Fall weather calls for comfort food, and one of America’s favorite comfort foods is apples. There are so many easy and delicious ways to use apples – from savory to sweet. How D’ya Like Them Apples has 75 creative, simple, and delicious ways to make eating apples the highlight of your day.
During the past few years, the number of apples varieties coming from farmers across the country has increased –so people have more than ever to try, and certain varietals work best for specific recipes.
Some examples: Kiku is a new favorite for fresh eating: its flesh is crisp, juicy, and sweet. Gala is still gaining popularity as the go-to for salads and other dishes where they will be used raw. And, the classic Golden Delicious is the best pie-making apple.
We’ve all been there - sometimes the apples in our pantry or cold storage don’t get used up fast enough, and that means it’s time for baking a luscious apple dessert or for adding more nutrition to a puréed soup or meat dish by coring and tucking in an apple or two. And if an apple is starting to wither – it’s the perfect time to make applesauce!
The yummy, easy-to-make recipes in How D’ya Like Them Apples make apples even more loveable, showing what a versatile, exciting food apples can be. So, how do you like them apples? Get ready to love them.
ABOUT MADGE BAIRD:
Madge Baird is the author of three cookbooks including 101 Things to do with Rotisserie Chicken, 101 Things to do with Apples and How D’Ya Like Them Apples. She is also a seasoned cookbook editor. Madge lives in northern Utah, where she manages a large garden, a small orchard, a flock of laying hens, and several hives of honeybees.
BRUCE CAKEBREAD - PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, CAKEBREAD CELLARS
After working alongside his father since the winery was founded in 1973, Bruce assumed the winemaking position in 1979, overseeing all vineyard operations and winemaking duties until 2002 when he became president and COO.
Discussing the Cakebread family’s philosophy of winemaking over the past 40 years, Bruce says, “We are very fortunate to have an excellent collection of vineyards and have worked alongside some of the best growers in Napa Valley for many years to produce consistently high quality wines over the past 40 years. These great vineyards, plus the fact that we have had only three winemakers over these forty years (Jack, myself and now Julianne for the past ten years), allows us to produce consistency in quality and our balanced style of elegant and complex wines with a fine finish that fits seamlessly into any meal or any occasion.”
Bruce is currently the President of the Napa Valley College Foundation Board, serves on the Viticulture and Enology Executive Leadership Board at UC Davis, is an alternate on the Napa County Flood Control District, and is past President of the Board of Napa Valley Vintners Association, serving in 2010 and in 2013.
WINEMAKING
Continuity and stability are bedrock values for Cakebread Cellars and our wines. Bruce Cakebread, formerly winemaker and now president of Cakebread Cellars, is the guardian of the commitment to quality his parents made at the dawn of Cakebread Cellars. This ethos is also evident in the long-term tenures of winemaker Julianne Laks, who has been with Cakebread Cellars 26 years, and cellarmaster Brian Lee, a 25-year veteran of the winery.
Julianne and Brian, along with Director of Viticulture, Toby Halkovich, have played key roles in enhancing wine quality at Cakebread Cellars through the adoption and implementation of innovative winegrowing strategies and technologies. Over the years, these have included night-harvesting to ensure the grapes arrive at the winery in pristine condition; whole-cluster pressing of white grapes to enhance juice and wine freshness and varietal intensity; and aging Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay in barrel on its spent yeast lees – a traditional French practice known as sur lie which produces a very rich, creamy style of Chardonnay. Julianne and Brian have become experts at matching the right barrels with particular lots of wine to ensure a seamless blend of oak and fruit character.
Additionally, choosing just the right equipment is also important. In recent years, Cakebread Cellars has acquired a new, state-of-the-art destemmer, berry sorter and juice chemistry analyzer, and is investigating new techniques for generating and conserving energy. (Cakebread Cellars is a green-certified winery, and its vineyards are green-certified and either farmed organically or sustainably.)
