recommendation: apple side dish

I have a confession to make, and its bold. Ready? I.don’t.like.apple.pie. There I said it. I know, call me un-american, but truth be told, I just really don’t care for pie in general. There are exceptions - my sister-in-law Hannah makes a mean coconut cream pie… really, any cream pies are good with me. I enjoy a French silk pie because I love anything chocolate. And fond memories of picking black berries at my grandmas cottage in Higgins Lake and baking a fresh blackberry pie with her help me appreciate berry pies. But the apple & cinnamon combo isn’t really a big deal for me….which is why it is so strange that I thought of making them as a side dish for dinner last night. I think the thought process started with what to make as a side for the peppercorn pork tenderloin. I already knew I was making brussels sprouts (peel off the leaves as much as you can, when you get to the core, slice thinly, toss it all in olive oil and S&P, put on baking sheet in oven at 350 on top rack for like 20 min – crispy and when they burn a little, its so good. Like burnt marshmallow good). Anyway - so I’m thinking applesauce, which I know my hub would like, and then I think…. I should homemade applesauce, but that seems like it will take too long, so I think quick & easy version would be cinnamon apples. I google a quick recipe at work and turns out I have all ingredients at home except for apples.

The apple aisle at trader joes had tons of apples but only 1 gala apple left. Instead of buying the organic version which was only 10 cents more and better for me, or ANY other kind of apple, I decide to buy a 2 pound bag of mini gala apples…which I then got to carry home on the bus with me along with all of my other groceries. Fun times. So I used about 4 or 5 to make half this recipe as a side dish and it was a huge hit. Besides the peeling part, that sucked. I need to work on my paring knife skills. But I highly recommend this as a quick and tasty side dish. My co-worker pointed out that it would be a great topping on ice cream too. That might be a little too close to apple pie a la mode for me. Check out the original recipe posting here.

Ingredients
4 McIntosh apples, peeled and sliced (about 2 lb.)
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon butter

Preparation
1. Toss together first 4 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag, tossing to coat apples.

2. Cook apple mixture, 2 Tbsp. water, and 1 Tbsp. butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes or until apples are tender.