Warm Chestnut And Apple Salad Food

ROASTED CHESTNUT AND APPLE DRESSING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cut the focaccia into small cubes and spread them out on a cookie sheet. Bake until dry and crunchy, 20 to 30 minutes.
• In a thick-bottomed pot, heat the butter and oil over medium low. Add the onions, celery and thyme; sweat the vegetables for 10 to 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Turn the heat up to medium high and add the apples. Cook until the apples start to brown, 8 minutes.
• Turn off the heat and add the chestnuts and bread; toss to mix.
• Pour in the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, mixing well between additions -- you want the mixture moist, not soaking wet.
• Transfer the stuffing to a casserole dish, cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until golden.
• Serve warm.

CHESTNUT AND APPLE STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish; set aside. Arrange bread in a single layer on two rimmed baking sheets. Bake until dried, rotating sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add onions and celery; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Add apples; cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; reserve saucepan.
• In same saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Remove from heat; set aside. To onion-apple mixture, add bread, sage, chestnuts, and eggs. Season with salt and pepper; toss to combine. Add half the broth and toss to combine. Continue adding broth and tossing just until stuffing is moistened but not wet.
• Place about 4 cups stuffing in turkey. Spoon remaining stuffing into prepared baking dish; cover with buttered aluminum foil and refrigerate. When turkey is removed from oven, place covered baking dish in oven, and bake until warmed through, 25 to 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden, about 15 minutes more.

WARM-APPLE SALAD

Steps:

• Heat broiler with rack 8 inches from heat. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, and mustard; season. Add apples and toss to coat. Transfer to baking sheet and broil until browned at edges and softened, 5 to 8 minutes. Toss lettuce with apples and any juices. Sprinkle with chives.

CHESTNUT APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a chestnut knife or a small paring knife, make an incision about 1/8 inch deep through the shell and into the flesh of each chestnut almost all the way around the circumference of the nut. Transfer to a chestnut pan or rimmed baking pan. Roast in the oven until the chestnuts are tender, about 35 minutes.Turn the oven off. Leaving the pan with the chestnuts in the oven, remove several at a time.Working quickly, place 1 chestnut in a towel. Holding both, peel chestnut while still hot. Remove and discard the shells and inner skin.Transfer chestnuts to a medium saucepan. Heat oven temperature to 375 degrees.
• Add 4 cups water and 1/2 cup sugar to the chestnuts; place over high heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer chestnuts until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the chestnuts are falling-apart tender, 40 to 45 minutes. Drain in a colander. Break chestnuts into small pieces, and set aside to cool.
• In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the oil and remaining 3/4 cup warm water, and mix on medium-low speed until dough comes together, about 1 minute. Switch to the dough hook, and mix until the dough is smooth and shiny without sticking to your fingers when squeezed, about 5 minutes. Turn dough out onto a clean surface, and knead into a ball. Cover dough with a bowl, and let stand at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours.
• Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the apples and 1/4 cup sugar, and cook, stirring frequently, until just tender and golden on the edges, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer apples to a shallow bowl, and set aside until cool. Repeat cooking the remaining half of the apples in 3 tablespoons butter with remaining 1/4 cup sugar.
• Place bread in a food processor; pulse until texture resembles coarse meal. Add bread crumbs to reserved apples, along with the reserved chestnuts, nutmeg, cinnamon, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Toss to combine well; set aside.
• Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Brush a baking sheet with melted butter, and set the remaining butter aside. Place a clean sheet or a very large apron on a clean surface about 36 inches square, and sprinkle with flour. Place the dough in the center, and roll into a 12-inch square. Cover dough with a damp towel, and let stand for 15 minutes. Remove the towel and slide both hands, palms down, under the dough. Lift dough, and begin stretching until it becomes too big to stretch on top of hands. Carefully set the dough back down on the cloth, making sure to spread the dough out without any wrinkles. Begin to pull the dough out in all directions, maintaining the square shape, until it is almost translucent and about 36 inches square.
• Using a sharp knife or scissors, trim about 1/2 inch of the thicker edges off. The dough that remains should be only the very thinnest dough. Gently brush the butter evenly all over the dough, and arrange the apple-chestnut mixture on top, leaving a 1-inch border.
• Lift the front edges of the cloth off the table, and flip the dough and apple-chestnut mixture over onto itself, enclosing the mixture.This first fold should be 3 to 4 inches wide. Continue folding the dough in this manner using the cloth until dough is completely rolled up and has the final edge on top. Carefully form dough into a C shape. Place the prepared baking sheet right next to the strudel, and flip strudel over onto the prepared baking sheet so that the top now becomes the bottom. Brush with butter, and sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until the top is golden brown and the apples are tender, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer baking sheet to a wire rack, and let stand until strudel is warm or at room temperature.

AUTUMN CHESTNUT SALAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Toss the bread with the olive oil in a small roasting tin. Season with salt and pepper, spread out over a single layer, then bake for 12-15 mins until the bread is browned and crisp. Tip onto a plate lined with kitchen paper, then leave to cool.
• For the dressing, mix the onion with the vinegar in a small bowl, then leave for 10 mins. Combine the mustard and oil, season with salt and pepper, then whisk until slightly thickened. Stir into the onions, then set aside.
• Tip the lettuce into a large bowl. Add the chestnuts to the bowl with the beetroot. Heat a non-stick pan, add the ham, then fry quickly on each side until crisp. Just before serving, thinly slice the apple, then add to the bowl with the croutons. Add the dressing, then toss everything together until glistening. Pile onto 4 or 6 plates and set 2 pieces of ham on top of each.

APPLE AND WALNUT SALAD

Steps:

• In a salad bowl, combine the first eight ingredients., In a small bowl, whisk the cider, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper; gradually whisk in oil. Drizzle over salad; toss to coat. Serve immediately.