There's something about fall that makes everything so much more savory. The crisp air, the crunchy leaves, and all those delicious flavors to take over the summer ice creams and fruit laden pies. Sausages and sage take over the palette and we take a hiatus from the sweet things until the holidays. I found a recipe in Canal House, one of my favorite cookbooks, for stuffed apples. Perfect for these fall flavors. I didn't have a few of the ingredients and don't do very well with following directions, so here is my version of their stuffed apples.
[for three apples]
ingredients.
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 small celery stalk
1 star anise
1/4 lb ground sausage
1/4 cup cornbread crumbs
6 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
6 fresh parsley leaves, also finely chopped
salt & pepper to taste
3 medium sized apples, red or green
directions.
In a small skillet, cook the onion and celery with half the butter and the star anise. Add the sausage after five minutes and brown the sausage. Cook for about seven minutes and when that sausage is brown, put in a bowl with the spices and cornbread crumbs. Mix with your hands, making sure the sausage is in small pieces. Chop off the top third of the apples and hallow out the insides with a spoon, leaving a fourth inch to a half inch thick shell. Pack the mix into the apples and put dollops of the remaning butter on top. Put in a pan and cook at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the apples are soft.