Fall

Fall

porkpearsPork, pears and cider are a very natural combination, one I love.  This recipe uses "hard" cider (with alcohol) because of its crispness and acidity.  Never had hard cider?  Look for it wherever beer is sold, it might be your new favorite adult beverage. 

It's very, very good and can be purchased year round.  Non-alcoholic apple cider works great too (not the Treetop or Mott's brand...real, fresh apple cider, which is easily found this time of year).

Anyway, this meal is pretty tasty.  The pork tenderloin stays juicy and the pears are pretty incredible too.  Paired with the easy to make wild rice, this meal is always well received at my home with thumbs up from the husband and my oldest son.  My youngest had spaghetti, he will come around one day.

This meal is also company worthy, it's very satisfying and looks and smells incredible while cooking.

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applepear2It has really felt like Fall the past week or two, which has really had me in the mood for all things apple and pumpkin. However, today, the first day of back to school, we will be pushing 90 degrees here in the Willamette Valley.

The heat will be good for the grapes as we head into harvest over the next month.  The jeans and sweaters are ready to go, but will not make an appearance yet. In the Pacific Northwest, the weather changes in an instant so you have to be ready....luckily we are.

Our close friends from Northern California visited a couple of weeks ago, it had been a few years since we had seen them. They brought us these beautiful apples and pears used in this pie, harvested from their family farm in Central Oregon. Aren't they gorgeous?

I wanted a crunchy-sweet topping on this pie, I can't tell you how perfect it was. The pears and apples play together perfectly, creating the perfect textural balance. 

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keittmango.jpgKeitt Mangoes

Last year in the steamy Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden of South Florida I tasted about 15 different types of mangoes. I discovered that some are sweet, while others are tangy and refreshing. Some have subtle floral aromas, others have hints of citrus, spice, even nuts as well as tropical fruit. The world of mangoes is luscious and delicious to explore and I was one enthusiastic taster!

While most mangoes in the US are grown in Florida, there are some grown in California like the organically grown Keitt. It's in season and in stores until the end of October and you don't want to miss it. The Keitt is one of my favorite mangoes, it's green on the outside and very large with a particularly thin seed. While more expensive than some mangoes, I think they are still a good value because they yield a ton of fruit. I recently had one that was almost 2 pounds and yielded several cups of diced fruit, 2 or 3 times as much fruit as a typical mango.

The delectable Keitt has no fiber, a buttery juicy texture, vanilla aroma and a delicate peachy flavor. If there was ever a melt-in-your-mouth mango, the Keitt is it. One serving provides over 75% of your daily requirement of Vitamin C and 25% of Vitamin A. Pick Keitt mangoes that are still a bit firm with no soft spots. The fruit is delicious on it's own, but even better on top of pancakes, crepes, in fruit salad or salsa.

October is National Apple Month!

It's apple season (and the upcoming holidays) and hopefully more brisk weather have put us in the mood for apples, any variety, whole in a lunchbox or in any of the lovely versions from our contributors' kitchens!

appleextravaganzaApple-Lime-Mint Spritzer
Epic Apple Pie-Buttermilk Shake
Spiced Mulled Cider
Toffee Apple Martini

Beet and Apple Salad with Honey Dressing and Pomegranate Seeds
Brussels Sprout Slaw with Apples and Walnuts
Endive, Apple and Pecan Winter Salad
Autumn Apple and Potato Salad

Homemade Apple Sauce
Acorn Squash Stuffed with Spiced Cranberry Apple Chutney
Baked Butternut Squash with Apples & Cranberries
Pomegranate Glazed Baked Squash and Apples
Apple and Walnut Cornbread Stuffing
Sausage, Dried Cranberry and Apple Stuffing
Sweet Potato Gratin with Apples, Rosemary, Sage and Gruyere

Pork Cutlets with Sweet and Sour Apples
Roast Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Fennel

Cinnamon French Toast with POM Apple Compote | German Apple Pancake | Spiced Apple Waffles | Apple-Maple Walnut Breakfast Quinoa | Mimi's Apple Butter | Old-Fashioned Apple Streusel Muffins

Fall Harvest Cinnamon Apple Cake | Teddie's 1973 Apple Cake | Apple Crisp | Grandma Ople's Apple Pie
Cranberry Apple Cobblers | Easy Apple Phyllo Crisp | Louisa May Alcott’s Apple Slump
Sweet and Salty Caramel Apples | Apple-Pumpkin Delight
Deep Dish Apple Pie | Green Apple Gallette | Pomegranate Apple Pie

slabpie-apple-slice_sm1.jpgRaise your hand if you have an over abundance of apples right now. I thought so! There are many things I want to do with my apples; make apple challah, apple sauce, apple cake, and an apple slab pie. Well, 1 out of 4 isn’t so bad now, is it?

This past summer I made a cherry slab pie and it was so good. I shared it with my friends and, without tooting my own horn, we are still talking about it. So, why not an apple slab pie? The pastry from the cherry slab pie was near perfect. I made another batch of the dough and then simply switched out the fruit. Apples cook differently than cherries, so I adapted the filling from a recipe from The Cook’s Country Cookbook.

Slab pies are great for a crowd. And this pie fed a huge crowd. It was demolished in about 15 minutes. I had one teeny tiny bite. That teeny tiny bite was really good. ;I am going to make this many times over throughout out the next few months. Next time I will pair my apples with some fresh pomegranate seeds!

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