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“As a native of the Big Apple who has opened many restaurants there, I have always been fascinated by the imagery of the apple and by the wonderful sweet and savory tastes of this favorite fruit. Now, with The Comfort of Apples, Philip and Lauren Rubin present an engaging and comprehensive book about all things Apple. I learned so many things I didn't know about apples, and the recipes are diverse and wonderful. The definitive answers to the often asked question, ‘How do you like them apples?’ are in this great book.”
—Drew Nieporent, restaurateur (Tribeca Grill, Nobu, Corton, Centrico)
THE COMFORT OF APPLES: Modern Recipes for an Old-Fashioned Favorite
By Philip & Lauren Rubin (Lyons Press, 2010)
Q: How did you come up with the idea for this cookbook?
A: A while ago, we took our family apple picking, an experience common to many. After trekking down rows and rows of trees, filling our baskets with crisp fresh apples, we encountered the apple picker’s dilemma—what to do with them.
The solution, it turned out, was not to make a score of pies but rather a discovery of a different sort, which was right under our noses. Several of our oft-used staples originate with the apple and are supermarket big sellers: fresh apples, juice, cider, vinegar, applesauce, apple butter, and calvados (found at the wine store).
The apple’s cooking applications are equally infinite: it can be julienned raw in a salad; poached whole in wine; dried or fried as a garnish for cocktails or as a canapé base; simmered into a compote; puréed as a side to latkes; used in cider form as a deglazing or braising liquid; fermented into warm drinks; caramelized for desserts; juiced and reduced into a glaze; the list goes on.
Q: What does cooking with apples mean to you?
A: The apple is the ultimate comfort food, resonant of thanksgiving and changing leaves and a warm fire. By taking it a step further, from basic to more complex combinations and applications, we’re helping the home cook to begin to appreciate the versatility of not just the apple but of all foods. Greenmarkets all over are introducing people to the unconventional types of apples—North American has more than 1,000 varieties!
Q: Who is this cookbook for?
A: The Comfort of Apples is a terrific cookbook for anyone even remotely near a farmers market, of which there are 4,600 nationwide. Health-conscious consumers, cookbook readers, and enthusiastic home cooks will also be surprised and pleased by the broad variety of recipes and essays in this book.
Q: Why are you the right authors for this book?
A: Having cooked professionally for years, we’ve discovered that our passion is to develop an index of flavors which work well together. It’s how we form seasonal menus for our clients. Writing a book based on a single ingredient is a lengthy extension of our menu-writing process. Most of the time we stayed true to classic tastes, but in a reworked and hopefully more interesting form. For instance, crab, bacon, and apple are familiar friends, which we juggled into a crostini of sauteed clams with bacon and apples. The book is a successful experiment in culinary trial and error, which we have always enjoyed.
Sample recipe:
Salmon Burger with Apple Corn Slaw
Burgers inspire heated arguments. Some require a hefty patty where the juice runs down your arm. Others prefer a moist but more manageable package. A properly done salmon burger is a good meat substitute, and cooked to medium rare, it straddles the line: it’s both moist and meaty, but not dripping with juice. A tart apple is perfect as it cuts the fatty salmon and the sweet corn.
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds salmon, skin and bones removed
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
Salt and pepper
4 hamburger rolls, split and toasted
1 recipe Apple Corn Slaw
Procedure:
1. Line a baking sheet with foil and spread with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Chop salmon finely with a knife. In a large bowl, combine the salmon, shallot, parsley, breadcrumbs, egg, and salt and pepper to taste. Fold together to combine, but don’t overmix. Form patties about 3 inches wide and 1 inch thick. Refrigerate on prepared sheet pan for at least 1 hour. Meanwhile, prepare apple corn slaw.
2. Heat the remaining oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When oil shimmers, add the patties and cook 3 minutes per side.
3. Top bun with burger, then slaw and serve.
Serves 4
1 cup peeled and finely julienned apples
1 ear corn
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
Salt and pepper
Place apples in a small bowl. Stand the corn upright and cut off the kernels. Add to the apples. Using the back of the knife, scrape down the cob to extract its “milk,” the sweet juice inside. Add along with the mayonnaise and cider vinegar to the bowl and season with salt and pepper.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Comfort of Apples,
By
This review is from: The Comfort of Apples: Modern Recipes for an Old-Fashioned Favorite (Hardcover)
The Complete Comfort of Apples
Modern Recipes for an Old-Fashioned Favorite By Philip and Lauren Rubin Although I was skeptical about this cookbook given the similarity in title to Ruth Reichl's "Comfort Me with Apples", I decided to give it a look anyway. Apples are my favorite fruit - my second childhood love (the first being strawberries), and I have always felt that cookbooks simply never do them justice. Lauren and Philip Rubin have done them justice in this superb little cookbook. In it they bring the apple into realms that I had previously not considered. For instance I would never have thought of Scallops with Green Apple Nage without a nudge from these intrepid cook/writers. I would never have introduced apple-pear puree into Mac'n'Cheese. I would have, and have, used apple cider to cook pork, but found their use of apple cider as a marinade for ribs totally brilliant and the resultant ribs were superb. Their use of apple cider vinegar is also a vindication for me. With all the frou frou vinegars around these days, I like the solid tartness of apple cider vinegar and use it far more than any other. I have enjoyed the recipes in this cookbook that is not nearly as condescending in tone as many chef-written cookbooks. There are many useful recipes and very charming apple-facts within its covers. If you are a lover of apples, as I am, you should definitely add this cookbook to your shelf and include some of these delightful recipes in your meals this fall!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Comfort of Apples,
This review is from: The Comfort of Apples: Modern Recipes for an Old-Fashioned Favorite (Hardcover)
When I think of recipes for apples, I think of sweet dishes: apple pie, applesauce, apple crisp, and so on. Philip and Lauren Rubin have gone way beyond those dishes in The Comfort of Apples.
Subtitled "Modern Recipes for an Old-Fashioned Favorite," this book contains nearly 100 recipes for snacks, appetizers, meat and poultry dishes, fish, sides, and pasta, as well as breakfast dishes, desserts, condiments, and cocktails. Some of these recipes are twists on traditional dishes--apple risotto, apple bread pudding, apple vinaigrette, BLT with cider aioli, apple ice cream. Some, like a Snapper Napoleon with ginger sauce, were completely new for me. The Comfort of Apples contains many recipes that I'll probably never try, mostly because they don't fit into my family's taste preferences. But it also includes many that I'm looking forward to trying: German apple pancakes, cider-glazed nuts, baklava, green apple gelato. Eventually I hope to venture beyond the breakfast dishes and desserts! (I received a review copy of this book, at no cost to me. All opinions in this review are my own.)
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