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.

rani recommends: butternut squash side dish

when i get a butternut squash, it takes me forever to cut it up. its always worth it, and i know they sell them precut and frozen these days, but the same old-fashioned part of me that still buys bags of carrots to peel myself, wants to buy the actual squash. its a pretty vegetable and makes me feel grown up in the grocery store...let me just go grab a squash because yes, i eat this vegetable, and yes, i am an adult now and was too immature to even think about eating a veggie that resembles a pumpkin when i was younger. once you dice it up, its normally enough for 4 servings in my household of 2, so I split it into two different dishes. normally one i use as part of a recipe for the entree - stew or soup with squash, etc. the other, i've been using as a side dish to a rotisserie chicken (our latest go-to-meal) lately and its just so fantastic. i found it on another blog, Crapes of Wrath, and my only revision is that i use butternut squash, not yams. same quantities of everything else.

so its vegetarian, vegan, delicious, and totally worth the effort of peeling and dicing a squash! and btw, yes, you can cube it a day or two in advance, keep it in a ziploc (!love!) and it'll keep fine until you are ready to make this:

1/2 butternut squash, peeled, cubed (about 1 in thick)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (or oil of your choice to make it vegan)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
juice of half a lemon
1/3 cup pecans, chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries

preheat oven to 375 degrees. peel and cube squash. toss with 2 tbsp of melted butter or oil (original recipe calls for 'neutral flavored oil of your choice'). put on a greased baking sheet (i use pam) and bake for 15 minutes until tender.

while squash is in oven, whisk maple syrup, honey, vinegar and lemon juice in bowl.

take squash out after 15 minutes. turn oven up to 415 degrees, place oven rack directly under the broiler. pour syrup mixture over squash, toss around to coat. bake 8-10 minutes or longer if needed until squash has browned a little and syrup mixture is caramelized.

while squash is finishing up, put chopped pecans in frying pan and toast over medium heat for 5 minutes or until toasted.

take yams out when done, toss with pecans and cranberries, serve immediately. enjoy!