Receta Cheese and Apple Loaf with Cider Cream Sauce...
You'll have to humor me for a bit before I give you the ONE dish that tops the list of our favorite meals in France. I want to tell you about our trip to Normandy...Once we were outside of Paris, we saw the most beautiful rolling landscapes. Mostly farmland where they grow sugar beets, among other things! As we were driving along I started to notice the trees in the distance - it looked like they were all decorated for Christmas! They had big green balls in them - and with all the leaves gone, they looked like ornaments...I learned those big green balls were Mistletoe! It grows wild and is really a weed - if the farmers don't remove it from the trees it will eventually kill them! And here I thought the French had jumped the gun on Christmas!
We visited Omaha Beach, where the Allied forces came ashore so many years ago - hard to imagine the horror that took place on those beaches. We also visited the American Cemetery, which is truly sacred ground. It is really a beautiful place, perched high on the cliff above the Atlantic, and is meticulously maintained by the United States - so many white marble crosses. Over 23,000 US Soldiers and Marines lost their lives in the D-Day Battle, and originally they were all buried together, the Germans and the Americans and the rest of the Allied Troops, in a temporary cemetery just off the beach. About ten years later, France donated the land up on the cliff, above the beaches where so many perished, and the American Cemetery was created. When the bodies were about to be moved to the new cemetery, their families were given the option of having them sent home, and over 14,000 American families had their sons/husbands/brothers repatriated back to the states. The American Cemetery is now the final resting place of over 9,000 US Soldiers and Marines.
The entrance to the cemetery is quite beautiful, roses line the path up to the front where an enormous statue waits, reaching for the skies, it's called "Spirit of the American Youth."
I just wanted to touch each cross and say thank you. If not for them we'd all be speaking a different language. If you get the chance to go to France, make sure you got to Normandy, it's worth the trip, I promise.
We stopped at this beautiful farmhouse/hotel/restaurant for lunch. And this is where we had the best meal of our trip! I snapped this picture of our first course before I had tasted it...thinking it was quiche - it was not - but look how light and fluffy it looks! After devouring every speck, licking my lips and wishing for more, I asked our guide if she could find out how it was made - and minutes later the chef himself came out from the back, happy that someone had asked about his creation! I told him how much I loved his quiche and he laughed - he said, "No, no, no, it is only cheese and apples!" And for the next fifteen minutes he and I talked about how I could make this at home...with him telling me over and over there would be "no possible way" I could re-create this because the cheese he used was only available in Normandy. But I persisted and came home with directions!!
The chef was right about the cheese, there is nothing this side of the pond that compares with French cheese...but he suggested I use an Italian cheese blend, and I thought it was as close as I could get to duplicating his dish. I used the 4-cheese Italian blend that comes already shredded in the package - because I was making this to serve to my quilt group and I was short on time. And the other ingredient in this dish, that's right, there are just TWO INGREDIENTS, is a Honey Crisp apple.
Here's the beauty of this amazing dish, aside from the two ingredients...it's baked, then put in the refrigerator to cool completely and then, right before you're ready to serve, it's sliced and gently warmed in the oven. For my quilt group I did not make the Cider Cream Sauce, I simply forgot! And it's really not necessary as it's great without it but with the sauce, it's a whole 'nuther thing!
The Cider Cream Sauce is equally as simple - only two ingredients - cider and cream! The cider is reduced so the flavors are concentrated and then the cream is poured in...this sauce, poured over the warm cheese and apples is just about the best tasting thing on the planet - and perfect for this time of year. This one is going on the T-day menu!
- Cheese and Apple Loaf with Cider Cream Sauce - Inspired by Chef Francoise Adeller, Normandy, France
- 6 cups Four Cheese Italian Blend, shredded (Parmesan, Asiago, Mozzarella and Romano)
- 1 Honey Crisp Apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
- For the Sauce:
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put 3 cups of the cheese into a bread loaf pan, pressing down slightly. Spread sliced apples over cheese, covering completely. Put remaining 3 cups of cheese on top of apples, spreading evenly and pressing down slightly. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately put into refrigerator and allow to cool completely, about 3 hours, or up to two days.
When ready to serve, remove from refrigerator and slice into generous 1/2-inch thick slices. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and put into a 350 degree oven to warm, about 8 to 10 minutes, being careful not to let cheese melt.
While cheese is warming in the oven, make the sauce: In a heavy saucepan bring the cider to a boil and boil until it is reduced to 1/4 cup, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cream and let cook, without boiling, until it is heated through. Remove from heat and pour about 1 to 2 teaspoons sauce over each slice of cheese. Serve warm. Serves 12.