Sophisticated Apple Anyone?

Tis the season! Now that you spent a few of you fall weekends leaf peeping, apple picking and stuffing your face with apple cider donuts, and the occasional pumpkin spice late why not put a more sophisticated spin on a fall snack. Right about now I bet all us new englanders are wondering what to do with all of our excess apples from when we went apple picking with the family. Why not make some poached apples? They could be served warm to accompany a pork dish for a savory fare. If you are looking for something sweet and simplistic,why not a poached Apple with a heaping scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.   

 
Steps to the perfect poached Apple. 

Uncork ( or twist the top off) a bottle of your favorite red wine, take a sip, relax, now back to work. 

Ingredients: 

1 bottle of red wine 

4 oranges squeezed (save the peel)

1 lemon (save the peel) 

2 vanilla beans 

1 cinnamon stick

3.5 cups of sugar 
Method: 

Using a large sauce pot pour the wine, add the sugar, orange juice, cinnamon stick, vanilla beans, lemon peel, and orange peel. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Once simmering add apples. Continue to simmer until the apples are tender, but not mushy. For a full bodied flavor let the apples sit in poaching liquid over night and refrigerate. Last step; enjoy!