Warm Apple, Pear, & Walnut Salad

~Serves 4ppl~

• 2 Granny Smith apples, cored & sliced thin
• 2 Bartlett pears, cored & sliced thin
• ½ red onion, sliced thin
• ½ cup olive oil
• ½ cup walnuts
• ½ cup currants
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 TBL walnut oil
• 1 TBL white wine vinegar
• 1 TBL soy sauce
  

After mixing the above ingredients:

• In a large sauté pan, heat 1 TBS butter, add mixed greens,
• Saute until warm
• Serve over mixed greens
• Top with Gorgonzola or local Goat Cheese

 

Prepared by Chef Amanda Hilty
Bistro 1896
7 Pack Square
Asheville, NC 28801                                                        
828-251-1300
bistro1896.com

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Chilled Apple-Ginger Bisque

• 16oz    apple butter
• 2oz    fresh ginger-peeled
• 8oz    plain low fat yogurt
• 8oz    apple cider
• 2oz    honey

Blend all together in blender. Serve chilled.

Makes 1quart

Deborah J. Ivey, Chef Tournant
The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa
90 Macon Avenue
Asheville, NC 28804
groveparkinn.com
800-438-5800

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Momma's Apple Cake

• 2 cups sifted flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup soft butter
• 4 whole eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 6 North Carolina Apples-peeled, cored and medium diced
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Combine the sugar in cinnamon-set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix until blended-do not over beat.

Add walnuts and apples by hand.

Pour batter into greased 13 x 9 pan. Sprinkle sugar-cinnamon mixture over top of cake.

Bake 350-degrees for 45 minutes or until toothpick in center comes out clean.

Deborah J. Ivey, Chef Tournant
The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa
90 Macon Avenue
Asheville, NC 28804
groveparkinn.com
800-438-5800

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Apple Vinaigrette

 

Ingredients:

• 4 cups   Olive oil
• 2 cups   Apple Cider
• 1 cups   Cider vinegar
• 1 cups   Lemon juice
• 4 Tbsp. Lavender herb mix  (see recipe below)
• 2 Tbsp. Chopped Chives
• To taste S&P
• To taste Sugar

Lavender Herb Mix

Ingredients:

• 1 cup   Lavender (picked)
• 1 cup   Rosemary (picked)
• ½ cup  Thyme (picked)
• ½ cup  Oregano (picked)
• ¼ cup  Sage (if available)
• 1 cup   Parsley

Method:  Combine and chop all for Apple Vinaigrette

Corner Kitchen
Owner/Chef Joe Scully
3 Boston Way
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 274-2439
TheCornerKitchen.com

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Apple Chutney

(a delicious topping for pork chops or your favorite grilled meat)

• 3 Apples peeled and diced (Granny Smith preferred for flavor)
• 1/4 cup diced sweet onion
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon ground glove
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 1/4 cup sherry
• 4 tablespoons butter
  

Heat butter in pan, sweat onions until translucent. Add apples, cinnamon stick, clove, sugar, and bay leaf. Cook until apples start to soften. Add apple juice and sherry. Reduce mixture on a low heat until thick. Season with salt to taste.

Café on the Square
Owner: Tracy Adler
One Biltmore Avenue
Asheville, NC 28803
828-251-5565
caféonthesquare.com

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NC Apple Crisp with Walnuts & Bourbon  

Topping: 

• 3/4 cup Old Fashioned Oats
• ½ cup  brown sugar
• 1/8 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 TBS flour
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• ½ cup butter-room temperature  

     

Filling:  

• 2 ½ pounds North Carolina Apples
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 TBS flour
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 2 TBS butter        
  

Peel, core and slice apples. Toss with sugar, flour & cinnamon. Add walnuts & bourbon, toss to mix. Spread apple mixture into buttered 8x8 baking pan. Evenly spread crumb topping over.      

Bake 350-degrees approximately 35 minutes or until top is golden and apples are tender. Serve warm.      

Delicious served with ice cream!  

