To kick off a month of atypical non-Grinchy behavior, I will be raffling off some of my favorite books to you, my loyal readers! If you've recently arrived here after reading the Edible Boston article on local food blogs, and you aren't sure you have what it takes to be a loyal reader, I'm hoping free stuff will convince you. I have a lot to give away and there are only three weeks until Christmas or something crazy like that, so check in often if you don't want to miss your chance to win. Once the clock strikes 12 on Christmas Eve, I'm keeping whatever's left like some sort of greedy Cinderella who misses the point of Christmas entirely.
Starting us off is Yankee Magazine lifestyle editor Amy Traverso and her great new cooking tome and apple encyclopedia, The Apple Lover's Cookbook. Think apples are all the same? Oh ho ho, you are so wrong. So wrong! Let Amy show you the error of your ways with a primer of 59 apple varieties, from quirky heirlooms to newfangled hybrids. Then be grateful that she was the one that had to do all that research and not you.
Moving on to recipes, there's literally not a single dish contained in this book that I don't want to eat. Apple crisp? Don't mind if I do. Apple pie? You bet! Cider doughnuts? Hell, yeah. Apple-gingersnap ice cream? STOP TORTURING ME!!! It's not just sweet stuff, either. There are recipes for sausage, apple, and cheddar strata, sweet potato and apple latkes, and apple cider-braised turkey with applejack-sage gravy. I made the braised pork shoulder with hard cider, Calvados, and prunes a few weeks ago, and it was so good that I refused to eat anything else for a whole 18 hours so as not to taint the memory. (That's a personal record for me, by the way.)
Quite simply, this is a book everyone needs to have. I mean, unless you hate apples. Is it even possible to hate apples? I might argue you're just confused. Maybe it's scrapple you hate? Anyway, to be entered to win, simply leave a comment on this post with your favorite variety of apple and/or apple preparation, and a commenter will be selected at random by one of those Internet-based number generators. Comments will close at 10 pm EST on Monday, 12/5. And if you don't win this raffle, there's still plenty of time to put the book on your Christmas list. That's the second best way to get free stuff!
Many thanks to W.W. Norton for donating a copy of this beautiful book!
I like granny smith and theHubby likes macintosh. Luckily for both of us, the apple basket on our kitchen counter can hold an ample amount of both.
Posted by: dena | December 02, 2011 at 04:12 PM
I like making apple crisp/cobbler. My kid especially likes it when I used crushed Cinnamon Toast Crunch in the topping.
Posted by: Vicki | December 02, 2011 at 04:19 PM
Pink ladies are the best for eating. For cooking, putting up apple butter every year is a must in my family.
Posted by: Millie | December 02, 2011 at 04:23 PM
I am a total sucker for baked apples. Delicious!
Posted by: Kate | December 02, 2011 at 11:04 PM
This year my favorite apple, hands down would be the Hudson Golden Gem, an heirloom apple with a sweet, soft and pear-like flesh. What they lack in crispness (think unripe bosc pear)they make up for in flavor. They dry fabulously and last a long time.
We ate them every day for a very long time with a slice of rye-spice quick bread and a wedge of soft cheese, my favorite being Harbison from Jasper Hill Farm. Nom.
Posted by: Theresa Smith | December 03, 2011 at 08:30 AM
I'm fooling you now because I am already a faithful reader. (i'm super discreet and sneaky if you didn't guess.)
My favorite apple is fuji. My kids are crying uncle about apples for snacks, but I say too bad for them as winter approaches.
Posted by: a quiet fan | December 03, 2011 at 09:05 AM
I like apple cider. Your blog is very funny, by the way.
Posted by: Cindy | December 03, 2011 at 09:26 AM
I like a gala/fuji mix for applesauce and arkansas black + granny smith for pie. yum! My kid on the other hand, will take any variety he can get his grubby paws on.
Posted by: karen | December 03, 2011 at 04:12 PM
Hands down, MacIntosh. Just love them raw. Favorite baked thing = apple + rosemary cake, a French Provincial recipe that is super yummy.
Fellow Waltham Fields Community Farm member - and faithful blog reader
Posted by: Lynda Banzi | December 03, 2011 at 09:36 PM
Bramley's Seedling. absolute best for pie. no competition for it.
Posted by: snippyscissors | December 04, 2011 at 06:35 AM
There's no better preparation than eating them straight off the tree. Well, that and hard cider, which you can at least get year-round.
Posted by: Pam | December 04, 2011 at 10:56 AM
honey crisp!
Posted by: Deb | December 04, 2011 at 03:29 PM
Apple Crisp made with Spencer apples!
Posted by: Arleen | December 04, 2011 at 08:57 PM
apple crumble with granny smiths!
Posted by: C N | December 05, 2011 at 01:42 AM
Honeycrisp apples. I eat them by the bag load.
Posted by: Russ | December 05, 2011 at 08:58 AM
This could be real useful with the bushel of apples I have in the garage right now (one bushel already went into sauce and butter). I'm a crisp girl, but tend to be wary of fruit in savory dishes. Maybe that pork shoulder would change my mind. Thanks!
Posted by: andrea | December 05, 2011 at 09:10 AM
Apple Pie, apple crisp, apple crumble, baked apples. . . .And on and on. I love Fujis for eating. My daughter is stuck on Red Delicious. I can't wait until her little taste buds branch out a bit1
Posted by: Cheryl S. | December 05, 2011 at 10:26 AM
Honeycrisps are my favorite eating apple.
Posted by: Amy C. | December 05, 2011 at 11:43 AM
Empires are by far my favorites. I have wonderful memories of apple picking at Honey Pot Hill in Stow, MA, eating our fill right off the tree and then going for chili and pie at our best friends' house! Alas, no Empires here in CA... I'm still looking for a favorite CA variety!
Posted by: Sandicita | December 05, 2011 at 02:52 PM
I like McIntosh for pies and Granny Smith for turkey stuffing with apples & pecans.
Posted by: Cheryl | December 05, 2011 at 03:15 PM
My mother's apple pie. Very basic 40+ year old recipe, but perfection needs no bells 'n whistles.
Posted by: Diana | December 05, 2011 at 03:53 PM
Boo. (I still think hanging oak logs would make a beautiful 'floating fence' to grow mushrooms on.)
Posted by: Jeremymarin | December 05, 2011 at 04:00 PM
My work bff just introduced me to honey crisps. I am pretty sure they are my new favorite. :-)
Posted by: Kathy | December 05, 2011 at 05:23 PM
Nellie's Apple pie is the best! Willing to try (and compare) other recipes.
Posted by: tara Greco | December 05, 2011 at 05:53 PM
Tried my first Honeycrisp @ Thanksgiving but since reading the article "Crunch" in the NYer (http://tinyurl.com/84u746l) I'm dying to try its offspring the Sweetango.
My two faves are America's Test Kitchen's apple crisp and Joy of Cooking's apple cake. The latter is very simple and not rich - a good everyday, breakfasty or snacky treat rather than dessert.
Posted by: Susanna | December 05, 2011 at 07:59 PM
And the winner is...#23 Kathy!!!
Congratulations! I'll be in touch.
Posted by: Tammy | December 06, 2011 at 01:01 PM