52 apple recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

The chicken salad at Lunch in Culver City is a deliciously simple dish. It combines diced chicken with a little red onion, celery, currants and apple for a nice crunch, great color and a wonderfully fresh combination of flavors not unlike a classic Waldorf. And it’s just as easy to prepare. Click here for the recipe.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Combine just a few ingredients, and this chicken and apple sausage is ready to go. It doesn’t need to be cased; simply form the loose sausage into patties and fry them to order. Studded with apples and onions, and scented with cinnamon and chopped sage, it’s wonderfully fragrant and tender -- the perfect breakfast sausage. Click here for the recipe.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

You can make the apple filling earlier in the day and roll out the pastry and bake this upside-down tart in the evening if you wish. Serve simply, with plain whipped cream. Click here for the recipe.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Wine, triple sec, orange juice and brandy are sweetened with sugar and a touch of vanilla, and served with sliced oranges, lemons, apples and grapes. Click here for the recipe.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Curry brings out the sweetness in Dungeness crab, and diced apples and almonds add a nice crunch to this salad. Click here for the recipe.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

These baked apples are stuffed with a fragrant mixture of brown sugar, cherries, figs, almonds and pecans, and basted with maple syrup and apple cider. A simple dessert, it comes together in about an hour. Click here for the recipe.  (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

Salute the season with a Nuit Rouge cocktail, which combines a wonderfully potent mix of apple and lemon juices with ginger beer and bourbon or dark rum. Click here for the recipe.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

We were smitten with this loaf even before it came out of the oven, the scents of cinnamon and apple perfuming the kitchen as it baked. Cooled, the wonderfully crumbly topping revealed a light and fluffy loaf, almost cake-like in texture. It’s only slightly sweet with a gentle tang from buttermilk, and with little chunks of apple and walnut suspended throughout. Paired with a good cup of coffee, it makes a perfect start to the day. Click here for the recipe.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Bright, scarlet cranberries add a nice tart note to this apple crisp. Click here for the recipe.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Who says you need bread to make a stuffing? This breadless stuffing combines dried fruit, nuts and herbs in a fragrant and savory dish. Click here for the recipe.  (Beatrice de Gea / Los Angeles Times)

Shredded apple lends sweetness to red cabbage, slowly braised in duck or bacon fat with a fragrant mix of orange and apple juices, red wine and spices. Click here for the recipe.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Filled with fruits and spices, this English mincemeat pie is a twist on tradition. To appreciate the full flavor of fruit and spice, serve the pie hot or at room temperature, topped with a scoop of your favorite ice cream. Click here for the recipe.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

This wild rice salad combines a flavorful fall harmony of pecans, dried cranberries, Calvados (apple brandy), Dijon mustard, diced apple and blue cheese. Click here for the recipe.  (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

If you’re an apple dessert fan but are intimidated by strudel, this is just the ticket. This is a strudel in the round. It’s easy to assemble using prepared filo sheets. And it is extra easy to cut; the rounded shape makes for attractive, apple-stuffed wedges. Click here for the recipe.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Easy Street apple tart with a crumb topping was one of our best recipes of 1988. Click here for the recipe.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Serve these thick apple pancakes with cinnamon butter. Click here for the recipe.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Apple and fennel salad, courtesy of Chef José Andrés. Click here for the recipe.  (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

These muffins, studded with diced apples and fragrant with cinnamon spice, can be whipped up in about an hour. Click here for the recipe.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Herbed pork loin is even better when it’s barded with bacon, a simple method that’s kind of like wrapping a present without tape. Here two tenderloins are rubbed with minced sage and garlic, then covered with applewood-smoked bacon. As the pork roasts in a hot oven, the crisping bacon adds moisture and flavor. Add some quartered apples (neither peeled nor cored, they add a pretty, rustic look) and fresh sage leaves part way through the roasting. The rendering bacon fat and accumulating pan juices caramelize the apples -- and make an awesome quick pan sauce when deglazed with a little wine. Click here for the recipe.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

This simple recipe combines apples, brown sugar, cider, brandy, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, lemon zest and juice in a rich applesauce. The recipe calls for a pressure cooker, but the applesauce can also be slowly simmered on the stove. Click here for the recipe.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Tarte tatin is the French-style upside-down apple cake in which you first cook apples in sugar and butter to make a caramel sauce, then top with a puff pastry base. Once the crust is baked, the cake is inverted and served oozing with the built-in caramel sauce and a scoop or two of ice cream. This version of the recipe is from Nounou, a restaurant on the French Riviera. It was picked as one of our best recipes of 1986. Click here for the recipe.  (Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times)

Rosemary pain perdu (bread pudding) is served with sauteed apples, Chantilly cream and Armagnac caramel sauce. Click here for the recipe.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Croustade with apples and prunes in Armagnac makes for a dramatic presentation, with crisp yet delicate layers of filo filled with apples and prunes in a sweet Armagnac syrup. Click here for the recipe.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

Pear and apple slices are tossed with a light, bright cranberry vinaigrette in this simple yet flavorful salad. Click here for the recipe.  (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Top a fennel-apple slaw with a pretty frico (cracker-like baked Parmigiano-Reggiano), the salt and crunch of the cheese a perfect contrast with the pale, cool reprieve of the salad. Click here for the recipe.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

