Cats, Sheep, & Penguins

After an unseasonably warm and humid beginning, the Autumn cold has finally arrived; last night we lit the first fire of the season in our hearth. It finally feels right to think about apple picking, pumpkin carving, hot chocolate and mulled wine. The beginning of Autumn also heralds an onslaught of savory cold weather delights; nothing fights the chill like a hearty soup, stew, or pie. This is one of our favorite recipes, and the perfect time of year to cook it.

More than one person has balked at the thought of mixing chicken stock with apple cider, but I have yet to receive any complaints from any who have tasted it. I begin with one quart of each, add some white wine, seasonal spices (cinnamon, allspice, cloves, cardamom), and reduce this to two cups. The result is an unbelievable, mouth-watering, autumnal gravy which does a superb job of blending ingredients.

Setting aside the sauce, I sautéed onion, carrot, eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, and turkey bacon in olive oil until the veggies were mushy. Tossing that aside, I used the same pan to brown a pound of floured turkey cubes, then added the veggies, and finally the sauce. The extra flour from the turkey mixes with the cider-broth and makes a nice thick gravy. Once the filling cooled a bit, I wrapped it in a pie shell and baked until golden brown (45@350˚).

This is one of those dishes that tastes great just out of the oven, but only gets better as the flavors blend together over time. The leftovers won’t make it past Tuesday.

This entry was posted by garrison on Sunday, October 14th, 2007 at 11:17 pm and is filed under Food, Pork, Poultry, Veggies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.