Apple Vinaigrette

Fall is my favorite time of the year when the air is crisp, and the fall vegetables make for mouth-watering dishes. The traditional summer ingredients for my salads give way to fennel, apples, oranges, pears, and cranberries, just to name a few.

I love to pair these fresh ingredients with homemade dressings. My latest is an apple vinaigrette using cooking apples. It will take a bit of work, but the outcome is something special.

Now, it's time to gather the ingredients. If you're missing something in your kitchen, that's OK! We can always get creative and substitute where possible!

Ingredients

6 medium cooking apples

1 cup lemon juice

1 cup rice vinegar

1 cup olive oil

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Prepping the Apples

Peel the apples and cut them into quarters. Once rinsed, place in a pan on the stovetop and add 2 tablespoons of water for moisture. Cook the apples until soft and puree them down. The apples should look like apple sauce without the added flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Let the apples cool before adding them to the remainder of the ingredients.

Are you ready to mix the remaining ingredients?

Let's start with the mustard and mayo! Add them to your bowl and whisk them together. Next, add the lemon juice, rice vinegar, olive oil, and sugar.

Make sure you whisk the mixture well and that the apples have had time to cool before adding in the pureed apples.

In order to keep the ingredients from separating, use a food processor or blender to mix the dressing for several minutes.

Is it ready for prime time?

Try the dressing before you serve it. Sometimes, the apples might not be sweet enough, or there are other variations to the ingredients that you use. Tweek to your tastes!

For a bit of spice, add a dash of cayenne pepper! I'm not kidding! It will add just a bit of a zing to the dressing.

What to do if you need a pinch hitter?

If you don't have time to cook down the apples, you can always use unsweetened apple juice - 2 cups.

Well, OK. So, you only have sweet cider. You could try that, but skip the additional sugar, or your dressing will be more of a desert.

Hmm... brown mustard isn't a staple in your pantry. How about replacing the brown mustard and mayo with Dijon mustard? If you do, you can use 4 tablespoons of Dijon.

Ready! Set! Pour!

Are you ready to pour your apple vinaigrette over those yummy fall ingredients? I know. It's hard to decide what kind of salad to make.

Simple Salad Suggestions

1. Arugula and apples.

2. Arugula with hard-boiled eggs. The egg yolks blend with the dressing and add extra creaminess to the salad.

3. Arugula, shaved parmesan cheese and pears.

4. Mixed greens, dried cranberries, figs, candied pecans, and crumbled goat cheese.

5. Mixed greens, mandarin oranges, dried cranberries, and cashew pieces.

6. Mixed greens, fennel, mandarin oranges, dried cranberries, and apples.

What to do with the extra dressing?

I store the dressing in a quart container and refrigerate for about two weeks. However, you can always cut the recipe in 1/2 to reduce the amount of leftover dressing. You may want to make something different for your next fall salad.

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