Sweet and Savory Apples

Posted online November 9, 2010 | 12:59 pm

The perfect autumn dish - not only is it delicious but it will make your entire house smell like fall.

Why Try? We made this dish for a party recently, and it was the star of the evening. We couldn’t keep up with the guests! They loved the flavor of the sweet baked and savory fried apple combination. Make plenty because it will disappear fast!

Foodie Byte: You can bake these apple wedges ahead of time and just when ready to serve, warm them in the oven for 5 to10 minutes and top with a small amount of fried apples. It’s always good when cooking apples to use two different varieties – we used Jonathan and Honey Crisp. For a party, if you are going slice the apples ahead of time, sprinkle with lemon juice. Use an iron skillet and allow plenty of room for the apples to fry.

Click here to read our story on 2010 Side Dish Trends, sponsored by McCain Foods, USA Inc.

Ingredients

5 tablespoons butter, divided
Bacon drippings
8 large crisp apples (4 for baking and 4 for frying)
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
Cinnamon
Sugar

Preparation

FOR BAKED APPLES:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cut 4 apples into 4 wedges. Scoop out of the middle with a small paring knife to leave room for the fried apple slices.
Roll each wedge into a bowl of sugar.
Place on a parchment lined sheet pan.
Sprinkle each wedge with cinnamon and bake 15 minutes or until softened.
Remove from oven.
FOR FRIED APPLES:
Wash, dry and slice 4 apples into 1/2-inch slices.
Heat butter and bacon drippings in a heavy skillet over medium heat.
Add apple slices and cook for about 2 minutes.
Add sugar and salt.
Continue cooking until apples are browned and caramelized
Spoon on 2-3 apple slices onto a baked apple wedge and serve warm.