Cider season has arrived. Now that picking is winding down, local orchards have started pressing their product into cider.
Like maple time, cider time is an in-between season. Fall is waning, and the leaves have mostly left the trees, but winter has yet to hit us. Farmers have concluded their harvests and have time to breathe… and make cider.
Hard cider is the most famous and most expensive product of cideries. I don’t drink so I prefer sweet cider, full of apple flavor. And don’t get me started on Clarkdale Fruit Farms’ amazing pear cider. It was my late mother’s favorite fall beverage. She described it as “like drinking a pear.”
Nevertheless, as the recipe below demonstrates, I find that hard cider has its uses.
This weekend orchards and cideries in Franklin County and beyond will celebrate Cider Days. This event launched in 1994. Its first incarnation featured a mere four vendors. This year’s event has more than 20 locations, not all of them in Massachusetts. For a full listing, visit https://www.ciderdays.org/.
The weekend will be dedicated to the memory of Ben Watson, the author of the groundbreaking book, “Cider, Hard and Sweet: History, Traditions and Making Your Own.”
Watson died in August. He reminded Americans of the rich history (and wonderful taste) of cider. Historically, New Englanders and others drank cider rather than water. Wells might produce contaminated liquid; trees generally did not.
Judith Maloney of West County Winery has called Watson “the glue that brought everyone together” at the November cider festival.
I have attended Cider Days many times. I have also done a cooking demo or two over the years at this event and sold my cookbooks. I am always impressed by the variety of people who come to the orchards and cideries… and the distance many of them have traveled to visit our area and sample a variety of ciders.
These folks aren’t just tipplers. They are generally interested not just in sampling cider and apple products but in learning about the ways in which apples and other local crops are grown and processed.
This year I’ll return to join the cider makers and other vendors at Headwater Cider in my hometown of Hawley. Headwater’s proprietor, Peter Mitchell, is kind enough to lend me a table and to welcome me and other non-cider folk among the cideries under a big tent in his orchard.
I will be signing cookbooks and giving out nibbles from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. I can’t be at the orchard on Sunday, but most of the other vendors will return that day from 11 to 4.
The weather can vary, as it always does in November. I have been at Cider Days when the golden autumn sun kept me deliciously warm. I have also attended the festival when I had to huddle in my coat and work hard to keep the wind from blowing the hat off my head.
One year, Peter Mitchell supplied handwarmers to those of us under his tent. I didn’t tell him this, but instead of using my warmer on my hands I slipped it inside my shirt to keep my torso toasty.
Whether Cider Days are warm or cold, they are fun: a celebration of autumn, of the harvest, of the flavors of apples and cider, and of community here in Franklin County.
I asked Peter Mitchell if he had a recipe I could try using his hard cider. He and his wife Gerda were too busy making cider to concoct one; he did tell me that he thinks one can use the cider in cooking as a substitute for white wine.
I wanted something specifically designed for cider, not wine, however, so I did some internet sleuthing. I came across a recipe on the Wisconsin Cheese website for Sausage Pasta with Cider Cheese Sauce and decided to try that.
I have adapted it slightly. The recipe called for “smoked sausage.” I think that referred to summer sausage. Not finding any of that at the store, I opted for a beef sausage that looked like kielbasa. I thought beef sounded appropriate, and its flavor certainly added to the dish.
Not having the Wisconsin Swiss cheese for which the recipe called on hand, I opted for my New England standby, sharp cheddar.
I ended up with a tasty, slightly more sophisticated (and meatier) version of macaroni and cheese, an ideal food for fall and for Cider Days. The cider added a subtle but unmistakable depth of flavor.
Sausage Pasta with Cider Cheddar Sauce
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter, plus more if needed
8 to 12 ounces smoked beef sausage, cut into small rounds
1/2 pound uncooked cavatappi (or the pasta of your choice)
4 ounces sliced mushrooms (I used baby portabellas.)
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped finely
1-1/2 tablespoons flour
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup hard cider (I used Headwater’s “Rosa” variety, but any flavor would do.)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
Instructions:
Set water for the pasta on the stove to boil.
In a skillet with high sides or a sauteuse pan, melt the butter. Stir in the pieces of sausage and cook them over medium heat until they brown slightly, up to 5 minutes or so.
When the water boils, pour it over the pasta in a pan. Add lots of salt, and cook until it is al dente. Drain it.
Meanwhile, remove the sausage from the frying pan. Add a little more butter as needed, and sauté the mushrooms and pepper pieces until they are tender (about 5 minutes). Stir frequently.
Sprinkle the flour on top of the veggies in their butter. Cook the mixture, stirring frequently with a whisk, for 1 to 2 minutes. Then whisk in the milk and cider, followed by a little salt and pepper. Be sparing with the salt; you can always add more later.
Reduce the heat to low, and simmer the sauce, still whisking frequently, until it thickens, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Put the whisk away. Use a spoon to stir in the cheese. When it melts, turn off the heat. Add the cooked sausage and pasta. Pour the mixture into a bowl, and serve. Serves 4.
Tinky Weisblat is an award-winning cookbook author and singer known as the Diva of Deliciousness. Visit her website, TinkyCooks.com.