Apples

Tangy Apple and Beet Salad

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This very simple salad comes from Fine Cooking magazine. The simplest way to “roast” a beet is to cut off the leaves, leaving about an inch of stem, scrub the beet and put it into some covered container in your microwave, making sure the beet is still wet. Steam for as long as it takes it to get tender, which is going to vary by the size of the beet. 10 minutes? 20 minutes? Depends. Carefully remove from the microwave and let it cool. Properly done, the skin just peels right off. No muss, no fuss.

Apple and Cheddar Penne Pie

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Is there anyone who doesn’t love macaroni and cheese? Ok, vegans. But otherwise ….? Here’s a version with apples. It came from Better Homes and Gardens. I always love the combination of cheddar and apples. Now here it is baked into comfort food. The springform pan is just to make for a pretty presentation. Bake it in a casserole and spoon it out if there’s no 10-inch springform pan in your cupboard.

Apple Upside Down Cake

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I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for apple desserts. The first one I’m offering is from King Arthur Flour, a riff on pineapple upside down cake. The recipe calls for making this in a cake pan, but I’m going to use my cast iron skillet. Boiled apple cider is apparently a product relatively easily found in New England, or from the King Arthur catalog. I’m going to use the apple juice concentrate instead. I love having those frozen concentrates on hand … orange juice, pineapple, apple …. they make it easy to add lots of fruit flavor without lots of liquid. Great for glazes for grilling as well. The idea about putting the apple top in the center of the cake makes for an interesting presentation. You could skip it and just use apple slices instead.

Homemade Caramelized Applesauce

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One more idea for apples is this lovely recipe for applesauce.I found this recipe through the website for NPR’s Splendid Table. Here are their testing notes: A heavy-bottomed saucepan and long, slow cooking are necessary here to prevent scorching of the caramelization that is the essence of this delicious sauce. Keep a close eye on the mixture while it is cooking on high heat; again, to make sure it isn’t scorching. Go by the progress of the caramelization rather than a specific number of minutes. We also made a double batch; it works, but the caramelization takes longer because of the increased volume. Either way, we think it’s worth the time because the sauce is so very good. From the “Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook” by DeDe Lahman and Neil Kleinberg (Little, Brown and Company). Granny Smiths are fine here, but you could really use whatever’s in the box. The cookbook says “peeled”, but I wouldn’t do it – if I didn’t want the bits of peel, I’d just use my immersion blender to make a smooth puree when everything is cooked. Up to you.