Contemplations on Apples and Winter Setting In

Just two weeks ago we were enjoying 60 degree days, and now we're looking at the prospect of snow. New England weather can be extremely fickle. Last year, we had no snow almost all the way through to Christmas, but it snowed at the last minute. This is particularly terrible because it is no less cold, it's just not pretty and you don't get any snow days. Aj and I did manage to make it to Mack's Apples this year to pick. Typically we go to a more local farm, but this one was only about 25 minutes away and had a lot of Honeycrisp apples, as well as a delicious hybrid called Jonagold.

Honeycrisp apples are my #1 "eating apple", and closely behind that are Jazz and Pink Lady. For baking, I haven't figured out my favorite yet. Jonagolds are supposed to be great for baking, but I found them to get soft a little too quickly in the oven. (Here's what Midwest Living says about Jonagolds:Jonagolds (left) are daughters of Jonathan and Golden Delicious, with the best of both worlds--firm flesh and a sweet-tart taste. ) Finding the right apple for what you are baking is imperative, because apples have very different tastes, consistencies, and abilities to hold up when heated. So every year is a process of elimination and trial/error.

We liked Mack's Apples a lot and also picked our own pumpkin there. Speaking of which, only a few days after picking the pumpkin we woke up and saw some smashed pumpkins in the street, and were very scared it was ours! But ours was safe on the porch. I don't know what hoodlum kids did it, but it's annoying! I think they belonged to the family down the street, who I am sure was disappointed that they didn't get to carve their pumpkins. I may try to carve ours tomorrow, which means pumpkin seeds! Yum.

We'll probably go back to Mack's Apples next year for another harvest. We picked 22 pounds of apples and hardly have any left. Aj keeps eating two a day! I wanted to use some of the apples to make a crisp, which I haven't done before. Typically I do a lot of fried apples (Southern thing) and baked apples, but this year I made a 5 pound apple crisp (five pounds of apples, that is)! I used a recipe from Ina Garten and it turned out very nice. I mixed the topping a little too long so it came out almost like an oatmeal cookie topping instead of a streusel type topping. I also had to do some substituting because I didn't have all the ingredients... Here is my messed-up but delicious version of the recipe!


Cookie Top Apple Crisp
Filling

• 5 lbs Jonagold or other baking apple
• 3 Tbsp. orange juice
• 3/4 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 C. white granulated sugar
• 2 Tsp. cinnamon
• 1 Tsp. baking spice

Topping

• 1 1/2 C. flour
• 3/4 C. granulated sugar
• 3/4 C. packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 Tsp. salt
• 1 C. rolled oats
• 2 Sticks salted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Peel core and cut the apples into wedges. Mix with the remaining filling ingredients and toss in a large bowl (I used a flexible baking sheet to help keep the apples from overflowing).
3. Place the apples into a 9x14 baking pan (I used glass, not greased).
4. Combine all of the ingredients in a mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on 2 until the consistency of a cookie dough.
5. Crumble the dough topping into small bits across the entire top of the crumble.
   
6. Place on a baking sheet and bake 1 hour or until the top is brown and the apples are bubbly (I did 50 minutes but should have baked less - it all depends on your oven.)
   

Parsley Schmarsley

Ah Autumn is here! The trees are really starting to change at this point, and the weather is crisp and beautiful. I do worry, though, because we have yet to go apple picking or to snag our pumpkin for the year (and I have a great toasted pumpkin seed recipe I really want to try). We did go to a place called the Topsfield Fair last weekend, though. It's New England's biggest agricultural fair and it's only about an hour outside of where we live, so we got out of work and headed down and ate our fair share of fair food (though they didn't have what I wanted most - the chicken on the stick with the pickles in between all deep fried...maybe that's only a Southern thing) and saw New England's biggest pumpkin for 2011, which was 1.6 tons.

While at the fair, we were going through an exhibition/sales type tent and came across this guy doing "as seen on TV" demonstrations for something called a " Swiss Super Peeler" - not that great (or is it?) BUT they also had a Swiss Super Julienner (I doubt that's what it's called) that juliennes veggies in a jiff. Really nice, thin, restaurant style delicious veggies. That's what I'm hoping anyway. As I was walking away I checked my bag and ended up with a peeler, so I went back and exchanged it. I haven't used the thing yet, so who knows if I've been hornswaggled. Although judging by the videos on Youtube, apparently they've been "selling them for 27 years!" Youtube Video. They don't show the julienne veggie cutter though because I guess it's a new product. Well I'll get back to you and let you know how amazingly awesome it is...or isn't.

So last night Aj, my most wonderful husband, made dinner. I had this recipe that I had gotten from the supermarket - it was attached to a coupon (you know, the kind they put on to convince you to buy the product with the coupon because the coupon is way more than you would ever purchase in normal circumstances) and I thought it looked pretty tasty. Sausage & Tomato Rigatoni. I had some turkey kielbasa in the fridge that I wanted to use up, and I thought this looked pretty easy so Aj got the job (although don't get me wrong, he's a good cook and can make things that are quite complicated).

I have to tell you, when I look at a recipe and it says "fresh parsley" I snigger and think to myself why would I buy a bundle of parsley to get 2 chopped tablespoons to top off this recipe? Legitimate concerns, but last night I decided there was DEFINITELY a reason people put fresh parsley into their dishes. See, if I had made the recipe I would have skipped out on the fresh parsley, but because Aj made the recipe and wanted to follow it as instructed he picked up parsley at the grocery store and I'm glad he did! So when you make this recipe, make sure to include the parsley because it genuinely makes a difference.

This recipe is nonetheless doctored; the original recipe calls for the green-bottle Parmesan cheese and Italian sausage, which both got substituted in my version of the recipe.


Turkey Kielbasa & Tomato Rigatoni

• 4 C. rigatoni, uncooked
• 1 package turkey kielbasa
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Red pepper, chopped into large chunks
• 2 Cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Jar spaghetti sauce
• 2 Tbsp. chopped Italian parsley (Don't ignore it!)
• 1/4 C. Grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cook the pasta and sausage as directed on the packages, omitting salt in the pasta cooking water.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the peppers and garlic; cook and stir 2 minutes or until the peppers are crisp but tender.
3. Cut the sausage into 1/4" thick slices and add to the skillet.
   
4. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and cook 4 to 5 minutes or until heated through, stirring frequently.
5. Drain the pasta and plate the servings, scooping the sauce over the top and sprinkling with parsley and cheese.