Apple Recipes

My favorite apple pie is the Dutch variety, which features a streusel topping instead of pastry. The main reason I like it is the topping's flavor. But I also I already have streusel in the freezer half the time, its crunch is a nice contrast to the soft apples and as the fruit settles during cooking the streusel settles with it. By the way, this version is most likely an American invention from the German-settled areas of Pennsylvania.

My mother generally made this as a side dish when I was growing - not a dessert. And we ate it often. Sometimes she'd add those red cinnamon candies to it turning a bright red, but that was a special treat. Her usual approach was much like this recipe. Very simple, fairly quick, and not even that much trouble even if you don't have kids to peel the apples.

I must confess that pork is my favorite meat, I love its rich dense flavor and firm texture. And the right cut, properly cooked is as tender as good steak. Pork also has an affinity for sweet flavors and fruit in particular. In this recipe medallions of pork tenderloin are quickly sautéed. Then a pan sauce is made combining apples, cream, and Calvados, a French apple brandy. This is easy enough for a weeknight meal, but worth saving for a special occasion. I like this dish with steamed, buttered cabbage.

This Apple-Ricotta Coffee Cake is delightfully moist and delicious with very nice textural contrasts between cake, apple, and strusel. It's perfect for a brunch and will keep for a couple of days so it can even be made the day before you plan to serve it. I like making it on a Saturday afternoon and then having it with a couple of rashers of bacon or some sausages for a late Sunday morning breakfast.

Braised Red Cabbage is a wonderful side dish, particularly with pork. In fact, cooked cabbage in general is a great side dish and cabbage is one of those dishes that cooks well in the microwave. But in this case, use a skillet or saute pan, bake a couple of pork chops or try it with this sausage ragu.

This wonderful apple cake is easy to make, packed with flavor, and perfect any time of year, but is particularly suited for fall when apples are in season and the spices fill your home with the exotic scents of the east that we so associate with apples, fall, winter, rain, and warmth. I particularly like Braeburn apples in this recipe.

Apple crisps (and fruit crisps in general) are among my favorite desserts. Crisps are quick to prepare, can be made with apples, blueberries, peaches, or almost any other fruit that's handy, including frozen fruit. The topping recipe makes more than you need, but I like to keep a bag of the topping in the freezer, which makes creating this dessert even easier. Just prepare your fruit, pull out the bag of topping and sprinkle what you need on top, and put the rest back in the freezer.

This recipe for stuffing (or dressing as we say in the South) features Italian sausage, apples, and raisins and is specifically intended to complement my recipe for Apple-brined Turkey for Two. You can prep the bread, sausage, and vegetables a day in advance and then store in separate sealed containers (don't refrigerate the bread cubes) until ready to combine and bake.