Let’s say you’re needing one more side dish. Something simple that everybody will enjoy from Uncle Ned to Baby Lulu. How about a make-ahead dish that’s healthy and doesn’t require a dozen ingredients and goes with any meat or poultry dish. (Drum Roll)
Homemade Applesauce!
Cook up a pot of Homemade Applesauce! Start with a mix of apples—I prefer the Jonathans, Jonagolds and a few Granny Smiths, but most any will do. Peel ‘em, or not, it works both ways. Cut them in chunks and place in a large pot with a bit of water (about a ½ inch) to make sure they don’t stick. Smack on the lid and let those puppies cook to a pulp. Mash and serve chunky or put through a food press to puree and separate out the skins for a smooth sauce.
It all begins with paring and chopping.
Add sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, as you wish. Season lightly at first, then taste, and adjust as needed. I bought 20 apples and they nearly filled a large mixing bowl. Since I have 41 guests coming for Thanksgiving, I’ll not likely have any left, but if there is, it’ll works for any meal thereafter.
I’m storing the applesauce in this bowl, but it’s best served in a pretty dish. I’m thinking one of my mother’s old pressed glass bowls. It’s good when our foods can connect us with the past.
Bonus Photo
At my mother’s Thanksgiving table in row-house in Washington DC in the mid-1950s. Next to me is my grandmother, Lucy Armstrong Sullivan, and grandfather, Howison Sullivan. My mother always put candles on the table for special occasions even when it was a daytime meal. I’m sure one of those dishes was Spoonbread, which we always had for special occasions.
