Autumn Squash, Apple, and Kale Salad

The genesis for this salad is the seasonal menu at Taylor Gourmet, which features butternut squash-based salads in both main dish and side dish form. When I happened upon the menu earlier this week, I knew that I could create something similar at home.

Some of the measurements below are a bit imprecise. Just go with it - you'll need to figure out some of the quantities on the fly, depending on your own taste. I promise it will be worth it.

Autumn Squash, Apple, and Kale Salad

1 medium butternut squash
Olive oil
Apple cider vinegar
Salt
Pepper
A sprig of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
A few stems of Italian parsley
A handful of kale from the garden
1 granny smith apple
3 green onions
1/2 cup dried cranberries
4 oz. blue cheese crumbles (gorgonzola or goat cheese would also working, depending on your preference)
Sunflower seeds (shelled)

1. Peel the squash, cut it in half and remove seeds, then cut into small (1/2 inch) cubes.

2. Preheat oven to 400F. Toss squash cubes with a few glugs of olive oil and apple cider vinegar (enough that the squash is well-coated), salt, pepper, and rosemary. Spread out squash in a single layer on one or more cookie sheets or baking dishes.

3. Roast squash for ~25 minutes at 400F, stirring about halfway through. Depending on the size of your cubes, you may need to roast for a longer or shorter time. Cubes should be soft but not mushy.

4. While the squash is roasting, remove stems and thick center vein from kale leaves, then slice into thin strands. Dice the apple into 1/2 inch cubes and slice green onions into small rounds.

5. Remove squash from oven and toss (while still hot / warm) in a large mixing bowl with kale, apple, and green onion. The heat from the squash will soften the kale and apple a bit.

6. Mix in parsley, cranberries, and blue cheese. If desired, add olive oil and/or apple cider vinegar to taste.

7. Place in serving dish and top with sunflower seeds. Serve while still warm or refrigerate for later.

Chai-Spiced Applesauce

A few weeks ago, I noticed that the grocery store was selling chai-spiced apple cider and I thought "I bet I could make a chai-spiced applesauce that is pretty good." I used the following recipe to make two batches of sauce - for one, I cored the apples but left the skins on and did not mash the apples after cooking (making the dish more like baked apples than a true sauce), for the other I skinned the apples and mashed them into a sauce. Both versions came out pretty tasty, so choose the preparation that sounds better to you. As with any applesauce recipe, it is pretty easy to scale up and down on the ingredients depending on the amount of apples you happen to have on hand and on your own taste.

Chai-Spiced Applesauce

4-6 lbs. apples

1 c. water or apple juice

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 stick cinnamon

1-2 tsp. ground cardamom or 3-4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed

1 tsp. whole or ground cloves

1-2 tsp. ground ginger or 1 T. fresh ginger

1 star anise cluster

1. Core, peel (if desired), and dice apples and place in a large stock pot with water (or apple juice), brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger, and star anise. Cover and simmer over medium heat until apples are soft (~30 minutes), stirring occasionally. Uncover and simmer for another 10-15 minutes to reduce liquid.

2. Remove cinnamon stick and star anise cluster (and caradmom pods and whole cloves, if used). Mash with a potato masher (if desired).

Crabapple Butter

While visiting Syracuse this past weekend, I stopped by the Central New York Regional Market (one of the best farmers' markets I've had the chance to attend regularly - and something that I really miss now that I live down in DC). The market was in full swing and amongst the early fall produce I found some crabapples that looked absolutely beautiful. The fact that I'd never cooked anything with crabapples before didn't stop me - so I bought a small basket and brought them back home with me (along with a larger basket of jonamac apples that have been making my lunch tote very happy). After a bit of scouting about for ideas of what I might actually do with my batch of crabapples (chutney, jelly, preserves, and spiced whole apples all sounded tempting), I settled on crabapple butter. This recipe yields about a pint of ruby-colored crabapple butter that you can use as a spread for toast, quick breads, or just eating by the spoonful.

Crabapple Butter (~ 1 pint)
2 lbs. crabapples, stems removed and quartered (do not peel or core)
1 cup water
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 cup sugar (adjust if necessary to achieve desired sweetness/tartness)

1. Place crabapples and water in a large pot, spreading apples into a single layer if possible. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until apples are soft (~ 15 minutes). Crush using a potato masher then strain through a sieve, pushing through as much of the pulp as possible. Discard remaining skins, seeds, etc.

2. Combine pulp, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until the sauce thickens, stirring regularly, about 20-30 minutes.

