and tie with kitchen string. Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the teaspoon of oil and brown the pork on all sides, drizzling in a little more oil if necessary. Place in a baking dish.
To make the glaze, combine the honey, brown sugar, vinegar, and mustard in a small bowl.
Pour the glaze over the tenderloin and bake for 45 minutes, basting with the glaze 3 or 4 times. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5- 10 minutes before serving.
