Chefs Seasonal Selection: Apple

With the fall season fast approaching, the influx of baked apple pastries, roasted squash soups, and autumnal produce packed recipes fills our kitchens; And I love them all.

However, one fall produce item always reigns supreme… the apple. Apple picking in New York State is a right of passage. 

From an early age, families share this stimulating seasonal pastime. Filling baskets and boxes with empire, honey crisp, red delicious and Paula reds, just to name a few. Each apple has its own unique flavor profile. Some sweet, some bitter, but all with a specific culinary use one they arrive to the kitchen. And don’t forget the cider!

So you’ve just returned home from a hard day of pickin’ at the orchard, and on your countertop, staring back at you, is bushels upon bushels of apples… now what?

Well… first off, be sure to rinse those apples in water. 

We wouldn’t want any orchard stowaways like small bugs, dirt, or germs contaminating our recipes.

Once the weather turns we begin craving those classic baked apple dishes, and thats fine; make them…

Bake all the pies, all the turnovers, crumbles, and applesauce your heart desires. 

It's almost a post orchard requirement, I get it….

Im not telling you to pass up this ritual, all I’m saying is the urge for apple pie and applesauce can only last for so long before you desire something different. 

Once the yearning for apple pie fades, it’s time to address the remaining fifty pounds of apples sitting on your counter. 

Ive developed this collection of apple indulgences to highlight unique techniques, flavor combinations and uses that can easily adapt to your meals. 

This creative group of recipes will enlighten the taste buds of your apple addicted loved ones.

Now, what should we make?

I hope this doesn’t come off as too aggressive or ‘anti-apple’ (I am most definitely pro apple)… 

But why does the apple get repeatedly subjected to the most boring, usually bland, simplistic and overplayed recipes? (if you’re looking for an applesauce recipe you wont find one here)

The apple deserves better. 

And we are going to give it better. 

Let’s honor the apple. 

Take a bite out of these recipes to advance your apple cookery skills to the next level.