Apples - It's Been A Very Good Year!

ABUNDANCE --- It is Fall in Oregon and I'm getting wary of friends that have an apple tree in their backyard.  The apple surplus seems bigger than usual this year, so as with zucchini, I feel like I need to lock my car for fear an over supplied neighbor will sneak in a bag or two.

I have one friend that has a whole orchard. Since the apples have ripened, every visit includes a walk down to the orchard with a couple of gigantic bags in tow, which are so quickly filled and so heavy you can hardly lug them back up the hill.  And you keep saying to your friend, "oh thank you, I think I have enough now" and they keep piling the apples in with a pleading, desperate look in their eyes, "here - just a few more, we haven't even begun to touch the tree".  So you take them home.

And then what?  I've now spent the entire week trying to figure out what to do with all these apples. What applelicious treat can I concoct?  I have to confess, I've not been successful in coming up with any truly blog-worthy recipes for all my kitchen testing.

In fact my apple jelly failed to jell (because I didn't follow the instructions carefully), and the caramel apple jam was a little short of true fabulousness (too sweet for my taste).

I made an apple cake, that I thought was going to knock the socks off of my guests, but it turned out to be pretty ordinary (boring).  I tried apple slaw - eatable, but no pizzaze.   And to my disappointment I've put on 5 pounds just testing (althought I can't entirely blame the apples for that).

Now, as we all know apples are wonderful, there are as many fabulous apple delicacies to be found, and made, and eaten, and fondly remembered, as there are apples.  With this in mind, I settled down, took a look at my most dependable blog sites, and found some true apple winners that I'm now going to focus on this week.

Here are my top winners!

• Apple Jelly - David Lebovitz, Living the Sweet Life in Paris - What was I thinking when I attempted my own version of AJ? This is the way it should be done.
• Membrillo - Simply Recipes - Made this last year with quince (ancient relative to the apple).  Follow the instructions and you've got success. This is a classic Spanish treat served along side Manchego cheese.
• Apple Tarte Tatin - Smitten Kitchen  If you in the mood for a challenge these are the best instructions for this complicated French classic.  I confess that I have always wanted to, but never attempted this intimadating dessert. Maybe I'll give it a try this week.
• French Apple Tarte -  Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network - This one has become a favorite in the family.  Actually it's my daughter's easy go to recipe that she knows like the back of her hand.  Check out the video on the page too!
• Classic American Apple Pie - Food Wishes - This is a video blog by Chef John at Food Wishes. The recipe is almost all filler, but you will notice a recipe for a traditional pie crust at the bottom of the blog. He actually has several apple pie recipes on his blog including a caramel apple pie which is his favorite.  I can do this one, it pretty basic and it is always a hit.  Enjoy the video!

As they say we're just looking at the tip of the ice berg here. You can make juice, cider, crisp, cake, turnover, you can dry or you can stew (oh my!) and on and on.

But there was one recipe I almost passed up - my granddaughter's all time favorite - German Apple Pancakes - truly blog-worthy! 

Life is good!  Bye for now.  Evelyn  

REMEMBER - Bye Local When you Can!

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