Apple Sauce

Right before Sandy struck, I pulled out the trusty food mill and decided to make some apple sauce. It just seemed good for stormy weather. I went to Gristedes, which was hopping and didn't have any carts or baskets, and piled lots of apples in my arms hoping they wouldn't tumble before I could check out. The apple sauce was so tasty, and the food mill makes it velvety and smooth. It's also really simple. It took about half an hour and it was way better than store bought. I went off the Cook's Illustrated basic apple sauce recipe; fool proof, really. Leaving the skin on while you cook gives it a lot more flavor.

Ingredients:
4 pounds apples (I like to use a mix, but mostly Granny Smith), cored and quartered, skin on
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt

Directions:
Bring the water, sugar, apples, and salt to a boil. Simmer until the apples start to get soft and fall apart, stirring occasionally - about 15-20 minutes. (You can throw in a cinnamon stick here, according to the Cooks Illustrated recipe, to make it cinnamon flavor - just take it out before the food mill.)

Scoop a little bit of the mixture at a time into the food mill and process into a large bowl, taking out the skin when all of the pulp is through. Done! Jamie liked his with a little cinnamon sprinkled on top.

I hope everything was okay during Sandy! Jamie and I were very lucky. We lost power all week, but we were able to stay with my parents uptown. Before the storm hit we did a little exploring, and after it hit, we played backgammon by candlelight.

Me at and the Hudson on Hudson River Park off the West Side Highway

Nice candlelight during the storm