Let's Talk Apples-to-Applesauce!

First, a confession:  I rarely eat raw apples.
But, I like to bake with them.

On Friday, I made an apple pie.
On Sunday, apple crisp.

Apples.  What is it with apples?
It's the cooler weather, I tell you. It's time to celebrate the change in seasons! Light that oven!
And so I bake.

I find a pleasing combination of apples (about five different kinds) to peel, core and slice.
I always--and I do mean always--slice more than I will need for my desserts.

Why?
For the applesauce.  Homemade applesauce.

It will be the perfect accompaniment for one of my favorite meals:

Pork Roast with Sauerkraut

"Yikes!" you say. "Really?  One of your favorites?"

Trust me.

Here's what you need to do:

Step 1:
Place a pork roast in a roasting pan or crock pot.
Cover it with sauerkraut.
Sprinkle about 2 tsp. of raw sugar over the sauerkraut.
Bake it.

Step 2:
Make mashed potatoes.  Use the lovely Golden potatoes.  (It's much easer to mash them if you uniformly dice them before boiling them.)  Instead of using an electric mixer, try mashing them the old-fashioned way--by hand.  Add some milk, some butter, and mash until creamy. 

Step 3:
Eating instructions:  Place some pork roast, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, and the homemade applesauce on your plate.  Now--and this is important--take your fork, pick up some of the sauerkraut, some of the mashed potatoes, and some of the applesauce, all on the same fork, and give it a go.  It is a taste combination that is surprisingly delicious.  Oh, and don't forget to eat the pork!

Step 4:
Repeat Step 3.


And for dessert?  Apple pie, of course!

Coming up on my next blog:  My Dutch Apple pie recipe