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Carl Davaz

One of the best parts of fall is the arrival of apple season; time to drive to a local farm to pick your own or head for your favorite farmers’ market, where often you can find less common varieties.

In our family, it’s the smell of cooking apples and cinnamon that signals that fall is here. My mom called it stewed apples, and it’s just apples and cinnamon and maybe a big dollop of honey — cooked in the big pot she gave me — until the house fills with the fragrance that is, to me, the essence of fall.

When choosing apples for cooking, I like to use more than one variety in an apple pie or stewed apples for a more complex flavor and texture. Really, the more the merrier.

When buying apples in bulk for cooking, I take some of almost every variety available in every stage of ripeness.

While Granny Smith’s have their place, they are so firm that they take much longer to cook than other varieties. It’s probably better to use them by themselves.

The following recipes call for apples, leaving you to choose your favorite varieties, but you can substitute pears or use a combination of apples and pears.

Roast Pork Loin With Apple Cider Dijon Sauce

Serves 4.

• 1 small pork loin (about 1½ to 1¾ pounds)
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 apple, cored and cut in 1/2 inch-thick rings
• 1 onion, cut in 1/2 inch-thick rings

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine thyme, salt, pepper and garlic; coat pork evenly.

In a shallow baking pan lightly greased with olive oil, arrange apple and onion slices to form a rack for the pork; set aside.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat, add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Brown the pork on all sides. Place the pork in pan on top of apples and onions; roast for about 30 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees. (It will give some resistance when pressed.) Let sit at least 15 minutes before carving.

Serve with Apple Cider Dijon Sauce, garnishing with fresh thyme leaves.

Apple Cider Dijon Sauce

Makes about 1 cup.

• 2 cups apple cider
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• (optional: 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves)
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Reduce the apple cider to 1 cup in a large skillet over high heat.

Add the cream (and optional thyme). Whisk well then boil, whisking often, for 1 minute.

Remove from heat and whisk in the mustard. Season with salt and pepper.

This can be made ahead and reheated gentl­y. If refrigerated, the thickened sauce can also be used as a sandwich spread.

Hot Apple Cider

• 4 cups apple cider
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1/2 orange, stuck with 10 cloves, cut in chunks
• Sugar or honey, to taste
• (Optional: a splash of brandy, vodka, or orange liqueur)

Heat cider, cinnamon sticks and orange in a medium saucepan over medium high heat.

When the cider is hot but not yet at a simmer, reduce heat to very low and allow to steep for at least 15 minutes.

Sweeten to taste and add optional brandy, vodka or orange liqueur.

Apple Walnut Salad With Blue Cheese Cider Dressing

Serves 4.

• 2 cups mixed salad greens
• 2 apples, cored and diced
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Toss greens with apple. Drizzle with dressing. Top with walnuts.

Blue Cheese Cider Dressing

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons apple cider
• 2 tablespoons crumbled Stilton cheese
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine mayonnaise and cider in a small jar and shake until smooth. Add Stilton, shake again, then season to taste with salt and a generous amount of black pepper.

The dressing may thicken if made ahead. Thin with additional cider, if needed.

Tarte Tatin

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 7 cups apple slices or chunks
• 3 tablespoons softened butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed and unfolded

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine sugar and cinnamon. Add to apples and toss to combine well. Set aside.

Thickly butter a 9-inch deep glass pie dish. Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar evenly in the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange one layer of apples prettily in the bottom of the pie dish. Add remaining apples evenly, filling in any gaps.

Place in oven and bake about 40 minutes or until the juices are bubbling, thickening and turning golden brown.

Carefully place the puff pastry over the apples, tucking the edges into the pie dish with a spatula or knife.

Poke a hole in the center of the pastry and cut 4 or 5 slits evenly spaced halfway between the center and the edge of the pan.

Continue to bake about 25 minutes longer or until the crust is golden brown and the thickened juices are bubbling through the hole and slits.

Remove from the oven. Let sit about 5 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate. You may need to nudge a piece of apple or two out of the bottom of the pan.

Serve with softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. If served when cooled, a dusting of powdered sugar is nice.

Kim Davaz of Eugene writes the biweekly Eating In column.

Carl Davaz

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