Well Fed Buff: Dalaran Applesauce
You think I have a thing for apples, do you? It's autumn, people -- pick 'em while the pickin's good. Because you know what goes great with a meal of Half a Lovely Apple ... With Bacon but before Mini Candied Apples? A heaping serving of spicy, fragrant Dalaran Applesauce.
The win to this encounter is the magical item we equip, the Dalaran Apple Bowl -- otherwise known as your slow cooker. It makes simmering fresh, homemade applesauce so magically simple that you'll find yourself grabbing a bag of honeycrisp apples every time you go to the store. Seriously, you do next to nothing, and the achievements just roll in. And the smell, oh, the smell ... Your whole house will smell like fresh-baked apple pie. In fact, we prefer to eat our Dalaran Applesauce hot like apple pie filling from tiny ramekins, although it's delicious in its more traditional chilled form as well.
Dalaran Apple Bowl
Item Level 85
Use: Right-click to set out a bowl of 10 crisp apples (30-min. cooldown)
Requires level 75
Sell Price: 80 silver
Sold By: Applebough <Fruit Vendor>, Dalaran
Ready to feel silly that you haven't been making this all fall? I'll write this out in several steps so we all feel we've earned the achievement.
Dalaran Applesauce
Ingredients
1 small bag of apples (choose the variety according to your taste; the amount is variable according to your slow cooker's capacity and dimensions -- you don't want to stack the apples too high and thick in the slow cooker, or the ones at the top won't cook well)
1 cup of water or fruit juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
Scrub the apples well if you plan to leave the skins on (highly recommended -- fantastic texture), or peel them if you prefer smoother applesauce.
Chop the apples into moderately small chunks; the smaller you chop, the faster they cook down. Make quick work of this with an apple slicer, then whack each slice in half -- done!
Put the apple chunks into the slow cooker. Add the spices.
Pour 1 cup of water or fruit juice over the spiced apples. Stir until the spices are well distributed.
Cover and cook on low for four hours or until the apple chunks are mushy. Depending on the dimensions of your slow cooker, you might have to stir the mixture once or twice to ensure even cooking (but remember, avoid unnecessarily lifting the lid of your slow cooker so that the temperature inside stays even).
Mash the cooked applesauce with a potato masher until it reaches the texture you enjoy. A serving fork works well if you don't have a potato masher. I suppose you could put the cooked apple mixture into a blender or food processor if you like, but I find that a few chunks and flecks of skin lend a rich, hearty texture.
As I mentioned earlier, I recommend enjoying Dalaran Applesauce when it's hot and fresh out of the slow cooker -- like eating fresh apple pie filling. We serve ours in small ramekins. Delicious!
[Images: Stacy Spensley, Stacy Spensley, Maggie Hoffman]
