Apple

This dish flips conventional Southern cookery on its head. Rather than cooking greens nito submission, they’re quickly brined to soften their texture and mellow their bitterness, then married with the sweet, salty, and creamy elements of a composed salad.

This pull-apart bread, also called bubble bread, was inspired by a photo of Apple Cinnamon Monkey Bread in the King Arthur Flour's Baker's Catalogue. This bread looks just like the KAF version and tastes outrageous—not too sweet with a pleasing amount of caramel.

This dough is quite versatile and works for savory empanadas just as well as for sweet tarts and turnovers. It’s also incredibly easy to work with; not only does it resist sticking, but it’s almost impossible to overwork. (The secret is the cream cheese!) If you can, make a double batch of the dough and freeze for later use.

This is one of our all-time classic salads. It’s easy to see why it’s so popular: it has the perfect combination of sweet fruit, crunchy nuts, tangy cheese, and tender spinach, bound together by a delicate vinaigrette. It’s substantial yet not too heavy, perfectly suited as an accompaniment to other dishes.

Brown Betties are similar to fruit crisps and cobblers, but they rely on toasted bread crumbs to bind the filling and to produce a crunchy topping. If you can’t find Gala apples, use other crisp, slightly tart varieties, such as Granny Smith.

Nothing complements pork like the flavor of apples; here the fruit is sautéed with leeks and honey. This recipe calls for roasting an extra tenderloin; serve one with the apples, and reserve one for use in a recipe on the following page.

This may look—and taste—like a cream-based soup, but it actually has no cream. Instead, a small amount of yogurt is used, which provides tangy flavor. Store-bought frozen pureed squash is a time-saving ingredient, or you can make your own.

Napa, or Chinese, cabbage (not to be confused with bok choy) has a delicate taste and tender, ruffly leaves. Here one head is divided into two salads—one with Asian-style ingredients and the other with apples and caraway.

WITH A HANDFUL OF RICH HAZELNUTS and diced apples, these Pacific Northwest waffles make a hearty and tasty weekend breakfast dish. The whole wheat flour adds a deeper flavor and bonus nutrients. Once you taste these waffles, you’ll never use a waffle mix again.

THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO SHOW OFF APPLES in desserts, but warm apple crisps are always a favorite. Nine varieties of apple are grown in Washington State, including Gala, Braeburn, Cripps Pink, and Granny Smith. Use a mixture of your favorite apples, including one sweet variety, such as Fuji or Jonagold, and a more tart variety, such as Granny Smith or Cripps Pink. If you’d prefer to make one large crisp, use a 9 × 13-inch baking dish.

THIS SWEET AND SAVORY STUFFING offers a textural element in every bite. It is a perfect side for poultry dishes.

CHEDDAR CHEESE AND APPLES are a classic American pairing, and a little prosciutto elevates a simple grilled cheese sandwich to a satisfying midday meal. In this sandwich we use nitrate-free prosciutto, which is available in most specialty stores.

SMART SUBSTITUTION This lighter interpretation of a traditional Waldorf salad replaces the sweet mayonnaise dressing with one made from reduced-fat sour cream, white-wine vinegar, and just a hint of sugar.

GOOD TO KNOW Even the dark meat of turkey and chicken, such as thighs and legs, can be part of a low-calorie meal; cooking the meat with skin and bones intact yields great flavor, and the skin can be discarded before serving to reduce fat and calories. Serve with steamed green beans tossed with a little melted butter.

If I’m going to make a fruit tart or pie, it is most often a galette—a thin, free-form open-face tart. The pastry is easy to make and roll out, and is crisp and light when baked. The dough is not sweet and can be used for savory tarts as well as dessert. This recipe makes enough dough for 2 tarts. The dough will keep in the refrigerator for 2 days or in the freezer for several months.

Jellies, also known as fruit paste or pâte de fruit, are beautiful bite-size confections with intense fruit flavor. Fruits such as apples, quince, and plums are slowly cooked with sugar to a concentrated purée, then cooled in a mold or pan until set and firm. The jellies can be cut into all sorts of shapes, rolled in sugar, and served as candies. Without a sugar coating, fruit paste is a delicious accompaniment to cheese.

