Zuppa Toscana

Doesn't a good, rich, hot soup sound good when the weather turns colder?  I thought so too, so I wanted to try out some recipes using our cider in the recipe.  We're not wine drinkers, so I was very interested in figuring if our ciders would work in a recipe.  I've found that it was an easy trade-off, and they didn't alter the taste at all...in fact, they enhanced it!  You have to be careful to not add too much, because of the sweetness of the cider, but as a whole, the exchange works quite well.  In my experimenting, our Cherry Cider compliments well with beef recipes, Classic Sweet with pork or chicken, and our Dry with pasta. 
So I experimented with a tried and true recipe that we all love from the Olive Garden- Zuppa Toscana.  Now mind you, this is a copycat recipe, but the flavor is still amazing!
Zuppa Toscana
1 lb. spicy Italian sausage
1 large onion, chopped fine
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3/4 cup Dry Cider
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
3 medium to large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 cups fresh Kale, finely chopped
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1 cup fat free half-n-half (doesn't seem possible, but it is fat free!)
Salt and Pepper to taste
In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, crumble up the sausage and cook until well browned.  Remove sausage from the pan and set aside in a bowl.  Add the chopped onion to the pan and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the cooked onion and cook for a minute more.  Stir in the cider, and at this point, I like to loosen the browned bits stuck on the bottom- it really adds to the flavor!  Return the sausage back to the pot, as well as the potatoes, kale, chicken broth and water.  Increase your heat to medium high for a short time til it boils, then reduce it down to medium-low and let it simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.  Stir in the half-n-half and salt and pepper to taste.         Serve & enjoy!
Have some fun experimenting...I think you'll find that cider will become a favorite adage to your dishes!

Baked Apple Dumplings

Well, I tried the Baked Apple Dumplings and they proved to be as yummy as I had hoped!  These weren't the 9x13 scoop-out-of-the-pan kind.  They were individual, delectable, single-serve-melt-in-your-mouth-kind with a delicate pastry crust surrounding the apple; and it was worth all the time it took to make them! 
I wanted to wait until our Jonagolds were ready to harvest...just cuz I love 'em!  I peeled each one and cut it across the center at the widest part, and scooped out the core taking care not to pierce the bottom- cuz you need that to hold all the yummy goodness! A melon baller works great for this process.  Then you pack 'em, wrap 'em and bake 'em.  When they are all done baking and you pull them out, you'll just be amazed at how beautiful these piping hot little beauties are! Top off each one with your special cider sauce, and then for extra goodness, drop a scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream right beside it.  Find yourself a easy chair, and then sit down and enjoy!
The recipe:
Dough:
2 1/2 cups flour
3 Tbl. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 sticks of butter, cut into 1/2 in. pieces and chilled
5 Tbl. shortening
1/4 - 1/2 cup cold buttermilk
Mix together well the dry ingredients, then "work in" the butter and shortening until it resembles course cornmeal.  If you have a food processor, set it on "pulse" until it resembles that texture.  Transfer to a bowl and stir in buttermilk until the dough forms.  Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until the dough is soft and pliable.  Set aside.
Apple Filling:
6 Tbl. sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 Tbl. butter, softened
3 Tbl. golden raisins
4 Jonagold or Honey Crisp apples
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
Heat the oven to 425 degrees and set your oven rack to the middle.  Combine sugar and cinnamon and set aside.  In another bowl combine the butter and raisins and 3 Tbl. of the cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Pack the hole you've prepared in each apple half with the butter mixture.  Roll part of the dough out into a 12 inch square, and then divide into a 6 inch square.  Lightly brush each 6 inch square with some egg white and place each stuffed apple into the center.  Gather up each side of the dough, one corner at a time, to the top of the apple and crimp the edges together to seal.  Cut a vent hole in the top with a knife, brush with egg white, and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar.  
Line a baking sheet with some parchment paper (wax paper won't work- someone tried that once...what a mess!), and place an apple dumpling on top.  You should have 8 cute little dumplings.  Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or so, until golden brown. While they're cooking, you need to make the cider sauce!  Cool your little dumplings on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then pour your cider sauce over the top and serve with vanilla ice cream.  You might even want some of that scrumptous sauce drizzled over the ice cream too!  I'm sure you'll enjoy!  Serves 8.
Cider Sauce (makes about 1 1/2 cups)                                                                          In a saucepan on medium heat, reduce down 2 cups of apple cider with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, until thickened - it takes approximately 15 minutes to reduce it to 1 1/2 cups. Take off the heat and wisk in 2 Tbl. butter and 1 tsp. lemon juice.  Keep warm, and drizzle over slightly cooled dumplings. 

Today we're pressing our first batch of Harvest Crush, our award-winning grape-apple blend.  Check out our facebook page to enter to win a bottle of this new batch.

Our beginnings

I have taken it upon myself to begin writing blog posts about our incredible cider operation and include recipes using our cider that I thought you'd enjoy.  Our husbands wouldn't be caught dead writing a blog, so the women of Sheffield Cider have taken it upon themselves to begin this- so you could get a bird's eye perspective of our "down on the farm" events with our cider business.  Hopefully I can make this entertaining, as well as informative.        
About this time every year when the weather starts to change and the leaves are falling, you begin indulging in thoughts of hay rides, fresh juicy apples picked right off the tree, hot spiced cider, carved pumpkins...a Martha Stewart kind of scene, right?  Livin' out in the country has it's distinct advantages with affording you moments to enjoy the beauty around you and the quiet peaceful sounds that is so part of the country life.

We started our cider business some eight years ago when we began our venture growing specialized heirloom apples- with a penchant for developing sparkling cider.  It has been quite an adventure tweaking the science of the thing to come up with the right recipes for this cider.  I have a new-found appreciation and respect for what our husbands do because it has been exhausting work, but the final product is amazing! We've included some pictures for you of a cider squeezing so you can get an idea of what it's like here.   
I also want to include a kick off recipe, which will be forth-coming, because I'm waiting on our Jonagold apples to be ready.  I've always had a hankerin' to make fresh baked Apple Dumplings using our cider with a hot glaze over the top...yum!  I'm thinking you'll enjoy it!  I will be getting back to you with a recipe in a few days!