Tag: apple cider
Roasted Beet and Apple Salad
I found gorgeous yellow beets, roasted them and paired them with apples in a delicious, easy salad!
- 4 small or 2 large beets (I found yellow ones but any color will do)
Place each beet on a square of aluminum foil, drizzle a bit of olive oil on each and wrap. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes or till the beets are tender. Take out and let cool. Cut into quarters.
- 1 large Honeycrisp apples, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 to 3 cups of mixed greens
Apple Cider Dressing
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoon apple cider
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Add all the ingredients to a air tight container and shake well and keep aside. Transfer the beets and apples to a salad bowl. Pour 2 tablespoons of dressing and mix well. Sprinkle some salt and pepper and let sit for 15 minutes. Add the mixed greens. Toss and add more dressing if needed. Serve.
Warm Spinach Salad with Pancetta and Feta
This recipe is a play on the popular warm spinach salad. It is typically made with bacon. You start off by cooking some bacon down; taking the bits out and using the warm fat for salad dressing.
I used pancetta instead of bacon; rendered it and kept it aside. A mixture of dijon mustard, white wine vinegar and apple cider make a delicious dressing. To make it interesting, I added crumbles of salty feta cheese. I am a big fan of this cheese- I love salty cheese, and this one is as salty as they come. It provides an amazing punch of flavor. The good thing is you don’t need a whole lot of it and it is naturally lower in fat than other cheeses.
The salad turned out delicious- it was a great start to the meal, especially since it continued with the yummy meatballs…
- 3 cups baby spinach
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
Place the spinach and cheese into a medium salad bowl. Keep aside.
- ¼ cup chopped pancetta
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium shallot, sliced
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 to 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons apple cider
- Salt
- Pepper
Heat a small frying pan and add the olive oil. Add the pancetta and cook on medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring constantly till the pancetta bits are crispy. With a slotted spoon, take out the pancetta and keep aside. Keep the flame to medium and add the shallot. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the vinegar and apple cider. Whisk in the mustard and add salt and pepper if needed.
Pour over the baby spinach, toss and serve.
Cider Duffins
- ¾ cup raw sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1½ cups white whole-wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup extra light olive oil
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup fine raw sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Lightly grease a 12 muffin tin with a bit of oil in each cup.
In a large bowl, beat together sugar and egg till light and fluffy. Pour in vegetable oil, cider and vanilla extract. Mix to combine.
In a small bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Pour into the egg mixture and stir well.
Divide batter evenly into the muffin cups, filling about ½ full.
Bake for 15 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
While muffins are baking, melt butter in a small bowl. Pour ½ cup sugar and cinnamon into another small bowl and mix well.
Once the muffins are done, lightly brush the top with melted butter, remove from the pan and roll in the cinnamon sugar, coating all parts of the duffin.
Irish Style Coleslaw
It is time to cook up some corned beef and cabbage- it is that time of year. The time has changed and spring is in the air- we are almost there…
So, how does an Indian cook celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?? Well, I wasn’t very sure a few days ago. I was planning on wearing green (which is usually the only thing I do most years), and maybe visiting our local pub for a full Irish breakfast- yum! I will forego the green beer as I am not a beer gal but will devour the rest..
How should I honor the Irish tradition? It is a busy week and I was not up for a very complicated recipe with a big commitment- so I decided to make something simple. I was thinking of doing burgers for dinner and decided on making an Irish style coleslaw. I love a well made coleslaw but usually find myself shying away from it at restaurants. Mostly the salad is bland and old tasting- so I don’t eat it.
I was determined to make a delicious coleslaw and noticed a typical Irish coleslaw is usually made without mayonnaise- although I did come across some recipes with a tad bit added. I decided to eliminate it in my recipe. I made it easy for myself and bought a pack of shredded green cabbage. I looked for the rest of the ingredients in my fridge. I had green onions, sweet red peppers and Dijon mustard. I also added half an apple as I saw most of the recipes included some kind of an apple. I also added some apple cider to the dressing to mimic the flavor in the salad.
The coleslaw was a big success. I made Greek style burgers – yes, I know that is a weird combination, but it all complemented each other really well. The cabbage was delicious with the tangy dressing, the apple provided a delicious crunch and the green onions and red pepper were just right.. enjoy!
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Pork Chops with Apples and a Cider Pan Gravy
I had these pork chops in my freezer for a while, I had bought them from a local butcher air-packed and frozen. I wasn’t sure what to do with them until my daughter talked about the delicious applesauce her teacher made at school. Apples go so well with pork chops!! When I think of apples and pork chops, thyme comes to mind! So that is what I did. I took onions, garlic and cooked them with the apples. Adding the flour right into the skillet saves you a step (and cleaning a pan!). I decided to use cider for the pan gravy. The cider gives the dish a very deep apple flavor, and cooking the chops right in the gravy makes them tender and full of flavor. I did make creamed corn and fingerling potatoes (recipes to follow in the next few days!). After all of that, my daughter ate the pork chops but did not like the apples!! They were not the same as what her teacher made! I guess you can’t please everyone! Enjoy!
- 4 boneless center cup pork chops ½ to ¾ inch thick
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, sliced thin
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
- 1 large Granny Smith apple or 2 small Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 3/8 inch wedges
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups apple cider
Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over high heat until smoking, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, dry pork chops with paper towel and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Brown chops in single layer until deep golden on first side, about 3 minutes. Flip chops and cook until browned on second side, another 3 minutes. Transfer chops to a large plate and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium and add the onions and apples. Using wooden spoon, scrape bits on pan bottom and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are softened and browned around edges, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and rosemary and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the flour to the skillet and cook for about a minute mixing well. Next add the apple cider slowly whisking the entire mixture until it turns into a smooth sauce. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to medium. Add the chops, cover and reduce heat to low, and simmer until pork is tender and paring knife inserted into chops meets very little resistance, about 20 minutes.