Gregory loves apples. In fact, all three kids are into apples these days. So much so that I buy a 2-pound bag of apples every other day or so. It inspired me to go looking for a place to go apple picking.
Here in Virginia, apple season runs from June to mid-November. In fact, we only made it by a couple of days, according to Dan Brown, the owner of Bush Neck Farm in James City County, Va. Turns out it was the prefect day for it -- sunny and in the 60s. We picked two pecks of Granny Smith's in an hour.
My mom -- who is a fabulous cook -- always told me the Granny Smith was more of a cooking apple than an eating apple. It's very crisp, so it keeps it's shape when cooked, and it's tart, so it benefits from the suger you add in baking. But Gregory wanted to take a bite, so we all did. And the verdict?? It was quite good even without the pie.
It was our second surprise of the day.
The first was when the drove up to the orchard. When Mike was young he worked in an apple orchard. He had to climb up huge ladders to the top canopy of the trees and thin the fruit, picking off any apples growing within five inches of another apple.
There was no canopy of branches and leaves here. Today farmers train their apples to grow just 7- to 9-feet-tall -- "standing height," as Mike just said. And no bushy branches either. Instead the apple trees grow like grapes -- trained to grow flat along wires spreading branches wide but not full.
My favorite apple recipe is for apple pie. In fact, I am so devoted to apple pie that for me, pie=apple. Any other dessert made from fruit and a crust is a tart. But tonight I decided I want to make something simpler, something in which the apples still looked like apples. So I made these baked apples (more of my favorite apple recipes to come). And to find U-Pick farms in your area, go here.
Baked apples (measurements are per serving)1 apple, cored
1/2 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1 to 2 teaspoons cinnamon sugar or brown sugar (depending on sweetness of apples).
Ice cream or whipped cream (optional, for serving)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Place apples in a baking dish coated with baking spray. Stuff empty apple core with butter. Sprinkle with sugar. Cover and bake until soft, about an hour. Top with ice cream or whipped cream
Alternately, wrap each apple individually in a piece of foil.
Baked apple, variation
Substitute 2 individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped, for the butter and sugar
Stuff apple core with caramel and bake until cooked through.
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