Celebrate German Heritage Recipe #4: Mom’s Fried Apples

I cannot believe it when I talk to people and they haven’t ever had fried apples. Good lord, what they’re missing!

Here’s the deal: This is something to have with pork. Pork chops, or little round patties of cooked pork sausage (you know, like out of those tubes of R.B. Rice or Jimmy Dean, both owned by engulf-and-devour megacorporation Sara Lee). I have to say our family is rather partial to the R.B. Rice, medium.

To complete the culinary Trinity, you need some form of potatoes: fried, mashed, or simply boiled, whatever. Chips, if you’re hard up.

Pork + fried apples + potatoes = yummy dinner. Mustard with the pork sausage is optional. Add green vegetables or a salad ad libitum.

Mom fixed this dinner a lot for us when I was a kid.

(Thanks, Mom!)

Mom’s Fried Apples

Cut 4-5 medium cooking apples (such as Jonathans) into slices. [Red apples look better, cooked, than green ones.]

Put the apple slices into a skillet on top of 4 or 5 pieces of margarine (about 2 tablespoons).

Cook on medium or medium-low heat and cover.

As the butter starts to cook, stir the apples around and get them coated.

They’ll steam a little bit. Check on them every once in a while; stir gently. You don’t want them to get too soft.

When they’re cooked, take off the lid and leave it off. Sprinkle on some cinnamon and about 1/3 c. sugar. Stir gently, so as not to break the apple pieces.

Serves 2-3 people as a side dish.