Apple Fest Swan Song: Maple Apple Upside Down Cake

With this maple apple upside down cake, the time has come to say goodbye to apple fest.  Never fear, up next is a pumpkin party, which will hopefully provide inspiration for all of your pumpkin cravings!  Although this is the last post in apple fest, I cannot guarantee that apples will not continue to pop up here throughout the rest of the fall, as they are most certainly one of my favorite ingredients, and something I eat every day (though usually not gussied up in recipes).   I found this case recipe (a sign from my brain that I should be working rather than blogging right now) on Food and Wine's website and it is by Joanne Chang, the owner of one of my favorite bakeries here in Boston - Flour.  While I love, love, love Flour's baked goods in store, I have found that recipes from the Flour cookbook don't always work that well.  I am sad to say that there was a pretty big error in the Food and Wine recipe for this cake too (a 1 and half hour baking time) which I luckily discovered by reading the comments (unluckily I didn't read the comments until I had already baked the cake 1 hour!).  I have adjusted the baking time in the recipe below, and the only other change was the addition of some cinnamon.  I have a hard time staying away from the cinnamon when apples are around.    This is a dessert that is is really beautiful, so can be special occasion, but it also feels just right with a cup of coffee in the afternoon.  Now we are ready move on to some pumpkin.

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Applefest: Fall Applejack Cocktail

For my applefest cocktail I knew I wanted to make something with Applejack - an apple brandy than is the base of one my favorite classic cocktails, the Jack Rose.  I wanted something a little richer than that cocktail, which is made with applejack, lemon juice and grenadine.  Rye Whiskey seemed like the perfect thing to mix the brandy with to make a cocktail that had some depth and gave you that warm toasty fall feeling.  I also added some maple syrup and lemon juice, and topped the cocktail off with a little (nonalcoholic) sparkling cider to lighten it up a smidgen.  I was really happy with this concoction and serving it in the champagne coupe made it feel like something special.  This would be great for your fall holiday gatherings.

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Apple Fest: Apple Ricotta Toasts

We're almost at the end of apple fest and soon will be moving on to pumpkin fest (oh yeah, and this is still a book review blog too, right?  The Marriage Plot and Game of Thrones coming soon).   This Apple Ricotta toast is something for the easy but indulgent breakfast/brunch hopper. I saw it on Food and Wine's website, and the recipe is from April Bloomfield, whose Spotted Pig restaurant I love in NY and whose cookbook, a Girl and Her Pig, I am also a big fan of, for the pictures at least, I have not made anything from it yet.  This toast attracted be because it was different than the usual apple breakfast concoctions - muffins, breads, pancakes and because it had fresh ricotta, which is one of my favorite things to eat.  The recipe calls for thickly sliced pan de mie or other fancy bakery white bread. I went with Trader Joe's Texas Toast and I must say it was a revelation.   I generally don't eat white bread, so have never had this before, though I have seen it often on my sister's kitchen counter.  The bread was perfect for this dish   - it is a thickly sliced enriched white bread - kinda like challah but not quite as rich, making it a good base for the buttery apples and cheese.   Since the bread is so thick, one piece of toast is the perfect portion per person.  This is something you could whip up as a treat for yourself or as a dish for guests.  And while the bread and cheese are great, in truth this is all about the sweet buttery pile of apples.  Enjoy.

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Apple Fest: Quinoa with Caramelized Onions and Apples

Here is a healthy and seasonal side dish or meal combining apples and quinoa.  Whenever I eat quinoa (which is admittedly, not very often), I think that it needs a lot of help to taste really great.  With some other grains, like white or brown rice, I totally love the grain itself plain, on its own, with only a little fat and salt and pepper.  Quinoa does not have, for me, great flavor or texture on its own.  In sum, when I eat quinoa I know I am eating something healthy.   But because it is healthy, I want to try to eat quinoa more instead of rice, so I look for ways to jazz it up. For my apple week dish, I decided to make an apple quinoa salad kind of thing, adding some caramelized onions to punch up the savory flavors and some toasted pecans for some crunch.  This turned out to be the perfect sweet, savory, crunchy combination, and this side dish would be perfect for someone putting together a "healthy" thanksgiving meal (I will be filling my table, or more accurately my sister's table, with mashed potatoes, stuffing and squash...)  This would also be a great mixture to stuff a squash or pumpkin with, adding a little grated cheese to the top.  Without further delay, my side dish contribution to Apple Fest.

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Apple Fest: Peter Brady's Porkchops

I fear the name of my post really reveals my age. I am sure there are lots of you twenty somethings out there that have no idea who Peter Brady is, much less what he has to do with pork chops.  For those of you readers who are generally in the vicinity of my generation (who enjoyed the Brady Bunch every night in reruns) or of the generation before mine (who enjoyed it in prime time) you may remember the Brady Bunch episode where Peter Brady became famous for utterly the phrase "pork chops and applesauce" with  a funny voice and accent (I believe he was trying to imitate Humphrey Bogart? What was this episode about anyway?)  Text can't do it justice check it out here.  From when I saw that episode as a kid (probably 10 times!) to now, whenever I think about pork chops, I hear Peter Brady's weird voice in my head.  Until recently, I was into pork chops at all.  And still, to be fair, I never order them in a restaurant, never have a real craving for them.  In fact, the only way I ever eat pork chops is prepared as depicted in the photo above - thin porkchops smothered in a sweet and sour apple sauce.  This is my savory contribution to apple fest, boneless pork chops cooked with a shallot and apple pan sauce.  Yum!

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