I guess my first memories of apples used for a special purpose other than just eating raw, comes from when I was a very little girl. Every Thursday night my mother, sister and I were on our own because my dad and his brother, Uncle Sam, would go to my grandmother's house for dinner on their way home from work. Each week she prepared a succulent dinner for her sons while they helped my grandfather sort through his papers and bills. As they left after dinner she handed each a shopping bag filled with goodies to bring home...golden pieces of juicy chicken, or her snowy white gefilte fish, and best of all, two little apple pies...one for me and one for my sister. Every week my dad would bring the the two empty tiny pie tins back to Grandma, and he would return home with them filled with her delicious miniature apple pies, chock full of apples and raisins, with the aroma of cinnamon wafting from the still warm treats. To this day I cannot eat apple pie without thinking of my grandmother.
Fall is time when families usually head to the orchards and go apple picking. We used to go with our children and still do so with our grand-children. Of course, once you get the bags and bags and bags of freshly picked apples home you need to do something with them! Applesauce... apple pie... baked apples... apple crisp...until the sight of another apple makes you dizzy!
Actually, I have never made an apple pie. Since I am the reigning Queen of Instant Gratification I find pie crust just takes too long to make, what with precise measuring, chilling and waiting...just not in my tolerance zone... Frozen, store-bought pie crust is usually not too good (I only use it for quiche, if I need one fast!) so I leave apple pie baking to the real bakers and opt for the easier stuff or something with a graham cracker crust.
Whenever we are in the Berkshires we always go to the best apple pie baker I have ever met...the woman who owns Taft Farms. What would our Thanksgiving be without "Mrs. Taft's" apple pie? (...not her real name, but they now own Taft Farms ...so...she is Mrs. Taft!!!)
Hers are by far the best I have eaten...with a flaky, flavorful crust and a filling that marries sweet and tart perfectly. Apples are piled high and the sweet aroma steams through the slits in the crust as it warms in the oven...in addition, she does bake apple/blueberry, peach, pumkin, pecan, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry/blueberry and apple raspberry pies, etc...but the hands down favorite is indeed, her apple pie! It is not unusual for us to drive back to the city with five or six of her frozen pies to deliver to city friends. So, since "Mrs. Taft" has cornered the apple pie market in my neck of the woods, I have had to find other ways to utilize the mountain of apples that piles up in my kitchen every Fall.
Of all of the ways I can utilize apples, one of my favorites is a savory chicken dish with sweet apples. The actual chicken recipe is my mother's and it is very delicious alone...I added the apples one time in an effort to make a more "company impressing" dish and it has remained high on the family request list since then. It is a special favorite of my sister's, who claims that according to the theory of Division of Labor we are a perfect example... I cook...she eats!
Apple of My Eye Chicken
1 chicken cut in 1/8ths
lemon
salt and pepper
paprika
ginger powder
garlic powder
olive oil
1-Heat oven to 375 degrees
2-prepare a baking dish (preferably metal) by spraying with Pam and adding 2 tbsp of olive oil
3-Place chicken skin side up in pan and squeeze 1/2 of lemon over pieces
4- liberally season with salt...pepper...garlic powder...ginger powder...and paprika (in that order) then turn chicken over...squeese other half of lemon over it and repeat the seasoning process
5- Place in pre-heated oven for 25 minutes then turn over and return to oven for another 25 minutes.
While chicken cooks prepare the apple topping
Apple Topping
3 Granny Smith (or other firm apple) apples sliced in 1/8ths
cinnamon
dark brown sugar
butter
white wine
1/2 cup Raisins...optional
2 tbsp. Calvados (optional)
1- In a saute pan melt 2-3 tbsp. butter and add apple slices
2-As apples begin to sweat add 2 tbsp. brown sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon (I add more because we love cinnamon!)
3- As this becomes carmelized slowly add 1/2 cup white wine and another tbsp. brown sugar...let it become carmelized again...add more wine if needed last, add raisins and Calvados and mix through
To Serve
Create a mound of cooked brown rice on a serving platter...place cooked chicken around mound and spoon apples over the rice and chicken...
We love delicious desserts in my family. (OK...I know...whose family doesn't love delicious desserts?!) Apple desserts are huge favorites and the Fall Jewish holidays always have wonderful traditional desserts filled with them. My Aunt Francie's Apple Cake brings with it lovely memories of my dad's sister...a beloved aunt who was smart, strong, fun and loving. My son brought a bag of apples to me yesterday and
"hinted" that they would be perfect for...
Aunt Francie's Apple Cake
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup cinnamon and sugar mixture
3 cups flour
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
5 mackintosh apples
Preheat oven tp 350 degrees
Peel and cut apples into slices
Mix apples with cinnamon and sugar mixture
Beat eggs
Add oil, sugar juices salt and vanilla
Slowly add flour mixed with baking powder and mix until smooth but do not over mix
Pour into a greased oblong baking pan and place apples in rows sticking them at a slight angle into the batter ... dot with butter
Bake for 1 hour...
I also make it in a tube pan and put half of batter into a greased tube pan, place half of apple-cinnamon mixture on top, cover with remaining batter and place remaining apples on top...dot with butter and I also use some more cinnamon and sugar here...bake 45 minutes and check for doneness...usually it needs an hour...but it should not over bake so I check to make sure...
When we were in France we were treated to a divine apple confection known as Tarte Tatin...Whenever we see it on a restaurant menu we order it...always trying to recapture Paris... I have searched for a recipe that tastes like my memory of that first time I ate it, and the closest I have come was the following:
Classic Apple Tarte Tatin: From Flavorgasmic
Homemade or your favourite pie dough
6 Golden Delicious apples
1 ½ cups sugar
4 tbsp lemon juice
6 tbsp unsalted butter
Starting with your apples cut each in half and then cut each half into 4 lengthwise wedges. It’s important that you use a dessert apple and not a baking apple which tend to get mealy in this application, Golden Delicious tend to work best. In a bowl toss the apple wedges in the lemon juice and sugar. Drain the apples after soaking for 15 minutes.
In a 9 in. skillet over high heat melt the butter and add the remaining sugar. Cook the butter and sugar until it creates a nice brown caramel then remove the pan from the heat. Take the drained apple wedges and arrange them in the caramel in a circular pattern around the pan. After one layer add the remaining apples neatly on top. You can really use any pattern you want, just remember you will see them since you will be turning the tart upside-down when you are done, just have fun. Return the pan to medium heat and continue cooking the apples until the juices and caramel becomes thick and syrupy.
Roll out your pie dough so that it forms a round roughly one inch wider than your pan. Place the dough over the apples and press down so that the edges are inside the pan and the dough is in good contact with the apples. Cut several slits into the dough to allow steam to escape and bake in a preheated oven set to 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes until the dough is brown and crispy.
When finished place a serving dish on the top of the pan and invert to unmold the tart (the dough should be on the bottom). Serve warm with either whipped cream or ice cream.
...so head out to the orchards...or to the local grocery and pick up some crisp, delicious apples and get busy in the kitchen!!!
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