Fall in the Smoky Mountains

Anyone who knows me knows that fall is my very favorite time of year.  I love the changing leaves, the cool weather, soft sweaters, hot teas, and the sound of migrating geese as they turn their V’s back to the south.  Last weekend, I had the opportunity to celebrate the coming of autumn by drive north into Cherokee County, North Carolina to visit a friend. The two of us travelled through the foothills of the Smoky Mountains on Saturday and spent the better part of Sunday at the John C. Campbell Folk School’s annual Fall Festival (http://www.folkschool.org).  The event reminded me of being a kid and spending time with my family at a similar place, the Ozark Folk Center near Mountain View, Arkansas (http://www.ozarkfolkcenter.com).  The Folk School’s Fall Festival had a really nice selection of beautiful art and handmade crafts. There was also mountain music to listen to and traditional foods like meat pies, hot beans, and apple turnovers to try.  It was everything that the first weekend of fall should be.


In honor of this glorious time of year, I thought that I would write about my favorite fall foods, but to be honest, the list is way too long. There are so many things that I love to cook that, like my favorite sweaters, I leave packed away through the warmer months.  My mom’s famous beef stew is a perfect example. In fact, I just finished making my first batch of the year this week (substituting fresh deer for stew beef of course…sorry mom).  But mom’s stew is in good company with my homemade chili, ham and beans, and pot roast with root vegetables. I decided that instead of trying to cover such a wide spread, I would dedicate this fall food blog to a single ingredient that epitomizes the season for so many people: the apple.  I really came to appreciate apples as an icon of fall when I lived in Missouri, where the arrival of apples, pecans, pumpkins, and alpaca fiber to the local farmer’s market marked the bitter sweet culmination of the year’s harvest.  My first apple recipe is actually something I made for the first time just recently, and it was an absolute hit!

Apples and Pork Chops
4 bone-in pork chops
2 Tsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp brown sugar
Salt, pepper & cloves
1/8 Tsp cinnamon (heaping slightly)
1/8 Tsp nutmeg (heaping slightly)
3 Tbsp butter
2 Tart green apples (washed, cored, and sliced thin)
4 Tbsp pecans (halved or roughly chopped)

Preheat oven to 200°F and place a medium sized baking dish with lid in the oven to warm. Heat a large cast-iron skillet on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Brush the pork chops with the vegetable oil and place in the hot skillet. (You may have to add a little more oil depending on how well your skillet is seasoned.) Salt and pepper the pork chops lightly on each side as they cook and turn them occasionally for even browning. Cook the pork chops for 5-10 minutes, or until they are just cooked through. Remove the chops from the skillet and place them in the covered dish for continued warming. In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg along with a dash of salt, pepper, and cloves.  When the pork chops have been removed from the skillet, reduce the heat to medium and add the butter, dry mixture, and sliced apples.  Cover and cook, stir occasionally, until the apples are tender.  Then, remove the apples with a slotted spoon (leaving the juice) and place them in the baking dish on top of the pork chops. Leave the lid off the skillet and add the pecans. Continue to cook the liquid and pecans, stir constantly, until the mixture has reduced to a moderately thick sauce and pecans appear slightly caramelized.  Pour the entire combination over the apples and pork chops and serve immediately.

When I made this recipe, I realized that I didn’t have a tight fitting lid for my cast iron skillet, and I ended up needing to add liquid back to have enough sauce and to keep the apples from burning.  I didn’t want to use apple juice because I was afraid it would be too sweet. Likewise, oil would probably lend a greasy flavor.  Butter cooks off too quickly, and water would dilute the spices. My solution: apple cider vinegar. It worked like a dream, adding moisture and tanginess without being too sweet or too strong.  In the end, the pork chop and apple dinner was perfect.  It would be great for low key entertaining, and it didn’t even take that long to make (~45 min).

My next recipe is something that I modified from an item on the menu at Café Berlin in Columbia, Missouri (or as my husband likes to call it, “that hippy place.”) I mention this nickname freely because I think the people who run this local food, whole grain, part organic, vegetarian friendly-type joint would take it as a compliment, and well they should.  It was one of my favorite places for breakfast in Columbia, and this is my take on one of their best dishes:

Apples and Sausage

1 tart apple (washed, cored, and sliced)
1 smoked sausage link (approximately 12")
2 Tbs vegetable oil
3 Tbsp maple syrup
¼ cup apple juice OR ¼ cup apple cider vinegar + 2 Tbsp brown sugar
Cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper

Slice the smoked sausage on a diagonal into ¼ to ½ inch thick medallions. Heat the oil in a medium cast-iron skillet and add the sausage medallions. Cook on medium-high heat until browned on both sides. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Soak-up any excess oil in the pan. Add the apple slices and juice (or vinegar).  Season the dish to taste with cinnamon, cloves, and pepper.  Cover and cook, stirring frequently, until the apples are soften. Remove the lid and allow the liquid to reduced to a runny syrup. Serve in a bowl or on top of pancakes or waffles

My last recipe is one of my all time favorites, but I will admit that it’s more of a Christmas apple dish than a fall one. None the less, I just can’t write about apples and leave it out. I’ll try to tie it back to fall by pointing out that in the time before refrigerators, a person would have had to plan ahead in the fall for recipes like this by drying fresh apples for later use.  I picked this recipe out of a copy of Southern Living a long time ago. To be honest, I don’t even remember exactly when, but it has been the envy of Christmas parties ever since.

Appalachian Apple Stack Cake (My name for it, not the published name)
Cake:
1/3 cup vegetable shortening (Crisco type product not vegetable oil)
½ cup sugar
1 large egg
4 cups all purpose flour
1 Tsp baking powder
1 Tsp baking soda
½ Tsp salt
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup molasses
2 ½ Tsp sugar

Beat shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer for 2 minutes or until creamy. Add ½ cup sugar gradually, beating for 5 to 7 minutes.  Add the egg and beat until the yellow disappears.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Combine the buttermilk and molasses in a large measuring cup.  Gradually add the flour combination to the shortening, alternating with the molasses and buttermilk.  You should begin and end with the flour mixture. Beat until well blended.  Divide the dough into 5 equal parts.  Place each portion into a greased and floured 9-inch round cake pan or a similarly sized cast-iron skillet.  Firmly press the dough into the pan with clean, floured fingers.  Use a fork to prick the surface of the cake and sprinkle the top with the remaining sugar.  Bake the cake for 10 minutes at 400°F. 

Filling:
3 (6 oz) packages dried apple slices
6 Cups water
1 Cup packed brown sugar
1 Tsp ground ginger
1 Tsp ground cinnamon
½ Tsp ground allspice
½ Tsp ground nutmeg

Stir together apples and water in a large sauce pan or dutch oven.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes or until the apples are tender/rehydrated.  Stir in the sugar and spices, return the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.  Cool the filling completely.

Layer the cakes and filling, starting and ending with cake.  I’ve served the final product within a few hours of making it, and it was delicious.  But the original recipe claims that it should sit for a minimum of two days for the best flavor.  I’ll be honest: I just don’t have that much patience.

I hope ya'll enjoy the recipes.  Please send me some of yours and have a very happy fall!!

Photos by Jenn Ballard