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When cookbook author and Food Network star Melissa D’Arabian goes apple-picking, her go-to move with her apple haul is to make Caramel Apples. “My favorite variation is to slice them up and serve as a little ‘dessert’ alongside a cheese plate.  You could do that in a cheese platter or you could even borrow from my husband’s French tradition and do individual cheese plates with a tiny green salad with tart vinaigrette, and a few slices of caramel apple,” says Melissa.
Below, she shares her Caramel Apple recipe that you’ll want to make all fall long.
Ingredients
6 small or 4 medium tart apples7 ounces caramel candies (about 28 candies)Nonstick cooking spray1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions

Wash the apples well to remove their waxy coating. (If very waxy, dip for one second in boiling water and then wipe.) Melt the caramels in a small saucepan with 1 tablespoon water over medium-low heat until smooth. If melting in the microwave, place the caramels and water in a 4-cup liquid measuring cup. Microwave until smooth and melted, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes, checking and stirring every 30 seconds.
Line a baking sheet with wax paper and spray with nonstick spray.
Once the caramel is smooth, stir in the vanilla. Dip the apples into the caramel one at a time (be sure they are dry), and tip the cup to help coat the apples. Let the excess caramel drip off, and use the edge of the cup to help remove the excess. Dip the apple in the topping of your choice and let it rest on the wax paper. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Cook’s Note
Optional toppings for the apples include crushed pretzels, mini chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, marshmallows and crushed graham crackers, chopped nuts, chopped pecans and cinnamon and sugar.
Cookbook author and mom of four, Melissa D’Arabian

Looking for a go-to salad to meal-prep and eat all week long? This Chicken and Mango Chopped Salad Whole30-approved recipe is for you! The option of using rotisserie chicken and bagged lettuce makes this as easy as ordering lunch—for half the price. Here’s the recipe, created by recipe developer Jean Choi and courtesy of  Whole30.

SALAD

3 cups red cabbage, chopped
3 Persian cucumbers, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 mango, chopped
1 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2.5 cups cooked chicken chopped
1/3 cup cashews, chopped

CILANTRO MANGO DRESSING

1/2 cup cilantro
1/2 mango
1/2 avocado
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup water plus more if needed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS
1. PLACE chopped red cabbage, cucumbers, bell pepper, mango, cilantro, green onions, and chicken in a large mixing bowl.

2. MAKE the dressing by blending all the ingredients together. If the dressing is too thick, add a little bit of water at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.
3. POUR the dressing over the salad and toss to coat evenly. Taste to add more salt, if needed.
4. ADD cashews, just before serving. Enjoy!

Want to wow your family for the Jewish New Year? This Fig & Pomegranate Brisket is the perfect way to please a crowd and honor tradition during Rosh Hashanah.
Celebrated cookbook author Adeena Sussman calls this meal one of the “crown jewels of Shabbat and holiday cooking” and we couldn’t agree more. There’s great reason to trust her, having recently published Shabbat: Recipes and Rituals From My Table To Yours and co-authored more than a dozen more cookbooks, including three New York Times bestsellers with Chrissy Teigen.
While mastering brisket can seem intimidating, Adeena suggest giving this sometimes under-appreciated cut of meat some extra time.  “[I like] slow-cooking brisket to tender perfection, adding onions and often a tomato-based liquid to coax out the meat’s flavor and ideal texture.”
Leftovers taste even better, says Adeena: “Cool the whole cut in its braising liquid, then slice it against the grain and re-warm gently in the sauce.”  Ready to try this modern spin on brisket? Recipe below:

Ingredients
One 5-pound brisket with a good amount of fat1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning1/4 cup vegetable oil 3 large onions, thinly sliced (6 cups)2 tablespoons all-purpose or gluten-free flour10 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole2 tablespoons tomato paste2 cups dry white wine1 1/2 cups beef or chicken broth1/3 cup pomegranate molasses4 dried figs, chopped1/4 cup honey1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar1 tablespoon ground cumin1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes6 fresh figs,* quartered1/2 cup pomegranate seedsMint leaves, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300°F
Arrange the brisket on a large plate and season it generously on all sides with 1 tablespoon of the salt and 1 teaspoon of the pepper. In a large, heavy Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium- high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add the brisket (fattier side down, if there is one) and sear until deeply browned and crisped in parts, 6 to 7 minutes. Carefully flip the brisket and sear for another 6 minutes, then, if they’re thick enough, sear each of the narrow sides, standing up the brisket, if possible, 3 minutes per side. Remove to a plate, leaving any fat and juices in the pan.
Add the onions and flour and cook, stirring occasionally, until the flour is absorbed, 1 minutes, then add the garlic and tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to soften, 5 minutes. Add the wine, raise the heat to high, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer until the wine reduces by half, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the broth, pomegranate molasses, dried figs, honey, vinegar, cumin, red pepper flakes, and the remaining 1 teaspoonsalt and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to a simmer and gently lower the brisket back into the roasting pan, spooning some of the sauce and onions over the brisket. Cover the brisket with a piece of parchment paper (this will prevent the acid in the sauce from interacting with the foil), seal the roasting pan tightly with foil, and cook in the oven until the brisket is tender, 4 hours to 4 hours 30 minutes. Remove the oven, unseal slightly, then let the brisket come to room temperature, about 1 hour
If you have time, refrigerate the brisket overnight, then uncover it and remove and discard the congealed fat. Remove the brisket from the sauce and slice it against the grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Heat the sauce in the roasting pan or another pot over medium-high heat, until boiling. Lower the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens to your liking, 10 to 15 minutes. Nestle the sliced brisket back in the sauce, cover with foil, and warm gently in a 200degreeF oven until everything is heated through, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
To serve, transfer the brisket and sauce to a platter, season with salt and pepper, and garnish with fresh figs, pomegranate seeds, and mint leaves.*If you can’t find fresh figs, garnish with more pomegranate seeds.

From SHABBAT by Adeena Sussman, published by Avery, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.
Copyright @ 2023 by Adeena Sussman.

Football season is here, and that means Game Day eats. Sundays are busy for a lot of families, so simple recipes are key.  This 4-Ingredient Sour Cream Chive Dip from Joanna Keohane of The Family Food Kitchen is not only quick and easy,  the flavor gets better with time, so can (and should) be made at least one hour ahead of time.
“The fresh chives really take the flavor of this dip over the top! So much better than store-bought – none of the artificial nasties either,” says Joanna, a recipe creator and mom of three who previously worked in test kitchens at Good Housekeeping, Bon Appetit and Epicurious. She adds: “If you want to make this dip healthier it’s fine to sub out some of the sour cream for full-fat or low-fat plain yogurt too.”
For more easy, family-friendly recipes from Joanna, visit The Family Food Kitchen and follow her on Instagram @joannakeohane.
INGREDIENTS

1 ¼ Cups Sour Cream
¼ Cup Mayonnaise
4 Tbsps. Fresh Chives, finely cut – Around 2 bunches or packets
¼ Tsp Sea Salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Place the sour cream and mayonnaise in a medium bowl.
Add the chives and salt.
Mix well.
Transfer to a serving dish.
Cover and leave in the refrigerator for at least an hour and up to 24 hours to let the flavors mix.
Serve the finished dip with chips (crisps) crudités and other dipping foods of your choice.