An old favorite...

My daughter had to bring in a recipe for her final grade in her High School cooking class this past year and didn't know what to make. She went through all the recipes on my blog and ended up making this recipe for Apple, Cherry and Walnut Salad with Maple Dressing and received an A+! It was one of the favorites of the class. And ours. 

She hasn't made a thing since!

but at least I know she can :)

Apple, Dried Cherry, and Walnut Salad with Maple Dressing
Source: Bon Appétit, September 2002 - original recipe by the Mountain Town Station Brewing Company and Steakhouse, Mount Pleasant, MI
Printable Recipe

For the Maple Dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar or any white wine vinegar
1/2 cup canola oil

For Salad:
1 bag baby spinach (or any mixed greens)
2 Fuji apples, peeled, cored, cut into matchstick-size strips (use any apple you like)
1/2 cup dried cherries (tart or sweet)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (or not!)

Note:
Keep some apple, walnuts and cherries on the side to sprinkle over the top of the salad when you serve!

For dressing:
Whisk mayonnaise, maple syrup, and vinegar in a medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in oil until mixture thickens slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Or put all the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake it really, really well! (Dressing can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Shake jar or whisk again before using.)

For salad:
Toss spinach, apples, cherries, and walnuts in large bowl to combine. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Divide salad equally among plates. Sprinkle with remaining apples, walnuts, cherries and then serve.

Joining 

 Beth at Beth Fish Reads for the Weekend Cooking Party. 

Every weekend. It's open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share! Go on over and see some fun posts.
 

and joining

Souper Sundays (soups, salads and sandwiches) @ Kahakai Kitchen

with the

 Souper Sunday weekly round-up of recipes

and joining

http://www.foodiefriendsfriday.com
hosted by 
Walking on Sunshine Foodie Friends #3

and

Busy Vegetarian Mom

 and

 Food on Friday at Carole's Chatter 

 

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Baked Apples

One of my favorite desserts has always been baked apples. Didn't matter what the season, I just love them. So when my niece came back from apple picking over the weekend with her daughter and brought us back a bag of Jonagolds, I knew exactly what some of them were going to be...BAKED!

I found what looked like a really nice recipe at epicurious. But I did change it a little. I omitted the figs, used walnuts instead of pecans and almonds and used apple juice instead of apple cider. I didn't baste all that much, but I did a couple of times. It's a super recipe. Loved it. Can't wait for leftovers tomorrow! It said unpeeled but I peeled one anyway. Still came out good.

 

Joining Mary's Mosaic Monday. For more mosaic's stop by the Little Red House!

Maple Baked Apples with Dried Cherries and Walnuts

Source: Epicurious, January 2002 – recipe by Claudia Fleming with Melissa Clark

Adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook

Printable Recipe

1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

4 tablespoons roughly chopped dried cherries (I used dried Bings)

4 tablespoons roughly chopped walnuts

6 large, firm baking apples, such as Cortlands, cored but not peeled (I used Jonagolds)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

1/2 cup apple cider or apple juice

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, dried fruit, and nuts.

Place the apples in a baking pan or casserole dish and stuff the cavities with the cherry and nut mixture. Place a small piece of butter on top of the stuffing. Pour the apple juice and maple syrup on the bottom of the baking pan, and drizzle a little on top of the apples. Bake the apples, until they are tender, about 30 - 35 minutes, making sure to baste every ten minutes.

When the apples are tender, transfer them to a serving dish and cover with foil to keep warm. Pour the pan juices into a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Simmer the mixture and reduce it until it becomes a syrupy sauce, about 10 minutes. Serve over the apples.

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Roast Chickens with Black Pepper and Maple Glaze

I finally made the little chicken that was defrosting in the frig. But it's been a busy time lately and I finally managed to roast it, but then I put it in the frig and didn't get back to it until the next day. Story of my life, rushing, and not getting to cook what I wanted to so many times, but this time I didn't have to chuck it!  I knew if I cooked it ahead, I'd be able to use it for dinner the next day. Fully cooked the morning before, nice and moist if you roast the chicken with an orange (or a lemon) in the cavity.

Then the next day, I just roasted butternut squash chunks, with some teeny, tiny potatoes and sliced onions in a Maple-Black Pepper glaze. When the vegetables were pretty much fork tender, I put the roasted chicken on top and then heated the whole thing up in the oven. Basted the chicken a few times with the Maple-Pepper glaze and it turned out fantastic. It's sweet, pretty sweet, but a really nice dish. This one we'll have again. Click the link if you want to see the way it was prepared in Food and Wine magazine!

I got the wishbone, but I'm not telling what I wished for.

Roast Chicken with Black Pepper and Maple Glaze
Source: Food and Wine, April 2004 - recipe by Maria Helm Sinskey
adapted There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
coarsely ground pepper
2 medium onions, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt
1 large chicken or 2 small ones
1 small orange, poke holes in it with a fork
small potatoes and butternut squash chunks (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the maple syrup and 2 teaspoons of coarsely ground pepper. Remove the glaze from the heat. (or you can just pour the syrup and dots of butter in the pan with the onions and stir it a couple times while they roast!)

On a large heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet, toss the sliced onions with the olive oil. Season the onions with salt and pepper and spread in an even layer. Season the chicken inside and out with salt, put the orange in the cavity, then arrange the chicken on top of the onions. Loosely tie the chicken legs together with kitchen string.

Roast the chicken for about 60 minutes at 350°. Brush the chickens all over with half of the maple glaze and continue roasting them for 1 hour longer. Increase the oven temperature to 425°. Generously brush the chicken with the remaining glaze and roast until the cavity juices run clear and the chickens are nicely browned.

Transfer the chickens to a platter and let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Pour the onions and pan juices into a large glass measuring cup and skim the fat from the surface. Season with salt and pepper and serve with the chickens.

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