|
Apple Pecan Streusel Muffin
From Cathy Cleary, West End Bakery .
Muffins
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
1/3 cup oil
1 egg
2 local apples, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted and cooled
Streusel topping
1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons cold butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare streusel first. Cut butter into a bowl with flour and sugar. Rub together with fingers until mixture looks like a coarse meal.
Add in cinnamon and pecans. Set aside.
Sift dry muffin ingredients together.
In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients.
Gently fold wet ingredients with dry. Add fruits and nuts.
Scoop batter into prepared muffin tins.
Sprinkle tops of muffins with streusel.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Recipe: Mountain Strudel
From Tres Hundertmark, Chef at the Lobster Trap.
1/2 pound butter, softened
1 large, yellow onion, jullienned
1 quart Macintosh apples, sliced thin .
1/2 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste
1 box phyllo dough
8 ounces Spinning Spider goat ricotta cheese
2 ounces Sourwood honey
2 ounces pistachio nuts, chopped very fine
4 cups salad greens mix
8 ounces vinaigrette
Prehat oven to 400 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large sauce pan.
carmelize onion in butter over medium heat.
Add apples and wine and cook till translucent.
Season to taste with salt & pepper. Set aside an allow to cool.
Using two sheets of phyllo per strudel.
Spoon equal amounts of apple mixture on to each stack of phyllo. Add one ounce of ricotta to each serving.
Roll the phyllo.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven drizzle with honey and top with
pistachio nuts return to oven for 2 minutes.
Serve on a plate with 1/2 cup salad greens and drizzle with vinaigrette.
Recipe: Shrimp in Cider Sauce
From Tres Hundertmark, Chef at the Lobster Trap.
2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 ounces butter, clarified
1/2 gallon hard cider
4 ounces shallots
4 ounces Granny Smith apples, finely diced
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1 stick butter, softened
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat butter in a large sauce pan.
Add shrimp and shallots and cook till shrimp are about half cooked.
Deglaze the pan with cider.
Add herbs, apples, and cream and reduce till sauce begins to thicken.
Turn off the heat, and whisk in butter. Serve.
Recipe: Hot Apple Tarte
From Tres Hundertmark, Chef at the Lobster Trap.
1 sheet puff pastry
6 Macintosh apples
4 ounces sugar
1/4 pound butter
4 ounces crème anglaise
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a pan with the pastry.
Slice apples thin.
Layer the apples on the puff pastry.
Sprimkle sugar over the apples. Place pats of butter on the apples.
Bake for 10-15 minutes. Pastry should be golden brown.
6. place on service plates out of the oven. Pour over with crème angalise.
Recipe:Grilled Herb Dusted Double Cut Pork Chop, Topped with Caramelized Gala Apples
Served with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Rainbow Chard, and Cider Reduction
From Peter Fassbender, chef at Season's Restaurant at Highland Lake Inn .
Chard
3 pounds Swiss chard
1 cup chopped smoked bacon
1 red onion
Salt and pepper
Render bacon until crispy.
Add red onion and sweat for 5 to 10 minutes.
Add Chard and cook over medium heat until just cooked.
Apples
4 Pink Lady apples
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
Peel, core, and chop apples into 8 wedges.
Coat with just enough sugar to cover apples when tossed.
Heat pan and melt enough butter to just cover the bottom of the pan.
Add sugar coated apples and cook until sugar caramelizes, stirring every two minutes or so.
Cider Reduction
1 quart apple cider
Reduce cider over medium high heat until thick and syrupy.
Bone-In Pork Chop
12 to 14 ounce bone-in pork chop
Grill with a mix of sage, rosemary, and thyme.
Top with carmelized apples. Plate with potatoes and chard. Dress rainbow chard with cider reduction.
Tip: Try Local Varieties
Wonder which apples are best to bake with? Go to a farm
stand or tailgate market and ask the grower. There may be more varieties of
apples, with more flavors, textures, and qualities, than you know. You can get
distinctly different results by using different apples.
Recipe: Baked ApplesNothing beats apple pies and cakes, but we chose this traditional dessert because it really lets apples stand on their own.
6 tart apples
¼ stick softened butter
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ cup raisins
1 cup nuts
Heavy cream (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Core the apples, removing the stem and all the seeds in the center without splitting the apples themselves. Use an apple corer or stick a knife deep into the apple and cut out several slivers.
Mix the other ingredients (except for the cream) in a bowl.
Stuff the mixture in the apple holes, and mound it on top.
Bake for ½ hour, or until the apple is soft and the mixture is melted.
Serve the apples in bowls and pour heavy cream over each, if you like.
Tip: Other Oven IdeasWhen you roast meats, put chunks of apple, carrot, fennel heart, and onions on the pan. Bake apples with sweet potatoes. Stuff apples and cranberries inside squash with bread crumbs, wild rice, or sausage.
Tip: Recipe Collection
Check out the recipe collection, including more Latin American influenced dishes such as apple-jicama salad and apple, chayote, and sweet potato hash, at the US Apple Association website .
Recipe: Apple Chutney Quesadillas
Chutney goes wonderfully with rice, salads, and other dishes but we like this cross-cultural combination best.
Chutney
2 tablespoons oil
2-3 onions, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, minced
3 tart apples, diced
½ cup apple juice
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon rosemary
Salt
Pepper
Balsamic vinegar
Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.
Add onion, garlic, jalapeño, and ginger. Cook until soft.
Add apples, juice, vinegar, and herbs. Cook until soft.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Let sit for 20 minutes or cover and refrigerate overnight.
Add a splash of balsamic vinegar before serving.
Quesadillas
5 tortillas
1 pound cheese, sliced
Place tortillas in a heated pan or on a grill.
Place an equal amount of sliced cheese on each tortilla.
Top with another tortilla.
Heat until cheese is melted.
Slice into wedges. Top with chutney.
Recipe: Apple Hors D’oeuvres
Elegant apple circles make savory use of sweet fruit.
2 apples, cored
Lemon, cut into wedges
¼ cup chevre, at room temperature
1 cup nuts, chopped
Slice the cored apple into ½ inch thick circles.
Squeeze lemon over the apples.
Spread goat cheese on
the slices.
Press pieces of nuts into the cheese.
If you don’t like goat cheese, mix ¼ cup of softened cream cheese with ½
teaspoon of milk and use it instead.
Tips: Variations Here are more variations, and there's still no cooking required.
Wrap apple slices in prosciutto for a classy pairing. Or, for a kiddy combination, spread apple slices with peanut butter.
Apples also add interest to salads. Chop and toss them with
spinach and walnuts or sunflower seeds.
Dress with balsamic vinegar and oil. Add a little soy sauce.
Inspirations
These easy hors
d’oeuvres might give you the appetite for a more ambitious apple dish. Here are
inspiring ideas from The Lobster Trap restaurant in Asheville.
-Mountain Strudel--apples, goat cheese, and honey layered in
puff pastry--served with mixed greens and fig vinaigrette
-NC scallops sautéed with local apples in an applejack
brandy cream sauce
-Upside down apple cake
|