ESTATE VINEYARDS
Cakebread Cellars has vineyard properties located throughout Napa Valley and a location in the Anderson Valley. The winery ranches surrounding the production facility in Rutherford are where it all began. The first 22 acre parcel was purchased in 1972. Over the years, the family has continued to acquire additional vineyard parcels throughout Napa Valley and the North Coast. Today, the winery owns 13 sites totaling 1100 acres, 560 of which are currently planted. This judicious acquisition and development of vineyard land enables us to more completely control the quality of the fruit we grow and the wines we make.
WWW.CAKEBREAD.COM
CELESTINO DRAGO – EXECUTIVE CHEF/OWNER OF DRAGO CENTRO, IL PASTAIO, DRAGO BAKERY, DRAGO CATERING – NEWEST LOCATION AT THE PETERSON AUTO MUSEUM
Chef Celestino Drago’s contemporary Italian masterpiece, Drago Centro offers innovative twists to authentic Italian dishes. Drago Centro has become one of the foremost dining establishments in Downtown Los Angeles, featuring stunning contemporary design, the 9,500 square-foot restaurant boasts an open kitchen, a private dining rooms, and a demonstration kitchen housed in what was once the vault of City National Bank. At Drago Centro, located in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles, Chef Celestino Drago is giving his classic Italian techniques a contemporary flair. The lunch and dinner menus at Drago Centro feature a wide range of options, from hand-cranked pastas, savory steaks and elegant desserts sure to end the meal on a sweet note.
ABOUT CHEF CELESTINO DRAGO
Chef Celestino Drago has played an integral role in the ever-evolving dining scene in Los Angeles for over two decades. Originally from Sicily, Celestino is regarded as one of the pioneers of Italian Cuisine in the US and has become one of Los Angeles’ most celebrated chefs, with honors ranging from Food & Wine Magazine selecting him as a “Best New Chef” to being an invited guest chef at the James Beard House in New York on multiple occasions and is the current Food Fare 2014 Chef of the Year.
From his affable demeanor to his inventive and delicious takes on Italian fare, Chef Celestino Drago has helped lay the groundwork for Italian cuisine in America today.
Before launching his restaurant empire in Southern California, Celestino attended mechanical school in Italy while simultaneously working at a restaurant in the city of Pisa called Pierino. It was there that realized he “loved everything about the restaurant business.” Recognizing his culinary potential, the chef at Pierino worked closely with him and, in just three short years, Celestino took over as chef.
In 1979, Celestino was hired as chef at Los Angeles Italian restaurant, Orlando Orsini, prompting him to leave Italy to embark upon a new culinary career in the United States. After working at Orlando Orsini, Celestino worked at Spectrum Foods before opening his first restaurant, Celestino, in Beverly Hills. After receiving high praise, he was encouraged to open another restaurant, Drago, on bustling Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica. Drago was met with rave reviews and was consistently rated in the top 5 Italian restaurants in Los Angeles before it closed in 2011. It was Celestino's success at Drago that led to his subsequent ventures, which include his artisanal bakery, originally known as “Dolce Forno” now re-branded under the name Drago Bakery, the more upscale eatery, IL Pastaio in Beverly Hills, and Drago Centro in the heart of the Financial District in Downtown Los Angeles, as well as Drago Special Events & Catering which brings his highly sought-after fine dining experience directly into the home or private event setting. Celestino reached for the stars with his highly successful Drago Air Catering venture, which supplies prepared foods for several major airlines and private charters.
Celestino’s cuisine is deeply rooted in his childhood home in Sicily and since his arrival in Los Angeles he has been delighting diners with dishes that hearken back to his home country dishes imbued with the heritage and authenticity of true Italian fare. Celestino has been touted as one of the Best Italian Chefs in the United States by Bon Appétit and Los Angeles Times Restaurant Critic S. Irene Virbila has called Celestino, "one of the best-known Italian restaurateurs in Southern California."
WWW.CELESTINODRAGO.COM
WWW.DRAGOCENTRO.COM