The first weekend in November has been dedicated to cider and apples in our region for more than 25 years in the festival called CiderDays. At this time of year the apple harvest is winding down, but orchards and households still have plenty of apples — and cider is being pressed and pressed and pressed.
Like most activities, CiderDays have been affected by the pandemic. This year, activities are restricted to tours of orchards, wineries and the like.
The organizers are hoping to reintroduce workshops and get-togethers in 2022. In the meantime, cider lovers are encouraged to follow the Cider Trail (bit.ly/3jZ2v5k) and to support local eateries that are coordinating their menus with the festival.
One such eatery is Blue Heron, the elegant restaurant located in the former Town Hall on Main Street in Sunderland.
Actually, co-owner Deborah Snow informed me when I visited last week, Blue Heron would have cider and apples on its menu at this time of year with or without CiderDays. The restaurant prides itself on cooking with seasonal, local foods.
I asked Snow how Blue Heron has fared over the recent tumultuous months. She explained that the restaurant closed, like many others, in March 2020 but was able to reopen cautiously that May when outdoor dining was possible. Dining returned indoors in June of that year but eventually had to be suspended again.
The restaurant survived using a combination of strategies. A state grant helped in the darkest winter months. Blue Heron offered pickup of groceries for diners for a while and eventually moved on to takeout meals. The takeout menu continues to this day, and Snow doubts that this popular measure will ever stop.
She recalled that in the past the restaurant sold 20 to 25 takeout meals a year; today it typically serves 25 a day.
Indoor dining currently takes place with reduced capacity and a slightly smaller-than-usual menu. Spaced-apart tables, Plexiglas in front of the bar, air purifiers and fresh air when possible all help.
Supply chain issues have presented challenges, but the restaurant’s focus on local food has helped it cope, as has Blue Heron’s flexible staff. “We’re a talented group of people,” Snow smiled. “We adjust to what we can get.”
Snow observed that the pandemic seems to have changed her patrons, pushing them to extremes. “Customers, it seems, are either nicer or ruder,” she said with a sigh.
Work to cope with the pandemic remains, she noted. “We need to be conscious, keep track of statistics, keep our masks on, get vaccines and boosters … do what we have to do.”
All in all, Snow is cautiously optimistic. Business is currently strong. “It’s been a reflective time for a lot of people,” she stated. “They’ve been trying times, but I think that we’re coming out of it, learning to live and adjust to these changes.”
One thing that doesn’t seem to have adjusted is the high quality of food at Blue Heron. On our visit photographer Paul Franz and I watched executive chef Justin Mosher throw together an apple-and-cider dish, lightly smoked pork chops with apple-bacon jam.
Mosher, who grew up in Northampton, worked as a sous chef at Blue Heron for a number of years before moving on to larger restaurants in New York and Boston. He happily returned to Sunderland in 2015 when his current position became available.
Asked what appeals to him about the restaurant, he smiled. “The family aspect of it, being creative, getting to use a lot of locally sourced produce….”
Mosher and Snow told us that the pork dish is a constant on their menu, although in summer the apple-bacon jam becomes peach-bacon jam. The pork had a deep, subtle flavor.
To go with the pork, bartender Paul Margotta made me a cider-based mocktail called the Apple Cobbler. It may be transformed into a cocktail, but I savored the non-alcoholic version.
Blue Heron is currently taking reservations for Thanksgiving in the restaurant. Its Thanksgiving takeout quota is full, but there is a wait list. For more information, visit blueherondining.com.
Apple-Bacon Jam Ingredients
½ pound sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 pinch ground allspice
1 pinch ground ginger
1 pinch cinnamon
1 pinch kosher salt
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons packed dark-brown sugar
2 large tart apples peeled, cored and diced; plus additional apple pieces to taste later
Pork Chop Ingredients
2 cups water
2 cups apple cider
¼ cup salt
¼ cup brown sugar
½ tablespoon fennel seed
½ tablespoon coriander seed
½ tablespoon black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
4 14-ounce bone-in porkchops
Neutral oil (vegetable, canola, etc.) as needed for sauteing
Apple Cider Reduction Ingredients
1 cup apple cider
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 shallot, finely diced
2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted cold butter
Begin with the jam. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the fat is rendered and the bacon is lightly browned (about 20 minutes).
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. Add the onions and garlic, and cook until the onions are translucent (about 6 minutes).
Add the spices, vinegar, brown sugar and maple syrup, and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring and scraping up browned bits from the skillet with a wooden spoon. Add the apples and cook until soft. Add the bacon and stir to combine.
Transfer the mixture to a 6-quart slow cooker and cook on high, uncovered, until the liquid is syrupy, 3½ to 4 hours. Transfer to a food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped.
Transfer the bacon mixture to a sauté pan and sauté it with more apple pieces until the apples are tender. The jam may be used at room temperature.
To prepare the meat, combine all the ingredients except the pork chops and the oil; this mixture is your brine. Soak the pork chops in brine for 1 to 2 hours. Remove the pork chops from the brine and discard the brine. Pat the pork chops dry.
(Note: Blue Heron smokes its pork chops with apple wood and recommends that if you have a smoker, but they are delicious even if you don’t smoke them.)
Heat oil in a skillet on the stove. Sear the pork chops for 2 minutes on each side. Place them in a 375-degree oven for 10 minutes or until a thermometer reaches 145 degrees. Serve the pork with apple-bacon jam and cider reduction.
To make the cider reduction, combine the cider, cider vinegar and shallots in a non-reactive saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce until you get a syrupy consistency. Strain out the shallots and return the reduction to the saucepan.
Just before serving, bring the reduction back to a simmering boil and whisk in cold butter until it melts. Remove from heat and serve over pork chops with the jam.
Serves four generously.
Ingredients
3 ounces apple cider
½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 dashes Angostura bitters
Maine Root Ginger Brew (or your choice of ginger beer) as needed
Mix the cider, lemon juice and bitters over ice. Fill the glass to the top with ginger beer. Garnish with an apple slice. (Optional: add bourbon, vodka or rum to make a cocktail.) Serves one.
Tinky Weisblat is the award-winning author of “The Pudding Hollow Cookbook,” “Pulling Taffy,” and “Love, Laughter, and Rhubarb.” Visit her website, TinkyCooks.com.