This is one of the most delicious tarts there is. The apples caramelize on the bottom of the pan, the pastry bakes crisp and brown on top of the fruit, and the whole tart is flipped upside down, revealing the dark caramel-drenched apples.

When it is time for dessert, I like to eat fruit. A simple piece of ripe fruit is what I would choose first, but fruit tarts are irresistible, too. Almost any fruit can be made into a tart, either alone or in combination with others. Apples, pears, plums, apricots, peaches, nectarines, cranberries, quince, raspberries, blackberries, huckleberries, all are ideal, and the list goes on and on. Fruit is best used when ripe—but not so ripe that it is getting soft. Don’t hesitate to use bruised or blemished fruit; just discard the damaged parts. With the exception of berries and cherries (which are usually left whole and pitted), the fruit is cut before using. Apricots and small plums (pits removed) and figs can be cut in half and placed cut side up on the pastry. Larger plums and nectarines are better sliced thin. Peaches, apples, and pears should be peeled, pitted or cored, and then sliced. Some fruits, such as quince and dried fruit, need to be poached—gently cooked in sweet syrup—before being sliced and arranged on a tart. Rhubarb can be cut into matchsticks or slices. For best results the fruit should be sliced between 1/4 and 1/3 inch thick. Arrange the fruit on the pastry, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. The fruit can be scattered evenly over the dough or it can be placed neatly in concentric circles. Apples and other drier fruit should be arranged tightly in overlapping circles. Juicy fruit such as plums and peaches should be one layer deep. Either way, the fruit should be fitted snugly together, one piece placed close to the next, because it will shrink as it cooks. Juicy fruit will give off more liquid as it cooks, making the crust soggy. There are a few things that can be done to mitigate this. The easiest is to scatter a tablespoon or two of flour over the pastry before arranging the fruit on top. Only sprinkle it on the part where the fruit will be arranged, not on the border. The flour can be mixed with sugar, chopped nuts, or ground spices for more flavor. Another way to create a barrier between the pastry and the juice is to spread frangipane (a mixture of almond paste, sugar, and butter) over the pastry; 1/2 cup is about the right amount for a single tart. Two to three tablespoons of jam can also be spread onto the pastry. This works best for fruit that’s only slightly juicy. Fold the border of dough up over the fruit and brush it generously with melted butter. Sprinkle with sugar, using up to 2 tablespoons. Lightly sprinkle the top of the fruit with more sugar: most fruit will only need 2 or 3 tablespoons. Rhubarb, tart plums, and apricots are exceptions and need a lot more sugar than the others. Taste the fruit as you are assembling the tart. The sweeter it is, the less sugar it will need. Once assembled, the tart can be kept in the refrigerator or freezer until time to bake. It is nice to put a tart into the oven as you are sitting down to dinner: that way it will be ready in time for dessert, still warm from the oven. Bake the tart on the bottom rack of the oven until the bottom of the crust is golden brown. As with savory tarts, it is important that the bottom of the pastry get brown and crisp. Here are a few suggestions for embellishing any simple fruit tart: After the tart has baked for 30 minutes, sprinkle it with soft berries such as raspberries, huckleberries, or blackberries (first tossed with a little sugar)—this way the berries cook but don’t get dried out. Currants, sultanas, or other raisins can be scattered over the crust before arranging the fruit. (If the raisins are very dry, soak them in water and Cognac, then drain them well before putting them on the tart.) And try sprinkling chopped candied citrus peel over the tart when it comes out of the oven. For added gloss and flavor, glaze the tart after baking. If the fruit is juicy enough, the juice that pools around the fruit during baking can be brushed back over it—a bit like basting a roast with...

When I go to a restaurant and want something light, I immediately look to the carpaccios and crudos, which often feature marinated raw fish. Smoked salmon can deliver the same light, clean flavors but without the worry of serving raw beef or fish at home. I like to arrange the salmon and apples on a platter and let guests pile them onto slices of bread themselves; the color of the salmon is simply stunning next to the green apples, which also contribute crunch and freshness.