Apples, Apples, Apples!!

It was early in the morning, on a clear, bright fall day back in the fall of 1999.  I was a freshman at Smith College in Western Massachusetts.  My roommate and I were both sound asleep - exhausted after a long night of studying in anticipation of midterms.  Out of no where, from somewhere across campus, came the sound of ringing bells.  We awoke with a start, and then relaxed, realizing that it was Mountain Day.  You see, at Smith there is a tradition, where every fall the students are spontaneously given a day off from classes.  You never know when it will be, and even though its tempting to use the time to study, you are encouraged to drop everything and spend the day outside.  For my first Mountain Day, I went apple picking with some of the women in my house.  It was a perfect fall day, and when we came back to the dorms that afternoon, we baked an apple pie (a vegan one, at that!).  Every fall since then, I have made it a tradition to go apple picking at least once.

This year was no exception.

About an hour away from us is a little orchard outside of New Hope, Pennsylvania called Solebury Orchards, offering pick-your-own apples, peaches, pears, cherries, a host of berries, and of course, wagon rides!  We got there early before the weekend rush and leisurely picked to our hearts desire.  I was on a mission for Honey Crisps, my new favorite variety of apple.  They are everything an apple should be - sweet, just a little tart, and very very crisp.  Sean and I each had a bag.  Ryan preferred to pick apples off the ground, snacking along the way.  Pete, ever the documentor of our adventures, manned the camera.  Before I knew it, we had picked over 30lbs of apples!! 

We had a feeling it was going to be a beautiful day, so we brought the bikes and rode along the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park tow path - a 70-mile corridor spanning both sides of the Delaware River.  After a nice long ride and a picnic lunch, we headed to downtown New Hope for ice cream and found a shady spot at the train station to watch the old trains pass by.  It was a perfect fall day - I think we did Mountain Day proud!

So, to celebrate fall and the yummy apples that come with it, I am beginning a series on apples.  Each recipe will either feature apples or use them as a primary ingredient.  Enjoy!


Baked Apples with Caramel Sauce

This recipe is adapted from October 2009 edition of Saveur Magazine.  These apples make one delicious dessert, with or without the addition of the caramel sauce.  I stuffed the apples with some raisins in addition to the butter/spice mix.  Yum!

For the Baked Apples:
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 tbs, unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tbs ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins
6 firm apples, stemmed and cored (Fuji, Honeycrisp and Empire all hold their shape well and taste great!)

For the Caramel Sauce:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup raisins
2 tbs dark rum, or 2 tsp rum extract

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.  Pulse the sugar, butter, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor (or combine in a small bowl).  Stir in, by hand, 1/2 cup of raisins. Slice of a sliver from the bottom of the apple so that it will sit flat.  Fill the cores with the sugar/raisin mixture, cover with foil, and bake until tender (45min - 1 hr, depending on the variety of apple).

Meanwhile, make the caramel sauce.  Heat sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Cook without stirring, until amber colored and about 20 minutes.  Remove pan from the heat.  Slowly add cream - be careful it may bubble and splatter slightly.  Stir in raisins and rum and set aside.  Serve apples with caramel sauce and ice cream, or by themselves