Charoset

Unlike the majority of our gentile celebratory foods, which gain a spot on our tables simply for being delicious, Jewish cuisine is notorious for the symbolism of each item present.

Matzo and only other unleavened breads because the when the Jews left Egypt they didn’t have enough time for leavened (chametz) bread to rise and/or because it was easy to carry with them on their journey back to Israel.

Bitter greens to symbolize the embittered life of enslaved Jews in Egypt and salted water to represent the tears of the people.

There are many other symbolic dishes that represent various struggles and tribulations in Jewish history, but I admit the most appealing (speaking only of taste) is charoset.

Charoset is said to represent the mortar the Israelites used while bonding bricks in Egypt. There are two different kinds: Sephardi, which is cooked and usually paste-like to more closely resemble the mortar of ancient times, and Ashkenazi, which is more rustic and always contains nuts, apples, cinnamon and sweet wine – ingredients King Solomon used to describe the children of Israel.

I like the Ashkenazi version because, well, I’m not Jewish and I can pick on taste alone. I’d like to try making it with pistachios instead of the traditional walnuts, but I’m not sure if I get in trouble for messing with the recipe too much.

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cinnamon and honey applesauce

I went grocery shopping at the commissary the other day to restock the fridge after vacation and found that they had installed two huge bins of 'dinged' produce. These are the fruits and vegetables that have bumps and bruises - a little more damage than you're average cosmetic defect - with discounts to match.

There were all sorts of different items in the bins - zucchini, red delicious apples, bananas. The only item I was really interested in was the packages of granny smith apples.

Bumped and bruised granny smiths? Sounds like applesauce to me.

OK - it actually sounded like apple pie, but I convinced myself that applesauce was a much healthier alternative.

Less than two dollars for five pounds of apples later and I was on my way home to make some applesauce.

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Apple Sausage Stuffing

I've spent a lovely Thanksgiving at a gorgeous house in the Outer Banks of North Carolina with TA and his mother's side of the family.

I've featured a recipe or three of the MiL's in the past and though I was wary about the addition of Red Delicious apples in..well, anything, this stuffing was one of the best I've ever had.

The combination of the hot sausage and apples makes such a great pairing - I was truly surprised.

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Apple Cider Ice Cream

There are few things more synonymous with fall than apple cider.

The leaves are starting to change, there's a brisk edge to the breeze, and sandals are exchanged for über-cute boots. What could be more comfortable than curling up in a big fluffy blanket on the sofa with a great movie on the television and a big, steaming mug of spiced apple cider in hand?

Well, when you're in North Carolina and the temperature is routinely swinging from rainy and 55°F and sunny and 80°F, apple cider ice cream seems a bit more appropriate.

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Apple Butter

Apple butter is deeeeelicious.

I don't like store bought apple butter, it's just too sickeningly sweet. I also am not fond of many recipes for the same reason. Folks try to shortcut the long, slow caramelization of the natural sugars by adding extra refined sugar.

Sorry kids, it's just not the same.

I prefer to taste the sugars in the apples themselves after they've slowly caramelized - not some nasty ass high fructose corn syrup. Blech. So, it'll take a little time and a little effort, but it's worth it. The complexity of flavors from the apples and spices really shines through, if you have the patience.

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