Nostalgia

How Do You Like Them Apples?

Jeanna GLeave a comment

This weekend I’m staying in Zirconia, NC, one of many towns nestled in the great Appalachian Mountains. On our drive into Flat Rock for lunch, we passed an apple orchard on one of the hairpin turns down the mountain. I stuck it in my mental Rolodex, and when I was not in danger of getting car sick, I typed the orchard’s name into my search engine and read to my group all of the reasons why we should stop there on the way home.

My gift of persuasion worked and we were soon chasing my daughter and my friend’s son around the many unique playhouses alongside the orchard. My daughter and I savored the warm, melt-in your-mouth, apple cider doughnuts. The scent of home-baked apple pies drifted into my senses, which drew us into the main building. It was then that I was transported back to childhood.

The tables of apple varieties, the bushel baskets, scales, and presses. People pulling their wagons and sipping their hot cider. With a blink of my eyes, I was back at Nestrovich’s Orchard in Granville, MA, following my mom around, ready to pick some apples.

🍏 A Gala of Apples 🍎

Beyond there, we found billy goats to pet and apples to launch from a cannon. We returned to imbibe hot cider and apple slushies, and were delighted in finding apple butter to bring back home.

If you’ve been reading my posts, you know I love to do things. All the things. Usually one time is enough. But this… walking through the orchard, mountain top vistas, peaceful motions and thoughtful considerations of a future filled with pies and sauce and family gatherings… this should be done annually, a tradition. How distinctive a moment that, all at once, you can be reminded of something you didn’t know you missed, but you realize you’ve missed very much, and now you’ll be sure not to miss again. Now how do you like them apples?

The Moist Maker

Jeanna GLeave a comment

I am by no means a chef, but I do love to cook. Cooking has become a hobby of mine, and I love that it keeps my hands busy while calming my mind. One hiccup is that there tends to be a lot of leftovers in the home that I share with my 8 year-old. This Thanksgiving I decided to put the leftovers together into a sandwich, and not just any sandwich, but Ross’ Moist Maker. (Technically it is Monica’s recipe, but it was Ross’ sandwich that got the storyline.)

Friends first aired in September of 1994. I was just beginning high school at that time. Regardless of what was going on, I sat home on my couch every Thursday night to watch the Must See TV NBC lineup of Friends, Seinfeld, and ER. That was my happy place for 10 seasons! I now own all of the DVDs, and every November I practice the tradition of watching all of the Thanksgiving episodes. Every time I watched “The One With Ross’ Sandwich,” I thought, “I want to eat one of those.” So finally, this year, I made one. And although it wasn’t “the only good thing going on” in my life, it was a dream come true.

Here’s my version of the recipe:

In addition to what I already had in the fridge, I bought brie and Farmer’s Bread (thick and durable) from the bakery at Lidl. On the outer two slices I spread some Simon & Garfunkel herbed mayo. On the bottom slice I laid down some mixed greens and a few cuts of brie. I topped the cheese with warm mashed potatoes that had been mixed with butter, sour cream, salt and pepper. Then came the Moist Maker: a slice of turkey gravy-soaked bread. Next came the final three ingredients: a layer of warm turkey, warm turkey stuffing, and a spoonful of my grandma’s cranberry relish*. I also spooned some green bean casserole onto my plate because, well, why not?

*Grandma Fyfe’s Cranberry Relish:

Chop a bag of fresh cranberries, an orange, and 3/4 cup of sugar together in a food processor. Add in some chopped walnuts. Voilà!

If you still have these leftovers taking up space in the fridge, I recommend that you get your gobble on and let a Moist Maker take up room in your belly, instead! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!