Deborah J. Ivey, Chef Tournant
The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa
90 Macon Avenue
Asheville, NC 28804
groveparkinn.com
800-438-5800

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Apple Blue Cheese Spread with Pecans

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• ½ cup sour cream
• 2 cups finely chopped apples
• ¼ cup crumbled blue cheese
• ¼ cup chopped red onions
• ¼ cup chopped pecans

Beat cream cheese spread and sour cream in medium bowl until well blended. Add apples, blue cheese, onions and pecans; mix well. Cover and refrigerate at least two hours. Serve with Triscuits or Wheat Thins.

Toni Gaskill: Greenville, NC
2007 N.C. State Fair First Place Winner

 

 

 

 

 

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Apple Veggie Skillet Supper

• 1 cup diced bell pepper
• 1 cup diced onion
• 3 cups diced eggplant
• 2 cups diced tomato 2 1/2 cups diced (not peeled) crisp sweet apple such as gala, pink lady or Fuji
• 1 t. garlic powder (more or less to suit your taste)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Cooking spray
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup real bacon bits

Spray large caste Iron skillet with cooking spray and heat until hot. Then add oil and turn heat to medium high. Whenever it is hot, sauté pepper and onion for about 2-3 minutes. Cover skillet with lid for about 2 minutes. Add eggplant, stir and cover for 4 minutes until slightly softened. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Lower heat to medium, add tomatoes and cook for one minute covered. Then add apples, stir well and cover for an additional minute. Remove from stove, sprinkle with cheese and then bacon bits, Place under broiler on high for 2-3 minutes until cheese melts well. Serves 7.8

*** If you want to divide mixture in half, put into 2 medium skillets and cover with cheese and bacon. . Keep one for yourself and give the other to a friend!! You can also refrigerate one half and use it a few days later.

Harriet Carter: Durham, N.C.
2007 N.C. State Fair Second Place Winner

 

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Sweet Potato and Apple Baked Side Dish

• 3 sweet potatoes (peeled and sliced)
• 3 Ginger Gold apples (peeled and sliced)
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 1/2 cup Brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon Butter

Preheat over to 350 degrees. In buttered ramekins sprinkle some oft the brown sugar in the bottom. Add flour, cinnamon and brown sugar to the sliced potatoes and apples. Places slices in ramekins. Dot with butter and bake for 45 min. Turn out onto dinner plate and serve with entrée.

Amanda Boury: Raleigh, NC
2007 N.C. State Fair Third Place Winner

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Stuffed Acorn Squash

 

• 2 medium sized acorn squash
• 1 small 8 oz. package of Pepperidge Farm Seasoned stuffing (the one with the blue on the package)
• One 14 oz. package of Hillshire Farm beef sausage
• 1 medium onion
• 2 ribs celery
• ½ stick butter plus 1 Tablespoon
• 1 to 1 ½ cups apple juice or apple cider
• 1 red apple
• 1 green apple
• 1 yellow apple
• 4 Tablespoons parmesan cheese

Cut your acorn squash lengthwise, scrape out seeds and discard. Remove all but ¼ of an inch of the meat inside of the acorn squash, reserve meat to the side. Peel and chop (into bite size pieces) apples, onions, celery and squash meat. Sauté in a large skillet with 1 tablespoon butter until everything is soft. Set to the side. Cut the sausage into bite sized pieces. In the same skillet, fry the beef sausage until brown. Drain on paper towel. In a large bowl, combine the cooked squash, onions, celery, apples and sausage with bag of stuffing. Mix in ½ stick of butter or more of apple juice until stuffing is moist. When everything is mixed well, spoon into scraped out acorn squash, mounding slightly. Bake on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon each of parmesan cheese. Return to oven for 3 to 5 minutes until cheese is golden brown. Serve immediately. Serve on plate of vanilla rice (2 cups rice boiled with 6 cups water and ¼ cup vanilla flavoring).

