MELE E COTTECHINO (APPLES AND PORK SAUSAGE)

Mele e Cottechino (Apples and Pork Sausage) image

Going out on New Year's Eve has always been, according to my parents, for amateurs. Their long-standing alternative: stay home and eat well. The ritual starts with caviar and Champagne. Then Dad might prepare steak tartare and Mom, a chocolate soufflé. Good stuff. Now, all grown up (and then some), I realize they're on to something. A low-key, intimate gathering starring good food is my preferred way to ring in the new. But in these lean times - and in my significantly smaller kitchen - putting out a succulent spread and entertaining the troops chez moi calls for some creativity.

Provided by Charlotte Druckman

Time 1h

Yield Serves 6 to 7.

Number Of Ingredients 7

Ingredients

12-14 lady apples (or any small apples; otherwise you can split 6 or 7 medium apples in half)
Cottechino sausage or fatty, spicy Italian sausage, removed from its casing (enough to fill apples; less than 1/2 of a large link)
Sea salt
Freshly cracked pepper
4 tablespoons butter
12-14 sage leaves (about one per apple)
1/2 to 3/4 bottle of white wine.

Steps:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Scoop the core and seeds out of each apple, leaving a substantial hole for filling. Fit the hollowed apples into the base of an ovenproof skillet.
Fill apples with enough sausage to overflow and have a small mound of meat atop each. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
Place knobs of butter in the small spaces between the apples. Tuck sage leaves into remaining gaps.
Pour enough wine into pan to cover apples (the sausage tops can peek out above the liquid's surface).
Place pan in oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until apples can easily be pierced with a knife.
Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 413, UnsaturatedFat 6 grams, Carbohydrate 59 grams, Fat 15 grams, Fiber 11 grams, Protein 4 grams, SaturatedFat 7 grams, Sodium 1173 milligrams, Sugar 42 grams, TransFat 0 grams