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An apple a dinner makes you feel like a winnerWhat does the start of apple season make you think of? Is it the buttery, caramelized scent of an apple pie wafting from the oven? Or do you daydream about going apple picking, filling baskets with red, yellow and green fruit? For me, it’s the first bite of a new-crop apple, crisp as a celery stick, nearly as juicy as a peach and bracingly tangy. It also immediately brings to mind a moment in the classic Beverly Cleary kids’ series “Ramona.” Ramona Quimby, the 4-year-old protagonist, hides in the basement from her big sister, Beezus, who is supposed to be minding her, and takes exactly one bite of each new-season apple in a crate she finds, tossing the apples aside as she goes. When Beezus is scandalized, Ramona is ready with an irrefutable response: “But the first bite tastes best.” Unruffled, their mother uses the despoiled apples to make a very large batch of applesauce. And Ramona is so contrite that she eats all her carrots at dinner without complaint. Since I first read that book as a kid, I think of Ramona every time I take the first bite of a new apple. Then, of course, I finish it because the entire apple’s awfully good. So what’s your favorite part of apple season? Let me know at hellomelissa@nytimes.com. In the meantime, I’ll be using some of my best apples to make Colu Henry’s sheet-pan chicken with apples, fennel and onions, in which fruit and fowl are seasoned with fennel and rosemary. It’s a savory salute to a crisp and redolent season, good from the first bite to the last. Featured Recipe Sheet-Pan Chicken With Apples, Fennel and OnionsMore (apple-y) food for thoughtSkillet pork chops with miso caramel: Ali Slagle’s autumnal recipe shows that miso caramel isn’t just for desserts. The sweet-and-salty combo also makes a glossy, umami-rich sauce that’s perfect for black pepper-crusted pork chops and soft, sautéed apples. To keep things weeknight-easy, instead of making traditional caramel with burnt sugar, Ali simply simmers brown sugar, water and miso until the sauce thickens enough to coat everything evenly and beautifully. Fall salad with apples, Cheddar and crispy sage: Sage leaves fried in olive oil until they crackle and brown add an unexpected thrill to this simple mix of salty cheese, sweet apples and mild butter lettuce. Christian Reynoso then turns that sage-scented oil into an herbal dressing with honey and lemon. Grilled cheese with apples and apple butter: If you’re the sort of person who likes Cheddar cheese on your apple pie, you’ll love Susan Spungen’s sweet-and-salty grilled cheese. The trick is to cook the sandwiches open-faced until the cheese melts, then assemble everything when both sides are golden. Use dark, unsweetened apple butter for the most apple-y flavor. New-crop applesauce: This is probably what Mrs. Quimby had in mind for that crate of Ramona-marked apples. David Tanis’s simple version, using just apples, lemon, cinnamon and a sprinkling of sugar, proves that juicy new-crop apples have a tangier, more nuanced flavor than long-stored ones. Make it this week, and I bet you won’t stop at just one bite. Apple crumble: Every cook needs a great apple crumble recipe, and you can’t do better than Samantha Seneviratne’s no-fuss favorite. A nutty, nubby topping studded with pecans and oats makes a crunchy contrast to the tender fruit, especially when you use a mix of apple varieties for complex flavor and texture. Serve it with ice cream for dessert or with dollops of tart, plain yogurt for breakfast. Or, heck, vice versa. That’s all for now, except to remind you that if any technical issues crop up, you can reach out to cookingcare@nytimes.com. They’re there to help. I’ll see you on Monday. For a limited time, you can enjoy free access to the recipes in this newsletter in our app. Download it on your iOS or Android device and create a free account to get started.
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