Apple

This is one of the all-time most popular dishes we have ever created at Bayona. It was the brainchild of another former sous chef, Scott Freer. He had the original idea (duck and peanuts, who knew?), and we tweaked the various components until one day, after tasting the latest version, everyone just stood there silently, grinning in a Duck PBJ reverie. The cashew peanut butter can be made well in advance, as can the grilled onions. However, for super-crisp freshness, the Apple-Celery Salad is best when thrown together right before serving.

This is a crisp and pleasing salad that gives you a chance to show off the subtle, clean-tasting apples you can find in the fall and winter, such as Macoun, Braeburn, or Gala (though it’s great with tart Granny Smith apples any time of year). It gets a mellow richness from Comté, a high-quality Swiss-style cheese that’s made in France, and the nuttiness of the cheese is echoed by the hazelnuts. (Walnuts would be a fine substitute, however.) I frequently use apple cider for the basis of sauces and dressings, because it’s lightly fruity but still fairly neutral, so it blends well with lots of different things. When cooked down or reduced, cider gets almost syrupy, which gives body as well as flavor to the dressing.

When buying parsnips, choose those that are smooth, firm, and about 8 inches long, roughly the size of a large carrot. They should not be soft, spotted, or damp.

We like Granny Smith apples for this tart, but you could substitute a number of other varieties, including Macoun, Cortland, or Jonagold.

If you prefer, you can replace the white wine with an equal amount of apple cider. To prevent peeled apples from turning brown, place them in a bowl of cold water mixed with the juice of one lemon.

Caraway seeds often season cabbage dishes; here they give pork a tangy coating. If you plan to make the cabbage to serve on the side, begin preparing that recipe first, since the total time is about an hour.

Large, with a firm, sweet flesh, Fujis are good for snacking, cooking, and mixing into salads like this one. Unlike many other apples, their taste actually improves with age.

The apple tart is France’s answer to American apple pie. (Or maybe it’s the other way around, but really, who’s keeping score?) The light and buttery crust is a delicious home for overlapping slices of lightly seasoned apples. Rolling the dough over a bed of sugar fuses the granules to the crust, creating a sugary layer that caramelizes into a tantalizingly crisp outer shell as the tart bakes. I like to serve this with crème anglaise—a silky vanilla-infused pourable custard—flavored with apple’s favorite spice, cinnamon. It adds just the right amount of richness to the elegant tart. A little ice cream on the side—vanilla or caramel, for example—wouldn’t hurt either.

Bland and mushy are forever banished; this is oatmeal for grown-ups. Steel-cut oatmeal (also referred to as Irish oatmeal) has a wonderfully nutty taste and a texture that is at once creamy and chewy. As a kid I always loaded my oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar; now I cook tart apple slices with the same ingredients for an unexpected yet familiar treat to layer with the oatmeal. A sprinkling of turbinado sugar and a quick hit from the broiler create a sweet brûléed crust and an extra touch of decadence. Crack the crust with your spoon and pour in the cinnamon-scented cream . . . oh yeah, you’ll be in love with oatmeal after this.

This is a total throwback to a classic dish from my childhood, pork chops and applesauce. I bet I’m not the only one who enjoyed this weeknight staple both growing up and today. But there’s far more to this dish than nostalgia; pork and fruit, especially apples, make a fantastic combination. Soaking the rack of pork in a savory apple juice brine delivers great results—the naturally mild, lean meat is thoroughly infused with flavor and moisture that won’t cook out in the oven. Brining is a vital step in producing this juicy, flavorful pork. The deep molasses-mustard glaze and pan sauce finished with sour mash whiskey are Tennessee touches that I never had growing up, but I think the next generation will appreciate this new spin on an American classic.

This is a sophisticated take on an American classic, the Waldorf salad. Tart crisp apples, piquant blue cheese, and rich, crunchy walnuts combine to create a salad with layers of flavor and texture. Slightly sweet, deliciously tangy pomegranate molasses is the key ingredient in the vinaigrette, binding all of the elements in place of the traditional mayonnaise-based dressing. Tender baby spinach and crisp endive amp up the fresh factor of this hearty salad.

Pimm’s No. 1 is a gin-based beverage made from dry gin, liqueur, fruit juices, and spices. When combined with club soda or ginger ale and a cucumber spear, it becomes a Pimm’s Cup. Pimm’s No. 1 was created in the mid–eighteenth century by English oyster bar owner James Pimm. The recipe is still a secret; supposedly, only six people know exactly how it is made. It has a dark golden brown color, a medium body, and a taste of quinine, citrus fruits, and spice. Its low alcohol content—only 20 percent—makes it a perfect lunchtime cocktail. The cocktail found its home in the States in New Orleans in the early twentieth century when an anglophile bartender at Napoleon’s put it on their menu. The addition of lemonade distinguishes the American version from the classically British Pimm’s cup.

Everyone makes zucchini bread, but somehow it feels so blah to bring another loaf of this admittedly delicious stuff to a potluck. Here’s a new take on the old theme, using butternut squash, which lends a golden hue and a delicate flavor to the bread. Large loaves, which can be sliced on-site, work beautifully as potluck fare. Wrapped mini loaves tied with ribbons and adorned with handwritten tags make memorable party favors. For family reunions, spell out the family name, the date, and the reunion site, such as “Wright Family Reunion, May 2009, Elderville Churchyard.” Just about any event, from wedding showers and baptisms to graduations and birthday parties, can be commemorated this way, leaving guests with a nonperishable memento that can be saved in scrapbooks long after the last scrap of bread disappears.

Some of my favorite sandwiches need very little prep work, just the right combination of top-notch ingredients. This is one of them. Dark bread, smoky fish, tart apple, and complex Gouda make magic together. All you have to do is slice, spread, cut, eat, and smile.

Apples, pork, and cabbage would seem best for fall, but I confess to making this dish anytime I get a hankering for a pork chop and see Brussels sprouts in the market. The tart apple and spicy ginger give it an appealing lightness. I like to use Brussels sprouts for single-serving dishes for an obvious reason: There’s less possible waste than with a big head of cabbage.

When we opened Ko, we did so with a deep-fried apple pie. It resonated so much with people that we decided to use the apple pie as inspiration for a cake. We already had the crumb-into-ganache-into-frosting down and we loved the pie crumb we had developed for a few Noodle Bar and Ko desserts seasons before. This cake will make you seem like a genius, though all you are doing is layering apple pie fixins between layers of slightly nutty (with brown butter) cake. Leftovers make especially delicious impromptu cake truffles (see page 122).