“Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits.”
— Henry David Thoreau
For additional recipes and to read a story about apples–with practical information, history, and lore–click here.
Old Fashioned AppleButter
Yield: 2 cups
6-7 large apples
1-1/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup water
Peel, core and quarter the apples;discard the peels and cores. Combine the peeled apple pieces in aheavy-bottomed pot, preferably one with a non-stick coating. Coverthe pot and bring the liquid to a simmer and cook the apples for 10minutes. Transfer the cooked apple mixture to a blender or foodprocessor and process until smooth. Transfer the purée back to thesame pot.
Cook the apple purée over a low flamefor 1 hour, or until it has reduced and become dark in color and theconsistency of peanut butter. During the cooking process stir theapple mixture often to avoid scorching. Transfer the apple butter toa clean jar and refrigerate it. After it has cooled cover it tightly.Use apple butter as a spread on toasted bread or as an ingredient inbaked goods or sauces.
Bratwurst Braisedwith Onions and Apple Butter
Yield: 4 servings
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1-1/2 pounds fresh bratwurst
2 small onions, peeled andsliced thinly
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup apple butter
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Heat the oil over high heat in a heavyskillet. Add the bratwurst and cook them until they begin to brown.Sprinkle the onions around the sausage in the pan, turn the sausage,and stir the onions until both the sausage and onions are goldenbrown. Add the chicken stock and turn the heat down to a low simmer.Cover the pan and cook the sausage for 10 minutes. Stir in the applebutter, salt, pepper, and vinegar; cover the pan and cook the sausagefor another 10 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes.
Urban Simplicty 