All About Eve cocktail, made with apple-infused sherry. Click here for the recipe.  (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)

Light in texture, this rich challah is studded with fresh apples and raisins. Click here for the recipe.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Lightly drizzle a glaze over this cinnamon roll-type coffeecake and serve it warm. Chunks of bacon and apple spill out -- it’s a wonderful play on flavors with just a hint of sweetness. Click here for the recipe.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

For a fresh take on classic apple pie, try topping the apples with a layer of dried cranberries that have been macerated in orange juice and cider, then torqued with vanilla and fresh ginger. Click here for the recipe.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

They look more like apple fritters than typical latkes, but apple latkes are a Hanukkah specialty. This recipe comes from Claudia Roden’s “The Book of Jewish Food” (Knopf, 1996). Beer or milk may be substituted for the water in the batter, and cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar may be used for garnish instead of superfine sugar. Click here for the recipe.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Ponche, which plays a role even more significant than that of eggnog in Latin cultures, is served throughout the coldest months but particularly from the Day of Guadalupe to Epiphany, on Jan. 6. The three basic ingredients for ponche are tejocotes (whole or quartered), guava and sugar cane, but tamarind, hibiscus flowers and piloncillo (dark brown sugar) are also typical, and almost any available fruit, like apples or oranges, can be added to the pot; some spike the drink with rum or tequila. Click here for the recipe.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

In this adaptation of the lush classic tarte tatin, we replaced the traditional pastry tart with an almond-flavored nonfat cake. The apples are cooked with sugar and a minuscule amount of butter until they are coated with a thick golden glaze, developing an intense flavor. To enhance the taste of this simple cake, we added a little amaretto. Click here for the recipe.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Thin-crusted apple tart, adapted from Michele Anna Jordan, A.P.P.L.E. (Apple Publicity Promotion Ladies Effort), published in “Sebastopol Gravenstein Apples: Sweet & Savory Recipes.” Sometimes Jordan adds a pinch of chipotle powder and replaces the apple jelly with a hot pepper jelly made by Tierra Vegetables for a combination of sweetness and heat. Click here for the recipe.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Roasted acorn squash is tossed with julienned tart apple, toasted hazelnuts and firm white cheese in this colorful salad. Click here for the recipe.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Potato pancakes are served with apple-onion jam and horseradish creme fraiche. Click here for the recipe.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Add a little extra flair to your apple pie with orange and almonds. Orange liqueur and chopped almonds are added to the apple filling, which is baked in a flaky crust flavored with a touch of orange juice. Click here for the recipe.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Apple lends a bright note to this rich, thick leek soup. Click here for the recipe.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Classic and colorful, ambrosia is not complete without the fruit. This version includes pineapple, cherries, orange and apple. Click here for the recipe.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

A lightly sweetened honey-mustard dressing is used to moisten and bind this delicious smoked fish salad. It can be made up to 24 hours in advance -- perfect if you’re planning for company. Click here for the recipe.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Huckleberry’s apple butter cake incorporates almond meal and cornmeal with whole wheat and all-purpose flours for a dense but wonderfully crumbly texture. Not too sweet, it’s unabashedly rich, with no shortage of butter and a nice tang from generous apple chunks. Click here for the recipe.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Rich and creamy, this crumb pie is baked in a cinnamon pastry shell and topped with a sweet, crunchy streusel topping. Click here for the recipe.  (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

Tart, diced apples, pork loin and curry powder offer a whole new take on classic hash. Click here for the recipe.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

A bread pudding dotted with apples, dried cherries and almonds, this kugel is perfect whether you’re celebrating Tu Bishvat, sometimes called the Festival of Fruit, or any time of the year. Click here for the recipe.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Why buy mustard when you can make your own? This hard cider mustard -- a coarse mustard dotted with bits of tart fresh apple -- is easy to make, and nothing beats the flavor of homemade. Click here for the recipe.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Spiced apple cider and a touch each of fresh lemon and ginger juices are the perfect complement to cava in this bubbly cocktail. Click here for the recipe.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

This recipe from “Simply French,” Patricia Wells’ book with three-star French chef Joel Robuchon, is a good example of the attention to detail that makes a truly great cook. It’s a small thing, but tilting the duck on the platter after the cooking really does result in a much moister breast. The citrus-flavored caramelized apples that accompany it are a perfect foil for the rich flesh. Click here for the recipe.  (Stephen Osman / Los Angeles Times)

Dorie Greenspan’s “long and slow apples” is her two-hour take on the fashionable French restaurant dessert 20-hour apples. Apples are sliced very thin, layered in individual ramekins with a little sugar and some orange zest, and then baked. Click here for the recipe.  (Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times)

Apple, onion, ginger, raisins, currants and chipotle chile are slow-simmered in orange juice and cider vinegar to a nicely thickened chutney, perfect for using as a spread or dip. Click here for the recipe.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

It’s like combining two of your favorite dishes in one: Top sweetened cubed apples with dollops of cobbler topping, then sprinkle over crumble topping before baking. Click here for the recipe.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Place some vodka and Applejack brandy in a shaker, with just a touch of amaretto and maple syrup. Shake with ice and pour into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with candied bacon and a thin slice of apple. Voilà. A candied bacon martini. Click here for the recipe.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)