Apples.

Lots. of. apples.

Colin and I participated in the fall tradition of apple-picking this year, and came home with 72 apples.

What does one do with 72 apples? Have an apple-themed dinner party of course! On the menu: apple cider (natch), alcoholic and non-, provided by our friend Stefanie; apple and bacon polenta; apple crisp (made by Colin from his mother's recipe); and fried chicken made by Sean and salad made by his girlfriend Laura.

Baked Polenta with Apples, Gruyere, and Bacon

Ingredients
6 cups chicken stock
1 1/3 cups uncooked polenta
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
4 slices thick cut bacon
1 tablespoon butter
2 large Granny Smith apples (about 1 pound), cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese

Yields
A baking-dish full, easily 8+ servings

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Bring the 6 cups of chicken stock to a boil in a saucepan. Gradually whisk in the polenta. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens and the polenta is tender, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and add in the thyme.

3. In a second pan, cook the bacon until desired texture is reached. Remove from the pan, pat dry of excess grease, and chop into 1/2-inch pieces. Add the butter to the pan over medium high heat until it begins to brown. Add the apples and saute until tender, about 9 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT cheese; stir to blend.

4. Add apple mixture, the bacon and one cup of the cheese to the polenta. Stir until well combined. Transfer mixture to a 13×9x2 inch oval dish (or something of similar capacity) that has been greased or coated with cooking spray. Top mixture with remaining cheese.

5. Bake until cheese is golden, about 30 minutes.

recipe from The Pink Apron

And what do you do when, even after all that, you still have 50 apples left? Apple butter! Apple butter is so simple, especially when using a crock pot. All it is is cooked-down applesauce. And all applesauce is is cooked down apples! Maybe add a little brown sugar or cinnamon, if that's your thing.

Just let it cook, stirring occasionally, until a wooden spoon can stand up on its own.

Then spread on homemade bread and enjoy.

Apple Sage Pork Chops

I never knew I was a pork girl until I looked at my bookmarked recipes and saw that I had more pork tags than beef or chicken! This was pretty easy to make, though it does require a little pan shuffle. 

 

adapted from McCormick

Ingredients 

1 1/2 teaspoon ground sage

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon thyme 

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 pork chops, about 1-inch thick (about 1 1/4 pounds)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 red apple, thinly sliced
1 cup apple juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions
1. In a shallow bowl, mix together the flour, salt and the McCormick spices. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the flour-spice mixture in a separate bowl - you'll use this in the sauce later. Pat each pork chop in the flour mixture on both sides. Discard the rest of the flour-spice mixture.

2. Heat a larget skillet over high heat with just 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. When hot, add the pork chops and cook until browned on both sides. Remove the pork chops (they'll come back into the pan later for additional cooking). Wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel.

3. Heat the same skillet over medium heat with the remaining 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. When hot, cook the onions for 3 minutes. Add the apples and cook an additional 2 minutes. Push the apple/onions towards the outside of the pan, leaving an empty space in middle of pan. In the middle of pan, add apple juice, brown sugar and reserved flour-spice mixture. Whisk or stir until flour has disappeared.

4. Return the pork chops back into the pan, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until pork chops just cooked through. 

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