3. Spoon into clean dry canning jar(s) and cover. Cool and refrigerate.

Quick Caramel Apple Cake

It's fall! If you are looking for a fairly simple (but very delicious) dessert, try sprucing up a regular box o' cake mix and tub o' frosting to make a caramel apple Bundt cake with these simple substitutions...

What you'll need:
1 box of spice-flavored cake mix
1 tub of caramel-flavored frosting
Eggs (as called for by the cake recipe)
Apple juice or apple cider (equivalent to amount of water called for in the recipe - or you can do half apple juice / half water, depending on taste)
Applesauce (equivalent to amount of oil called for in the recipe)

What to do:
1. Prepare cake mix as directed (substituting apple juice and applesauce as explained above) and pour into a greased Bundt cake pan.

2. Bake according to directions on the box for Bundt cakes.

3. Remove cake from oven and allow to cool completely. Turn out onto a plate.

4. Heat 1 cup frosting in microwave-safe bowl, 10 seconds at a time and stirring after each cycle, until very soft and pourable (~ 30 seconds total). Pour or ladle frosting over top of cooled cake, allowing frosting to run down sides.

5. Let cake sit until frosting sets, then slice and serve.

Aeblekage (Danish Apple Cake)

When dessert time came at my grandparents' house, there were usually several desserts waiting in the refrigerator or on the sideboard. Of all of the delicious desserts that my grandma made, one of my very favorite was her apple cake. It is a fairly simple recipe, requiring just three ingredients - but it does require several hours for the cake to cool in the refrigerator, so you may wish to bake the cake the night before you plan to serve it and chill it overnight. Depending on how much time you'd like to put into this recipe, you can either make your own applesauce (see my recipe here) or use chunky applesauce from the store.

Aeblekage (Danish Apple Cake) (8-16 servings)
3 cups applesauce
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (or breadcrumbs)
8 oz. whipped topping

1. Preheat oven to 320F.

2. Butter or use cooking spray to coat all sides of an 8x8 baking dish (or other oven-proof dish). Layer graham cracker crumbs and applesauce in pan, 1/2 cup of crumbs, 1 cup applesauce, 1/2 cup crumbs, 1 cup applesauce, 1/2 cup crumbs, 1 cup applesauce, 1/2 cup crumbs.

3. Bake at 320F for 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight, until completely chilled throughout.

4. Slide a knife between cake and edge of pan, then turn out onto a large plate. Frost with whipped topping. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Applesauce

In preparation for the aeblekage (Danish apple cake) I am making for next weekend's Danish food festival, I made a hug pot of applesauce today. If you happen to have a hand crank apple peeler/corer/slicer handy, preparing the apples is much faster and easier. You can vary this recipe by using different kinds of liquids (e.g., cider or other fruit juice), adding additional types of fruit (e.g., cranberries), or stirring in little red cinnamon candies instead of using stick cinnamon.

Applesauce (a lot!)
8 pounds of apples
2 cups water
3 cinnamon sticks, 2 1/2 inches each
1/2 cup brown sugar (or to taste)

1. Peel, core, and slice apples and place in a large stock pot with water, cinnamon sticks, and sugar. Cover and simmer until apples are soft and can be mashed (30-45 minutes).

2. Remove cinnamon sticks and mash using a potato masher (for chunky applesauce) or process in batches in a blender or food processor (for smoother applesauce). If desired, continue to simmer uncovered to thicken sauce.

Simple Apple Pie

This weekend I was up in Syracuse to visit friends and go apple picking (one of my favorite fall activities). After a morning spent picking and tasting apples, drinking cider, eating donuts, and generally having fun, my friend Susana and I settled down to the (not too) hard work of making an apple pie. The recipe we used is very simple and quick to make - adjust the sugar and spices to your taste and to the apples you are using (we used jonagold apples - fairly sweet and crisp, with just a touch of tartness).

Simple Apple Pie (8 servings)
2 refrigerated pie crusts
6 cups apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1/3 - 2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 T. butter, cut into small pieces
a few pinches of flour

1. Preheat oven to 450F.

2. Place one pie crust in bottom of 9-inch pie plate and trim to edge of pie plate. Sprinkle flour lightly on crust.

3. Mix sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Spread a layer of apples in the pie plate, sprinkle sugar mixture, add another layer of apples and sugar, repeat until all apples and sugar mixture are used. Dot top layer with cut butter.

4. Unroll second pie crust and place on top of pie, fold edges under bottom crust and seal edge of pie. Cut 3-5 slits in pie crust to vent.

5. Bake for 10 minutes at 450F, reduce heat to 350F and continue baking for 30-35 minutes more.

6. Enjoy warm or cooled!