Sunday Supper: Pork & Apple Pot Pie

If you’re looking for a serious Sunday Supper, the kind of meal that takes all day to make, but isn’t very much work, then this dish is for you. The pork and apples and thyme simmer all day until meltingly tender to make the perfect base to a pot pie.

This pie is the ultimate comfort food, but the puff pastry adds that extra bit of fancy which makes it perfect for guests. You can also make it a day or two in advance, then add the puff pastry and pop it in the oven just before your guests arrive and the smell of apples, thyme, savory pork and puff pastry will make your house smell mouth-watering.

Winter is the perfect time for a pot pie. Though this may be a departure from the traditional chicken version, it’s a delicious dish that will warm you right up. How can you really go wrong with something covered in puff pastry?

Get the Recipe »

Stout-Braised Sausages with Apples, Pears & Cranberries

Beer is fun. And so it goes without saying that cooking with beer is also fun. Since the brew brings the flavor, you can lay off the spice drawer for a night. You can also experiment with different varieties based on season — a Corona and lime marinated skirt steak in the summer, Pumpkin ale and short ribs for Autumn (this recipe coming soon). And of course there’s the sampling while you cook…

Since it’s Fall, I went with a nice, coffee-flavored Stout, whose name I cannot recall at the moment, but you can substitute your favorite Mocha Porter (Rogue makes a good one), brown ale or a time-tested Guiness. The recipe starts with sauteed onions and browned sausages in a rather large pot. Add some sliced apples, pears, whole cranberries and a bottle of stout and pop it in the oven for an hour and a half and you’ve got a delicious Sunday supper.

Make sure you’ve got some crusty bread to mop up the beer-y juices, or serve with roasted or mashed potatoes. Either way, you’ve got a hearty, healthy and really tasty meal.

Get the Recipe »

classic waldorf salad, plus some twists on the original

Everyone’s had a classic Waldorf salad right? Sliced or julienned apples, celery, walnuts and mayonnaise? Wikipedia says the Waldorf salad dates back to 1893 and was first served at The Waldorf Hotel (later the Waldorf-Astoria of many-movie fame). It’s sweet and tangy and crunchy. Perfect for a summer BBQ, you can make it a few hours in advance and best of all, you only need four ingredients.

The classic Waldorf is great. If you’ve had it, you know it’s pretty perfect. But some people don’t like mayonnaise. Some people want something more inventive. Some people (me) just can’t leave a recipe alone. So, I’m proposing some variations and twists on the original recipe. There’s really no way to mess this up, so feel free to play with the proportions and substitute anything you think might work here. Just make sure you taste it constantly so you know you’re on the right track.

Some twists on the classic (recipe for that below):

• Substitute thinly sliced fennel for half of the apple amount
• Add tarragon to the classic
• Add thinly sliced Napa cabbage (or sub for half the apple amount)
• Substitute plain Greek yogurt for the mayonnaise
• Add some curry powder to the classic (or yogurt version)
• Substitute any other nuts for walnuts
• Add fresh basil, cilantro and mint (would be perfect in combination with the Napa cabbage)
• Make it your own

Get the Recipe »

apple & fennel panzanella

I love to dip my bread into sauces and dressings. If it were up to me, I could make a full meal out of marinara sauce and a big hunk of bread. In fact, I’ve often been caught bent over a big pot of something, scooping it straight into my mouth with a piece of bread. Oops.

Panzanella is a bread salad, which means that it’s basically crunchy bread soaked with dressing. Like my perfect meal. Wikipedia says that panzanella is often thought of as a “leftover salad.” This definitely applied in my case since the bread in question came from a leftover (stale) loaf of Ciabatta. As for the vegetables, I just used whatever I had lying around — sliced fennel bulb, sliced apple, chives and some greens.

I made a nice, acidic dressing with lots of white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, olive oil and fresh garlic that soaked into the bread. The bite of the mustard was a good compliment to the sweet apples and crisp fennel. And I got to eat a big bowl of bread and still get away with calling it a salad.

Get the Recipe »

beer braised bratwurst with apples and onions

Beer, bratwurst and apples seem more like fall than spring, but since we don’t really have seasons here in Miami, I think it’s fair game any time of the year. This easy recipe only has 5 ingredients and minimal active time. Simply brown the onions and sausages quickly, add the apples and beer and pop everything in the oven for 40 minutes.

My beer of choice was a Rogue Mocha Porter, which lent a warming, coffee-scented flavor to the dish. Perfect comfort food. I served the brats with a side of roasted brussel sprouts, but they’d be really good with roasted or mashed potatoes.

Get the Recipe »