Apples: a Cookbook
by Robert Berkeley
Simon and Schuster Inc., 1991

Review by Kathleen Daelemans with Mom, Rita Daelemans

Rating: In the fall it gets 4 spatulas. In the summer, I'm reading something else

Mom's Pros: Beautiful pictures! The recipes are a little unusual in that they go beyond the basic baked apple, apple crisp and apple pie. Their baked apple recipe is Baked Courtland Apples with Yam Filling. They've got a recipe for Chicken and Courtland Apple Couscous. Anytime I try a recipe with couscous I don't like it but it's so easy to cook I always think I ought to like it so I'll give it another try. Your father needs to give up coffee so I might try the Apple Cranberry Iced Tea. You haven't forgotten what he's like when he drinks coffee have you?

Mom's Cons: I don't think I'll be cooking the Duck Breast with Crab Apples but someone else might like to try it. I'm not doing the Calvados Soufflé but it would be nice if you'd cook it and invite me over. A few of the recipes are a little over the top in the fat department. There's one that calls for a cup of butter, 1/4 cup of heavy cream and 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil for 4 people. We'll never know what that one tastes like.

Mom's Favorite Features: I love returning to it every fall. I still haven't made my way through all the recipes but every time I open it, it makes me want to go out and buy more apples. The recipes I'm interested in have short ingredient lists and easy to follow instructions.

From Mom's Kitchen Notebook: Evidently, I tried the Jonathan Apple dumplings and really liked them because I wrote, "really great" on the recipe. Though I skipped the 2 cups of dry vermouth called for and used apple juice, water and a splash of white wine instead, I love the Braised Red Cabbage with Northern Spy Apples. Your father does too because he thinks he's getting pork but tonight I'm serving it with fish.

Can't Wait to Try: Carrot Parsnip and Granny Smith Apple Cole Slaw, Cracked Wheat Salad with Jonathan Apples and Mint. "How are you going to get Dad to go for that?" There won't be anything else to eat.

Too Healthy Sounding to Get Your Father Interested: Oatmeal pancakes with Jonathan Apples and Pecans. I'll call them something else. He eats oatmeal. And I know he eats pancakes because he takes his granddaughters to IHOP once a week and tells me he orders the egg white omelet but I know better.

Nothing to do With This Book But On Mom's Mind: In How to Cook Everything: Bittman Takes on America's Chefs, by Mark Bittman (Wiley, 2005), there's a great apple recipe, Apple Confit. I'm not really sure it's great but I've read about it in two books now. Bittman takes this version from an earlier book he did, Jean-Georges: Cooking At Home with a Four-Star Chef by Jean-Georges Vongerichten & Mark Bittman (Broadway 1998), and simplifies the instructions. If Bittman thinks its good enough to put in two cookbooks, it's got to be worth trying. It only has 3 ingredients, an important criteria, but it takes 24 hours, "largely unattended" to make. I'm into largely unattended expect when it comes to your father. I can't leave him alone too long or he'll consume the entire contents of the refrigerator including what I plan to fix for supper. I'm going to try Apple Confit as soon as I get an oven. I'm waiting for the builder to come and finish the kitchen. I've been waiting since Spring but I'm sure he'll be here any day. There's a recipe for Green Apple Sorbet you can make to serve with it but I'm 65. I'll let Ben & Jerry's make the sorbet or skip it entirely.