Cooking, American Style Class 2 Fall Foliage International Center at Catholic Charities Community Services October 8, 2013 Instructor: Virginia Guilford.

Cooking, American StyleClass 2

Fall FoliageInternational Center

at Catholic Charities Community Services

October 8, 2013Instructor: Virginia Guilford

Cooking, American Style

• Class 1 – American Cuisine

• Class 2 – Fall Foliage

• Class 3 – Supermarkets

• Class 4 – Halloween Party

• Class 5 – Thanksgiving

Cooking American StyleClass 2 – Fall Foliage

• Fall Traditional Activities

• Recipes

• Fall Foliage Favorites and Menus

Fall Foliage Traditions

• Drive to New England or go to a local park to see a landscape with colorful leaves.

• Collect and preserve the leaves.• Visit an apple orchard and pick your own apples• Visit a cider mill and see apple cider being

made.• Visit a farm and pick your own pumpkins• Visit a corn maze• Buy pumpkins, squash and colorful Indian corn

at a farm stand in the country.• Decorate your doorway or tabletop with colorful

leaves & Indian corn.

Places to Observe Fall Foliage

• Central Park, Manhattan

• Prospect Park, Brooklyn

• Forest Park, Queens

• Bronx Botanical Garden, Bronx

• Bear Mountain State Park

• Merritt Parkway, Connecticut

Collecting Leaves• When you go to view the fall foliage, take a

walk in the forest. Collect some of the fallen leaves – choose the ones with the brightest colors or the ones with the most unusual shape.

• Leaves can be pressed, sealed in wax paper, or preserved.

• The dried or preserved leaves can be used for decorations or as a liner for a cheese tray or dessert display.

Pressed Dried Leaves

• Put leaves between paper towels inside the pages of a large, heavy book. Let them dry for 1 week.

• When leaves are dry, place them on a piece of paper, and frame them.

Wax Paper Leaves• Choose thin leaves with a low moisture content, but choose

leaves that are not so dry that they have started to curl.• Put each leaf between 2 sheets of waxed paper.• Cover your ironing board with an old cloth rag, so you don’t get

wax on the board.• Place the leaf sandwich on top of the old cloth.• Place another old cloth on top of the sandwich.• Heat the iron to high, but NO STEAM.• Slowly run the iron back and forth over the cloth. Don't press too

hard to begin with, or the leaves will shift. Once the paper has begun to seal, use the full weight of the iron and hold it for about 4-5 seconds on each spot.

• Lift the top cloth to see if the waxed paper as melted and sealed. The leaves will be much clearer and brighter when the wax has melted.

• Allow the leaf sandwich to cool, then cut out individual leaves. Leave a small margin around the leaves so the waxed paper stays sealed.

Preserved Leaves• Purchase liquid glycerine (available in most pharmacies).

Mix 1 part glycerine and 2 parts water. Pour into a shallow pan.

• Place leaves in a single layer in the pan. Make sure they are completely covered with the liquid. Let them soak for 1 day.

• Remove the leaves from the pan, place on paper towels, and let dry.

Pick Your Own Apples

• Masker Pick-It-Yourself Orchard, Warwick, NY http://www.maskers.com/

• Wrights Farm, Gardiner, NY http://www.eatapples.com/pick.html

• Silverman’s Farm, Easton, CT http://www.silvermansfarm.com/

• Wrightman’s Farms, Morristown, NJ http://www.wightmansfarms.com/

Apple Ripening Dates

• NOTE – Macintosh, Granny Smith, & Courtland varieties may ripen as early as August & September.

• First - Second Week of October – Ida Reds Big, red and juicy - a fine cooking or dessert

apple; for eating, applesauce, baking, pies]• Early - Mid October

– Romes Firm popular cooking apple; for eating and pies

– Mutsu (Crispin) Picked in September, it has the tart flavor of the Granny Smith; picked in October, it is sweet; for eating

– Golden Delicious A large, sweet yellow-green apple; for eating, baking, pies, salads, applesauce

Apple Storage• You will enjoy eating apples fresh from the

tree, especially heirloom varieties that don’t keep well in storage. Fresh apples are tart, crisp and crunchy.

• When apples are stored, the apple starch turns to sugar, and the apples will taste sweeter.– Stored at home in the refrigerator or in a cool

basement, apples will keep for up to 3 months– Store professionally at 32 degrees, apples will

keep for 5 months or more.

