I went apple picking last weekend, along with about a million other people in the New York metro area. Is it me, or does recreational apple picking just continue to surge year over year as a fall activity? Some people are not into it, which I get, and yes, cynically speaking, it’s an excellent flannel-clad Instagram moment. But I’ve done it for years, and, for my small kids who live nowhere near a farm, it’s a very clear moment of connection: Fruit comes from trees!
There is one problem, though, which is that I somehow thought bringing home a half-bushel of apples was reasonable. It was not. So far I have baked one pie and dispensed apples to everyone in my home every day, and we have barely made a dent in the pyramid of fruit that now stands in my kitchen. Maybe you’re in this situation, too.
And so I’ve got a few ideas below for how to use them up at dinner. You could also make applesauce, apple butter or apple jelly. You could put them in muffins, crumbles and cakes. You could layer them in sandwiches. You could roast them with sausages or toss them into kale salad. You could serve them with sourdough pancakes or a Dutch baby.
Let me know how you did and what you’re cooking. I’m dearemily@nytimes.com, and it’s always good to hear from you.
1. Sheet-Pan Chicken With Apple, Fennel and Onion
This ultra-simple five-star recipe from Colu Henry matches chicken thighs with tart apple, which sweetens in the oven. I’d double the apple and fennel, and serve it with farro and the green salad Colu suggests, with walnuts and blue cheese. So autumnal!
2. Miso-Butter Pasta With Butternut Squash
To most people, it’s apple season, but to me, it’s gourd season, and I love it. I will be eating squash every which way for the next several months, starting with this dish from Yasmin Fahr, in which squash and garlic are roasted with miso butter, tossed with pasta and then finished with lime.
3. Pork Chops With Apples and Cider
OK, this David Tanis recipe is fancy weeknight cooking, but it’s not actually difficult to make; you’ll get to revel in the blessed union of pork and apples, served in a pan sauce of cider and cream. Skip the spice mix and just use salt and pepper to save a little time.
4. Black Bean Chili With Mushrooms
Jocelyn Ramirez has a genius for conjuring deep flavors in simple ways. Here, she uses dried mushrooms, chipotle chile powders, cumin and cinnamon to give black bean chili a unique, smoky warmth. Don’t be put off by the length of the ingredient list: This recipe is easy to pull together.
