Fall fruit: Bittman's succulent apple recipes

Video: Mark Bittman makes apples savory and sweet

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   >>> 8:36 this morning on "how to cook everything today" and four ways to cook with apples that can be sweet, savory, baked, sauteed, fried, or roasted. mark bittman author of the "how to cook everything" cookbook is here with great recipes featured in his "new york times" magazine column. welcome back. happy holidays.

   >> good morning, matt.

   >> we're doing apples here and we'll do sweet, savory. are these desserts, side dishes , what are they?

   >> we sort of have everything and we're using every variety and technique and putting the apples in every different form. they really are, you can make them sweet. you can make them savory, serve them as desserts or a side dish or whatever.

   >> is there a variety of apples you like better than others?

   >> the old fashioned varieties are fabulous but hard to get. so the sort of best standards right now are granny smith , gala, and golden delicious .

   >> okay.

   >> those will pretty much work for everything.

   >> all right. do you always core the apple?

   >> no. but usually you either take the core out or cut around the core.

   >> all right.

   >> these are baked apples with the core out. and a nice way to core them is to cut them in half and then use a melon baller to just scoop that center. it comes out pretty easily.

   >> you have to take the skin off?

   >> no. not on these. some of them we're skinning but not these. so with these, you bake them in a lightly oiled pan and after about 20 minutes of baking they'll look like this and we sprinkle them a little balsamic vinegar .

   >> a lot of people will say that's unusual but that would make this probably not a dessert but more of a side dish because it is sweet and savory?

   >> it's an interesting dessert but i would serve it more as a side dish . a little vinegar, olive oil , but just look at the delicious reduced syrup of the apples with the balsamic vinegar .

   >> what is the consistency you're looking for after baking, eat with a spoon?

   >> really, really soft and tender.

   >> great. there is one idea. the next one we're going to make, this is sauteed apples with cranberry and orange.

   >> this is more of a dessert but, again, it can kind of go both ways. i mean, people are used to cranberries being in a sweet dish.

   >> you slice the apples kind of thin for this one.

   >> we core the apples and then slice them. cook them with cranberries and a little butter until they start to juice up. and then a fair amount of sugar.

   >> why do you need so much sugar? take the tartness of the cranberries out?

   >> and orange zest .

   >> okay.

   >> then you finish cooking that with the cover back on. until then you have this beautiful thing.

   >> you would go with the dessert on that one.

   >> i would. i think i would. meeting you over here.

   >> all right, fine. next we have grilled or, no, fried apple fritters with cheese.

   >> these are really wonderful. you grate the apple, skin on. and you make a little batter with some cheese and an egg and the grated apples and some flour. and you wind up with this.

   >> do you have to get some of the liquid out of there so they hold together?

   >> no. they're hold together. flour and egg will hold together. you take a nice little scoop artfully created.

   >> into hot oil . what kind of oil do you use?

   >> use a good quality, light, oil like grape seed or corn oil . this could be hotter.

   >> it's starting to go.

   >> how long do they take to cook?

   >> three or four minutes and you wind up with those. lemon wedges, even sugar if you like the sugar cheese thing. but these are really great.

   >> delicious. while i chew, talk about your last -- you're chewing now. a bad mistake for both of us to be chewing. let's talk about the last recipe.

   >> chunked apples , again, roasted with a little bit of oil and when they're about halfway done as these are, they start to shrivel. we'll sprinkle them with a mixture of ginger, garlic, cinnamon, cumen and very exotic, highly spiced.

   >> kind of a moroccan mix.

   >> it is a moroccan mix. this is definitely not a dessert. this is most definitely a side dish .

   >> what would you serve this with?

   >> this would be fantastic with roast pork or grilled or baked chicken. really a wonderful side dish . because you are taking advantage of the fact that they're a little sweet, a little savory. you've got -- it's really unusual.

   >> to be perfectly honest i love that. the fritters are an acquired taste baufs tecause of the cheese.

   >> you need to eat them hot.

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