Pick Your Own Pumpkins

• Muscoot Farm, Somers, NY http://muscootfarm.org/calendar.htm

• Stuart’s Fruit Farm, Granite Springs, NY http://www.stuartsfarm.com/pumpkin.html

• Harvest Moon Farm, North Salem, NY http://www.harvestmoonfarmandorchard.com/index.html

Apple Cider Mills

• Jericho Cider Mill, Jericho, NY https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jericho-Cider-Mill/107396932651960

• Mister Cider, Hudson, NY http://www.mistercider.com/

• Meadowbrook Farm, Wappingers Falls, NY http://meadowbrookfarmmarket.com/Meadowbrook_Farm_Market/Home.html

Cider Mill• You can make your

own apple cider, if you have room for a small cider mill.

•  Approximately 30 to 40 apples will yield

one gallon of cider.

• Apple Cider or Apple Juice?– Apple cider is the fresh,

unpasteurized, unfiltered juice of apples. Cider will ferment and become slightly fizzy after a few days.

– Apple juice is processed more. It is usually pasteurized so that it will not ferment so easily. And it is filtered so that the juice looks clear.

Other Fall Activities

• The Amazing Maize Maze – Floral Park, Queens – Weekends and Columbus Day: Saturday, September 21-

Sunday, October 27 11am-4:30pm – Queens County Farm Museum, 73-50 Little Neck Parkway– $9 for adults, $5 for children ages 4-11

• The Haunted Pumpkin Garden - Bronx– Saturday, September 21-Thursday, October 31 10am-6pm– New York Botanic Garden, 2900 Southern Boulevard

Free with All-Garden Pass: $20-$25 for adults, $8-$10 for children ages 2-12.Nighttime Adventures: $20 per person.

• Central Park Pumpkin Festival – Manhattan– Saturday, October 26 11am-3pm– Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park 72nd Street and Fifth

Avenue– FREE

Recipes

• Cider Reduction

• Braised Pork Chops with Pears & Onions

• Apple Crisp

Cider Reduction

• Ingredients– 8 cups fresh

apple cider

• Directions– Put apple cider in a 6-8

quart saucepan.– Bring cider to a boil over

high heat.– Let it boil, stirring

occasionaly, until the cider is reduced to 2 cups.

– Will keep for 1 month in refrigerator, 6 months in freezer.

Braised Pork Chops with Pears & Onions

• Ingredients• 6 cloves of garlic• Olive oil• 4 thick pork chops• 1 large red onion, cut in

wedges• 2 Bosc pears, cut in

quarters, core removed, skin left on

• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar• ¼ cup red wine vinegar• 2 Tablespoons honey• Salt & pepper

• Directions• Saute garlic in olive oil in a large

heavy skillet.• Add pork chops and brown over

medium high heat. • Tuck red onion wedges & pear

quarters between the chops.• Mix together balsamic vinegar,

red wine vinegar & honey. Add to pan. Add salt & pepper

• Continue to cook in the oven at 450°F for 30 – 45 minutes, or until the chops are tender.

Apple Crisp

Ingredients

• 6 tart apples, peeled & sliced• 1 cup brown sugar• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves• ½ teaspoon cinnamon• 2 teaspoons lemon juice or

apple cider reduction• ¾ cup Quaker oats• ¾ cup flour• Dash salt• 8 Tablespoons butter (1 stick)• ½ cup chopped pecans• Heavy cream for whipping, or

vanilla ice cream

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°F• Toss the apples with 1

tablespoon of the brown sugar, cloves, cinnamon, and lemon juice or cider. Place in 1 1/2 quart lightly buttered baking dish.

• Combine the flour & oats & salt in a separate bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks, until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add chopped pecans.

• Spread topping over apples, bake at 350°F degrees for 30 minutes.

• Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream

Peeling, Coring & Slicing Apples

• Cut the apples into quarters • Draw the knife around the core of

the quarter, cutting it out.

• Using your knife against your thumb, slice away the peel of the quarter.

• Slice the quarter into 3 or 4 thinner apple slices

Fall Foliage Favorites

• Fall Foliage Themes– Brown, Orange, Gold– Apple Picking– Winery Tour

• Your Fall Foliage Menus– Fall Foliage Picnic?– Fall Foliage Cocktail Party?

Presentation Slides and Recipes

• For the presentations for all five Cooking, American Style classes

• For a document with the all the recipes from all the classes

Go to the Docs & Links page of my website at

www.virginiaguilford.com