The Comfort of Apples
Modern Recipes for an Old-Fashioned Favorite

by Philip & Lauren Rubin

      As the owner of an heirloom-variety orchard, this cookbook opened my eyes to many new and exciting ways to use various varieties of apples. Written by two creative young Manhattan-based chefs, this cookbook is a great resource for the versatile apple.
Recipes include apples – peeled and cut in various ways – and also apple-based products such as apple butter, juice and cider. A chapter on cooking with apples introduces both common and more advanced tools and techniques for preparing apples.

I was pleasantly surprised at the variety of dishes in which apples could be used, including a wide range of main courses and vegetable and pasta side dishes. Desert and bread recipes are also included – some good ‘basic’ recipes for family favorites like apple pie and apple sauce – and even recipes for gelato and ice cream.

I couldn’t resist making at least one recipe – Apple Bread Pudding – since all of the ingredients were close at hand. It was easy and scrumptious – the ultimate in comfort food!

Some of the more ‘gourmet’ recipes don’t look so difficult to prepare. Many of them were inspired by other cultures, including Greek, Vietnamese, French, Indian, Jewish, and Korean. Many basic ingredients are used in the recipes, but also some uncommon ingredients such as pomegranate seeds, mascarpone, juniper berries, picholine olives, lemongrass, and squid.

Interesting bits of history on some of the thousands of varieties of apples such as the ‘Glass Apple’ are placed throughout the book. Complete with beautiful photography, this fine cookbook is highly recommended.