Cook’s Orchard Recipes
Pork
– 3 T olive oil
– 1 Whole pork shoulder roast (Pork Butt)
– Salt and pepper (to taste)
– 4 cups apple juice
– 1 cup beef stock
– 3 whole apples, cored and cut into wedges
– 3 whole medium onions, sliced – 1 whole bay leaf
Wild rice
– 2 1/2 cups wild rice
– 4 cups water
– 3 cups chicken stock
– 1/2 stick butter (4 T)
– 1/2 cup chopped pecans
OPTIONAL: Saute onions until brown. (Or you may just add them raw to the roast.)
To make the pork roast, heat olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Salt and pepper pork roast, then sear on all sides to give it some color. Reduce heat to low. Add apple juice, apple slices, onions, and bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 3 hours. (Or you may place in a 300 degree oven if you prefer.)
Toward the end of the cooking time, make the rice: melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add pecans and saute for a couple of minutes. Add wild rice and liquid, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until all liquid is cooked out.
When the roast is done, remove the roast, apples, and onions to a platter. Raise heat to medium-high (to high) and boil liquid, reducing it until thick and rich.
Spoon thick sauce over the roast, then cut the roast into slices. Serve with apples, onions, and wild rice.
(Note: add fresh thyme or rosemary to the roast before cooking if you have it on hand!)
– 4 cups apples, chopped (tart apples)
– 1 1/2 T lemon juice
– 1 t. cinnamon
– 1/4 t. nutmeg
– 1/4 t. ginger
– 4 cups sugar
– 1 cup brown sugar, packed
– 1 (1 3/4 ounce) box dry pectin
– 1 t. butter
Measure apples in a measuring cup, now add in the same measuring cup water to fill up to the 4 cup line (with the apples in it). Add pectin and the butter and spices, lemon juice. Bring to a boil.
Add sugars and bring back to a full rolling boil, boil 1 minute. Stir constantly. Remove from the heat. Skim off any foam.
Ladle into hot jars leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Put on lids. Process in water bath 10 minutes.
– 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
– 2 t. baking powder
– 1 t. salt
– 1/2 t ground cinnamon
– 1/2 t. ground ginger
– 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
– 2 cups granulated sugar
– 1 t. vanilla extract
– 2 large eggs, at room temperature
– 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature
– 3 cups shredded Gala or other baking apples (about 4 medium apples)
– Maple buttercream
Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Line 2 (12-well) muffin pans with paper liners. Alternatively, coat the wells with butter; set aside.
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a medium bowl and whisk to aerate and break up any lumps; set aside.
Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until very light in color, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue beating until the mixture is airy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until well combined, about 1 minute.
Turn off the mixer and scrape down the paddle and the sides of the bowl. Set the mixer on low speed, slowly pour in the buttermilk, and mix until combined, about 15 seconds (the batter will look curdled, but it’s fine). Add the reserved flour mixture and mix until just combined, about 15 seconds. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the shredded apples and any accumulated liquid until just combined, about 1 minute.
Fill the muffin wells about three-quarters full (about 1/4 cup per well). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes total. Remove the cupcakes from the pans and let cool completely on wire racks before frosting.