 

Carrie Austin: Leicester, NC
2007 N.C. Mountain. State Fair First Place Winner

 

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Apple Kielbasa

• 4 cups North Carolina Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 2 (15 oz.) sauerkraut, bag or canned (I use the canned sauerkraut with caraway seeds)
• 1 to 1 ½ lbs. Kielbasa or smoked sausage
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup apple juice

Drain juices off of sauerkraut. Place 1/3 of the sauerkraut in a slow cooker.

Cut sausage into 2 inch lengths. Place in slow cooker. Continue to layer in slow cooker: apples, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Alternate layers and top with remaining sauerkraut. Drizzle apple juice all over.

Do not stir mixture. Cover and cook on high in slow cooker for 3 to 3 ½ hours or on low for 6 to 7 hours, or until apples are tender. Stir before serving. Serves: 6 to 8.

 

Donna Maynor: Asheville, NC
2007 N.C. Mountain. State Fair Second Place Winner

 

 

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Stuffed Baked Apples

• 3 large Gala apples
• 6 precooked sausage links
• 4 tablespoons butter
• ½ small onion minced
• 3 cups herb stuffing
• 1 cup water
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 to 4 tablespoons maple syrup

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in sauce pan and brown onions and warm sausage, add herb stuffing, water and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and let cool.

Wash and core apples with melon baller, do not go all the way to the bottom, stuff each apple firmly with sausage stuffing, place remaining butter on top of each apple, and place on cookie sheet in 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until done. Remove from oven and drizzle maple syrup into each apple core. Serve immediately.

S.A. Suerner: Arden, NC
2007 N.C. Mountain. State Fair Third Place Winner

 

 

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5-Spice Apples and Pork Stir Fry

• 2 cups low sodium, low fat chicken broth
• ¾ cup water
• 1 ½ cups long-grain white rice
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 lb. (16 oz.) thin pork loin chops, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons Chinese 5-Spice Powder
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• One 4-oz can stems and pieces mushrooms, drained and chopped
• 3 cups N.C. Golden Delicious apples, unpeeled, cored and diced (approx. 3 medium apples)
• 1 cup carrots, shredded (2 medium)
• 1/3 cup onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon garlic minced
• 1/3 cup reduced soy sauce

In a medium saucepan, bring the broth and water to a boil. Stir in the rice, cover and cook over low heat for 18 to 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork when done.

In a large, deep nonstick skillet or wok, heat 2 tablespoons sesame oil over medium-high heat. Season the pork with the Chinese 5-Spice Powder, add to skillet or wok and stir fry 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add the remaining tablespoon of sesame oil to the skillet or wok and lower the heat to medium. Add the eggs and scramble for 30 seconds; push them to the side. Add the mushrooms, N.C. Golden Delicious apples, carrots, onion and garlic. Stir fry for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cooked rice and cook for 1 minute. Still in the soy sauce and reserved pork. Serves 4 to 6.

 

Rheta Marlene Merrell: Hendersonville, NC
2007 N.C. Mountain. State Fair Honorable Mention

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An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

N.C. Apples have numerous health benefits. Adults who eat apples, apple juice and applesauce have a significantly reduced risk of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of health problems that are linked to numerous chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. 

Recent studies on the consumption of apples leads researchers to note: “We foundd that adults who eat apples and apple products have smaller waistlines that indicate less abdominal fat, lower blood pressure and a reduced risk for developing what is known as the metabolic syndrome.”

Source: Fulgoni, V., Fulgoni S., Haaga, S., Ebert, A.  Apple consumption is associated with increased nutrient intakes and reduced risk of metabolic syndrome in adults from the National health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2004).  Experimental Biology 2008 Poster Presentation (unpublished).

 

 

 

 

 

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Thank you to all chefs who submitted recipes for the N.C. Apple web site. A special thank's to the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association (AIR) for sharing recipes for this site and the 2008 N.C. Apple recipe booklet . AIR is a non-profit organization of independent restaurateurs in and around Asheville, North Carolina. AIR invites you to experience the variety of food, culinary style, atmosphere and personality that contribute to Asheville not only being a wonderful place to live and visit, but truly a "delicious destination."