On the first day of Hanukkah:
16 yellow bananas
10 golden pears
9 assorted apples
8 oranges and tangerines
6 ripe mangoes
4 quarts of strawberries
4 jewel-green kiwi
2 bunches of grapes
2 pecks of apples
1 large pineapple
is what I had in my house when the family came for the Thanksgiving-Hanukkah long weekend.
No partridge in a pear tree. But there was also a carton of kumquats for cooking not for eating out of hand.
Here’s what was left: 4 Cortland apples.
Here’s what I did with them: Brown Sugar and Tangerine Baked Apples.
Okay, I confess there was also one banana and a few grapes left.
Brown Sugar and Tangerine Baked Apples
4 large baking apples
half a lemon
3 tablespoons raisins
3 tablespoons dried cranberries
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 cup tangerine juice
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Wash the apples and remove the core with an apple corer or small knife, leaving about 1/2” of the core on the bottom. Peel the apples halfway down from the top and rub the peeled surfaces with the cut side of the lemon. Put the apples in a baking dish. Mix the raisins, cranberries, brown sugar and cinnamon. Stuff this mixture into the apple hollows. Dot the tops of the apples with the coconut oil. Pour the juice in the pan around the apples. Bake for about 45 minutes, basting occasionally with the pan juices, or until the apples are tender. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 4 servings