Deli-Apple-icious

Too much?

Ah well. You might change your mind if you try this recipe.

Can you guess what this is? Note that colour. Oh, it's so pink and pretty, isn't it?

You scrolled down to see what it is, didn't you?

That's okay. I would have, too.

I'm telling you about beautiful, delicious Ida Red Apple Sauce. Yes, it needs to be Ida Red. Sure, you can use other apples. It just won't be deli-apple-icious. Ida Reds have a semi-firm flesh, gorgeous red skin, high juice content, and a sweet-tartness that is perfect to create a blushing sauce for your dinner table.



Here's what you need:

Ida Red Applesauce
Ripe Ida Red apples, washed, as many as you want (I used 9 large to medium-large apples to serve 5)
1/4 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 tablespoons of sugar (optional)
Pot to cook them in
a food mill

Oh, and by the way -- this is so easy! Very little work involved.

1. Using a handy-dandy apple slicer-corer, slice your apples directly into the cooking pot. Do NOT skin the apples. (If you don't have an apple slicer-corer, use a knife, slice apples and discard seeds and core.)



2. Add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. (You don't need much as these apples are full of juice and the pot will fill with it while they cook.)
   
3. Sprinkle apples with about 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon (reserve the rest to add if needed after the sauce is done.)
   
4. Set heat to medium high, put lid on pan and bring to a boil.
   
5. Turn down heat to medium low and let cook about 30 minutes.
   
6. Stir, moving topmost apples to bottom of pan. If some apples are still firm, replace lid and allow to cook another 15 minutes.
   
7. Once all apples are cooked, place them into a foodmill and grind directly into serving bowl. Be careful, with this step as they're hot.

8. Grind the sauce in the mill. See my mill? It's about 50 years old. It is a beautiful mill, but it has worked pretty hard over the years for my mother and now for us. I needed to use a wooden spoon to occasionally push the apples through the sieved bottom of the mill. In the end we had all the peels and a small amount of pulp remaining in the mill. It will compost nicely.

Now is the time to taste your sauce. If it's a little too tart, stir in a bit of sugar to taste. Brown, white, or Splenda -- whatever suits your fancy. Add a bit more cinnamon if you need it. Stir and serve!

Take a look at the finished product:


When the kids sat down to dinner tonight they exclaimed "It's PINK! COOL!" And they all wanted seconds. They got them, and there's enough leftover for tomorrow.

And by the way, if you don't have a food mill, you can peel your apples and make the sauce. It just won't be pink and you'll be lacking the added nutrients from the peels. You'll need to mash your apples in the pan (simply stirring with a wooden spoon will work for a slightly chunky sauce.) None of the other steps will change.

This makes a lovely side-dish for Thanksgiving dinner. You can reheat in the microwave before serving.

If you try it, let me know.

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Chicken Waldorf Salad

This is one of my favourite dishes. My family loves apples. Our staple meat is chicken breast. We probably have 100 different ways of preparing them, but tend to vacillate between 10 standards.

I had some leftover chicken breast (intentional leftovers so that I could have a quick & easy meal another night though I should admit, the first one was quick and easy too!)

I had some celery in the garden begging to be plucked.

I have a bushel of organic apples which make me drool just thinking about them. OH they're so good.

I use one apple per person for this recipe. Tonight we served four. Here's my quickie recipe:

4 Red Delicious Apples diced (a firm apple is best. I also like a mix of red delicious & granny smith)
4 ribs celery diced
leftover chicken breast
1/4 cup salad dressing (not mayonnaise unless that's your preference. We don't like the stuff. Besides it has WAY more fat in it than salad dressing like Miracle Whip. Miracle Whip Lite is gluten free!)
Paprika
Sea salt

Wash the apples & celery. Core the apples, slice and dice them--don't peel them. Dice the celery. Sweet apples tend to oxidize quickly (turn brown) so I squeeze or sprinkle lemon juice on them as I place them in the bowl (don't overdo it -- it doesn't take much). I toss frequently so all the apples get some lemon juice on them. Dice the chicken breast. Stir in the salad dressing. You may need more salad dressing depending on the size of your apples and the quantity of chicken in your mix. Don't overdo it, though...you don't want the salad dressing to dominate, just to accent and hold everything together. Top with sea salt and paprika to taste. Stir well. Serve cold.

Other additions: you can add grapes, sliced in half. I add walnuts when I don't have much meat to add.

Serving suggestions: have this as a sandwich filler stuffed into pitas, or open-faced on focaccia bread. Have this on a bed of lettuce. Have this all by itself!

The kids ate it all gone! Not a bit was left. The boys both had seconds!

Want another apple recipe? Check out my Apple Puff Pancake recipe.

I'll get back to posting more regularly now. I hadn't been feeling well for a while but things are looking up.

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