Maple Poached Apples With Cinnamon Glazed Pecans And Cider Granite Food

CINNAMON POACHED APPLES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring the sugar, water and red-hots to a boil. Cook and stir until red-hots are dissolved, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat; carefully add apples. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or just until apples are tender, turning once., With a slotted spoon, remove apples to a large bowl. Bring syrup to a boil; cook, uncovered, until reduced to about 1-1/2 cups. Cool. Pour syrup over apples; cover and refrigerate until serving.

POACHED APPLES WITH VANILLA CINNAMON SYRUP

Steps:

• In a roomy one gallon pot place peeled apples, vanilla, cinnamon and sugar. Cover with water then bring to a simmer over medium to low heat for twenty minutes. Once the apples are soft enough, pierce with a knife. Remove the apples with a slotted spoon to a holding plate. Reduce poaching liquid to a light syrup, then place the apples back in sauce pot and hold on warm until ready to serve.
• Use four small serving bowls with matching underliner plates then place one apple in the middle of each bowl. Pour warm syrup over each apple and then garnish cinnamon sticks and vanilla beans.

APPLE-MAPLE GLAZE

Steps:

• Boil 2 cups apple cider in a saucepan over medium-high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low; add 1/2 cup each apple jelly and maple syrup, 1/4 cup whole-grain mustard, 1/2 teaspoon allspice and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.

APPLE, PECAN AND BLUE CHEESE SALAD

Steps:

• Add the greens, cherries, pecans, cheese and apples into a large salad bowl.
• Mix the olive oil, Dijon, maple syrup and vinegar in a small jar and sprinkle with and salt and pepper. Put the lid on the jar and shake well to mix.
• Pour a little of the salad dressing over the top of the salad and toss to combine. Taste the salad and add more dressing to taste.

MAPLE-POACHED APPLES WITH CINNAMON- GLAZED PECANS AND CIDER GRANITE

Steps:

• To make the granite, pour the cider into a large metal pan and place in the freezer until firm throughout but not frozen solid, about 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, to make the pecans, preheat oven to 250 degrees. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the egg whites and water until frothy. Place the pecans in the egg-white mixture and stir to coat. Drain well. Place the pecans in the cinnamon sugar and toss to coat well. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake until the pecans begin to dry out, about 45 minutes, stirring twice. Set aside; you will not need all the pecans for this recipe.
• To make the apples, combine the maple syrup, water and rum in a medium nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a simmer and add the apples. Cover and poach until the apples are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove the apples and set aside. Bring the poaching liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer until reduced to 1 cup, about 30 minutes.
• To serve, coat the bottom of 4 plates with the syrup mixture. Place 1 apple and a scoop of the granite on each plate. Scatter some cinnamon pecans over the plate and serve immediately.