Poisoned Apple

24/06 POISONED APPLE

Apples are the embodiment of deadly beauty. Their eternal temptation and mystery are encapsulated in biblical mythology, Grimm faerie tales and endless reels of celluloid. I have always enjoyed believing in the far-fetched, if only for the fantastical stories told through the ages taking on a life of their own. A glistening apple instantly foreshadows doom, rich in waxy beauty.

To me an apple is both delicious and repulsive, I can't stomach the skin - I may be alone in this but it has grown into a dire aversion. Raw apples are always peeled of their poisonous skins. However something magical happens when they are cooked. Roasted or stewed with its skin and core looses all acrid taste (to me) and becomes its true darkly delicious form. Baked in a sugared, smoked whiskey they become burnished golden treasure waiting to be conjured from the oven. Time and willingness to accept mystery will transform this forbidden fruit - Before the poison.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

13 Red Apples
1 tbls Raw/Dark Sugar
1 shot Whiskey
1 tsp butter


What I did - Oven preheated to 160degrees

Line all the apples up for the chopping block. Don't peel them, just cut out their core then into even-ish pieces. Tumble into a cast iron pot, or ceramic baking dish (so long as it has a lid). Shower the sugar over the apple pieces, then douse them with a heady shot of strong whiskey. Stir them around so that the sugar and whiskey poison each of the apple pieces. Nib the butter in the centre of the pot so that as it slowly cooks the butter will melt down and caramelize with the run off sugar and whiskey liquid.

Bake for 3-4 hours. Don't stir. Don't look. Don't dare do anything. Just let it simmer away, the apples will wither and darken, the sugary-poison filtering through completely. Turn the oven off and leave to cool overnight. You can eat this hot, but the heat from the sugar and alcohol kills the flavour. Best to have cold, with a substantial dollop of cream. The apples will have transformed into a darkly mischievous treat, daring you to take another bite.

JG

Drunk Fruit Salad

26/11 DRUNK FRUIT SALAD

It may be the only thing I am evangelical about, but my fruit salad crusade is a never ending battle. Sometimes pushing me to drink, which for those who know me understand that isn't hard. In this case however i combined the two and created an adult fruit salad, stealing it from the realm of disappointed children.

This fruit bowl is heady, a combination of the sweetness of the fruit and the punch of the alcohol. I feel you should be free to experiment here, play with what liqueurs you have around. A favourite which I finished was a sour raspberry liqueur which was fruity perfection, alas I haven't found it again - but that just creates the drive for creation. The true reason this culinary Dr. Frankenstein continues to create, or perhaps the Port had more of an effect than expected. It's alive! Or is it?

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

Mango
Blueberries
Pomegranate
Strawberries
Banana
Blood Orange
Maple Syrup
1/2 shot of port/dark rum

What I did - 

Treat the fruit with the respect a sushi Itamae would give to a prized tuna - not to be overly poetic about this. But I would probably spend more time preparing the fruit for a fruit salad than any other dish. The mango isn't chopped, its filleted then slices into thin fleshy strips. The banana is diced small, the blueberries halved and the strawberries cut into pink shards.

This fruit salad has more bling than an oligarchs wife and is bejewelled by pomegranate rubies. I try to get as many out as possible, then squeeze the remaining pomegranate over, showing the bowl in vermillion juice.

I added a slosh of maple syrup, and this time half a measure of sweet port. This creates a sweet woody dressing, and all the fruit in the bowl is given a deep gloss. My fruit salad is raw, sticky and sweet.

JG