By Janet Groene, F47166
January 2017
A variety of recipes showcase the versatility of this much-favored fruit.
Many of us started out as tent campers, our grub boxes filled with apples and PB&J sandwiches. Still today, apples are a provision we travelers rely on for versatility and a nutritional power trip. They are available all year. They come in colors from ruby red to butter gold. They keep well. And they can be served cooked or raw, sweet or savory.
Here are ways to celebrate apples in motorhome cuisine.
Apple Salmon Spread
1 6-ounce can chunk salmon, drained
1 medium tart apple, peeled and chopped fine
Mayonnaise
¼ teaspoon dried dill weed
Break up the salmon and stir in the apple and enough mayonnaise to make a creamy spread. Stir in the dill weed. Serve on crackers, crostini, or toast. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.
Mulligatawny
Mulligatawny, a curry soup from India, takes on many variations in the Western kitchen. Common denominators include apples and curry.
¼ stick butter
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in small bites
1 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 celery rib, finely diced
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
1 32-ounce carton chicken broth
1 cup water
1 cup instant white rice
Melt the butter and stir in the curry powder and chicken. Keep stirring over high heat while adding the vegetables and apples. Add the broth and water, bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes. Bring back to a boil, stir in the rice, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand five to eight minutes until the rice is tender. Ladle into soup bowls. Makes four servings.
Apple Cranberry Salad
This is a good accompaniment for ham steaks or grilled chicken.
1 10-ounce can mandarin oranges
Water
2 packets black cherry gelatin dessert mix
1 can whole-berry cranberry sauce
2 large red apples, diced
1 cup pecans (optional)
2 ribs celery, diced (optional)
Add water to the juice from the oranges to make 2 cups. Bring the liquid to a boil in a large pan and stir in the gelatin mix until it dissolves. Stir in the cranberry sauce, and then add apples, oranges, pecans, and celery. Place the mixture in a bowl, pan, mold, or individual serving dishes and refrigerate until it’s firm. Makes six to eight servings.
Apple Almond Risotto
1 cup arborio rice
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 tart apples, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 3 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon butter
Slivered almonds
Stir the rice, onion, and apples in hot olive oil to release flavors. Stir in 1/2 cup of chicken broth and continue stirring over medium heat. When the broth is absorbed, add another 1/2 cup of broth. Repeat until the rice is cooked to your liking (you may not need all the chicken broth). Stir in the butter and serve risotto sprinkled with slivered almonds. Makes three to four servings.
Apple Baked Bean Supper
¼ cup molasses or sorghum
½ teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cloves
1 20-ounce can plain beans such as kidney beans or Great Northern beans
2 tart apples, peeled and diced
1 cup diced ham
2 strips cooked bacon, cut up
In a small bowl, mix the molasses or sorghum with the spices. Combine the undrained beans, molasses-spices mixture, apples, and ham in a buttered baking dish. Top with bacon and bake at 350 degrees until the bacon is crisp and the beans are bubbly. Or, instead of baking the ingredients in an oven, heat them in a saucepan. Cook the bacon separately and sprinkle it on just before serving. Makes four servings.
Eggplant Apple Skillet
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
1 small onion, diced
1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut in bite-size pieces
2 apples, peeled and cut in bite size
½ teaspoon sugar
Salt, pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese
Stir-fry the sausage in a large skillet, breaking it up. When the sausage is no longer pink, keep stir-frying to add the onion, then eggplant, and finally the apples. When the eggplant and apples are tender, stir in the sugar and season with salt and pepper. Remove to plates and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Makes four servings.
Slow Cooker Indian Chicken And Rice
1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
1 cup matchstick carrots
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons garam masala spice
1 ½ cups water
½ cup yellow lentils, rinsed and picked over
½ cup white rice
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast cut in small bites
Salt, pepper
Sprigs of cilantro (optional)
Coat the slow cooker with nonstick spray. Place all the ingredients in the cooker and stir. Cook six hours on low or four hours on high. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with cilantro. Makes four servings.
Caramelized Apples
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Pinch salt
6 apples, peeled and sliced
½ stick of butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
Place the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt in a clean bag and jostle to mix. Add the apples and toss to coat. Melt the butter in a roomy skillet and add the bag’s contents. Stir over medium heat until the apples are tender and the sauce is thick. Remove from heat, stir in the extracts, and serve over pancakes, biscuits, sliced pound cake, or waffles.
Dutch Baby With Apples
A Dutch baby is a plump, frypan pancake much like a big popover. It can be served for breakfast as is, or with pancake syrup, powdered sugar, or more butter and cinnamon sugar.
¼ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large apples, peeled and diced
½ stick butter
4 eggs
1 cup milk
Pinch of salt
1 cup flour
Mix the sugar and cinnamon and set aside. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. In an ovenproof skillet atop the stove, stir the apples in melted butter until they are tender-crisp. In a bowl, whisk the eggs and milk until light, and then whisk in the salt and flour. Pour the mixture over the hot apples and bake until puffy and golden brown. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar and serve at once. Makes four servings.
Southern-Style Apple Dumplings
5 small apples
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tube of 10 biscuits
1 stick butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup water
Butter a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Peel the apples, cut them in half, and remove the cores. Mix the two tablespoons of sugar and half teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle the mixture over the apples. Flatten the biscuits with your hands and wrap one around each apple half, tucking the dough under. Place apples in the baking pan, flat side down.
Bring the butter, sugars, cinnamon, and water to a boil and pour over the dough-covered apples. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until the dumplings are puffy and golden brown. Makes 10 pieces. Serve one or two per person, plain or with ice cream or whipped cream.
South Carolina Breakfast Apples
2 to 3 slices thick-sliced bacon, cut up
6 apples, cored and diced
1 cup sugar
Fry the bacon in a large skillet. Remove the bacon to drain on a paper towel and put the apples in the hot bacon fat. Sprinkle the sugar over the apples; do not stir. Cover the skillet and simmer over low heat until the apples release their juice. Uncover and cook over high heat until the liquid boils down to a syrup. Sprinkle with bacon. Makes six portions.
More Apple Options
*Top a store-bought cheesecake with apple pie filling and chill.
*Make apple sausage. Mix a peeled, finely diced tart apple with a pound of lean ground turkey or pork and 1 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, and crumbled sage. Form patties and fry.
*Stir-fry apple chunks and chicken livers in butter. Deglaze the pan with Marsala wine. Serve over rice.
*Rub Cornish game hens with a mixture of salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Stuff the cavities with peeled, chopped apples. Roast.
*Fold together a can of sweet potatoes and a can of apple pie filling. Drizzle with melted butter and heat.
*For tailgating or happy hour, serve apple wedges with chunky blue cheese dip.
*Combine applejack or apple schnapps with sweet cider. Serve over ice.
*Make slushies. Pack glasses with crushed ice and fill them with apple juice concentrate. Drink them through a straw.
*Make a Waldorf salad and fold in chunks of cooked chicken or turkey to make it a main dish.
*Separate crescent roll dough into wedges. Roll each one around a wedge of peeled apple. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake until golden.
*Make a thick batter with biscuit mix and apple juice. Dip apple slices into the batter and deep fry. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
*Serve cheese fondue with apple wedges instead of bread.
*For dessert, serve apple wedges with caramel ice cream sauce as a dip.