Honeycrisp Apple Salad With Walnuts And Pumpkin Seeds

Medically reviewed by Christiana George Updated Date: June 8, 2023

Hello November. Your arrival marks the end of the surrealness that was the last half week. Subways are once again open with limited service, supermarkets are operating in full swing, fallen trees are finally being cleared from roads that have been mostly empty for the last few days.

While those of us living in the Brooklyn area were lucky enough to experience very little damage from the hurricane, the pictures tell a different story. I think they’re what lends to the unrealness of the situation: the incongruity between what we witnessed firsthand and the chaos documented elsewhere. Most of you saw a coast that was being battered by unrelenting forces of nature. On the other hand, many of us sat around all of Tuesday night waiting for the power to go out, which didn’t happen, and trees to topple, which did, but only a little.

I feel fortunate that I could tell our friends and family that we were fine. I know that many weren’t as lucky, and my thoughts go out to them.

As soon as the markets re-opened today, I rushed out and bought fresh produce. Because in our rush to pick up emergency supplies, like bottled water and canned beans and vienna sausages (which are dirt cheap compared to Spam—why is that?), we’d forgotten that what we would probably need the most was food to get us through the next couple days.

Hahaha, riiiight.

So, hello November. Let’s start you out right. With a salad, because salads usually do the trick. Especially ones that contain bits of fruit.

Have you ever had a honeycrisp apple? I don’t know how I’ve never heard of them before, because they’re lovely. Maybe because I’ve never been an apple connoisseur; Fujis have always suited me just fine. But I’m seriously digging the crisp/tart/perfect flesh of the honeycrisp. Paired with arugula, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds, not to mention a cider vinegar, honey, and poppy seed dressing, the salad is light and fresh and perky.

For many who were shaken by the storm, light and fresh and perky may be way to start out on the right foot.

HONEYCRISP APPLE SALAD WITH WALNUTS AND PUMPKIN SEEDS

Adapted from The Cozy Apron

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

For the vinaigrette:

6 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp finely chopped walnuts
3 Tbsp honey
2 tsp poppy seeds
pinch cumin
salt & pepper to taste
6 Tbsp olive oil

For the salad:

2 cups arugula
4 cups escarole, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 honeycrisp apple, sliced into thin matchsticks
1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup roasted walnuts

Directions:

For the vinaigrette, mix all the ingredients but the olive oil together well in a jar with a lid. Pour in the olive oil, close the jar, and shake it until the dressing is emulsified.

For the salad, in a large bowl, combine the arugula, escarole, half the apples sticks, and half the pumpkin seeds and walnuts. Lightly drizzle with the dressing. Serve the salad onto individual serving plates, and garnish each with the remaining apples, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts. Drizzle on more dressing as desired.

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Spicy Steamed Mussels

Mains

Christiana George

Updated Date:
June 8, 2023

Handling mussels, like handling all seafood, is kind of freaky. You wonder what they’re thinking the entire time you’re walking home from the fishmonger. Shell-shocked? Absolutely panic-stricken? After all, the last week or so had to have been the most harried of their lives—being forcibly removed from their homes, plunked onto a bed of ice, removed from the bed of ice, and tossed carelessly into a plastic bag.

I guess I have the tendency to personify bivalves, crustaceans, and all gill-bearing creatures. In one instance, they’re the weird creepy-crawly organisms you study in biology class, living in their watery ecosystems like citizens of another planet. In another, they’re dinner. On your plate, deveined, cracked, peeled, sometimes deep-fried (if you’re lucky!), and dispersed among plates. And somewhere along the way, you’re responsible for this transformation.

Can you tell I’m not used to handling seafood?

I feel like I should apologize. I’m the worst marketing writer ever. Because how am I supposed to convince you to make this recipe when you’ve now got the image of death-by-steaming on your mind?

Because seafood is delectable, that’s why. And I was quickly able to overcome lay aside my misgivings once the sauce was heartily boiling away, and again later upon uncovering the pot and being smacked in the face by the briny, wine-y aroma of fresh-steamed mussels.

So here’s what, people: steaming your own mussels is not only incredibly easy, but also wonderful in the way only home-cooked meals can be.

For our last lunch in Montauk, we decided to order a heaping plate of steamed mussels served in an uber-creamy, uber-buttery sauce that was so delicious, we ate way more bread than we intended and ended up spoiling our appetites for dinner. With that meal in mind, I decided to try reproducing its decadence a few days later. I steamed three pounds of mussels in a creamy white wine sauce that was simultaneously soul-satisfying but also heavy beyond belief. So, because I wanted more mussels but less cream, I decided to veer in a lighter direction, and go with a spicy tomato-based sauce full of flavor but not fat.

I hate to make it sound like diet food. It’s not. Because you have to serve the mussels with lots of crusty bread to sop up the sauce. Or you could serve it atop pasta and feel a very balanced meal taking shape.

First, though, overcome your mussel-handling fears. At least it’s not a lobster.

SPICY STEAMED MUSSELS IN TOMATO SAUCE

Adapted from SELF

Serves 2 to 3

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp EVOO
15 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4 scallions, thinly sliced on a diagonal
2 teaspoons salt
2 pounds mussels
2-1/2 cups canned diced tomatoes
1 cup dry white wine
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

Clean mussels thoroughly and remove beards (but only right before cooking). Discard any mussels with broken shells or ones that won’t close if you push the shell down for a few seconds.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook sliced garlic, scallions and salt, stirring occasionally, until scallions and garlic color slightly, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and pepper flakes, and use your spatula to break up the tomatoes a little. Add the wine and mussels. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook until mussels open, 2 to 3 minutes. Discard any mussels that don’t open. Uncover pan and add parsley; toss to combine. Divide mussels evenly among 4 bowls and spoon broth over them. Serve with bread.