I am busy making a pumpkin pie for tomorrow's Thanksgiving feast. I am hosting it this year. We are expecting 14 at our table. In spite of the fact that I have become fairly adept at hosting dinners these days, this is a little different. People have "expectations" for Thanksgiving. I assigned items that have gluten in them (i.e., "regular" stuffing) to others, but the threat of cross-contamination remains during the dinner. I will have John set aside a good amount of leftovers for himself while he is the first to take food....so it should all work out....
Before I publish today's apple recipe, I have to state something about the ingredients. The reader may notice that we sometimes use alcohol in our cooking. Truth is, this is pretty much a recent thing. Now that the kids are adults, we feel like we have more freedom in that regard. But also, it's a fact that the brandy and other items used in some of these fruity desserts have been in our [locked] cabinet for a *long* time.
I have always liked adding a splash of wine to recipes. My understanding is that most of the alcohol evaporates as we cook it. If you are uncomfortable with these ingredients or it isn't your style, feel free to substitute some apple or grape juice.
You will note that none of these recipes has beer as an ingredient. Traditional beer has gluten. There are gluten free beers available, but we have not tried them yet.
Peter likes getting creative with fruit when we have company. He made this dish the other weekend, and we liked it so much that he made it for John when he came home from college for the Thanksgiving break. He dubbed it, "Sauced Apples" as a twist on "applesauce."
Peel and slice 6 apples of various types. Peter likes a mix of apples.....some that are "cooking" apples that hold their shape, like Cortland, and others that turn into mush when they cook, like Macintosh. This gives a variety of texture to the dish.
Add:
2 Tbs lemon juice,
4 oz. red wine,
2 Tbs molasses,
1/4 cup raisins,
2 oz. brandy or cognac,
2 oz. spiced rum,
3 Tbs sugar, and
4 oz. cider or apple juice.
Pour it into a large ziplok bag and let it sit in the fridge for 4 hours or so, turning the bag every so often to let all the flavors blend in an optimal fashion.
Turn on your oven or your outdoor grill. I set the oven to 400.
Pour the fruit mixture into a 12-inch skillet and dot with 2 Tbs butter.
Bake, uncovered, 30 min.
Let cool slightly.
Put into small bowls and top with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream,
serving it "a la mode."
