Home is Where the Apple Is

Sunday evening one of Jeff's college friends and his wife of one year came for dinner. Since Jeff only recently reconnected with his buddy (who has been traveling all over the world as a singer for a good many years), we had to pull out all the stops for an unique dinner. I wracked my brain for a theme that was interesting, but homey, since I knew I couldn't compete with the food he'd eaten elsewhere. After considering multiple ideas including Greek, Italian, and Spanish, I opted for tried and true American food.

"What says September to you?" I enquired on Jeff only two days before the event.
"Apples," he responded definitively.
"Me, too."

So, even though the temperature has been back up in the high 90's and fall is nowhere in sight, I decided it was time to pull it along at our house. To assemble the menu, I perused several cookbooks and websites, but ultimately found everything I wanted at the Washington Apple Commission (http://www.bestapples.com/recipes/index.shtml). Here's what I found:

Apple Cheese Spread

Speedy Squash Soup

Cheese Tortellini with Smoked Chicken and Apple-Rosemary Sauce

Apple Ratatouille on Crostini

Golden Apple Stuffed Fillets

Apple Chess Pie



The cheese spread - consisting of sauteed onion and apple mixed with cream cheese and shredded cheddar - was good, but definitely needed to sit in the fridge for several hours. (It rested all day so the flavors melded, but the leftovers were even better Monday evening.) In addition, I added some black pepper since it didn't have any seasonings. I would make this again, but I'd probably add some spunk with salsa or a couple of shots of chipotle sauce. To simplify things, I put this out with some good crackers about half an hour before our guests were due. This allowed it to soften up a bit and gave everyone some nibbles while we opened the wine and toured the house.

Once seated, I dished up the squash soup (which I made earlier in the day and tossed in the microwave while we talked). This was delicious and very easy since it used frozen winter squash, an onion, and a couple of tart apples. Since I didn't have any sage (go figure), I used a little basil from the garden. That coupled with the fresh ginger gave it a little punch and made it interesting. While I followed the directions and pureed the soup, the guys and I would be just as happy to eat it a little chunky which would save time on a weeknight meal. This tasty morsel is on the menu for tomorrow's lunch. (One of the best parts of cooking multiple courses is taking the leftovers to school!)

Next up was the cheese tortellini with chicken and apple-rosemary sauce. This was rather disappointing to me and to Jeff, though our guests commented several times how much they liked it. It had a lengthy list of ingredients that ultimately made a vegetable stock which gets strained to remove all the lovely pieces of apple, shallot, carrot, garlic, and mushrooms. I couldn't bring myself to discard these (though I could have put them in the fridge and used them in something else, I suppose), so I put everything in the blender and pureed it. The color was not particularly appetizing, but the aroma was excellent both the first time around and when I was reheating it. The taste was fine, but not spectacular, which is only annoying because it took quite a while to make. To serve the dish, piping hot sauce is ladled in the bottom of a bowl; tortellini and strips of smoked chicken are then arranged on top. At the grocery, the tortellini was twice as expensive as the small ravioli, so I purchased the pillows instead. I also purchased a small package of smoked chicken breast in the lunch meat section, which I simply heated before divvying up among the bowls. Ultimately, I'm not sorry I made this, but I won't be making it again.

On the other hand, the apple ratatouille was wonderful. This mixture of apples, celery, red onions, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, and walnuts made a fabulous topping for the freshly-baked rosemary bread from the deli. I sliced the bread, brushed it with olive oil, and put it under the broiler to brown. Once done, I topped each slice with the ratatouille which I had left at room temperature to blend. Though this did require some chopping, it was simple to make and I had plenty left, which I think would be excellent as a sandwich with a little cream cheese or butter on the bread. The only adjustments I made on this recipe were swapping sesame oil for walnut oil (since I didn't have any but still wanted an interesting flavor) and adding a handful of crumbled feta to the final mixture. Yum!

The last, and probably best dish of the evening, was the stuffed fillets. This was also probably the easiest plate of the night since it required the least amount of prep. Basically, I grated an apple and a couple of small carrots into a bowl, added some lemon juice and seasonings, and rolled the mixture up inside tilapia fillets. My fillets were small, so I just encircled the stuffing and used toothpicks to hold them closed. The fish is then put into a baking dish with a little chicken broth, covered with foil, and baked for about 13 minutes. By time these came out of the oven, the fish was tender and flaky while the insides were steamed and moist. Jeff and I both liked this dish quite a bit, and I'll be making it again. As a matter of fact, it has made me consider what else I might wrap up inside the tilapia fillets (which I bought in a big package on sale). I'm thinking some cornbread stuffing with chopped mushrooms would be excellent with a some white wine in the bottom of the pan instead of broth. Though Jeff isn't a fan of asparagus, I suspect some baby greens seasoned with lemon pepper would be excellent wrapped up in the fish, as well.

We finished the meal with apple chess pie, which everyone snarfed right down. It is basic chess pie with the addition of chopped apples, a few pecans, and some sour cream. Deluxe! The only thing I would change about this is the kind of apples used. The recipe calls for two Golden Delicious apples, but next time around I would use one tart apple (like a Granny Smith) with one crispy sweet apple (like a Fuji or Pink Lady). But even with the mundane fruit choice, this pie was excellent, and we've polished it off quickly.

In the end, I'm sure the meal couldn't compare with the bistros and specialty houses of Europe, but it did taste like home.