Had D’s mother over for dinner the other night, and served a ham and brie quiche and some steamed broccoli and garlic bread (many thanks to my roommate and my lovely lady for all the help in the kitchen). My piece de resistance was to be dessert. I had gleaned some ideas at my local supermarket when I saw recipe cards for baked/poached pears in the produce section. Since delicious apples (both golden and red) were on sale I decided to improvise with them. I peeled and quartered the apples, removing the cores then drizzled a bit of maple syrup over the pieces. These I topped with allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg, then some ground pecans and a few bits of butter to prevent burning. Placing these in a pie tin I filled said tin about 1/4 full with some Kirkland Brand Tawny Port (not particularly good for drinking, but it was cheap and I figured it would do the trick for cooking), covered the tins and placed them in a 375 oven for about an hour. The apples came out smelling and looking wonderful. I sprinkled coarse salt and raw sugar and D was kind enough to whip up some vanilla cream to top along with a whole pecan or two. They were well received but my complaint was that they seemed a bit too sweet to me. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I might do to make this a little more user friendly? I’m thinking lose the raw sugar and possibly even the maple syrup as the port and the apples may be sweet enough. Also considering ground ginger to add a little kick. One last question, any words on whether its necessary to cover this dish while you cook it? Would it be better uncovered (nuts always taste better toasted) or would that run the risk of evaporating all the wine and making a sticky, inedible mess? I look to my fellow gourmands for advice. Rest assured I will be making this recipe again, and then I can post pictures.
Tags: cooking w/ Port, Dessert, poached apples
February 19, 2010 at 6:35 pm |
I took another stab at this recipe, and shook it up some. This time I cubed the apples and tossed them in Ruby Port with cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, and just a hint of ground cloves. I also pinched a little bit of rosemary into this, but unless you can really get it fine, I wouldn’t recommend that. Letting these sit, I covered the bottom of a few ramekins with instant oats, and then topped them with a bit of hot water and a pinch of salt. Spooned the apples on top then a few pecans and a bit of brown sugar on top. 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven, and this bubbling, beautiful concoction comes out tasting of spiced apples and mulled wine. Well worth making if you’re looking for a creative way to get rid of that last pour of wine.