AN APPLE A DAY

[HostDave]

No one knows better the truisms of the phrase “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” than the people of Washington State which is globally famous for its delicious red apples. With the introduction of the elegant American Empress on 9-day voyages between Vancouver, Washington (across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon) and Clarkston, Washington just two months ago, we have become intimately familiar with the bounty of Washington’s apple production as we sought to incorporate fresh local produce in our menus aboard the American Empress. We are committed to serving local wines, local craft beers and locally-grown fresh ingredients every day.

Along with such Pacific Northwest staples as salmon and dishes featuring potatoes, our guests are enthusiastically receiving a wide variety of menu items showcasing apples. While the health benefits of eating a crisp, fresh apple are obvious, apples often get a bad rap in other ways. Apple pies don’t seem healthy and often warm apples incorporated in other dishes are accidentally cooked into unrecognizable mush. That’s not the case on the American Empress where apples are delicately prepared in intriguing and fresh new ways. While our chefs are not keen on the idea of sharing their proprietary recipes, at the American Queen Steamboat Company we thought we’d share a few of our favorite apple recipes from the pages of Cooking Light magazine to show you not just how to incorporate apples into your everyday routine in a healthy and flavorful manner, but also to give you a quick taste of life on the American Empress as she sails the Columbia and Snake rivers.

Below you’ll find a new take on Apple Upside Down Cake as well as an easy recipe for Apple Butter. The traditional pork chops and apple sauce of days gone by is turned on its ear with a recipe for Pork Loin with Cinnamon Apples while the idea of Apple Sangria might not be one you’ve considered before. These are just a handful of the apple recipes available in Cooking Light and for those of you with a culinary bent as well as healthy proclivities, we’d strongly encourage you to subscribe to Cooking Light by visiting their website. Even better, book one of our American Empress voyages and see for yourself the spin our talented chefs put on Washington State’s most famous produce. The only thing better than eating an apple dish is doing so from the decks of the American Empress surrounded by the majestic scenery of the Columbia River Valley. Lewis and Clark never had it so good.

APPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
Courtesy of Cooking Light magazine

Ingredients

Topping

Cooking spray
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3 cups (1/4-inch-thick) slices peeled Rome apples (about 2 large)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Cake

5.3 ounces cake flour (about 1 1/3 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter, softened
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
3 large egg whites

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray.

To prepare topping, combine 3/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until sugar dissolves, stirring gently as needed to dissolve sugar evenly (about 3 minutes). Continue cooking for 4 minutes or until golden (do not stir). Immediately pour into prepared cake pan, tipping quickly to coat bottom of pan. Arrange apple slices in concentric circles in pan over the warm caramel. Sprinkle with nuts; set aside.

To prepare cake, weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir with a whisk.

Combine 2/3 cup sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and vanilla to sugar mixture; beat until combined. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition.

Place egg whites in a large, clean bowl. Beat egg whites with mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form using clean, dry beaters. Gently fold egg whites into batter. Spread batter over apples. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack in pan for 5 minutes. Loosen edges of cake with a knife; invert cake onto a serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature

OVERNIGHT APPLE BUTTER
Courtesy of Cooking Light magazine

Ingredients

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup apple cider
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground mace
10 medium apples, peeled and cut into large chunks (about 2 1/2 pounds)

Preparation
Combine all ingredients in a 5-quart electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 10 hours or until apples are very tender.

Place a large fine-mesh sieve over a bowl; spoon one-third of apple mixture into sieve. Press mixture through sieve using the back of a spoon or ladle. Discard pulp. Repeat procedure with remaining apple mixture. Return apple mixture to slow cooker. Cook, uncovered, on high 1 1/2 hours or until mixture is thick, stirring occasionally. Spoon into a bowl; cover and chill up to a week.

Stovetop variation: Combine all ingredients in a Dutch oven. Cover and cook over medium-low heat 1 hour or until apples are very tender, stirring occasionally. Strain through a sieve as recipe instructs in Step 2. Return mixture to pan. Cook, uncovered, over medium-low heat 15 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Enjoy the apple butter over toast or English muffins, or serve it with pork chops or chicken.

PORK LOIN CHOPS WITH CINNAMON APPLES
Courtesy of Cooking Light magazine (click on the link to learn more and subscribe)

Ingredients

1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon butter
4 cups (1/2-inch) slices peeled Granny Smith apples (about 4 medium)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash of salt

Preparation
Combine first 3 ingredients, and sprinkle over the pork. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add pork; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove the pork from pan. Cover and keep warm. Melt butter in pan over medium heat. Add apples and remaining ingredients, and cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Serve the apples with pork.

APPLE SANGRIA
Courtesy of Cooking Light magazine

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups chopped Honeycrisp apple (about 2 pounds)
1/2 cup apple schnapps
1/4 cup honey
4 whole cloves
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
2 (1/4-inch) slices peeled fresh ginger
1 large navel orange, quartered
1 (750-milliliter) bottle fruity red wine (such as Beaujolais)
1/4 cup club soda, chilled, divided
4 thin horizontal slices cored Honeycrisp apple

Preparation
Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well. Refrigerate 4 hours or until thoroughly chilled. Strain wine mixture through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Pour about 2/3 cup sangria over ice in each of 4 glasses; top each serving with 1 tablespoon club soda and 1 apple slice.

While you have plenty of time to prepare any of these apple dishes, time is quickly running out to take advantage of our special offers and enjoy our own chefs’ take on Washington State’s apples. One of our most popular promotions only has three days remaining. If you reserve the suite or stateroom of your choice before June 20, 2014 and pay in full at the time of booking, you can save 50% on June 2014 Pacific Northwest cruises aboard the American Empress.* Act now and reap the rewards of an “apple a day” on a journey you won’t soon forget.

*Offer expires June 20, 2014 and is valid on new, paid-in-full bookings only. Space cannot be held – full payment is required at time of booking to redeem this offer. This offer is based on cabin availability and only while inventory lasts. Offer of 50% savings applies to regular cruise fare only, regardless of cabin category, and is only valid on these 2014 American Empress voyage dates: 6/21 and 6/28. Offer valid on U.S. and Canada resident bookings only. Offer is not valid on Group bookings or existing reservations and cannot be combined with other offers, promotions or discounts. Cruise fare does not include taxes, port charges, insurance, gratuities, or airfare. Additional terms and conditions may apply - call for details.