Apple Cider

This is a Christmas favorite at my house, perfect for everything from big holiday parties to a quiet winter night at home. Sometimes I put a batch of it on to simmer just because its delicious fragrance of warm spice and apple fills the house and makes me happy.

Pork shoulder is my hands-down favorite cut of meat. Studded with garlic, it makes a succulent roast for dinner with enough for sandwiches the next day; and braised with a few flavorful ingredients, it creates its own sauce. Hard cider brings acidity to the sweetness of regular cider and apples.

Make one of these sauces in the hot skillet after you have cooked chicken breasts or pork chops.

Make one of these sauces in the hot skillet after you have cooked chicken breasts or pork chops.

Rabbits were a special treat for Big Bob Gibson, and even more than hunting them, he enjoyed cooking them. His favorite recipes included rabbit stew, Brunswick stew, and smoked rabbit with white sauce. Sometimes he would let the assigned pitman of the day cook the rabbits in whatever way he wanted to. A cook truly knew he was accepted when Big Bob would just toss his kill on the stainless-steel table and say, “Cook ’em,” with no further instruction. The following is a “cook ’em” recipe.

If a whole pork loin or pork loin roast is too large for your needs or will take too long to cook, loin chops are a great alternative. The following recipe qualifies as a “must cook” pork chop. I first made these chops while tailgating in Jupiter, Florida, at the St. Louis Cardinals’ spring training facility. March is not too early to start grilling, especially when you are sharing the grill with Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith! This recipe can be made with either bone-in chops or boneless pork loin cut in one-inch medallions. These pork chops feature apple cider brine and a fruity sweet glaze made from applesauce, cranberry sauce, and maple syrup.

Applesauce is a classic example of a delicious and down-home recipe that sometimes suffers from syneresis, or separation of liquid from the gel. In this recipe, we use crabapples for a slight twist on the original. We like them for their tartness and color; they make a beautiful pink sauce. You’ll find that crabapple sauce will make a striking counterpoint for a variety of dishes, both sweet and savory. The little bit of xanthan gum added at a ratio of 0.1 percent of the total weight of the other ingredients makes it almost perfect.

Veal breast is a flavorful and economical alternative to the traditional veal shanks used to make osso buco. In fact, it produces a better yield and makes portioning a heck of a lot easier. We’ve braised the breast in apple cider and added some horseradish for a bit of heat and spice. We like to serve this with Sourdough Spaetzle (page 87), but it’s equally delicious with buttered egg noodles, risotto, or a stew of salt-roasted root vegetables. Alternatively, season the veal with nutmeg, lemon zest, ground fennel, and black peppercorns to change up what is soon to become a staple in your kitchen.

This is comfort food at its finest. It blends Italian risotto with the idea of American macaroni and cheese to create a dish that is more than the sum of its parts. And because we love the crisp juicy flavor of apples with our Cheddar cheese, we decided to take things a little further and use cider to deepen the flavors of our risotto. That hint of tartness balances out the richness of the dish. If you happen to have them around, fresh chives are a wonderful finishing garnish.

We like to make whole wheat sandwich bread at home. We use a pain de mie bread pan, a French loaf pan that comes with a lid so the finished bread has perfectly square slices (although whether or not we use the lid depends on our mood). Sometimes perfect squares are desirable; sometimes we prefer a slightly bigger piece of bread. This dough will work either way. As for flour, we are partial to the King Arthur white whole wheat for its flavor, but you can use the whole wheat flour of your choice. This is a wet dough that will bake up into a moist, cakey loaf, excellent for toast and sandwiches.

I love this dish, and you will, too—and your guests will be impressed. Set the table for a special eating experience, including a few scissors to pass around and a bowl for the parchment paper. Then present guests with closed, tempting packets: when they cut open the parchment, the sight and bursting aroma of savory-stuffed quail will fill them with anticipation, and they will dive right in. As an accompaniment, I would serve a bowl of hot polenta, farro, or wild rice, or a bowl of beans and black kale. Serve family-style, putting the bowl in the middle of the table, so everyone can spoon some onto the plate next to the quail.

This slightly sweet side pairs well with pork or chicken, and a serving offers about 3/4 of your daily need for vitamin C.

"Brining the turkey overnight keeps it moist and seasons the interior of the meat," says Lo. "The ingredients, except the cider, are classic 'red-cooking' flavorings used in Chinese cooking to braise and glaze meats like pork or duck." Tent the turkey—especially the wings—with foil if it darkens too quickly while roasting.

These humongous sweet-and-smoky beef ribs will be the talk of your next backyard barbecue. Because the ribs are an unusually large size, your butcher may have to special-order the whole racks for you.

A roast turkey glazed with a buttery cider syrup is burnished outside and juicy within. You'll have more than enough gravy to ladle over the stuffing, the smashed potatoes, and tomorrow's leftovers.

Two quintessential autumn ingredients—sage and cider—flavor this turkey-gravy combo.